What is TikTok?
TikTok is a popular social media app that allows users to create and share short videos, usually set to music. The app has gained immense popularity since launching in 2016, especially among younger users. As of 2022, TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users worldwide (Source).
On TikTok, users can create 15-60 second videos showcasing their talents through dancing, comedy skits, lip-syncing, and more. The app’s algorithm is designed to quickly determine a user’s interests and preferences in order to serve them tailored, engaging content. This creates an addictive, endless scroll experience that keeps users coming back.
TikTok also contains editing tools that allow users to easily add effects, soundtracks, filters and more to enhance their videos. The app lets users engage with content by liking, commenting, sharing, and reacting to videos. Users can follow other accounts that post content they enjoy. Overall, TikTok provides a unique platform for users to express themselves creatively, discover new content, and connect with a community.
TikTok User Accounts
TikTok offers several types of user accounts: personal, business, and creator. Personal accounts are for individuals who want to post content for fun. Business accounts allow companies and brands to establish an official presence on TikTok. Creator accounts give content creators tools to grow their following and monetize their videos.
Personal accounts on TikTok let individuals connect with friends, share videos, and follow trends. These accounts are best suited for casual users who want to participate in the TikTok community for entertainment. Features of personal accounts include the ability to upload and share videos, follow other users, use filters and effects, and go live. There are no analytics or advertising options with a personal TikTok account.
TikTok business accounts offer companies a way to tap into TikTok’s large user base. These accounts unlock advertising options like TikTok ads and analytics to track performance. Businesses can use a TikTok business account to promote products, run campaigns, recruit employees, and otherwise establish a brand presence. These accounts also get access to TikTok’s creator tools.
Creator accounts give video creators the tools they need to maximize their audience on TikTok. These accounts provide analytics like follower demographics and video performance. Creators can also promote content directly to followers, unlock extra features like longer videos, and monetize through TikTok’s Creator Fund. The creator account type helps influencers and content producers grow on TikTok.
Followers vs Subscribers
On TikTok, there is a difference between followers and subscribers. Followers are users who have chosen to follow your account to see the videos you post on your profile. All TikTok users have followers, and gaining followers is free. Subscribers are users who pay a monthly fee to access exclusive content from creators through TikTok LIVE subscriptions. Subscriptions allow creators to monetize their live videos and interact more closely with their biggest fans.
According to Jim Louderback, the baseline for an influential TikTok creator is 2.5 million followers. However, having dedicated subscribers indicates a creator has an engaged audience that is willing to pay for exclusive content. As Louderback notes, subscriber counts may become more important than follower counts for evaluating a creator’s influence and earnings potential.
Subscriptions are purchased on a monthly basis, with subscribers gaining access to creator perks like exclusive livestreams, subscriber-only chat, and subscriber badges on their profile. TikTok LIVE subscriptions allow creators to develop closer relationships with their most engaged followers. While followers are free and indicate general interest in a creator’s content, subscribers represent a creator’s most loyal and invested audience.
How to Get Subscribers
There are several tactics TikTok creators can use to gain more subscribers on the platform:
Create Engaging Content: Posting entertaining, helpful, or valuable videos that capture audience interest is key. Using trends, challenges, good editing, captions, and sounds can help content stand out and make viewers want to subscribe.
Interact With Viewers: Responding to comments, doing livestreams, and posting Stories gives followers a chance to engage. This makes them more likely to hit subscribe to keep seeing content from creators they feel connected to.
Run Subscriber Promotions: Giveaways, contests, and other incentives can convince viewers to subscribe for a chance to win prizes or participate. Sharing subscriber milestones and goals can also generate interest.
Use Captions and Calls-to-Action: Directly asking viewers to subscribe in captions or verbally in videos gets the message across. Reminding them of subscriber perks reminds them of the value.
Leverage Other Platforms: Cross-promoting TikTok content on other social channels exposes it to new audiences. Gaining subscribers elsewhere can translate to subscriber growth on TikTok.
Analyze Performance: Looking at analytics to see which videos perform best helps refine content strategies. Giving viewers more of the content they love leads to subscriber growth.
Benefits of Subscribers
Having subscribers on TikTok can provide creators with a number of benefits. Most importantly, subscribers allow creators to reach a larger, more engaged audience with their content. When someone subscribes to your channel, your videos will show up in their Following feed, meaning your content is more likely to be seen by your most loyal fans. This can help increase your overall viewership and engagement over time.
Subscribers also help with TikTok’s algorithm and discovery features. The more subscribers you have, the more TikTok will see your content as valuable and share it more widely to new users. Essentially, subscribers serve as a signal to TikTok that your channel is worth promoting. Gaining more subscribers over time can therefore lead to exponential growth as the algorithm recommends your content to more and more new viewers.
Additionally, subscribers allow creators to start monetizing their audience on TikTok through gifts, tips, and other perks. Once you reach a certain subscriber threshold, you can enable special Subscriber Only content and badges that fans can pay for via in-app purchases. Subscribers are also notified when you go live or share subscriber-exclusive content. Having a base of engaged subscribers is key for any monetization strategy on TikTok.
In summary, gaining more subscribers leads to increased viewership, greater algorithmic reach, and more monetization potential. Focusing on high-quality content that resonates with your target audience is key to building up your subscriber base over time.
Subscriber-Only Content
One of the main benefits of having subscribers on TikTok is the ability to create subscriber-only content that is exclusive to your dedicated followers. Creators can enable subscriber-only videos that are visible only to users who subscribe to their account (https://www.tiktok.com/@cdshawn77/video/7270146312794950954). This gives creators a way to reward their loyal supporters with special perks like behind-the-scenes footage, bloopers, extended cuts, and early access to new videos.
Subscriber-only content is denoted with a little lock icon on the video thumbnail. Users who aren’t subscribed will see a message indicating the content is for subscribers only when they try to access it. This exclusive content gives fans more incentive to hit the subscribe button so they don’t miss out.
For creators, putting some videos behind a subscriber-only paywall allows them to tier their content and potentially monetize their audience. It’s a great way to thank loyal followers with VIP treatment while enticing new viewers to subscribe. TikTok lets creators customize subscriber perks and exclusives to align with their brand and audience.
Subscriber Badges
TikTok offers special badges that are shown on a user’s profile when they reach certain subscriber milestones. These badges allow creators to showcase their popularity and give subscribers a sense of status.
The subscriber badges on TikTok include:
- 100 subscribers – Bronze Creator badge
- 1,000 subscribers – Silver Creator badge
- 10,000 subscribers – Gold Creator badge
- 100,000 subscribers – Diamond Creator badge
In addition to the creator milestone badges, subscribers can earn badges when they subscribe to a creator. These subscriber-specific badges include:
- Early Supporter badge – For being one of the first subscribers
- Loyal Supporter badge – For being subscribed for a long time
- Top Supporter badge – For gifting and engaging frequently
The subscriber badges give fans a sense of recognition for supporting creators. They encourage subscriptions and engagement on the platform.
Gifting to Subscribers
One benefit of having subscribers on TikTok is the ability to send them gifts during live streams. When a user goes live, their subscribers have the option to send virtual gifts like flowers, thumbs up, and more. These virtual gifts appear on screen during the live video.
According to TikTok’s support page, gifting subscriptions is a way for viewers to show support and appreciation for their favorite creators. When a gift is sent, the creator receives “Diamonds” which can be exchanged for money through TikTok’sCreator Fund.
Gifting subscriptions is only available to users who have purchased TikTok’s premium subscription service. This means users have to pay real money to acquire virtual gifts to send during live streams. But it provides an avenue for fans to directly support creators financially.
Sending gift subscriptions during live streams is a unique way TikTok users can show monetary support and engagement. It helps creators build a closer connection with their loyal fanbase.
Subscriber Analytics
TikTok provides creators with robust analytics on their subscribers. In the app, creators can view key metrics like total subscribers, new subscribers, resubscriptions, and subscriber demographics. Demographic data includes the gender, age, location, device, traffic source, and active hours of subscribers.
Analyzing subscriber demographics helps creators optimize their content for their target audience. For example, knowing when most of your subscribers are active allows you to schedule videos at peak times for higher viewership. Reviewing the locations of subscribers also helps tailor content, like creating region-specific jokes or references.
In addition to in-app analytics, TikTok offers Creator Analytics for desktop. This provides creators with graphical overviews of subscribers, likes, comments, and more. Creators can filter data by date range and video. With Creator Analytics, creators gain valuable insight to inform content strategy and better engage subscribers.
Sources:
https://uaateam.digital/blog/best-time-to-post-on-tiktok-in-2021/
Monetizing Subscribers
As your subscriber count grows, you can start to leverage your audience for monetization opportunities. Brand sponsorships and collaborations are a great way to make money from your subscribers on TikTok.
Having a large, engaged subscriber base shows brands that you have an audience that trusts and supports you. Brands may reach out directly asking about partnership opportunities, or you can proactively contact brands you love and pitch customized sponsorships.
Sponsored content is a win-win – you get paid, while also providing your subscribers with value by introducing them to new products or services you genuinely like and recommend. Make sure to clearly disclose paid promotions as required by FTC guidelines.
You can also open up additional monetization channels exclusively for your subscribers. For example, you could provide subscriber-only merchandise, custom emojis, exclusive content, and more. Subscriber perks incentivize usersto subscribe and stay engaged with your content.
Loyal subscribers represent recurring revenue opportunities. Continue nurturing your subscriber community by providing VIP access and rewards. As your channel grows, so too will your monetization potential.
