Looking to build buzz for your UK-based brand? There’s never been a better time to invest in influencer marketing—especially UK TikTok influencers. The platform, known for its fast-moving trends and authentic content, is often tough for brands to break into. However, working with local UK TikTok influencers provides you with plenty of opportunities to reach a wide range of people and niches.
Local influencers also share the same experiences and dialects as your audience and understand local customs, values and trends, so their endorsements are more relatable and trustworthy.
In this article, we’ll share more about how TikTok is growing in the UK, how to identify the right influencers for your campaigns and provide suggestions on real UK TikTok influencers you could work with on your next campaign.
The impact of TikTok on the UK
TikTok has grown massively over the past few years in the UK—particularly among young people. According to a 2023 report from Ofcom, the UK’s communication watchdog, more than half (53%) of youth aged three to 17 use TikTok. It’s also the most popular news source for 12 to 15-year-olds and becoming increasingly popular with older generations.
The same Ofcom report found that TikTok is a favored news source for UK adults, increasing from 1% in 2020 to 10% in 2023. However, TikTok consumers are generally more interested in lighter topics such as celebrities and music. Other choices include entertaining or funny stories, sports, fashion and beauty.
In terms of purchases on UK TikTok, personal care products reign supreme, making up two-thirds (61.3%) of consumer goods sales made via TikTok Shop in the UK. Most of these purchasers are Gen Z, likely to identify as female and spend around 41% of their total beauty spend on the platform.
So, how do you turn these insights into strategies for influencer marketing success? If you’re a brand looking to reach Gen Z or Gen Alpha consumers, you’ll likely be a hit on UK TikTok. But don’t count the app out if your brand is outside of this target market, as the app is growing rapidly in popularity among other audiences, too.
How to identify the right TikTok influencer in the UK
You want to find a UK influencer for your next campaign, but you’re not sure where to start? Here are a few tips to help you discover the right creator.
1. Review trending UK TikTok hashtags
Trending hashtags highlight topics that resonate with UK audiences, giving you insight into which influencers are leading conversations that matter locally. Just search “UK TikTok” on TikTok, set the Sort by filter to Date posted and set the Date posted filter to Last 3 months to pare down the results to the most recent trending videos.
2. Use keywords to find UK topics
Whether it’s slang, cultural references or iconic locations, targeting UK-centric keywords will narrow your search to influencers who understand and engage with UK audiences. For example, this video from creator @angelinina.pj uses specific London neighborhood hashtags to indicate location.
3. Conduct competitor research
Identify influencers your competitors are collaborating with and examine the engagement and response to their content. Competitor research will show you which influencers are popular in the UK market and resonate with your target audience.
4. Use an influencer marketing tool
Streamline your influencer campaign management with influencer marketing tools like Tagger by Sprout Social.
Use this platform to:
- Find the right influencers. Filter influencers based on location, audience demographics, engagement rates and content style to discover the best UK TikTok influencers for your campaigns.
- Build your strategy. Analyze industry trends, social content, posts and profile data to quickly evaluate an influencer’s reach and engagement.
- Reach out to key influencers. Communicate with potential influencers about partnership opportunities from within Tagger, and keep all conversations in one place rather than digging through dozens of outreach emails.
- Run and measure campaigns. Collaborate with influencers and track campaign performance, all in one place.
Macro TikTok influencers in the UK
If you’re a larger brand looking to reach a broad audience, macro-influencers are a great fit. While they’re the most expensive to work with, their large audience size will give you maximum exposure to your target audience to supercharge growth. From fashion to beauty to comedy, here are a few of the UK’s most prominent TikTok macro-influencers.
Ayamé Ponder
With over 3.2 million TikTok followers, Ayamé Ponder (@ayame) is a creator on the rise. Known for her hilarious reaction duet videos, travel vlogs and skits, she’s quickly becoming one of the UK TikTok’s most popular comedy creators. She’s also partnered with a diverse range of brands, from fashion company New Look to the Deliveroo food delivery app.
Damien Broderick
Damien Broderick (@damienbroderick) is a London-based TikTok fashion creator with 1.2 million followers. He’s known for his ‘lets get dressed’ style content, where he offers details on his dapper outfits with a deadpan tone. He also starts every video with his signature “click click clap” hand gesture. He’s worked with brands like Thomas Sabo and Just Eat.
Paul Lee Hiley
Paul Lee Hiley (@paulleehiley) is a Manchester-based hairdresser with 1.6 million TikTok followers. Paul’s known for hair styling videos, product reviews and a hilarious alter ego, Becki-Jo, a caricature of a Manchester woman. They’ve worked with brands like Skin + Me and El Dulce London.
Sabrina Bahsoon
Sabrina Bahsoon (@sabrinabahsoon) is a London-based content creator who went viral for her “Tube Girl” videos, where she confidently lip-syncs and dances to songs on the London Underground. She now has an audience of 794,500 TikTok followers and has worked with brands like MAC and Hugo Boss.
Ella Thomas
Ella Thomas (@3llathomas) is a London-based model and creator with 737,000 TikTok followers. She gained popularity after appearing on the reality TV show “Love Island UK.” She primarily posts Get Ready With Me (GRWM) makeup tutorials, vlogs and fashion styling videos. She’s worked with brands like Kylie Cosmetics and Gymshark.
UK TikTok micro-influencers for niche campaigns
If you’re a brand with a tight budget or looking to reach a very specific niche audience, consider partnering with a micro-influencer. With under 25,000 followers, these creators are more affordable and often have more engaged audiences than their macro-influencer counterparts.
Here are a few UK TikTok micro-influencers to have on your radar.
Niki
Niki (@nikibnatural) is a London-based natural hair and beauty influencer and content creator with 24,300 TikTok followers. Her content consists of hair styling videos, tutorials, and product reviews. She’s partnered with brands like Wild, a sustainable personal care brand, and You Go Natural, a hair accessories brand for textured hair.
Jana May
Jana May (@janamayinteriors) is a London-based interior designer, decorator and content creator. She posts many before-and-after design videos, design tips and interior inspiration content. With 19,900 TikTok followers, she’s partnered with brands like Nude, an app for first-time home buyers, and Learndirect, an online education company offering interior design courses.
Toby and Luna
Toby and Luna (@tobyandluna) are a pair of tabby cats from Exeter. Yes, cats. With 18,400 TikTok followers, their TikTok account consists mostly of pet trend videos documenting their playful antics. They frequently partner with pet brands like Webbox.
Sam
Sam (@samsliftlife) is a Liverpool-based fitness coach and TikTok creator. On TikTok, he documents his running journey, offers insights into his diet and workout routine and shares health and fitness tips with his 18,200 followers.
Amber Nicole
Amber Nicole (@justanotheramba) is a plus-size fashion and beauty creator from Essex. With 9,210 followers, she primarily posts product reviews, hauls and outfit of the day (OOTD) videos. She also shares some snippets of her life as a first-time mom and frequently reviews products from Made By Mitchell and Lottie London.
TikTok fashion influencers in the UK
The fashion world isn’t always known for its diversity. But on TikTok, you will find all types of creators with a variety of niches, from modest fashion to high-concept menswear. With follower counts in the tens of thousands up to a million-plus, here are a few UK TikTok fashion influencers to follow.
Aly Meghani
Aly Meghani (@yungalyy) is a London-based fashion content creator. With 1.1 million TikTok followers, he posts GRWM videos showcasing small independent brands and outfit recreations from celebrities, anime characters and rappers. As an influencer, he’s partnered with brands like ASOS and Timberland.
Aminah
Aminah (@amxnahali) is a London-based fashion and lifestyle creator with 60,500 TikTok followers. As a hijabi woman, she posts many GRWM videos featuring modest fashion, product reviews and travel content. As an influencer, she’s partnered with Reebok and Adidas.
The Wade Twins
William and Henry Wade (@thewadetwins) are twin brothers based in London. With 749,100 TikTok followers, they post a lot of POV videos, OOTDs, GRWMs and ‘who wore it best?’ content. They’ve partnered with companies like protein bar brand Barebells, online streaming service Paramount+ and clothing brand Next.
Becky
Becky (@bexx0308) is a London-based fashion creator. With 133,100 TikTok followers, she primarily posts OOTD videos featuring streetwear, tomboy and unisex clothing. She also frequently posts coordinated outfits with her girlfriend.
Reb Stephenson
Reb Stephenson (@rebstephenson) is a model, actress and fashion content creator with 76,100 TikTok followers. She’s known for her relatable trending voiceover videos, try-on hauls and OOTD videos. She’s done influencer partnerships with fashion brand Lasula and dating app Hily.
TikTok food influencers in the UK
For UK food and beverage brands, partnering with a UK TikTok food influencer is a no-brainer. From ‘hands and pans’ style recipe content to food reviews, here are a few TikTok food creators to consider for your next campaign.
Steve Devereux
Steve Devereux of Newcastle is the brain behind @foodmadesimple, a popular TikTok account that showcases easy and affordable recipes that anybody can replicate. With 1.2 million TikTok followers, he’s partnered with brands like Tilda Rice and Whitby Seafoods.
Oliver Paterson
Oliver Paterson (@elburritomonster) is a Manchester-based food content creator. He’s known for making over-the-top, high-protein dishes and inventive takes on the classic burrito—hence the handle. With 824,200 TikTok followers, he’s partnered with brands like Myprotein and Nando’s.
Yasmine
Yasmine (@thechefmine) is a London-based food creator. With 345,400 TikTok followers, she’s known for her approachable yet indulgent and aesthetically pleasing recipe videos, kitchen hacks and Ramadan series, where she shared halal recipes for every day of the holy month. As an influencer, she’s partnered with Notion and has created several videos highlighting how she uses the app to organize her recipes.
Coco’s Recipes
Coco’s Recipes (@halfacoco) is a London-based recipe videographer and photographer. They’re known for their aesthetically pleasing overhead shot recipe videos featuring colorful ingredients. With 93,400 TikTok followers, they’ve partnered with brands like Rheal Superfoods and Waterdrop Filters.
Glasgow Gannets
Glasgow Gannets (@glasgowgannets) is a Glasgow-based food TikTok account run by two flatmates, Kat and Haley. With 36,900 TikTok followers, they post a lot of restaurant reviews, hauls, taste tests and recipe videos. As influencers, they’ve partnered with Tim Horton’s UK, food review app Rate-It-Now and many local Glasgow restaurants.
Streamline your TikTok influencer marketing strategy
As TikTok grows in popularity in the UK, so does your opportunity as a brand to reach your target market on the app. And it doesn’t matter what niche or demographic you’re trying to reach—there’s likely a UK TikTok influencer out there that would be a perfect fit.
Of course, managing an entire influencer marketing campaign is easier said than done. That’s why our all-in-one influencer marketing tools make it easy for brands to find authentic creators, manage a campaign from end-to-end, and measure your success. To learn more, schedule a demo or try it out for free.
