The incubator announced on Wednesday, called “TikTok for Black Creatives”, was designed to invest in emerging black creators and music artists on the video platform.
The three-month program will provide resources that can be used on items such as production equipment and educational resources, through grants in partnership with the media company MACRO. TIkTok will also host city halls and other events with black entrepreneurs, celebrities and TikTok executives, and the incubator participants will also receive six virtual mentoring sessions.
“Black creators at TikTok have been a driving force for our community,” wrote the company in a blog post on Wednesday announcing the new promotion. “We are committed to continuing to raise and amplify their voices.” Black influencers are among the most popular and influential in TikTok creators since the company’s launch.
TikTok is accepting applications for the program until January 27. Candidates can submit a video of up to one minute showing their skills as a TikTok creator. Finalists will be announced in February.
The content of black influencers on social sites like Twitter and Instagram has been credited with making many political and business marketing campaigns go viral. The Black Lives Matter movement, which emerged in 2014 and became an even stronger force last year, started as a Facebook hashtag in 2013.
On the commercial side, AdWeek noted that Black Twitter has turned Popeyes’ chicken sandwich into a cultural phenomenon, generating about $ 65 million in free advertising, according to the Apex Marketing Group.
The TikTok incubator is one of several recent initiatives that are finally recognizing the power of black influencers.
YouTube launched a black influence program similar to TikTok in October, called #YouTubeBlack Voices Fund. On Tuesday, the company revealed the 132 YouTubers chosen to receive funding from the program. And Facebook launched its own #BuyBlackFriday initiative in October to launch a three-month “Support Season” for black-owned companies.