With over 1B global users, TikTok’s reign just won’t let up.
As its popularity has increased, so has its ability to drive new customers and make sales for brands around the world – the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag has over 5B views!
Ready to cash in on your content? Below, we’re sharing how you can make money on TikTok as a business and creator. Cha ching.
How to Make Money on TikTok as a Business
TikTok is becoming a huge player for generating leads and driving sales – from its ability to reach thousands of people to its new e-commerce features.
Here are three ways your business can make money on TikTok:
#1: Develop a Content Strategy
There’s no denying the power of going viral on TikTok – one video alone could lead to hundreds of new customers.
But “going viral” isn’t a strategy, so it’s important to create SMART goals before you start making content for TikTok. Each goal should be:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Realistic
Timely
Say, for example, you want to drive 60 new customers within 90 days.
With this in mind, you could develop content that highlights your brand’s story, the benefits of using your products or services, behind-the-scenes clips, tips or tricks you’ve learned, or tutorials, with a strong CTA.
You’ll also want to be consistent – your posting cadence should be realistic to your bandwidth, whether it’s two posts a day or five posts a week.
Take Jenna Labiak, founder of The Silk Labs, who saw one video lead to over 200 customers and attributes her success to “posting consistently and having conversations with my community daily.”
And while not every video she posts leads to millions of views, Jenna is able to provide value to those watching, grow her community, and yes, even make sales.
Remember: Rome wasn’t built in a day. Rather than quick-win “hacks,” try to focus on nurturing leads with authentic storytelling and videos that’ll entice people to keep coming back for more.
Something else to consider? Jumping on TikTok hashtags and trending audio!
The “business check” trend, uses an audio created by Reece Bowers, and currently has over 17K videos of businesses showing BTS content of their brand:
When it comes to hashtags, they are a huge discoverability tool – making them a “good-to-include” when creating video content.
And there are a lot to experiment with and use in your TikTok captions, like:
#smallbusiness (over 40B views)
#smallbusinesscheck (over 11B views)
#supportsmallbusiness (over 3B views)
#smallbiz (over 2B views)
You can even test hashtags that are more niche and specific to your industry. As long as they’re accurate and relevant to your content – experiment away!
Ready to level-up your TikTok strategy? Plan, schedule, and auto-publish your TikTok videos in advance with Later. Sign up today for free.
#2: Test TikTok E-Commerce Features
Since the introduction of TikTok Shopping, TikTok has continued to introduce new ways for brands to sell their products on the app.
In 2020, TikTok announced a “first-of-its-kind” partnership with e-commerce platform, Shopify. As part of the partnership, brands can now connect their Shopify account and sell products via in-feed video ads.
TikTok has since built on this partnership, releasing the ability for select merchants in the US, UK, and Canada to tag products in organic videos, and trialling a dedicated shopping tab on Shopify-integrated profiles.
In other words, social commerce is about to happen on TikTok in a big way.
To get in on the action, connect your Shopify account (if you have one), tag your products, and start creating in-feed TikTok Ads.
The good news? TikTok Ads don’t need to be super polished.
Unlike on Instagram, users aren’t looking for aesthetically-pleasing, perfectly curated content – instead your ads should seem like an organic TikTok video showing up on your For You Page.
#3: Use Later’s Link in Bio Feature
If you have a TikTok Business account, you can add a link to your TikTok bio.
This link is a huge opportunity for you to drive traffic directly from the app to your website of choice.
However, with only one link to use, it limits your opportunities to send potential customers to multiple places.
With Later’s Linkin.bio for TikTok, you can turn your feed into a clickable, mobile-optimized landing page – letting you attach a specific link to each of your scheduled videos.
This means you can drive clicks to a specific product page, your latest blog post, or even increase newsletter sign ups – the possibilities are endless.
Plus, it saves you having to manually switch up the link in your bio with every new video!
Ready to drive more traffic from your TikTok profile? Join Later today and watch the clicks roll in.
How to Make Money on TikTok as a Creator
Whether it’s sharing your recipes, creating a new dance trend, or posting mental health tips, there’s room for everyone on TikTok.
And even better? You can cash in on your TikTok content too. Here’s how:
#1: Partner with Brands
The rise of influencer marketing – expected to be a $15B industry by 2022 – shows the power creators have in garnering leads, driving traffic, and making sales.
And TikTok has introduced the world to new “celebrities,” like @shiadanni and @coffeebae97, who've landed partnerships with brands like Clinique and Vital Proteins.
But you don’t need to have millions of followers to make money on TikTok.
Micro influencer marketing has also grown in popularity, with Micro influencers often having higher engagement rates and niche communities.
One way to get those partnership deals? Pitch to the brands you love!
If there are products you frequently use, begin organically integrating them into your videos, and tag the brand to let them know you’re a fan.
Then, take it a step further by sending a pitch email to the brand (ideally someone on their PR or influencer marketing team). This email should include:
A brief introduction
What you love about their product or brand
Your engagement rate on TikTok and other relevant analytics
Your rate card
Similar brand partnerships (or, if this is your first potential partnership – include examples of organic posts you’ve created and how your community responded)
If you already have brand partnerships on different platforms (such as Instagram or YouTube) consider negotiating TikTok as an additional platform for you to create sponsored content.
This can be a great way to build trust with your brand partners as it allows you to promote their products to similar (yet different) audiences. Plus, you can get paid more too.
If you need help creating a media kit, we’ve got you covered. Download our free influencer media kit template and get to pitching!
#2: Join the TikTok Creator Fund
With the TikTok Creator Fund, you can get paid for creating engaging and meaningful content.
The program’s premise is simple: the more engagement you receive on a post, the more money you’ll receive from TikTok.
And there are already popular creators leveraging this tool, like Cheyenne Jaz Wise, Justice Alexander, and Michael Le.
According to TikTok, funds are based on a variety of factors including, “video views, video engagement, as well as ensuring the videos adhere to the Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.”
Currently, it’s only available to creators in the US, UK, Germany, Italy, France, and Spain, and you need to apply in order to be accepted.
For everything you need to know about the TikTok Creator Fund (including how to apply!), read this: How to Join the TikTok Creator Fund: A Step-by-step Guide
#3: Embrace Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing lets you earn a commission on the clicks or sales you drive on the behalf of a brand.
While affiliate marketing isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme, it can be highly lucrative and add another stream of income for you.
One way to get started with affiliate marketing is through brand ambassador programs.
You’ll simply use a unique tracking link (aka affiliate link) given to you by the brand to track traffic, and see how many followers you’re turning into leads or customers.
Alternatively, you can apply to join a network like LTK or ShopStyle that allow you to generate affiliate links from hundreds of popular retailers.
Some of the most popular cost per acquisition affiliate networks are:
LTK (formerly known as rewardStyle)
There’s currently no easy way to add affiliate links to every TikTok post you share, but creators can optimize the link in their bio with a tool like Later’s Linkin.bio for TikTok.
This way, you can add clickable affiliate links to every video you share – rather than relying on a single link in your bio.
So there you have it – three ways to make money on TikTok whether you’re a business or creator.
TikTok is still in its infancy, so don’t be afraid to experiment with your content and test TikTok’s e-commerce features to drive sales. And most importantly – be consistent (and have fun!).
Ready to level-up your TikTok strategy? Plan, schedule, and auto-publish your TikTok videos in advance with Later. Sign up today for free.
