How To Monetize Your TikTok Videos And Account
In the early days, there was no monetization of TikTok. Now, TikTok creators can make anywhere from a few hundred to half a million dollars through brand partnerships, influencer collaborations, influencer marketing, sponsored posts, and growing and selling TikTok accounts.
TikTok reported 1 billion monthly active users worldwide. This represents a 45 percent growth over its July 2020 number of 689 million.
Statista
Influencer Marketing Hub reports that Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, known as the highest-paid TikTokers, were able to earn $17.5M and $10M, respectively.
The good news for creators is that there are many ways to monetize a TikTok account, so anybody has the potential to profit with the right strategy. Here are a few of the best ones.
1. Brand Partnerships
Brand partnerships are the most effective way to monetize your TikTok account. For example, Charli D’Amelio pulled in $17.5 million through partnerships with brands like Hulu, Pura Vida and Takis.
Another TikTok star Addison Rae has become the brand ambassador for Vital Proteins, partnered with American Eagle, and launched a vegan beauty line with Sephora, contributing to her $8.5 million in earnings last year.
TikTok has introduced the Branded Mission and Branded Content campaigns to help connect brands to creators for this purpose. These tools encourage advertisers to source content from TikTok creators by collaborating to create memorable advertisements.
BOSS TikTok Case Study
One example is the global campaign from fashion brand BOSS. It featured social media celebrities, influencers, and famous TikTok creators from around the world. The brand even released an exclusive song to accompany the campaign, garnering over 3 billion views and more than a million TikTok video creations.
The Branded Content feature allows content creators to use the Branded Content Toggle, which clearly shows a disclosure in the description of the post. This builds trust by clearly noting the existence of a brand relationship, similar to Instagram paid partnerships.
2. Become a Niche Influencer
Influencer marketing is another excellent way to make money on TikTok.
As a baseline, TikTok creators need to meet a threshold of 10,000 followers and 100,000 views per month before they can apply for the TikTok Creator Fund. However, when you reach the 30-50,000 follower mark, brands will start paying attention, and you can develop a niche for monetization.
Do this by incorporating appropriate hashtags, seeking out brand accounts that fall under your niche, and consistently creating quality content. These are all ways to get noticed by brands for partnerships.
Niche influencers have a lot of earning potential because brands know that followers respect and trust those creators, so their recommendations are more valuable.
Clare Sullivan is a good example of this. She’s a top influencer in the #BudgetLuxury niche. Her content focuses on interior design and affordable luxe for viewers, which has landed her deals with Walmart, Ulta Beauty, and Amazon.
3. Leverage Sponsored and Non-Sponsored Posts
Hootsuite notes that brands are always interested in creators who can drive conversion rates and hold viewers’ attention.
Start by creating memorable, impactful non-sponsored posts. When done well, you can quickly gain the attention of top brands and convince them to reach out to you with monetization opportunities.
In addition, you can add referral links on non-sponsored posts to earn a commission on the products you’re posting about. Services like ConvertSocial and Amazon Affiliates can help to streamline this process and increase profits.
Once you have some experience creating content that interests brands, you can look into sponsored posts. If brands haven’t approached you, it’s possible to reach out to them about collaboration. TikTok also has the TikTok Creator Marketplace (TCM) to facilitate finding these connections.
4. Grow and Sell TikTok Accounts
An authentic presence is an extremely valuable asset for which brands will pay top dollar. Since most brands don’t have the resources to devote to cultivating a substantial TikTok presence, they are willing to pay for organically grown accounts to boost perception and increase perceived popularity.
This works the same way it does for other platforms like Instagram, and reports say skilled creators can make up to $2,000 for a well-made account with 100,000 followers.
5. Participate in the Pulse Program
Because of its explosive growth, TikTok has expanded its monetization model to include the Pulse program, which provides contextualized ads and the ability for revenue sharing.
The program allows advertisers to carefully place their ads alongside popular, top-rated content on the For You page. This strategy maximizes ad views and clickthrough rates. Any money made through this ad placement is split between the brand and creator, making it an excellent incentive for creators.
Your Content is Valuable (With the Right Strategy)
In a world where visual content, user engagement, a mobile environment, and a robust online presence reign supreme, quality digital content is in high demand from brands of all sizes. From startups to well-established businesses, the demand for TikTok marketing is booming around the world.
This has given an instant boost to the need for unique, authentic, and influential content. Within a short period of time, content creators can learn their target audience demographic, allowing them to promote relevant brands and gain viewers’ trust and attention.
Creating original, memorable content for social media platforms like TikTok can be highly lucrative if you understand the strategies and business models behind it. Like any other money-making opportunity, you must put in the work to get those initial opportunities for yourself.
With the right strategy, creators can earn substantial amounts of money via TikTok, all while doing something they love.