UK-based Fanbytes is growing into a global powerhouse in the world of Gen Z marketing – most specifically on TikTok.
Earlier this year, the company launched its own in-house social media influencer management division, Bytesized Talent, adding to Fanbytes’ existing strength in the world of influencer marketing services.
Bytesized Talent now says it is the largest TikTok talent management company in the UK, with a key objective to help TikTok talent launch meaningful careers and grow on other platforms.
The total audience reached by BT’s roster across TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube now runs to over 70 million fans. That roster includes five of the ten biggest TikTok stars in the UK, including SurfaceLDN (6.7m TikTok followers), Shauni (8.4m TikTok followers) and Bobbie (5.8m fans).
In April, Bytesized Talent launched Bytehouse – a Big Brother-style show in which leading British influencers cohabited and showed off their talents under the gaze of a watching online audience. Content generated in Bytehouse has now attracted over 100m views, and reached over 17m fans.
More recently, Bytesized Talent launched Gloss Twins, a lip gloss brand in association with Nel Twins, dubbed “The First TikTok Beauty Influencer Line”.
“We want to help labels form longer-term relationships with influencers, regularly pushing their artists’ music organically during videos from our talent.”
Timothy Armoo, Fanbytes
With Fanbytes itself taking care of influencer marketing, Bytesized Talent managing talent in-house and Bytehouse becoming a fully owned and operated brand, Fanbytes’ CEO, Timothy Armoo, says his firm can take a “full 360 approach to marketing” for its clients.
Now, Bytesized Talent is looking to work even closer with record labels to strike maningful partnerships with individual influencers that last.
“One of the upsides to having a talent division within Fanbytes is the depth of the relationships that can be fostered between artists and influencers,” Armoo told MBW.
“TikTok right now is an important space for artists however a lot of labels and artists just do one time hits or campaigns. We want to help labels form longer-term relationships with influencers, regularly pushing their artists’ music organically during videos from our talent. Rather than just focusing on a one time hit, the goal is to create a sustained long term impact.”
“We want to take labels and artists down the full funnel of music marketing – from the start of their music release to it blowing up in the charts.”
Timothy Armoo, Fanbytes
Added Armoo: “There is also a massive opportunity to merge the online and offline world. For example, given our close relationship with the influencers at Bytesized Talent, we’re able to organise joint meet and greets between our talent and artists – for example, perhaps an influencer meet and greet at which the artist plays a live set.
“We want to take labels and artists down the full funnel of music marketing – from the start of their music release to it blowing up in the charts. We believe you can really achieve that with a mixture of fully-fledged campaigns but also long term ambassadorship between influencers and a song or an artist.”
Bytesized Talent sits underneath the Fanbytes Group, which has previously partnered with the likes of Universal Music, Sony Music and Warner Music on campaigns.
Fanbytes itself works with a network of thousands of influencers (including those on Bytesized Talent’s roster), offering broader campaigns for clients.
One of Bytesized Talent’s standout skills, says Armoo, is the speed with which it can execute a campaign in partnership with record labels. He says that one record company recently called the Bytesized team at 11am to launch a campaign, and it was activated online within three hours, pulling in millions of views.
“This was able to be done because we know our influencers so well,” says Armoo, “so we knew who it’d be a good fit for.”
With its combination of influencer marketing services, plus owned and operated channels and an in-house talent agency, Fanbytes says it’s ushering in a new wave of how to work with influencers.Music Business Worldwide
