On average, every single one of us spends two hours and 27 minutes viewing our social media channels every day. Think about that for a moment. Almost two and a half hours EVERY day. That number is rapidly growing and goes to show our dependency on this form of communication and entertainment.
The level of use and interaction that we have on these networks is so vast that it’s become vital for many businesses and individuals to operate relevant pages to maximize their revenue, and some of the platforms have proven an easier nut to crack than others in that regard.
So What About TikTok?
What was initially a platform almost solely the preserve of the youthful market, TikTok has grown rapidly and is now very much one of the ‘big five’ social media services (along with Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter) and the visual medium that operates within has proven a good fit for those looking to market their products and services.
TikTok has a good level of conversion; as such, it’s an area where money can be made, but not easily.
The two primary ways of using TikTok to secure a living are as follows.
Open a TikTok Account to Boost the Exposure of your Business
Every business venture, company, or individual that wants to promote its goods and services must have a social media presence. In 2022 if you are not spending a decent chunk of your expenses or time on these channels, then you are a dinosaur waiting for the meteor to hit.
Running a TikTok channel could be very useful when it comes to providing much-needed exposure to your business. This is even more applicable if the field you operate within is a visual one or one that is more easily promoted by visual means (say, for instance, if your business is in the fashion industry), and also if your company is geared toward a younger demographic.
Producing short-form videos that advertise your products could do very well on TikTok, but as well as very direct forms of promotion, you can also use your channel to tell your business's story as well as those who work within your company.
Be subtle when doing so, as the younger audience on TikTok is very savvy when it comes to the way they consume such material.
An additional bonus, from a cost perspective to TikTok (over similar practices on YouTube or Instagram), is the fact that much of the most successful content on the platform is bite-sized, which makes producing engaging content less expensive and will use up less of your two most important resources, money and time.
You can make use of TikTok’s paid ad program, and here you’ll have to make full use of any analytical information you can gather. Using this, you’ll get to learn just what’s working and what’s not.
This data is available in real-time, with some tools, and this can prove invaluable when it comes to making sure that you are making a profit from your endeavors.
Become an Influencer
In much the same way as thousands, maybe even millions, of individuals want to become successful YouTubers (in this instance, success means earning a living financially from such an occupation), it is now a dream for many to do likewise on TikTok.
Much like the travails of being successful on YouTube, becoming a hit on TikTok isn’t easy and requires far more hard work and dedication than you might initially imagine. It means creating a voice, producing great content, and always being ahead of the curve.
TikTok is a far faster-moving medium than YouTube, both literally and figuratively, and that means you can’t afford to miss a trick, and being late to the party means you shouldn't bother turning up at all.
It means knowing what stock music to use to pair with your latest dance craze video because you will be more than aware of the costs associated with trying to license mainstream music for your posts; it means developing a social media calendar so that you know precisely what you are sharing days in advance.
You’ll have to regularly interact with your audience and do your hardest to get assistance or mentions from those already playing to millions of followers.
In order to become a successful social media influencer, you should consider the field in which you will look to operate within. Be sure that what you have to offer is worthwhile and unique but also not so much so that it’s too niche as you will clearly want to secure a decent-sized following.
You’ll need at least 10,000 followers and have at least 100,000 views on your channel over the past 30 days in order to apply for TikTok’s creator fund, and that’s when you can start to make money from your account.
Not Easy
Going down either of these paths will not be easy. In both cases, you can well do with the help of professional input. Whether that means hiring social media agencies to manage your company account or if you are an influencer looking to piggyback off the successes of existing channels, you shouldn’t try to go it on your own unless you have put in the required amount of research or have a decent level of experience within the social media market as a whole.
Though there is a certain amount of ‘faking it until you make it’ that you can employ, on the whole, efforts to make money from social media channels, such as TikTok, are far harder than it may initially appear.
Whatever your chosen angle, don’t give up and always be looking to learn from your mistakes, as this is usually the path to ultimate success.
