Instagram went from an app for millennials sharing photos of their morning coffee and cute dogs to one of the most recognizable and monetized social platforms. Now, TikTok is beginning to similarly evolve, and brands who aren’t jumping on the TikTok train are leaving money on the table.
If you’re new to the platform, consult our What is TikTok guide. When you’re ready to start learning how to make money on TikTok, there are a few different paths you can take to get there. We’ve narrowed down the possibilities to six main options, but even within each one lies a world of creative monetization opportunities. For all options, you'll want to create a website or landing page to give brands, creators, and followers more information than your bio can hold. Read on for more ideas on how to make money on TikTok.
How to make money on TikTok in 6 ways
01 . Link to your website
The easiest way to monetize your TikTok account is to create a website and direct traffic to it via a link in your bio. Whether you direct followers to affiliate links, a media kit or a portfolio showcasing your skills is up to you.
02. Promote partnerships
Brands use influencer marketing on TikTok very similarly to how they do on platforms like Instagram or YouTube. Since TikTok is entirely video-based, brands look for authentic personalities who have strong video content and an audience who trusts them. As a creator, you want to choose brands that align with your content and that’ll interest your audience.
To start, create a few non-sponsored videos of your favorite products. This provides brands proof of the value you bring product promotions.
After Lil Nas X’s breakout success with his song Old Town Road thanks to TikTok, other creators have partnered with emerging musicians to promote new songs. These are called audio sponsorships, or when an artist pays a TikTok creator to use their song in one of their clips. The clip might not explicitly promote their song, but rather show a dance or a video in the creator’s particular style with the music in the background.
03. Get paid by TikTok
In July 2020, TikTok launched its $200 million Creator Fund encouraging users to showcase their voices on the platform. The company estimates the fund will grow to $1 billion by 2023.
To apply for the Creator Fund, users need to meet the following requirements:
Be at least 18 years-old
Be a TikTok Pro user
Be based in the US, UK, Germany, Spain, France or Italy
Have a minimum of 10,000 followers on TikTok
Have a minimum of 100,000 unique video views in the 30 days before applying
Comply with the TikTok community guidelines and terms of service
TikTok pays according to authentic views and engagement levels, meaning that the more creative and engaging content you post, the more you’re rewarded.
Aside from joining the Creator Fund, you can also use its ad platform to run native ads on a user’s feed. Before choosing this option, do some research into your target market to see if your customers use the platform.
04. Sell products on TikTok
If you sell via an online store, showcasing your products on TikTok can introduce your business to new audiences and also demonstrate your brand’s personality. To attract an audience, try using catchy audio clips or partaking in TikTok trends while showing off your merchandise. Here’s how clothing brand, Guess, shows off their latest fall fashion on TikTok:
TikTok: chances are, you’ve heard of it. Perhaps you’ve already signed up. If you’re just keeping up with the latest social media craze and feel ready to jump on the bandwagon - there’s no time like the present to get started on TikTok.
Staying up-to-date with social media trends involves effort, and it can be challenging to decide if new platforms are worth using at all, especially when it comes to building a brand. While creating a website to promote your products, services or business is a guaranteed good use of your time, when it comes to throwing yourself into apps like TikTok, the answer is not always as clear.
What is TikTok? And what’s all the fuss about? Whether you’re thinking about using TikTok for fun (and we promise you, it is fun), or as a marketing tool for your brand, we’re here to give you a crash course in navigating TikTok for personal and professional use. Let’s discover why the app is reshaping the social media world and has users obsessed.
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a short-form video sharing app with a feed that features an endless slew of micro-videos made by its users. Videos can be a maximum of 15 seconds long, with the option to combine videos for a 60 second long compilation. The app is known for its charming, often hilarious content featuring real people and real, home-made videos.
Formerly known as karaoke platform Musical.ly, the app was purchased by Chinese company ByteDance in April of 2018 and integrated into the TikTok platform. Since then, it's become a sensation, with over 800 million users worldwide and 1.5 billion downloads.
TikTok runs on interactions based on location and interest. Users quickly adapt to the app’s participatory culture, which is intended to inspire creativity and spread entertainment vis-a-vis its content, community and trends. The majority of its users are Millennials and Generation Z-ers, but its popularity is quickly spreading to older demographics.
How does TikTok work?
TikTok’s motto is “make your day,” which is a pretty accurate description for that feeling you get when browsing through the app for the first time. The experience involves watching a customized feed of vertical videos made by users, which offer insight into what’s currently trending. Ultimately, users can create and upload videos of their own, utilizing TikTok’s enchanting and addicting in-app effects:
Personalized feed
Part of the app’s magic lies in its highly personalized feed, which differs from recommendation feeds on apps like Facebook or Instagram. Known in TikTok jargon as the “For You” page, TikTok shows users what they want based on their unique algorithm. Everything users encounter on their feed is based on their previous interactions and device settings.
TikTok’s strong emphasis on localized content is genius - it allows users to capture local trends and participate in local TikTok contests. The feed tells users what to watch from the get-go, inspires a sense of community, and continues to evolve on its own (gotta love those algorithms!).
Engagement for engagement’s sake
Engagement is paramount on TikTok. With other social media platforms, engagement is something you earn. However, with TikTok, engagement is the entire point - it is the fuel that keeps the TikTok ti(c)king. In order to be successful, content must encourage creativity and interaction. What makes some users more popular than others is their attentiveness to what is trending and their ability to react instantly.
Pro tip: TikTok Coins take the idea of community to another level. TikTok Coins are an in-app currency that users can purchase with real money, enabling them to buy gifts for their favorite creators as a way to show their appreciation.
Short form content
So, what will you find on TikTok? The star is its short form video content - 15 second videos created by users themselves. The app features a plethora of fun and easy-to-apply special effects such as sound, filters, unique transitions and time manipulation such as slo-mo or rewind.
One of the best parts of TikTok is that the content focus is about literally anything: humor, music, fitness, travel, hobbies, food, dance, etc. Apart from that, TikTok is really a culture of its own, and the only way to truly get it is to set up an account and dive in.
The 15 second videos that make up the app fall under a number of different categories, including:
Hashtags & hashtag challenges
Hashtags play a large role in TikTok. At any one time, a user’s feed can be filled with tons of trending hashags, which function to organize content, as well as encouraging users to engage. Hashtags can be fun, inspirational or informative.
Users also participate in hashtag challenges, which can shift into trend status quickly. They can involve anything from encouraging users to show off their best jeans (such as the #InMyDenim challenge by Guess) to sharing things they’re grateful for (like Aerie’s #AerieREALPositivity challenge).
Thousands of users at a time engage with hashtag challenges, usually prompted by individuals or businesses, by adding a bespoke twist to the content. Although almost purely fun, the number of viewers that result from partaking in these challenges can provide a strategic opportunity for exposure.
Reaction videos
TikTok has perfected the ‘reaction’ genre, making a category which YouTubers started years ago virtually seamless. With just the touch of a button, users can record a reaction to their TikTok buddies’ videos, positioning themselves where they want their overlay video to play alongside the original. The result? Way more than just a comments section.
Tutorials
TikTok is full of mini tutorials, which (true to TikTok nature) are short and fun to watch. Capturing the gist of an idea in short video format, TikTok tutorials make it easy to grab practical inspiration on-the-go.
TikTok duets
Encouraging even more interaction between users, TikTok duets allow users to create content by replying to another user’s initial video content. The two videos appear in the feed side-by-side, and often result in viral trends.
TikTok duets
Encouraging even more interaction between users, TikTok duets allow users to create content by replying to another user’s initial video content. The two videos appear in the feed side-by-side, and often result in viral trends.
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