Monetizing TikTok: Money-Making Techniques and Revenue Models

Is there a way to monetize TikTok traffic? 

Monetizing traffic is a hot topic among creators. In an era where everyone has the opportunity to become an influencer, making money through social media has become the goal of many creators. 

So, how does TikTok make money? Apart from live streaming on TikTok, there are many other ways to monetize on TikTok! In this article, KOL Radar will give you a detailed overview of TikTok’s money-making techniques and revenue models.

Two Main Revenue Models for Earning Money on TikTok

Official

1. Advertising Revenue

Creators can publish product and brand advertisements on TikTok. However, they need to enable content disclosure settings to ensure that the advertising content remains transparent and publicly visible. This also helps maintain trust between the brand and TikTok. Audiences will be aware that the short video is a commercial collaboration, and it will be marked as “promoted content” and “paid partnership”. TikTok will give creators a share of the revenue based on the advertisement’s traffic and clicks.

2. In-app gifting during Live Streaming

When TikTok creators go live, fans can send virtual gifts to the creators. This is a way for creators to earn money on TikTok. Nevertheless, bear in mind that there are restrictions. TikTok’s official guidelines state that creators must be at least 18 years old, reside in specific regions, have a follower count of over 10,000, and their account must be at least 30 days old. Creators who meet these criteria can earn income from fans’ in-app gifting during live streams.

3. TikTok Creator Marketplace Rewards

The Creator Marketplace is an official platform that facilitates collaboration between brands and creators. By joining the Creator Marketplace, creators have the opportunity to collaborate with brands. TikTok also provides tutorials and collaboration support for video creation, which enables creators to earn money on TikTok.

In the private domain

1. Collaboration with Brands

When brands collaborate with creators, they provide a fee to the creator. They hope that the creator can use their influencer power to enhance brand visibility and conversion rates. Various types of collaborations between creators and brands allow creators to showcase products with their creativity and style. Common types of collaboration include providing exclusive discount codes, influencer packages, or simple product introductions and recommendations.

2. Create Your Own Brand

Today, more and more influencers are starting to create their brands and courses that cover various aspects such as fashion, beverage shops, food, skincare products, etc. Influencers can establish their brands based on their expertise. They can utilize the advantage of managing their TikTok accounts as influencers themselves and capitalizing on the traffic advantage of posting short videos on TikTok to promote their brands and products. This way, influencers can make money on TikTok. This also helps to promote their brands further and attract more fans to make purchases.

3. Driving Traffic to Private Domain

Influencers on TikTok put up links to other self-media platforms, online stores, etc. These will attract fans to click or tap on it and redirect them to the influencer’s private domain. By extending the traffic from short videos to other self-media platforms, influencers can earn money on TikTok and even gain additional traffic and income. TikTok influencer, dingggg32, places links to his private domain on his profile, which includes his exclusive online store, official Line account, short videos, and contact information for collaboration with brands. By driving traffic to one’s private domain, one’s fans are not restricted to TikTok only, thereby creating cross-platform benefits.

Differences between TikTok Live and Facebook/ Instagram?

TikTok’s In-App Culture

Fans can send gifts and interact with influencers. When a fan sends a cowboy hat to an influencer, the influencer will immediately wear it. In contrast, both Facebook and Instagram do not allow fans to send gifts to influencers. 

Influencers on TikTok can earn money by receiving gifts, so they don’t necessarily have to sell products during live broadcasts. Hence, interacting with fans to increase their loyalty is an important part of TikTok live streams.

The Ordering Process on TikTok

The ordering process on TikTok involves fans gaining a better understanding of product features and usage through TikTok live streams. But what if fans want to make a purchase? How can they place an order? 

Currently, TikTok does not have a built-in shopping feature in Taiwan. Therefore, influencers need to redirect fans to their platforms to place orders. Influencers can include a call-to-action (CTA) in the pinned comments of their live streams so that fans can join their official Line groups or visit their websites to place orders.

Can TikTok Live Streams Be Saved Afterwards?

Currently, after a TikTok live stream ends, it cannot be saved to the creator’s profile page. However, on platforms like Instagram and Facebook, the complete live stream can be saved on the profile page for fans who missed it and wish to watch it later.

What’s Special About TikTok Live Streams? Why Do Influencers Choose to Stream on TikTok?

Compared to Instagram and Facebook, TikTok live streams typically have fewer viewers. The live stream screen includes features like a gifting area, comments section, bullet comments, and viewer count, which may appear cluttered compared to Instagram and Facebook. Therefore, influencers who prioritize quality and visually appealing content may choose to livestream on Instagram or Facebook.

However, for influencers who enjoy in-depth interaction with fans, TikTok live streaming is more suitable. By responding to fan comments, influencers can make their fans feel valued, leading to increased willingness to send gifts during the live stream. Unlike other platforms, TikTok allows influencers to receive gifts from fans, making the pure chat-based live-streaming format more lucrative.

Comparison Between TikTok Live Stream With Facebook and Instagram

	TikTok	Facebook	Instagram
In-App Culture	Fans can send gifts that creators can redeem.	None	None
Ordering Method	No in-app store. Orders are placed through other channels.	No in-app store. Insert URLs in pinned comments.	No in-app store. Orders are placed through other channels.
Live Stream Retention	Unable to save complete live streams	Can save live streams	Can save live streams
Features	Emphasizes deep interaction with fans. Enables gifts to be given to creators.	Wide age range. Mature live streaming culture.	Clean interface. Emphasis on aesthetics.

Tips for Influencers Live Streaming on TikTok

Demonstrate Products Yourself

When influencers sell or showcase sponsored products during TikTok live streams, simply introducing them can be somewhat monotonous. KOL Radar suggests that influencers personally demonstrate the use of products during live streams. This could include demonstrating the application of skincare products, the effect after putting on cosmetic products, the actual use of items, or the taste of food. Through firsthand experience, influencers can persuade viewers to make purchases.

TikTok influencer KOL KoRi has an exclusive store on TikTok where she collaborates with brands to promote skincare and cosmetics. KoRi also personally demonstrates product usage during live streams and discusses topics such as skincare and makeup with viewers. By personally testing products, influencers like KoRi encourage fans to be more willing to make purchases.

Creating Uniqueness

To retain more viewers and attract new followers, influencers on TikTok must have distinctive, unique features. They need to establish characteristics that set them apart from other influencers during live streams. Influencers can leverage their unique talents to interact with their audience. For example, influencers with excellent singing abilities can perform live, while those selling products can devise their own unique sales strategies, such as special unboxing introductions or some other procedures. This differentiation helps attract more fans and viewers.

Chinese TikTok influencer, Zheng Xiangxiang, has created a unique feature for product promotion during live streams by introducing each product in just three seconds. Although the introduction time is brief and the products may not be fully visible before moving on to the next one, his distinctive approach has successfully attracted numerous fans that helped to generate income for him on TikTok.

How to Increase Income on TikTok?

1. Define Target Audience

Before creating short videos on TikTok, influencers should first identify their target audience. TikTok has a predominantly Generation Z user base, so the primary focus can be on the younger generation. Further segmentation may reveal college students who love food, young professionals who enjoy traveling, teenage girls interested in fashion, or young men who watch gaming live streams. After identifying the target audience, influencers can conduct detailed research on the preferences and behavior of these groups. By accurately analyzing the target audience, influencers can create TikTok videos that attract more followers and traffic, thereby increasing income and opportunities to earn money on TikTok.

2. Utilize Trending Music and Dance Moves

The popular music and trending dances on TikTok change rapidly, with new trends emerging every few weeks. Influencers need to keep up with these trends and use popular music as background music or participate in trending dance challenges. While following trends, influencers can also incorporate personal elements and characteristics to enhance the uniqueness and recognition of their short videos. As traffic increases and influencers gain more visibility, opportunities for earning money in private domains, such as brand collaborations, are more likely to arise. This painlessly increases the chances of earning money on TikTok for influencers.

Utilize TikTok Hashtags

Before posting videos, influencers can add hashtags to their short videos on TikTok. This helps audiences quickly find their content on the platform. Influencers can set the background music they use and designate the video’s theme as a hashtag. For example, in a short video unboxing a new phone, influencers can include hashtags like #phone, #unboxing, #immersive, etc. When users search for keywords in TikTok’s search bar, your video will have a greater chance of exposure, thereby increasing your opportunities to earn money on TikTok.

Collaborating with Other Creators

TikTok influencers can collaborate with other creators to shoot short videos together. By giving exposure to each other on their respective channels, they can gain more followers and attention. This is a great way to increase both traffic and the number of followers.

If you would like to know more about influencer marketing, feel free to consult KOL Radar for free at https://www.kolradar.com/en/solution.

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