Workflow stages are grouped into four logical phases that reflect a creator’s overall status in a campaign. These phases determine what actions are possible at a given point — from applications to content tracking to incentive fulfilment.

Phases matter because:

• They control when automatic content binding is enabled.
• They determine when incentives can be fulfilled.
• They provide a high-level view of creator progress.

Candidates phase

Creators have been added to a campaign but are not yet confirmed participants.

• Participation: Creators must opt in before moving past this phase.
• Content binding: Disabled. No posts can be automatically tracked.
• Incentives: Disabled. No payments or products can be fulfilled.
• Deliverables: Can still be edited. In Live campaigns, changes apply only to creators in Candidates. To edit deliverables for someone further along, move them back here, then forward again.

Stages in this phase:

• Candidates – added to the campaign but not invited.
• Invited – invited but haven’t applied.
• Applied – submitted an application but not yet accepted.
• Deliverables - need specific content deliverables assigned    

Participants phase

Creators have opted in and been accepted to participate in the campaign.

• Participation: Creators are considered Participants once promoted past Applied (or directly into any stage after Applied if that stage is disabled).
• Content binding: Fully enabled.
• Incentives: Fully enabled.
• Confirmation: Even if confirmation is pending, creators are still considered Participants.

Stages in this phase:

• Confirmation – accepted but awaiting confirmation.
• Pre-Payment → Content Creation – creators actively participating in the campaign.

Complete phase

Creators have fulfilled all requirements and completed the campaign.

• Participation: Reached once all deliverables are fulfilled, which auto-promotes creators past Content Creation.
• Content binding: Fully enabled.
• Incentives: Fully enabled.
• Optional stages: Post Review and/or Post-Payment may be included before Complete, but any stage after Content Creation counts as part of this phase.

Stages in this phase:

• Post Review – deliverables fulfilled but awaiting human review.
• Post-Payment – deliverables fulfilled, ready for payment.
• Complete – all deliverables and incentives finalized.

Dropped phase

Creators have been removed from the campaign or chosen not to participate.

• Participation: Applications rejected, opted out during confirmation, or manually moved to Dropped.
• Content binding: Disabled. No posts can be tracked automatically.
• Incentives: Can still be fulfilled unless the creator has been removed from your database or unsubscribed.
• Messaging: Still available. Creators can also be promoted back to other stages.
• Visibility: Dropped creators see a message that the campaign is no longer available.

Stages in this phase:

• Dropped – creator removed or opted out.
• Not Eligible – applies only in TikTok Creator Marketplace (TCM) campaigns; creator is not eligible to join via TCM.

Custom workflow stages and phases

Custom workflow stages automatically adopt the phase of the stage before them.

• Example: A custom stage added after Applied belongs to the Candidates phase, even if Applied itself is disabled.

This ensures consistency in how content binding and incentive fulfilment rules apply.