TikTok's Branded Content Policy: What Supplement Brands Need to Know

TikTok's Branded Content Policy creates specific requirements for supplement brands working with creators. Violations can get both your brand account and your creator partners banned, making compliance essential for influencer marketing.

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Dual Liability: When branded content violates policy, TikTok may penalize both the brand AND the creator. Non-compliant creators can damage your brand's platform standing.

What Counts as Branded Content

TikTok defines branded content as any content that promotes goods or services where the creator receives something of value. This includes paid sponsorships, free products, affiliate relationships, and any other form of compensation.

If a creator receives your supplement for free and posts about it, that's branded content even if you didn't explicitly pay for the post.

Disclosure Requirements

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Required: All branded content must use TikTok's built-in Branded Content toggle. Comments or hashtags like #ad don't satisfy the requirement—only the official toggle counts. The disclosure must be enabled before posting; you can't add it retroactively.

Creators must also comply with local advertising disclosure laws, which in most markets require clear and conspicuous disclosure that appears before consumers engage with the content.

Health Claims in Branded Content

TikTok applies its advertising policies to branded content. This means creators promoting supplements can't make claims that would be prohibited in formal ads.

Disease claims are prohibited. A creator can't say your supplement cures, treats, or prevents any medical condition. This applies even in casual, conversational content.

Exaggerated efficacy claims get flagged. "This completely transformed my health" or "I've never felt better" can trigger review, especially when combined with product promotion.

Before and after content faces restrictions. Weight loss supplements and similar products can't use transformation imagery in branded content.

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Safe Approaches: Educational content about ingredients, lifestyle integration (morning routines, fitness recovery), expert insights from nutritionists or trainers, and authentic testimonials without medical claims.

The Creator Liability Problem

Brands should provide creators with clear compliance guidelines before any partnership. This includes lists of prohibited claims, required disclosures, and examples of compliant content.

Getting creator agreements in writing helps protect both parties. Include specific compliance requirements and make clear that violations may terminate the partnership.

Monitoring Creator Content

You need a system to review creator content before it goes live. Some brands require approval for all sponsored posts. Others provide detailed guidelines and spot-check published content.

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Best Practice: Set up monitoring to catch violations quickly. If a creator posts non-compliant content, addressing it within hours limits the damage. First violations might result in content removal; subsequent violations can lead to account restrictions or permanent bans.

Enforcement Patterns

TikTok enforces branded content policies through both automated detection and manual review. Posts that get significant engagement face more scrutiny than low-reach content.

Repeat violations escalate penalties. Category matters—supplement and health products face more aggressive enforcement than general consumer goods because of the potential for harm.

Best Practices for Compliant Partnerships

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Creator Partnership Checklist:

Share compliance requirements before any content is created
Review content before publishing when possible
Ensure creators know how to use the Branded Content toggle
Document guidelines, agreements, and content reviews
Monitor published content for violations

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