finding-gaming-content-creators

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

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Notes
startUrls	array	Optional	[]	TikTok URLs — user profiles, hashtags, music pages, search, locations
keywords	array	Optional	[]	Search keywords/terms to find posts
sortType	string	Optional	RELEVANCE	Sort order for keyword results: RELEVANCE, MOST_LIKED, DATE_POSTED
location	string	Optional	—	ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code for regional filtering (e.g. US, GB)
maxItems	number	Optional	Unlimited	Maximum posts to return across the run
includeSearchKeywords	boolean	Optional	false	Add the matched search keyword field to each post
customMapFunction	string	Optional	—	JavaScript function to transform each output object

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).