Every few years or so, a new mobile app transforms how people use social media. 2020 wasn’t just a year of trying to survive the pandemic. During this time, TikTok became immensely popular.
TikTok is a video creation app that enables users to mime, act, sing or dance to pre-recorded songs or audio clips.
What differentiates this platform is the video length. Unlike YouTube videos that can span anywhere from a few seconds to several hours, TikTok has a video length limit. Videos began as 15-second clips, which grew to one-minute clips. Today, the maximum length of a TikTok video is three minutes.
Besides that, you could go live on TikTok and broadcast yourself to your community.
The young generation loves this platfrom. They do TikTok dances that baffle some baby boomers. Others believe that the mobile app is a waste of time. There are also people who worry about using the app, thinking that the platform poses a threat to national security.
You can’t, however, deny TikTok’s popularity in the United States and the rest of the world.
While some may view TikTok as a form of entertainment, a few people look at the platform as an opportunity to make money online. If your finances aren’t doing so well because of the pandemic, you could produce TikTok videos to bump up your cash reserves.
Before we get to the ways of making money using this mobile app, let’s look at why people make these videos and how you could make these short but meaningful video content.
Why People Make TikTok Videos
The mobile app thrives off trending challenges and hashtags. They’re community-led and typically begin with a short video introducing a particular challenge. Individuals then are encouraged to make a Tiktok video by copying the trending activity or challenge — or better yet — coming up with a new or updated version.
Many create TikTok videos to have fun. Teenagers, for instance, make TikTok clips by lip-syncing to music. Others create these videos to share something about their day, their life at school or their romantic crush to their friends or family.
How to Create a TikTok Video
Creating TikTok videos is an incredibly easy process. Start by downloading TikTok on your mobile phone. Then, sign up. The platform will generate a username for you, which you can change later on using the Edit Profile button.
Once you have the mobile app on your smartphone, follow these steps:
- Tap the “+” button. If you’re creating a Tiktok video for the first time, you’ll need to give TikTok access to your mobile phone’s recorder and camera.
- Configure the timer, effects, filters, beauty effects and speed to your heart’s content.
- Begin shooting your short video clip by long pressing the red button.
- (Optional) Take your video up a notch by selecting a piece of music.
- Tap the red check mark to proceed to the editing page. Here, you can change the music, add text and stickers and adjust the volume.
- Choose one frame from your clip that will serve as the cover for your video.
- Add a short description about your video.
- Hit the Post button.
Congratulations! You now know how to create TikTok videos.
How to Make Money with TikTok Videos
If you’re not successful in making money with YouTube Videos, try giving TikTok a shot. Creators can make serious cash with this mobile app if they know how to use it to their advantage.
Here are a few suggestions that can help you make money on TikTok:
Grow Your TikTok Followers, Then Sell Your Account
This strategy is becoming more popular in the product or e-commerce space. Just like Instagram, the process entails picking a niche and creating content around it. Ideally, the videos you make should increase your go viral to attract viewers who would be the ideal customer for your product or service. They should boost your follower count.
Once you have amassed a lot of followers, you could sell your TikTok account to brands or companies that would like to have access to those followers.
Promote a Brand or a Business
You could also leverage your TikTok videos to help companies and brands launch and promote their products or services.
An early example of TikTok influencer marketing was Mucinex, a cold and flu medicine that offers relief for cough, stuffy nose, headache, sinus pressure and chest congestion. The brand teamed up with TikTok creators to promote its products to users during the cold and flu season. The brand introduced the #BeatTheZombieFunk dance challenge and asked TikTok influencers to participate.
Collect Donations From Viewers
Another popular way to earn money from TikTok is to host streaming videos where your fans can send you gifts bought using virtual coins that they purchased within the platform. As a creator, you can convert these gifts into “diamonds.” You can withdraw these diamonds for a cash value decided by TikTok.
Making money with TikTok is doable. Instead of just creating TikTok videos for fun, use the platform to earn some income on the side. If you’re willing to make the effort to build your audience, you could eventually end up reaping and enjoying financial rewards.