TikTok’s exponential growth and engaged user base make it an attractive platform for businesses looking to reach new audiences.
One of the options available for businesses on TikTok is a business account, which unlocks additional features not available on standard personal accounts. This includes analytics, promotional tools, and the ability to contact other businesses.
But how much does it cost to upgrade to a TikTok business account? The good news is that a basic TikTok business account is completely free. You simply need to convert your personal profile into a business one through the TikTok app.
However, TikTok does offer paid advertising and marketing options to further boost your business reach. In this article, we’ll break down the costs associated with:
- Setting up a free TikTok business account
- TikTok advertising and marketing tools
- TikTok Creator Marketplace
- Third-party tools and services
Setting up a free TikTok business account
The first step brands should take on TikTok is to switch from a personal account to a business account. This is completely free and provides access to the following key features:
Analytics
A TikTok business account provides detailed analytics to help you understand your audience and content performance. Metrics include:
- Impressions and reach
- Follower demographics like location, age and gender
- Traffic sources
- Top videos
- Engagement data
This allows you to gain valuable insight to optimize your TikTok strategy.
Promotional Tools
Business accounts on TikTok can promote content directly in the app to drive more views, followers and engagement. This includes:
- Share to Feed – Promote videos on your TikTok profile. You pay for each Share to Feed action.
- In-Feed Video Ads – Native, full-screen video ads that appear between other videos in a user’s feed. You pay for each view.
Contacting Businesses
TikTok business accounts unlock the ability to contact other businesses through direct messaging. This facilitates networking and potential partnerships.
Converting to a business account is easy and free – you simply need to follow these steps:
- Open your TikTok app and go to your profile page
- Tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner
- Choose “Switch to Business Account”
- Choose a category that best fits your business
- Give your business details like website and contact info
- Tap “Next” and confirm “Switch” on the prompt
Once your account is switched over, you’ll have access to all the aforementioned tools to step up your marketing.
TikTok advertising and marketing tools
Once you’ve converted to a business account, TikTok provides paid advertising and marketing options to boost your reach and results. These include:
In-Feed Video Ads
In-Feed Video Ads appear natively within a user’s main TikTok feed, seamlessly blended with organic content. You only pay when users view your video ad for at least 6 seconds. Or if they engage with it by liking, commenting, sharing or clicking through.
- Cost per 6-second view – $0.10 – $0.18
Brand Takeovers
Brand takeovers allow your video ad to display prominently when the app is launched. They seize attention in the first seconds when TikTok is opened.
- Cost per day – $50,000-$100,000
TopView
This premium ad spot exclusively shows your video ad for the first video a user sees when they open their TikTok app.
- Cost per day – $10,000-$200,000
Brand Hashtags
You can promote branded hashtags that surface your content to users interested in related topics. Your video will show up prominently under the branded hashtag page.
- Cost per view – $0.04 – $0.12
Sponsored Challenges
Businesses can create branded challenges that encourage user-generated content and engagement around your campaign.
- Cost per user – $150,000-$300,000 for challenges with high complexity and popularity
TikTok Creator Marketplace
The TikTok Creator Marketplace allows you to connect with influential creators to collaborate on branded content and campaigns. There are over 800,000 creators to choose from, across various niches and audience sizes.
Working with popular creators allows you to tap into their existing follower base and credibility. Branded collaborations typically involve:
- Shoutouts to promote your business in their videos
- Product/service endorsements
- Hashtag challenges
- Co-branded content videos
The cost to hire creators varies significantly based on their audience size, engagement rates, and category of niche. Some typical price points are:
- Nano influencers (5k – 20k followers) – $25 – $75 per post
- Micro influencers (20k – 100k followers) – $100 – $250 per post
- Mid-tier influencers (100k – 500k followers) – $250 – $800 per post
- Macro influencers (500k – 5 million followers) – $800 – $3,000+ per post
But the Creator Marketplace allows you to browse creator profiles and negotiate rates directly with them through the platform.
Third-party tools and services
There are also a growing number of third-party tools and services to enhance your TikTok marketing, including:
Scheduling and Publishing Tools
To manage high volumes of video content, you can use tools like Hootsuite, eClincher, and Buffer to schedule and publish TikTok posts in advance.
- Cost – These tools start around $25/month for basic plans, and go up to $599+/month for enterprise plans with more advanced analytics.
Influencer Marketing Platforms
Services like Grin, Upfluence, and Famebit make it easier to discover, vet, manage and collaborate with relevant TikTok influencers for your campaigns.
- Cost – Influencer platform fees range from 15-30% on top of influencer rates. Some charge monthly subscription fees of $99-$299+ as well.
Content Optimization Tools
Tools like Tokupgrade, Tiksmap, and Populr.me provide content optimization suggestions to improve views, as well as competitor analysis.
- Cost – These tools start around $30/month and go up to $100+/month for more advanced analytics.
Analytics Platforms
Robust analytics platforms like Iconosquare, Socialinsider, and Sprout Social provide in-depth analytics on performance and engagement.
- Cost – Around $30-$100/month depending on features.
Ad Management Platforms
All-in-one advertising dashboards like SocialPilot, Later, and Agorapulse allow you to manage ads across TikTok and other social media networks.
- Cost – Plans range from $20-$150+/month.
The combination of paid TikTok ad formats and third-party tools provides powerful options to enhance your marketing on the platform. But investing in content that genuinely resonates with the TikTok community is the most important success factor.
Is a TikTok business account worth it?
For most brands, the free analytics and promotional tools unlocked by a TikTok business account make it well worth upgrading from a standard personal profile. The ability to understand your audience and natively promote content on the platform is extremely valuable.
Paid advertising on TikTok can deliver strong returns on spend compared to other networks, due to:
- Highly engaged user base – Videos get more active views and engagement vs other platforms.
- Precise targeting – TikTok’s granular audience segmentation allows your ads to reach exactly who you want to target.
- Favorable pricing – CPM and CPC rates are still low relative to other major social platforms.
For larger brands with big budgets, the immersive ad formats like Brand Takeovers can drive brand awareness and exposure. But targeted In-Feed Video Ads tend to provide the best ROI for most businesses.
Collaborating with TikTok creators is the other component that makes the platform so powerful right now. The authenticity and existing audience of top creators allow your brand to expand reach rapidly.
The platform does take some learning around creating content optimized for the TikTok community. But the expansive audience, high engagement and advertising options make it a worthwhile channel to invest in.
Conclusion
Upgrading to a free TikTok business account is a simple but valuable first step for brands on the platform. The key analytics it unlocks allow you to gain crucial insight on your audience and content.
TikTok’s immersive advertising and marketing tools present big opportunities for businesses. But you need creative, engaging content tailored to the platform plus a sizable budget to maximize results.
For most brands, a strategic combination of organic content, community building, influencer collaborations and selective ad investments is ideal. With the right approach, TikTok’s highly engaged audience and growth can drive significant business impact.
