Getting Started
The first step to becoming a creator on TikTok is making an account. You’ll need to choose a unique username and upload a profile picture. According to TikTok’s Creator Portal, “A good username is memorable, short, and unique” (source). Your profile photo is also important, as it’s the first thing viewers will see. Pick a high-quality, well-lit photo of yourself to make a good first impression.
Once your account is set up, you can start customizing your profile by adding a bio, website links, and more. TikTok recommends adding relevant hashtags and descriptions to your profile to help viewers understand your niche. Completing your profile fully will make your account seem more legitimate when just starting out as a creator.
Content Creation
When you first join TikTok as a creator, one of the first steps is to start creating content. TikTok allows users to create short videos up to 3 minutes long using a variety of effects and features. According to Stream Semester, some tips for creating great content include:
– Make interesting and entertaining videos using effects like green screen and TikTok’s library of sounds. Effects can help make your content more engaging.
– Pay attention to the latest trends and challenges. Hopping on trending sounds and hashtags can help more users discover your content.
– Tell a story through your videos. Use multiple clips and transitions to share an experience or narrative. As noted by Matt Schlicht, storytelling helps connect with viewers.
– Shoot videos vertically to fit TikTok’s interface and optimize for mobile viewing.
– Use hashtags and captions to make your content easily searchable.
Analytics
As a creator on TikTok, you gain access to in-depth analytics about your content and account performance. This allows you to track key metrics like views, likes, comments, and followers so you can better understand your audience.
The Views tab in TikTok Analytics shows you total views as well as views by video, location, traffic sources, and devices. This helps you identify which videos and types of content are resonating most with your audience. According to TikTok’s Creator Portal, “Views represent the number of times your video has been watched. This key metric indicates whether your content is capturing audience attention.”[1]
Likes help gauge audience sentiment and engagement. TikTok Analytics breaks down likes by video, viewer demographics, and location. Paying attention to spikes and dips can reveal what your audience responds to positively. Comments provide further qualitative insights. Analyzing comment volume and sentiment over time offers feedback for improving your content.
The Followers tab tracks your follower growth and can segment followers by location, gender, age, device, traffic source and more. Regularly monitoring your follower analytics will shed light on your audience makeup and growth areas. As Sprout Social notes, “Understanding your follower demographic and location data can lead to improved audience targeting and engagement.”[2]
Monetization
There are several ways for creators to monetize their content on TikTok and start making money:
The TikTok Creator Fund allows popular creators to earn money from the content they post. To join the fund, you need at least 10,000 authentic video views in the last 30 days. TikTok then evaluates your account and may invite you to join. Once accepted, you can start earning money based on the engagement your videos generate.
Partnering with brands is another great monetization method. Brands may pay you directly to create branded content and promotions. You can also make money by promoting or featuring products in your videos. The key is finding brands that resonate with your audience and content style.
You can also enable TikTok LIVE gifts and collect monetary tips from viewers during live streams. Fans can purchase coins to send you virtual gifts which convert into cash rewards for you.
Best Practices
To find success as a TikTok creator, it’s important to focus on consistency, quality, and engagement. According to experts, some best practices include:
Consistency – Posting regularly helps build an audience that knows when to expect new content. Experts recommend posting at least once per day, or even multiple times per day if possible (source: https://blog.hootsuite.com/tiktok-tips/). Planning content in advance can help maintain a steady stream of high-quality posts.
Quality – Taking the time to create original, creative videos that align with trends and interests is key. Production value matters, so investing in equipment like lighting and microphones can help increase quality. Good editing and adding captions, sounds, effects make videos stand out (source: https://www.socialpilot.co/tiktok-marketing/expert-tips-from-tiktok-influencers).
Engagement – Responding to comments, using relevant hashtags, participating in duets/stitches, and going live connects creators with their audience. Building genuine relationships and loyalty leads to more views, shares and follows (source: https://www.plannthat.com/how-to-get-on-tiktok-fyp/).
Challenges
Becoming a successful TikTok creator comes with many challenges. One major challenge is the intense competition on the platform. With over 1 billion monthly active users, TikTok is an incredibly competitive space (Apkipps). Creators constantly have to come up with new and creative content to stand out among the huge number of videos being produced daily. Staying creative day after day can be very difficult.
Another big challenge for TikTok creators is keeping up with the platform’s rapidly changing algorithm (Cherriioz). As TikTok frequently updates how it determines which videos go viral, creators have to continuously adapt their content strategies. Videos that were successful one week may flop the next due to an algorithm shift. This requires creators to be very agile and always experimenting with new formats and topics.
Overall, competition and constant algorithm changes make it tough for TikTok creators to build a consistent audience and maintain visibility on the platform. They must constantly churn out novel content while also studying the algorithm to determine what types of videos are being promoted at any given time (海外抖音叫什么名字呢女的是谁啊英文). These challenges require immense creativity, effort, and persistence in order to find success as a TikTok creator.
Community
Interacting with your followers and forming connections is an important part of growing your audience and presence on TikTok. Responding to comments, doing collab videos, and engaging with other creators helps build a sense of community around your channel.
Make sure to regularly like and reply to comments from your followers. This shows you care about your audience and want to have a dialogue. You can also do collab videos with other creators in your niche which is a great way to cross-promote. According to TikTok’s creator portal, engaging with videos in categories you like is a good way to connect with similar creators.
Building relationships with your viewers and other creators helps foster a feeling of community. This leads to a more engaged audience who will be excited about your next videos. As noted in the TikTok business blog, establishing your voice and connecting with your followers is key for building “brand love” on the platform.
Overall, putting effort into interacting with your supporters and collaborators will help grow an active community centered around your channel and content.
Sources:
https://www.tiktok.com/business/en-US/blog/brand-love-on-tiktok
https://www.tiktok.com/creators/creator-portal/foundations-for-success/finding-your-community/
Discovery
Discovery is key for any new creator on TikTok. The algorithm is constantly learning about your content and working to determine which users might be most interested. Here are some tips to get discovered on TikTok:
Leverage hashtags and trends – Using relevant hashtags and jumping on trending sounds or effects can help put your content in front of users interested in those topics. You can find trending hashtags and sounds within the app. Use hashtags strategically and don’t over tag.
Post consistently – The more content you share, the more signals you give the algorithm to understand your niche. Aim to post at least once per day as you’re getting started.
Engage meaningfully with your audience – Commenting on others’ videos and replying to comments on your own helps TikTok understand you’re invested in the community. This positive behavior can help surface your content.
Analyze your analytics – Check which videos are getting on the For You page and engagements on those videos. This can help you identify what type of content resonates most with viewers.
Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing has become a major opportunity for brands on TikTok. Brands can partner with popular creators to promote products or services through sponsored content and brand deals [1].
Creators with large followings are able to drive awareness, interest, and sales through creative and entertaining videos. Brands typically reach out to influencers directly or work with an agency to identify influencers that fit their target audience and campaign goals [2].
Sponsored content can include TikToks featuring or discussing a product in an organic way or using branded hashtags and effects. Brand deals often involve the influencer being paid a fee and provided products in exchange for guaranteed posts and promotional content over a period of time [3].
Done right, influencer marketing provides brands exposure to new audiences and creative promotion of products that feels authentic and engaging to viewers.
Growth
Going viral and expanding your reach on TikTok requires consistency, engaging with trends, and a bit of luck. Posting high-quality content regularly in niches you’re knowledgeable about helps increase the chances of a video getting picked up by the algorithm and recommended to lots of users (Source). Participating in current trends and challenges by putting your unique spin on them taps into what’s popular at the moment (Source). Collaborating with other creators can introduce your content to new audiences. The ultimate goal is creating shareworthy content that gets people liking, commenting, duetting, and sharing with others.
Hashtags are key for discovery, so strategically choose ones related to your niche and video topic. Check which hashtags are trending each day and consider including relevant ones. Location tags also help make your content discoverable by viewers in specific areas.
While rapid viral fame takes luck, consistently providing value to your audience leads to steady organic growth over time. Focus on your niche, engage with your followers, and keep working to improve the quality and uniqueness of your content.
