Beginner's Guide on how to Make Money on TikTok

 

TikTok is a short-form, video-sharing app that allows users to create and share 15-second videos, on any subject matter.

TikTok maintains a separate app for the Chinese market, known as Duyin, which has over 300 million active monthly users. The new app’s logo is a combination of the Musical.ly and Duyin logos.

How TikTok Differ From Musical.ly

The TikTok app is based on the same short-form video concept but is much broader in scope and unlike Musical.ly does not only focus on lip syncing to music. The TikTok app offers users a wide selection of sounds and song snippets, along with the option to add special effects and filters. There is also an option to directly add videos created on your phone.

In September, TikTok added the reactions feature which allows users to record their reactions to videos and share.

TikTok has also added a digital well-being feature that alerts users when they spend over two hours on the app.

The new app is being promoted as a video-sharing social network.

TikTok users can create a variety of videos ranging from challenges, dance videos, magic tricks, and funny videos.

The key differentiating factor between Musical.ly and TikTok is that the latter has a much broader scope for video creation.

 

How Does TikTok Work?

Anyone with a TikTok account can create video content that includes music, special filters, and even visual effects. The aim is to create videos that grab user’s interest within the first few seconds to stop them scrolling and pay attention.

The more a user spends time on a specific TikTok creator video, the more likely it is to become viral.

The TikTok for You Page is the most popular section of TikTok and is the place where users discover new content that is served up by the TikTok Algorithm. Whenever a TikTok user opens the app, the first page they see is the For You Page.

Similar to apps such as Twitter and Instagram, much of TikTok’s platform is guided by what’s trending, and hashtags that allow users to find content.

How safe is TikTok?

Using any social network can be risky, but it’s possible for kids to safely use the app with adult supervision (and a private account). When you sign up for TikTok, your account is public by default, meaning anyone can see your videos, send you direct messages, and use your location information.
Parents should make sure to turn on all privacy settings for accounts kids are using, so only people you know can interact with your videos or message you on the app. That means either opting for a private account or changing the settings for comments, duets, reactions, and messages to “Friends” instead of “Everyone.” You can also turn those features off completely.

Who Uses TikTok?

TikTok is named Douyin in China, and currently has a user base of over 250 Million users. In the rest of the world, the app is called TikTok and is available in 154 countries worldwide.
Currently, 40% of TikTok users are located outside China. India has a particularly large user base and accounts for approximately 25% of app downloads to date. As of March 2019, the user base of TikTok in the US was approximately 14 Million.
The 2019 Internet Trends Report revealed that China internet users spent more than 600 million hours per day watching short videos. As of 2021, TikTok usage continues to grow and the TikTok app is a dominant force in the social media world.

How much money can you make on TikTok?

The stats for the highest-earning TikTok star (TikTokers? TikTokians?) are pretty mind-boggling.

As is the case for celebrities and small volcanoes, most of TikTok’s best-paid are young and hot. So, is all hope lost once you’ve reached senior status that’s age 25 and up on the app? Of course not.

In nearly every category, clever folks are using little videos to make big money.

Ways to make cool money on TikTok

·     Get followers

·     Partner with a brand you trust

·     TikTok Consultant

·     Partner with an influencer

·     Use Tiktok to advertise your products

·     Apply to TikTok’s Creator Fund

·     Branded Merchandise

·     Use your stardom to launch your Music, Artist  & Actress Career

 

Get followers

This is probably the most important step. Remember Easterling? She has over 54 million followers on TikTok. Estimates range from 10,000 to as many as a million followers is needed before you can really be able to monetize your account. The best way to get followers is to understand what your target market wants to see, and upload quality content to them multiple times a day.

Partner with a brand you trust

Sponsored content on TikTok is defined as content for which you receive something of value. That’s the goal, right? For example, a brand might pay you to make a TikTok talking about how great their soy candles smell or you might receive a free skydiving trip in exchange for posting about it. (Though we are not recommending taking any free skydiving offers).

And brands are very much interested in entering such paid collaborations. A study on influencer marketing found that in December 2019, 16% of U.S. marketers planned to use TikTok for influencer campaigns but in March 2021, that number went up to 68%. In other words, influencer marketing is blowing up on the platform.

According to the same study from e-Marketer, companies want to partner with folks who have a following that knows and trusts them, particularly in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing social justice movements.

Which brings us to an important point: don’t seek out to partner with companies whose views don’t align with your own. Your followers may care about your inspirational soup metaphors or how many languages you can speak or manicure, but they care about your ethics, too.

 

Here are some tips for getting started with sponsored content:

a.  Only reach out to brands or organizations you really love: If your TikTok is all about your raw vegan journey and all of a sudden you start posting about your favorite local burger joint, your followers will see right through you. Not only is this confusing, but it also makes you look like a sellout. So, make sure that your sponsored content aligns with your regular content.

b. Make a press kit for your account: A press kit is like a movie trailer for yourself. It hypes up all of the great things about you (and gives brands good reasons to work with you) and includes contact information, photos, and notable achievements. Make them want to see what happens next, bag of popcorn in hand. Websites like Template lab offer press kit templates for free.

c. Create a few non-sponsored posts: Brands will want to see that you have what it takes to drive sales to their business. Making a couple of (non-sponsored) posts chatting up your favorite pair of shoes will make that elusive specialty sock brand more likely to want to partner with you.

d.  Use the Branded Content toggle: People don’t like being deceived and it turns out, apps don’t like it either. Tiktok created the Branded Content toggle to make sure that users were being transparent. If you’re posting sponsored content, hit the button (or risk your video being taken down).

TikTok Consultant

If you are an expert on all things TikTok, many are in need of your guidance. With this still being a relatively new social platform, people will pay money to hire you as a consultant to help them create their strategy, build their brand and boost their followers.

While many are making money and enjoying fame through TikTok - not all is rosy when it comes to this massive social platform. Based in Beijing China, TikTok has been criticized for censorship, privacy, and child safety. The debate continues, and more can be found here.

Regardless, for anyone looking to make a living through TikTok, proceed like you would with any business venture - do your research and be smart.

 

Partner with an influencer

This is the reverse of the first strategy. If you are an established business looking to grow your presence (and make money) on TikTok, reach out to an influencer whose content aligns with your brand. Fashionista Wisdom Kaye recently partnered with Perfume Company Maison Margiela in this TikTok, and food blogger Tiffy Chen partnered with Robin Hood (the flour, not the fox) in this one:

According to this study by Tomoson, every dollar spent on influencer marketing yielded an average of $6.50 for the business, with the top 13% surveyed reporting a return of $20. What’s more, half of marketers say the customers gained through influencer marketing were higher quality than customers brought in through other channels, like email marketing or organic search.

In assumption, influencers, well, influence. Effectively.

If you are in the U.S., you can use TikTok Creator Marketplace to find the right influencer for you. The marketplace site connects brands with influencers. Any brand can join, but it’s only accessible for influencers by invitation (for now).

Outside of the U.S. and TikTok-sanctioned marketplace, search for hashtags that align with you and your business and scroll through the content.

Or, just explore the app yourself, liking the videos you like and ignoring (or hitting “Not interested”) on the ones you don’t. The app will start showing you what you want to see. It’s scary smart like that.

Take your time scrutinizing each creator’s page we’ve all heard the age-old story of the tearful influencer’s non-racism non-apology. Stay away from problematic TikTokers. It’s 2021.

Use Tiktok to advertise your products

If you’ve already established merchandise, this is the most obvious route for moneymaking: create TikToks that show off your products, including all the details that make them unique. Make sure you include a link to your shop in your bio. Here’s a great example fashion brand Klassy Network shows off how to wear a “brami.”

You can also create your own, personalized merch, like Italian Greyhound (and proud gay icon) Tika the Iggy did. The dog’s owner, Thomas Shapiro, sells Tika-branded clothing online.

Makeup brands like Fenty Beauty and Cocokind are also killing the merch game.

Apply to TikTok’s Creator Fund

This is the app-sanctioned moneymaking method we were talking about earlier. On July 22, 2020, TikTok announced their new Creator Fund, pledging to give $200M U.S. to “encourage those who dream of using their voices and creativity to spark inspirational careers.”

The internet and the world ate it up, and only a week later, they announced that the fund would grow to $1B U.S. by 2023. So how do you get your hands on that sweet creator cash? The app has a few boxes you have to tick before you can apply:

·Be located in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain or Italy

·Be at least 18 years of age

·Have at least 10,000 followers

·Have at least 100,000 video views in the last 30 days

·Have an account that abides by TikTok Community Guidelines and  terms of service

You can apply for the Creator Fund through the app as long as you have TikTok Pro (the best things in life are not free).

 

Branded Merchandise

Once you become a wildly popular TikTok star, you can create your own line of makeup products, like Item Beauty, by Easterling.

Use your stardom to launch your Music, Artist & Actress Career

Baby Ariel, with 34 million TikTok followers, was the first individual to surpass the 20-million-followers mark on Musical.ly (now TikTok), and her fame has only grown from there. Ariels’ fame has led to multiple gigs on Disney Channel and Nickelodeon TV shows.

 

Post content that people want to watch

Like all social media platforms, you’re only as good as your content. Being a social influencer, whether it’s on Instagram, Twitter or TikTok requires a lot of work. Your content must be fresh, interesting, unique and updated. This means multiple new videos, every day.

 

Guidelines for getting paid on TikTok

Be true

If the big book on social media had a moral, this would be it. And as hard as it is to believe that authenticity is important in our highly filtered world, internet users crave genuine content.

In this 2019 study, 90% of the 1,590 adults surveyed said that authenticity is important online, but 51% said that they believe less than half of brands create work that resonates as authentic.

So whether you’re hopping on a dancing trend or showing off your crochet frogs, stay true to you. It’s the surest way to gain followers you’ll keep and hopefully, earn some real money.

Be transparent

This goes hand in hand with authenticity. The rules around marking sponsored content and divulging when you get free stuff are pretty foggy, but it’s always better to err on the side of caution. TikTok’s branded content toggle adds a disclosure for you (#Ad), so make sure you use it when appropriate.

Look to your favorite creators for guidance

If you’re not sure where to start, start scrolling. Odds are, some of your favorite creators are making money from TikTok. Check out what they are doing brand deals, promoting T-shirts, spelling their Venmo in alphabet soup—and try to put those same strategies into action.

Do not ditch your regular content

If every single one of your TikToks is sponsored content or promoting something, your followers will lose interest. You gotta play it cool.

Makeup artist Bretman Rock posts partnerships with Yves Saint Laurent, but also funny video outtakes, his favorite Filipino foods, and of course, the makeup and fashion content that earned him all of his followers in the first place.

Even big brands like Ben & Jerry’s post TikToks presenting their office dogs’ Halloween costumes. Don’t always make it about money.

Do not give up

Making money on this social network isn’t easy. If it was, we did all be Addison Rae. (It’s cool to joke about that she herself acknowledges how many folks don’t think she has a real job. And she does it with the self-assurance of a 20-year-old who makes 5 million dollars a year.)

If you get shut down by one brand or influencer, keep trying. Hard work pays off literally.