Nowadays, the presence in social media is one of the most important elements of a brand’s communication. Regardless of the industry in which it operates, it has long been considered normal that any company can be identified, followed and contacted by customers or collaborators on social networks. But what happens when social platforms diversify and segment more and more? A network in constant transformation is TikTok, a relatively new player, but with a growing community worldwide.
And if your brand is cool and always in step with fashion, it certainly shouldn’t be missing here.
What is TikTok? Brief history and main advantages
TikTok is a social platform where users can create, share or just watch short videos.
Released in 2018, the application today has more than 3.5 billion downloads globally and is especially preferred by generation Z, mainly as a means of expression through dance, songs and funny challenges published in videos with a duration of between 5 and 120 of seconds.
What is TikTok, in relation to the other social networks present on the market? Well, although it can be considered similar to YouTube, TikTok positions itself as a platform for short videos for mobile, with the mission to inspire creativity and bring good mood.
This orientation with an emphasis on videos, in vertical format, with a very fast consumption dynamic quickly attracted the most active demographic segment – the young. For this reason, the other social platforms also began to adapt their feed and algorithms to offer a similar experience and to recover the users who migrated to TikTok.
As with other social platforms, users can comment, like and send emojis to their favorites. Hashtags and songs are used to increase the visibility of posts, the number of likes and followers.
Most of the videos are based on music and songs, TikTok offers an impressive library of sound effects, musical tracks and all kinds of filters for dances and lip-syncing. You can also discover a multitude of videos related to handmade projects, drawings, entrepreneurial or financial advice.
What is Tik Tok, as a creative potential? The application offers a lot of functionalities for customizing videos such as slow-motion filming, time lapse, special effects or even the ability to play the song backwards. Users can contribute trending content by following hashtags and posting their own video using the same hashtag.
True trends are born on TikTok that sometimes echo in the offline world.
These trends are sometimes even promoted by TikTok, which encourages its community to post on a certain topic. Being a relatively young user community, it is very dedicated and spends considerable time creating content and following other users.
However, although most users spend their time in the app for pleasure, more and more users are starting to wonder what TikTok is as a monetization potential.
In other words, can money be made from TikTok? Of course, yes, and we will show you how!
What is TikTok? 7 TikTok Monetization Strategies
Is TikTok making money? Globally, monetization opportunities on TikTok are huge. Marketing campaigns have potential audiences of hundreds of millions of users, achieving objectives such as increasing brand visibility, increasing traffic, and direct sales.
So, how do you make money from TikTok? Are you curious to know what TikTok is in terms of monetization opportunities? Here are 7 ways that your TikTok account can be monetized with the help of a TikTok Ads agency.
1. Use trends to increase the visibility of your brand
Music and sound effects play an important role on TikTok, so you have to pay as much attention to the choice of sound as to the images. Trends are often unpredictable, so a clear strategy for this platform is difficult to develop. It must be constantly adapted to changes on the platform and leaves room for experimentation.
You find these trends by viewing your daily feed, exploring the Discovery area and paying attention to everything you see and hear.
There is no (single) recipe to grow on TikTok, so in your strategy you have to leave room for creativity and flexibility.
Try to discover videos that are viral outside your feed. You can select a sound and investigate how other users have chosen to use it, you can use the search option for keywords or hashtags relevant to your brand and ask your friends to send you what videos they find attractive in their feeds .
Then integrate your products or services into a trend or challenge and you have more chances to be discovered and appreciated.
Also here we have to remind you that, although individuals can use sounds and songs in their videos without worrying too much about copyright, in the case of companies you have to check the legal conditions before publication because they might you need licenses in certain cases.
2. Grow your community
If you want to grow quickly on TikTok, it is recommended to post 4 to 8 times a day. The more often you post, the more chances you have to reach more types of audience, which will increase the popularity of your account.
Being so frequent, the posts should be somewhat varied: you can have content related to the industry and education in the field in which you are active, you can sometimes have funny content, you can dance or sing. It depends a lot on your niche, but also why it fits with your brand identity and company values.
3. Implement TikTok Ads
Although the ads on TikTok are not (yet!) as popular as those on Facebook or Instagram, they are a real opportunity for brands that want to increase their visibility and make money from TikTok.
And precisely because it has not yet reached its true potential, now is the perfect time to start implementing it TikTok Ads. Regardless of whether you have a considerable budget or a small business with a limited budget, through TikTok Ads you have access to a series of unique functionalities to help you grow.
Similar to Instagram Ad Manager, the TikTok Ads platform automates the process of creating, delivering and optimizing ads.
Although the platform is intuitive and structured, it would be ideal to use a TikTok Ads agency. This can offer you consultancy and recommendations regarding setting the budget, but also the audience.
Similar to Facebook and Instagram ads, custom audiences and lookalike audiences can be created to reach new audiences similar to existing ones.
4. Create content that sells
Being a social platform based on video content, make sure your brand ads look like an organic post. Choose videos filmed natively, vertically, to avoid cropping regardless of whether you want to promote products or services. The images must be clear, and the filming must have a good brightness.
Don’t limit your creativity! Try to present your product or service in a creative, new, surprising way and add interactive elements.
When making the videos, don’t forget your visual identity (logo, graphic design, symbols or characteristic elements). This is important to fix the personality of your brand in the minds of users and should be present on all your communication materials, including in the advertisements on TikTok.
In order for your videos to go viral, consider the questions and concerns of your potential customers. Know your audience, investigate what are the real problems of your followers and create content that will bring them benefits. If they start to trust your brand, they will most likely turn into customers when they have to make a purchase decision.
5. TikTok Ads for lead generation
Through TikTok Ads, the platform has created an original way for companies to connect with their target audience to increase their customer base and generate revenue.
Advertisements on TikTok they can consist of captivating, vertical, short videos, and now – through lead generation campaigns – TikTok offers a new solution that can help companies reach more potential customers and generate conversions effortlessly.
Setting a goal for generating new leads gives you the opportunity to be even more creative, to get out of your safe zone to reach new segments and try to attract new customers.
TikTok Ads for lead generation do more than just help you gather information about potential customers. Through such a paid campaign you can increase sales, you can customize your messages according to the audience you want to reach and you can attract visitors to your website.
This type of campaign is useful in almost any industry, from retail and e-commerce to education and services. TikTok is by definition a platform that captures and maintains your attention, being extremely easy to generate interest and get feedback.
6. What is TikTok without influencers? Create new partnerships on the TikTok Creator Marketplace
Today’s digital users increasingly value fun and interactive content, and expect authenticity from their communities, their favorite brands and the world at large.
Along with this outline of expectations, brands must seriously analyze the ways to “humanize” their own images.
And there is no better way to convey authenticity in your brand marketing campaigns than through the creators, the influencers who know the platform and its users best. Because what is TikTok without influencers?
Aim for partnerships with people who share your values and have a large community. Increasing the visibility of your brand can be based on association with a talented content creator, involved and appreciated by TikTok users.
The main functionality that helps you in this regard is the TikTok Creator Marketplace. Here you can search for influencers, you can invite them to collaborate with your brand and you can analyze according to performance reports.
A tip from our side: to be more successful in getting a positive response, interact with the videos of your favorite content creator through comments and likes.
7. Optimize any campaign
Intermediate and final data and reports are essential for any type of strategy you choose for your social networks. It constantly follows the figures obtained and measures how well the advertisements work.
Regardless of whether it is a campaign with a collaborator or not, the constant evaluation of the metrics helps you better understand how the platform works and will generate new ideas for future advertisements.
If in your company decisions are made based on clear data, make sure that the team that will deal with your campaigns knows how to provide you with all the information about the performance of your ads and that they pay the necessary attention to optimization during their run.
In conclusion, monetization opportunities in Tik Tok are varied and based on different objectives. The wide variety of tools and decisions you have to make can seem less complex if you hire the right partner. A specialized agency with experience in TikTok campaigns can easily support you and help you achieve your business goals.
So what is TikTok for you? Just fun, or a potential source of income?
