Finding Gaming Content Creators

Discovers gaming creators on TikTok and YouTube. Segments by game genre and creator stage — early-stage gaming creators are cost-effective for hardware and peripheral sponsorships.

Prerequisites

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

Inputs

Workflow

Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Search game-specific content on target platforms
- [ ] Step 2: Collect creator handles
- [ ] Step 3: Enrich and score
- [ ] Step 4: Classify creator type
- [ ] Step 5: Deliver creator list

Step 1: Platform Searches

TikTok:

Tool: apify:run-actor
Actor: "apidojo~tiktok-scraper"
Input:
{
  "keywords": ["#[game_or_genre]", "#[game_or_genre]tiktok", "#gamingtiktok", "#[game]gameplay"],
  "maxItems": 300
}

YouTube:

Tool: apify:run-actor
Actor: "apidojo~youtube-scraper"
Input:
{
  "searchKeywords": ["[game_or_genre] gameplay", "[game_or_genre] review", "[game_or_genre] tips", "[game_or_genre] highlights"],
  "maxResults": 50,
  "type": "video"
}

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.

REST API fallback:

# TikTok
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~tiktok-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN"   -H "Content-Type: application/json"   -d '{"keywords": ["#valorant", "#valorantclips", "#gamingtiktok"], "maxItems": 300}'

# YouTube
curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/apidojo~youtube-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN"   -H "Content-Type: application/json"   -d '{"searchKeywords": ["valorant gameplay", "valorant tips 2026"], "maxResults": 50}'

Step 2: Score Creators

TikTok gaming score:

tt_score = (avg_views / (follower_count + 1)) * 0.40   # view-to-follower ratio
         + (avg_likes / (avg_views + 1)) * 100 * 0.30  # like rate
         + (posts_about_game / total_posts) * 0.30      # niche focus

YouTube gaming score:

view_ratio = avg_views / (subscriber_count + 1)
yt_score = (view_ratio > 0.10 ? 1 : view_ratio/0.10) * 0.35
         + (avg_comments / (avg_views+1) > 0.01 ? 1 : ratio/0.01) * 0.25
         + (subscriber_count in 1000..100000 ? 1 : 0.5) * 0.20
         + (niche_focus_ratio) * 0.20

Creator stage:

• Rising (< 10K subs): Affordable, high engagement, fast growing — best for early partnerships
• Mid-tier (10K–100K): Established audience, proven niche authority
• Macro (> 100K): Large reach, premium pricing

Step 3: Edge Cases

• Gaming news / outlet accounts appear: Drop accounts with "news", "esports org", "official" — keep individual creators only
• Clip compilation accounts (reposts, not originals): Flag if video_upload_frequency > 3/day — likely compilation not original content
• TikTok gaming creators also streaming: Note in output if bio mentions "Twitch" or "stream" — these creators have dual platform value
• Game-specific niche too small: If < 15 creators found for a specific game, widen to genre

Output Format

# Gaming Creator List: [GAME/GENRE]
Creators found: [N] | TikTok: [N] | YouTube: [N] | Rising: [N] | Mid-tier: [N] | Date: [DATE]

## Top TikTok Gaming Creators
| Creator | @Handle | Followers | Avg Views | View Ratio | Niche Focus | Stage | Score |
|---------|---------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-------------|-------|-------|

## Top YouTube Gaming Creators
| Creator | Channel | Subscribers | Avg Views | View Ratio | Content Type | Score |
|---------|---------|------------|-----------|-----------|-------------|-------|

## Rising Creators (< 10K — Early Partnership Opportunity)
| Creator | Platform | Subscribers | Avg Views | Game | Last Post |
|---------|---------|------------|-----------|------|----------|

Troubleshooting

Only mega-channels appear: Add "small", "indie", or "growing" to search keywords to surface smaller creators. Gaming genre too broad: Narrow by adding specific game title or mechanic: "FPS" → "Valorant", "battle royale". TikTok gaming content dominated by clips with no creator: These are highlight reels — filter out accounts with very high posting frequency (> 2 posts/day likely aggregators).