TikTok is a popular social media platform that allows users to create and share short videos. It has become one of the fastest growing apps in recent years, with over 1 billion monthly active users globally as of September 2021 (https://www.businessofapps.com/data/tik-tok-statistics/).
Like other social platforms, TikTok offers business accounts that provide companies and brands more features for promoting their products/services and analyzing performance. Business accounts have access to TikTok’s Ads Manager, allowing brands to create and optimize paid ad campaigns directly in the app.
What are TikTok Business Accounts?
TikTok offers two main types of accounts: personal accounts and business accounts. Personal accounts are for individual users to post content, while business accounts allow companies, brands, creators, and influencers to establish a professional presence on TikTok (TikTok Business vs. Personal Account | Creator Portal).
With a TikTok business account, you gain access to additional analytics and promotional features tailored for brands and businesses. This includes metrics like content performance insights, audience demographics and interests, lead generation tools, and the ability to boost posts through advertising (TikTok Business vs. Creator Account: What’s the Difference? | Sprout Social).
In summary, business accounts provide companies and creators more advanced features to manage their presence and promote their brand, products, or services to TikTok’s audience.
More Analytics and Insights
One of the main benefits of having a TikTok business account is access to more in-depth analytics and insights. According to TikTok’s Creator Portal, business accounts get access to metrics and data not available on personal profiles, including more detailed audience demographics, real-time stats, video performance analytics, and more (source).
Specifically, business accounts on TikTok can view impressions, reach, engagement, traffic sources, top videos, audience retention, likes, comments, shares, profile visits, follows, video views, and watch time – segmented by time period. This provides valuable insight into content performance and audience preferences.
With a personal account, you only get basic metrics like video views, likes, comments, and shares. So business accounts enable much more granular tracking of growth and engagement over time. These analytics can be accessed via TikTok’s Business Suite portal.
Promoted Ads
Promoted ads are a key feature available for TikTok business accounts. As outlined on the TikTok for Business website (https://www.tiktok.com/business/en-US), promoted ads allow businesses to advertise directly to TikTok’s user base. They work similarly to other social media platforms, enabling businesses to create ad campaigns and target specific demographics or interests.
A major advantage of promoted ads for TikTok business accounts is the ability to analyze their performance through the Ads Manager. As stated in TikTok’s help documentation (https://support.tiktok.com/en/using-tiktok/growing-your-audience/use-promote-to-grow-your-tiktok-audience), the Ads Manager provides in-depth analytics on impressions, reach, engagement, clicks, conversions and more. This allows businesses to optimize their ad spend and strategy.
In summary, promoted ads are a key feature for TikTok business accounts, enabling targeted advertising and analytics on performance.
Content Recommendations
One of the main advantages of switching to a TikTok business account is how the algorithm favors business account content in recommendations. According to research by Buffer, the TikTok algorithm tends to push videos from business accounts more than personal accounts https://buffer.com/resources/tiktok-algorithm/. This is likely because TikTok wants to keep users engaged with high-quality content. Business accounts generally post more polished, professional videos that align with what the algorithm thinks users want to see. The algorithm picks up on these high-quality signals like properly edited videos, optimized captions, etc. and gives preference to business accounts in the For You and Following feeds.
Because the TikTok algorithm favors business accounts, creators who switch to a business profile may see their videos get more exposure and reach new audiences more easily. The key is creating content that looks and feels like what a business account would post – high-quality, branded, optimized for discovery. Pair this with a business profile and TikTok’s algorithm could boost your content into more feeds.
Appearing Professional
One of the main benefits of switching to a TikTok business account is that it allows your brand to appear more professional and legitimate. According to Trapeze Media, having a business profile gives your content and brand an elevated, corporate sheen that resonates with users. It distinguishes you from regular personal accounts and shows viewers that you are an authoritative source of information or products in your industry.
TikTok business accounts also allow you to link to an external website, which adds credibility. You can showcase your brand story and mission more comprehensively than just in a profile bio. Overall, a business profile makes your brand seem more official and trustworthy.
Verification Badge
Getting verified on TikTok with a blue checkmark badge is easier for business accounts. Verification helps establish authenticity and legitimacy. According to About Business Verification | TikTok Ads Manager, TikTok will review submitted business verification documents and if approved, the account will get a verification badge. This badge signals to users that the account is the authentic presence of that business or brand on TikTok.
The verification badge gives businesses more credibility and trustworthiness. Users will know it’s an official account rather than an impersonator or fake account. The checkmark badge can help reassure users that the content comes directly from the source.
More Features
TikTok Business accounts have access to additional tools and features not available on standard personal accounts. These include:
Analytics – Business accounts can view detailed analytics on their videos, followers, and traffic sources. This allows you to track performance and optimize your content strategy (TikTok Business Account Features).
Ad Manager – Create and manage paid advertising campaigns directly within TikTok. Target audiences, set budgets, track results (Personal and Business Accounts on TikTok).
TikTok for Business Tools – Extra features like captions, multi-user access, video messaging, and more. Helps businesses collaborate and manage profiles (TikTok Business vs. Creator Account).
Overall, business accounts provide enhanced analytics, advertising, account management, and content features compared to personal accounts.
But Do They Get More Views?
When it comes to views on TikTok, having a business account does not necessarily mean you will get more views on your videos. According to a Reddit discussion thread, there is no evidence that TikTok gives business accounts fewer views than personal accounts (https://www.reddit.com/r/socialmedia/comments/vp538i/does_tiktok_give_business_accounts_fewer_views/).
TikTok’s algorithm is designed to show videos to users that are most likely to find them engaging and interesting. Factors like video quality, captions, hashtags, sounds used, and more impact how widely a video will be distributed. Simply having a business account does not guarantee more views.
The key advantages of a business account have more to do with analytics, advertising, and looking professional rather than views. As TikTok creator @rachforaday explains, “having a business account on TikTok will get you more views. you only have access to commercial sounds so you can repurpose. tiktoks to …” (https://www.tiktok.com/@rachforaday/video/7081618714113625350?lang=en).
In summary, while a business account provides useful tools for brands and creators, it does not directly determine how many views your videos receive. Producing high-quality, engaging content that resonates with viewers is still the most important factor for getting more TikTok views.
Conclusion
In summary, TikTok business accounts provide more analytics, insights, and professional features compared to standard personal accounts. The key benefits of switching to a business account include:
- Access to analytics on content performance and audience demographics.
- Ability to run promoted ads and boost content.
- Appearing more professional with account verification.
- Additional content recommendation and messaging features.
However, business accounts do not inherently receive more views just by virtue of switching account types. Success on TikTok still depends most on consistently creating engaging, high-quality content optimized for the platform. The extra analytics from a business account can help creators refine their content for their target audience. But a personal account with viral content can still outperform a business account.
In summary, TikTok business accounts provide valuable professional features but do not guarantee more views on their own. The key is strategically using the additional business insights to improve content quality and promotion.