I know people are making money on Youtube as the largest platform, but don’t hear much about people making a killing on Facebook or Instagram. I like to keep an eye on ways these platforms can get monetized. Now, TikTok, a growing platform has announced on Thursday (23) the creation of a new $ 200 million fund that will be used to finance some of the most popular content creators on the platform. A company spokesman says that the fund entitled TikTok Creator Fund will be used to support creators who “seek opportunities to secure livelihoods” within the app’s ecosystem.
I have been saying that TikTok would see a massive migration once Instagram launches Reels, its competitor video animation platform. I suspect people will migrate due to to the possible privacy issues found a TikTok. Specially western creators. Once the money from Instagram starts flowing into Reels, that’s it for TikTok. We shall see. But now, back to the TikTok fund.
First available in the US in August, the program marks the first occasion that TikTok seeks to financially reward its most popular users for the content they provide to the social network. Although creators could already make money on the platform with lives, from now on they will be able to receive regular payments throughout the year, with the fund being expanded over time to meet greater demand. The platform’s requirements are that interested users are over 18 years old, have a consistent history of publishing material and respect all community guidelines.
The company has not confirmed to the public whether there will be an initial limit on the number of creators to be included in the plan, as well as what the amount of each payment will be and what would be the minimum number of followers who would accredit influencers to the program. Which means they will pick and choose who gets paid. Not like YouTube that sets a minimum and once you reach that anyone can get paid. I believe that is another reason why Reels, if launches that feature can surpass TikTok in a matter of months.
In addition to being a way for TikTok to maintain its high degree of competitiveness within the influencer market – where it mainly faces, again, YouTube, which has a very structured monetization program – the creator fund also helps the platform to ease current tensions with the US government, which is studying ways to cut the company’s local ties with its owner, the Chinese ByteDance. Along with the program, it is worth remembering that the company already has a “campus” in Los Angeles and former Disney CEO Kevin Mayer.
My rather successful foray on TikTok
A lot of regular folks like me are not so exhibitionists. We care about our public appearance and specially care about our professional image. So some of us, tend to be extra careful about what we post on social media.
I will tell you now about my rather successful foray into TikTok. With that, hopefully I can shed some light into how rather plain people (like me) can still produce content for social media that is engaging for the companies we work with.
I had created an account about a year ago, through influence of my then 10 year old dauhgter. I had started to hear about TikTok and wanted to check that out, specially the filters that they had. Me and my daughter, started playing with video filters and filled out her profile withthe funny large face video that changed the voice of the speaker.
On my account, I essentialy posted some of HER videos. The app had stayed on my phone for about a few months, idle. When on one of my paddleboard trips with a friend, I recorded a video when we got stuck on low tide in the middle of the river.
I recorded the video with the regular Android camera, but edited it on TikTok. And it’s so easy to edit things there. It’s easy to cut the beggining and end and switch to the other frame video. Its also easy to add songs and graphics.
So that day I put together two videos, one in Portuguese and one in English and edited them on TikTok, and published it there. Nothing happened. But TikTok has the feature of downloading the video, so I downloaded it and published it on FB, and that’s where I saw the power of the platform.
The TikTok video that gave me hope into becoming famous on social media.
The video editing came out quite funny. The situation we were in ourselves was also singular, as not a lot of people get stuck in rivers and have to walk back with a huge paddleboard. I also exagerated and mentioned we were in the Amazon, and that we had to walk miles back. In fact, it was only half a mile walking.
But putting all this together and using TikTok to edit it made the whole process quite easy and fast. In one day, the video on FB had tons of comments from friends that apparently got a good laugh out of the situation.
Ways TikTok has been used to make money so far
Some of the ways influencers can earn money on TikTok are listed below. But direct payments will also be welcome by its creators that manage to attract eyeballs to the platform everyday.
- Promoting brands in your videos (just like any other form of influencer marketing), either directly or more indirectly (like an unboxing video or simply by wearing a fashion label’s clothes in your videos.
- Cross-promoting your promotions on your other platforms, e.g., if you make a good income from YouTube you can use your TikTok channel to bring people over to your YouTube channel.
- Using your TikTok videos to promote items you’re selling somewhere.
- Creating live videos and receiving tips from your viewers (formerly called Live.ly, but now called Go Live).
