What Are Top Viewers on TikTok Live?
Top viewers on TikTok Live refers to users who consistently watch a particular creator’s live videos and spend the most time viewing them. To become a top viewer, you need to watch a creator’s live videos frequently and for long periods of time.
TikTok identifies top viewers by tracking the amount of time each user spends watching a creator’s livestreams. Users who watch the most are given a “Top Fan” badge on the creator’s profile to recognize their loyalty and viewership. The badge appears next to the user’s name when they are watching the creator’s live videos.
There are several benefits to attaining top viewer status. Top viewers are highlighted and visible to the creator during livestreams. This allows the creator to recognize and interact with their biggest supporters. Top viewers also gain status and notoriety within the creator’s fanbase for their dedication.
Additionally, creators will sometimes give exclusive perks to their top viewers like shoutouts, merch discounts, private messaging, and other VIP access. So being a loyal top viewer can provide fans with a deeper connection and privileges from their favorite creators.
How to Get the Top Viewer Badge
There are a few main ways to earn the top viewer badge on TikTok Live:
Watch streams consistently – The more often you watch someone’s live streams from start to finish, the more likely you are to become a top viewer. TikTok’s algorithm rewards loyal viewers.
Send gifts and interact – Sending virtual gifts to streamers during a live broadcast is a great way to get their attention. The higher the gift value, the more impact it can have. Additionally, commenting and engaging helps show you’re an invested viewer.
Meet watch time and gift thresholds – While TikTok doesn’t publish exact criteria, reports indicate you may need to watch a creator for 5-10 hours total and send 50-100 gifts to potentially qualify as a top viewer. The thresholds likely vary based on the streamer’s overall viewership and recognition.
The key is consistently showing support and becoming a recognizable part of a streamer’s community. Patience and commitment to individual creators you enjoy pays off in gaining top viewer status.
Benefits of Being a Top Viewer
There are several benefits to attaining top viewer status on TikTok Live, including increased recognition, visibility, and potential moderator abilities.
One of the main benefits is the recognition and status that comes with being a top viewer. Top viewers get a special badge on their profile that identifies them as highly engaged users. This badge is displayed in comments, bios, and other places. Having the badge provides a sense of prestige and shows dedication to creators.
Top viewers also gain increased visibility for their comments in TikTok Live videos. Their comments will be more prominent and pinned towards the top. This makes it easier for creators to notice and interact with top viewers. It essentially gives top viewers VIP treatment in the comment section.
Additionally, top viewers may be granted moderator abilities in some live streams. Creators can assign top viewers as moderators to help manage comments and viewers. Moderators can delete inappropriate comments, block users, and more. Being a moderator allows top viewers to be more involved in the community.
In summary, the validation, visibility boost, and potential mod powers give top viewers more influence and opportunities for engagement on the platform. These perks provide strong incentives for users to reach top viewer status.
Other Badges and User Levels on TikTok Live
In addition to the Top Viewer badge, TikTok Live has introduced several other badges and user levels to reward loyal viewers and fans. These include:
- Subscriber – A subscriber badge is given to viewers who pay a monthly fee to subscribe to a creator’s channel. This gives them access to exclusive live streams, custom emojis and badges. Subscribers stand out with a special badge next to their name in live chats and comments.
- Fan – The fan badge is earned by viewers who frequently engage with a creator’s content. Actions like liking, commenting and gifting all contribute to unlocking this badge. Fans get priority when joining live streams.
- Supporter – Viewers who send gifts during live streams can earn the supporter badge. Higher gift values lead to higher supporter levels shown by upgraded badges.
- OG – The OG (original) badge is awarded to early followers who engaged with a creator’s content before they reached a certain follower count. It shows their longtime support.
The Top Viewer badge is more exclusive than these other badges. It cannot be directly earned through purchases or follows. Top Viewers are selected algorithmically based on watchtime and engagement across a creator’s live streams. They represent a creator’s most loyal and dedicated fans.
Using Top Viewer Status
Many viewers strive to become a top viewer on TikTok livestreams in order to gain certain benefits. The badge gives users a degree of status and recognition. There are ways to leverage the top viewer position for increased views and followers on TikTok.
One strategy is collaborating with the broadcasters during a livestream. Top viewers often get a shoutout or acknowledgment from the broadcaster. This provides some exposure to the top viewer’s own account and content. Some top viewers collaborate with creators on duets, stitches, or other content. This cross-promotion can help gain more views and followers for both parties.
Broadcasters may be more likely to remember and engage with fans who consistently show support by being a top viewer. This can lead to opportunities like the broadcaster checking out the fan’s page, sharing user-generated content, or direct engagement.
Some marketers leverage top viewer status as social proof. By showcasing their badge and ranking, it indicates to viewers that they are a trusted and influential user on the platform. This helps attract more profile visits, followers, and engagement.
Strategies to Become a Top Viewer
Here are some tips for becoming a top viewer on TikTok Live:
Watch Streams Consistently
One of the main factors for gaining top viewer status is watching streams regularly and for long periods of time. Tune into broadcasts from creators you enjoy and engage with them as much as possible. The algorithm rewards viewers who consistently spend time watching live videos.
Send Effective Gifts
Gifting to broadcasters is another way to boost your viewer ranking. Send gifts often to shows you attend and invest in more expensive gifts when possible. This signals to TikTok that you highly value the creator’s content. However, only gift within your means, as accrued diamonds and coins do expire over time. Focus on a few select creators rather than spreading gifts thinly.
According to this MakeUseOf article, TikTok weighs more expensive gifts like lions and keyboards more heavily than lower-cost gifts like thumbs-up.
Engage with Broadcasters
Being an active participant in live streams helps as well. Comment regularly, participate in viewer games and challenges, and react to prompts from the broadcaster. This shows you are an invested audience member. Additionally, invite friends to watch streams you are enjoying. Referring viewers can improve your viewer score.
Employing these strategies consistently over time is key to becoming a top viewer. With persistence and genuine engagement, you can gain recognition and perks on TikTok Live.
Criticisms of the Top Viewer System
Despite its popularity, the top viewer system on TikTok Live has received some criticism. One of the main concerns is that it encourages viewers to spend money on gifts in order to gain top viewer status. Since gifts cost diamonds, which must be purchased with real money, some argue the system manipulates users into spending more just to get special badges or attention from broadcasters.
According to one article, “The Top Viewer badge is designed to incentivize spending money on gifts. While the badge can technically be earned without spending, it’s far easier and faster to purchase diamonds and send gifts” (https://www.epidemicsound.com/blog/how-to-use-tiktok-live/).
Others have questioned the real value of being a top viewer. Since the status resets every broadcast, critics point out that the benefits of being a top viewer are temporary. There are also concerns that broadcasters give preferential treatment or access to top viewers, which excludes regular viewers.
While TikTok has guidelines about appropriate content and behavior during livestreams, the competitive culture around top viewer status has the potential to create conflicts between viewers vying for badges. Overall, critics feel the system could do more harm than good by overly commercializing user engagement on the platform.
Top Viewers vs. Other Social Media Platforms
TikTok’s top viewer system is unique compared to other major social platforms like Instagram and YouTube. According to Eightify (source), TikTok’s focus on ultra-short videos and its powerful algorithm sets it apart from Instagram and YouTube. The top viewer badge specifically incentivizes engagement in TikTok Live streams, a feature which Instagram and YouTube lack.
However, Instagram and YouTube do have some comparable engagement features. Instagram has badges for top fans of accounts, which show loyalty similar to TikTok’s top viewer badge. As noted by Digital Information World (source), YouTube allows viewers to become channel members and unlock special perks, which provides monetization and incentives akin to TikTok’s gifting system. Still, TikTok’s focus on live streaming and real-time engagement makes its top viewer system standout.
Notable Top Viewers on TikTok
Some of the most influential top viewers on TikTok include @charlidamelio, @zachking, and @addisonre. With over 150 million followers, Charli D’Amelio is one of the most popular creators on TikTok and frequently appears as a top viewer in lives to support other creators. Zach King, known for his engaging editing tricks, and Addison Rae, a dancer and actress, also have massive followings and lend their top viewer status to help promote smaller creators during livestreams.
These top viewers have the ability to draw huge amounts of traffic to a live video simply by appearing in the viewer list. Even a short appearance by someone like Charli D’Amelio can expose a creator to her hundred million+ followers. Top viewers with large audiences tend to support up and coming creators in their niche, helping them gain more followers and views.
For example, Charli D’Amelio often joins livestreams by rising dance creators to help expose them to her fanbase. Zach King watches live magic and illusion content to boost smaller magicians. Addison Rae hops into livestreams of new dancers and choreographers. Their viewers recognize their top viewer badges and also join the live video, exponentially increasing the creator’s exposure.
The Future of Top Viewers
The Top Viewers feature on TikTok Live is likely to see changes and enhancements in the future. With livestreaming continuing to grow in popularity on TikTok According to TikTok’s Creator Portal, the company sees the Top Viewers feature as an important way to “get discovered by new viewers”. Here are some potential evolutions we may see for Top Viewers:
One possible change could be new ways to earn the Top Viewer badge, such as through engagement and interactivity rather than just view time. TikTok may add more tiers or levels beyond just Top Viewer in order to further incentivize viewers. For example, users with extremely high view times could get additional exclusive badges.
TikTok may also launch new programs and benefits specifically for Top Viewers. This could include offering them early access to new features, highlighting their profiles, or giving them ways to monetize their status. Influential Top Viewers could get partnership opportunities or be recruited as “community leaders”.
As livestreaming scales up on TikTok, the competition for Top Viewer badges will increase. TikTok may adjust the algorithm and requirements over time to maintain exclusivity. Overall, we can expect to see continual evolution of the Top Viewers program as TikTok invests further in the livestreaming experience.
