How to Do Branded Missions on TikTok

TikTok’s Branded Missions link brands directly with creators, offering a clear path to paid partnerships based on creativity, not just follower count. This guide gives you the step-by-step process for finding missions, understanding what brands want, and creating videos that actually get picked. We’ll cover everything from eligibility to crafting a winning submission.

What Are TikTok Branded Missions?

Think of Branded Missions as an open casting call for content creators. Instead of a brand searching for one specific influencer to hire, they put out a creative brief to a wide pool of eligible creators. The brand essentially says, "Here's our product and our goal - show us what you've got."

Here’s the basic flow:

• A Brand Creates a Brief: A company outlines a campaign, specifying what kind of video they're looking for, what message to convey, and which hashtags to use.
• Creators Submit Videos: You find a mission that fits your style, create a video that follows the brief, and submit it.
• The Brand Picks Winners: The brand reviews all the submitted videos and selects the ones that best fit their campaign.
• Creators Get Paid & Boosted: If your video is chosen, you get paid the amount listed in the mission details. The brand then promotes your video as an ad, giving you a huge boost in visibility to new audiences.

This model is a win-win. Brands get a library of authentic, creator-driven content to use in their ad campaigns, and creators get a direct opportunity to work with top brands and monetize their content without needing to network or send cold pitches. It’s different from the TikTok Creator Marketplace, where brands reach out to creators for one-on-one partnerships. Missions are open to anyone who meets the criteria, leveling the playing field for creators of all sizes.

Finding and Joining Your First Branded Mission

Before you can start creating, you need to know if you're eligible and where to find these opportunities. The requirements are straightforward, designed to ensure participants are active and established creators on the platform.

Eligibility Requirements: Are You In?

To participate in Branded Missions, you need to meet a few basic criteria. TikTok wants to make sure the program is filled with creators who are actively contributing to the community. Here’s what you’ll generally need:

• Be at least 18 years old.
• Have a minimum of 1,000 followers.
• Your account must be a Creator or Business Account, not a Personal Account.
• You must have a public profile and have posted a video in the last 28 days.
• Your account needs to be in good standing, with no recent history of community guideline violations.

If you check all these boxes, you’re ready to start browsing for missions.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Finding Missions

Finding available missions is simple and all happens within the TikTok app. You don’t need to download or sign up for anything extra.

1. Navigate to your TikTok profile and tap the three horizontal lines (the "hamburger" menu) in the top-right corner.
2. From the menu, select "Creator tools." This is your hub for all monetization and creator features.
3. Inside Creator tools, find and tap on "TikTok Creator Marketplace." Even though Missions are different, they live under this umbrella.
4. Once in the Marketplace, you should see a tab or section labeled "Branded Missions." Tap it.
5. You’ll now see a feed of available missions. Each listing will show the brand's name, the campaign title, and often the potential earnings for selected videos. Browse through them just like you would your "For You" page.
6. When a mission catches your eye, tap on it to view the full details, including the creative brief, requirements, and examples.

Deconstructing the Mission Brief: What You Need to Know

Once you’ve found a mission you like, do not start filming right away. The Mission Brief is your roadmap, and ignoring it is the quickest way to have your hard work overlooked. Reading and truly understanding every part of the brief is the most predictive factor for success.

Here are the common elements of a brief and what to look for:

• Campaign Objective: This is the "why" behind the mission. Is the brand trying to drive awareness for a new product? Promote a seasonal sale? Build an association with a certain lifestyle? Knowing their goal helps you frame your video's message. A video for a new energy drink aiming for "brand awareness" should feel exciting and energetic, while one for a tax software aiming for "education" should feel helpful and clear.
• Video Requirements: This section contains the non-negotiables. It will list technical specs like minimum video length, orientation (always vertical for TikTok), text placement, or specific scenes the brand wants to see (e.g., "show an unboxing of the product").
• The Dos and Don'ts: Pay very close attention here. Dos might include things like "show the logo clearly for at least 2 seconds" or "film in a bright, clean environment." Don'ts are even more important. They often include things like "do not show competitor logos," "avoid using profanity," or "don't add any filters that obscure the product's natural color." Violating a "Don't" is an automatic disqualification.
• Required Hashtags and Mentions: Every mission will have an official campaign hashtag (e.g., #BrandXChallenge). You must use it exactly as written. They will also require you to mention the brand’s account (e.g., @BrandX). Put these in your video's caption.
• Audio Guidelines: Some campaigns provide a specific branded sound or song they want you to use. Others might allow any trending sound. The brief will tell you what's expected. If it’s open, choose audio that matches the vibe you’re creating and is popular on the platform.
• Inspiration & Examples: Most brands include a few video examples to guide you. Watch them all. They aren't meant for you to copy, but to understand the tone, pacing, and overall vibe they're looking for. Analyze what those videos do well and think about how you can create something that fits the "family" while still being uniquely yours.

Crafting a Video That Gets Picked

You’ve found a mission, studied the brief, and are ready to create. This is where your personality comes in. Brands choose Missions because they want authentic content, not stiff, overly polished commercials. Here’s how to make a video that's both compliant and compelling.

Tip 1: Be Authentic, Not a Salesperson

The biggest mistake creators make is shifting their tone from their usual style to a generic "ad-read" voice. The brand wants to tap into your audience and your style. If you’re known for chaotic cooking videos, integrate the food product naturally into one of your recipes. If you make comedy skits, write a scene where the brand becomes a funny plot point. Don't just hold the product up to the camera and list its features. The best branded videos feel like a creator's regular content, just with a product smartly woven in.

Tip 2: Follow the Brief, But Add Your Spin

Rules aren’t there to stifle your creativity, they're guardrails. Adhering to the "Dos and Don'ts" gets you in the door, but your unique spin is what makes you stand out. The brief is the “what,” and your content style is the “how.” For example, if a skincare brand's brief asks you to "Show your morning routine," a beauty guru might film an aesthetic "get ready with me" video. A comedy creator could make a skit about hitting the snooze button ten times before frantically using the product. A parent creator might show themselves trying to have a moment of peace with the product while their kids cause chaos in the background. All three videos fulfill the brief, but each is entirely unique to the creator.

Tip 3: Master the Opening Hook

Your video isn't just being judged by the brand - it has to perform on the TikTok algorithm, too. The first three seconds determine whether someone keeps watching. Grab attention immediately. Start with movement, a bold text overlay with a question, a surprising sound, or a relatable problem. A video that slowly pans across a room before getting to the point will get scrolled past by viewers and likely passed over by the brand’s review team.

Tip 4: High-Quality Production Matters

You don't need a professional camera crew, but your video should look and sound good. Basic production quality signals professionalism.

• Lighting: Film in a well-lit space. Natural light from a window is your best friend and costs nothing. Avoid dark, grainy footage.
• Audio: Record with clear sound. Make sure your voice is audible and there isn’t distracting background noise like traffic, a barking dog, or a loud TV.
• Stability: Keep your footage steady. Prop your phone up on something or use an inexpensive tripod. Shaky camera work looks amateurish (unless it's an intentional stylistic choice).

Submitting Your Video and What Happens Next

Once you’ve polished your video, it’s time to submit it for review. The process is integrated directly into the posting workflow.

The Submission Process

1. Create and edit your video as you normally would.
2. When you get to the posting screen (where you write your caption), look for the "Branded content" option. Tap it and toggle the switch on.
3. From there, you’ll be able to link your video to the specific Branded Mission you are participating in. Find it on the list and select it. This officially flags your video as a submission.
4. Make sure your caption includes the required hashtag(s) and the brand mention (@brandname). Double-check the spelling!
5. Post your video. It will appear on your public profile like any other video.

What Happens After You Post?

After you submit, the brand has a set review period to watch all the submitted videos and make their selections. Your video will start accumulating organic views right away, but the brand’s decision will determine if you get paid and promoted.

There are two primary outcomes:

Your video gets selected. Amazing! You'll be notified through the TikTok app. Your video will then be boosted by the brand as a Spark Ad, reaching a much larger audience. The payment will be processed and sent to you as outlined in the mission’s payment details.

Your video is not selected. This is completely normal and happens to everyone. Don't get discouraged! Your video still exists on your profile and can continue gaining organic views and engagement. Treat it as a portfolio piece that shows other brands you're ready and able to create high-quality sponsored content. Every submission is good practice.

Final Thoughts

Branded Missions open up a powerful new avenue for TikTok creators to partner with brands. By focusing on the brief’s requirements while injecting your own authentic personality, you can create content that serves the brand’s goals and resonates with your audience, giving you the best chance to get chosen for a paid campaign.

As you get more active with Branded Missions and other partnerships, keeping your content calendar organized becomes essential. Staying on top of deadlines, organic posts, and sponsored content across multiple platforms can feel like a juggle. That’s why we built our visual calendar in Postbase to make planning out your video ideas seamless. And since short-form video is our focus, you can schedule your winning TikToks to also post as Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts without having to start from scratch.