Discovering TikTok Creators by Niche

Finds TikTok creators in any topic area by scraping relevant hashtags and profiles. Returns a ranked list with follower count, engagement rate, and contact-ready profile data for influencer outreach.

Prerequisites

• APIFY_TOKEN environment variable set
• Optional: Apify MCP server installed

Inputs

Workflow

Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Define niche and targeting criteria
- [ ] Step 2: Build hashtag list for the niche
- [ ] Step 3: Run tiktok-scraper to find creators
- [ ] Step 4: Optionally enrich with tiktok-profile-scraper
- [ ] Step 5: Rank and format output

Step 1: Clarify Parameters

Ask the user for:

• Niche/topic (e.g., "fitness", "sustainable fashion", "personal finance")
• Max followers (for micro-influencers, e.g., 100000)
• Min followers (optional, e.g., 10000)
• Number of creators (default: 50)
• Language/region (optional)

Step 2: Build Hashtag List

Generate 5-8 relevant hashtags for the niche. Examples:

• Fitness → #fitness, #workout, #gymtok, #fitnessmotivation, #homeworkout
• Finance → #personalfinance, #investing, #moneytips, #financetok, #budgeting
• Beauty → #beautytok, #skincareroutine, #makeuptutorial, #glowup, #skincare

Step 3: Run tiktok-scraper

Recommended — run_actor.js (handles waiting, output, and file saving automatically):

# Quick answer (prints table to chat)
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~tiktok-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}'

# Save as CSV
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~tiktok-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.csv --format csv

# Save as JSON
node scripts/run_actor.js \
  --actor "apidojo~tiktok-scraper" \
  --input '{"param": "value"}' \
  --output YYYY-MM-DD_results.json --format json

APIFY_TOKEN must be set in environment or .env file.

If Apify MCP is available:

Tool: apify:run-actor
Actor: "apidojo~tiktok-scraper"
Input:
{
  "keywords": ["[hashtag1]", "[hashtag2]", "[hashtag3]"],
  "shouldDownloadCovers": false
}

If Apify MCP is not available:

curl -X POST \
  "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~tiktok-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "keywords": ["[hashtag1]", "[hashtag2]"],
    "shouldDownloadCovers": false
  }'

Save RUN_ID. Wait for status: SUCCEEDED.

Step 4: Fetch and Deduplicate Creators

curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/actor-runs/$RUN_ID/dataset/items?token=$APIFY_TOKEN"

From the results, extract unique authorMeta.id values. Deduplicate — same creator often appears across hashtags. Sort by authorMeta.fans (follower count).

Optional enrichment: If the user wants deeper profile data, run apidojo/tiktok-profile-scraper with the top creator usernames to get engagement rate and video performance.

Step 5: Apply Filters and Rank

Apply user's follower range filters. Compute a simple engagement score:

engagement_score = (avg_likes + avg_comments) / follower_count * 100

Rank by engagement score within the follower range.

Output Format

# TikTok Creator Discovery: [NICHE] Niche
Found: [N] creators | Follower range: [MIN]–[MAX] | Date: [DATE]

| # | Username | Followers | Avg Views | Eng. Rate | Niche Tags | Profile |
|---|----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|------------|---------|
| 1 | @[name]  | [N]       | [N]       | [X.X%]    | [tags]     | [url]   |
| 2 | @[name]  | [N]       | [N]       | [X.X%]    | [tags]     | [url]   |

## Top Picks for Outreach
1. **@[name]** — [N] followers, [X.X%] engagement, posts primarily about [topic]
2. **@[name]** — [N] followers, [X.X%] engagement, posts primarily about [topic]
3. **@[name]** — [N] followers, [X.X%] engagement, posts primarily about [topic]

## Notes
- Engagement rate > 5% is considered high for this follower range
- [N] creators filtered out (outside follower range)
- Data freshness: ~24h from TikTok public API

Troubleshooting

Too few results: Add more hashtags or remove follower filters. All results are large accounts: Niche hashtags tend to surface mega-influencers — try sub-niche hashtags (e.g., #homegymtok instead of #fitness). Stale follower counts: TikTok data cached by Apify is typically 24-48h old.