With over 1 billion monthly active users, TikTok has become a global social media sensation.
While many users are on TikTok strictly for entertainment, others have recognized its immense potential for business, marketing and monetization.
I want a more compelling content in place of the following content: When creating a new TikTok account, you have two main options – you can either make a business account or a creator account.
In this in-depth guide, you will learn everything you need to know about TikTok Business Accounts and TikTok Creator Accounts.
Understanding the unique features of each will empower you to choose the right type of account for your needs. Let’s get started!
Benefits of a TikTok Business Account
A TikTok business account provides companies, brands, agencies and marketers with a powerful set of tools to engage in marketing on TikTok and promote themselves to users. Here are some major benefits:
1.Unlock Robust Analytics
With a business account you gain access to detailed real-time analytics providing valuable insight into your audience, content performance and engagement.
You can track your views, likes, comments, followers, traffic sources and more. Some businesses even buy TikTok followers to appear more established and boost their visibility.
2. Utilize Native Advertising
TikTok provides a highly advanced self-serve ad platform for businesses to create and run native video ad campaigns optimized for the platform.
Target your ads demographically, by interests, behaviors and more. Closely monitor campaign performance with in-depth analytics. Measure and optimize your ad investment.
3. Add Shopping Functionalities
Another great business account option is the ability to add a dedicated shopping tab and tag products in videos.
When viewers click on a tagged product they can view details and checkout seamlessly within TikTok. This streamlined commerce can be highly effective.
4. Manage Influencer Partnerships
As a business account holder you gain capabilities to collaborate with influencers on sponsored content and track performance. Review and approve influencer posts, monitor engagement, and gain valuable partnership insights.
Benefits of a TikTok Creator Account
In contrast to business accounts, TikTok creator accounts maintain a personal profile look and feel with extra features for content creators seeking to build an audience. Key benefits include:
1. Monitor Your Audience
A major benefit of a creator account is gaining valuable insight into your audience growth and engagement data.
View granular analytics on views, likes, comments, followers, traffic sources, top videos and audience demographics. This data helps guide your content approach.
2. Live Stream Capabilities
Creator accounts can live stream videos to followers in real-time. Go live yourself or with another creator in a two-person stream. Live streaming is highly engaging and great for building an audience.
3. Customize Your Presence
Make your TikTok creator profile stand out by adding links, customizing your bio, setting a content category and making other enhancements. Tailor your presence to connect with your niche.
4. Unlock Money-Making Opportunities
Eligible creators can monetize their TikTok audience through the Creator Fund, receiving tips, securing sponsors and collaborating with brands as an influencer. More earning opportunities give creators longevity.
Key Differences Between Account Types
While TikTok business accounts and creator accounts have some common features, there are several key differences between the two account types.
1. Advertising Capabilities
Business accounts get full access to TikTok’s robust self-serve advertising platform, enabling them to create and deploy native video ad campaigns at scale.
In contrast, creators with standard accounts have no ability to run advertising campaigns directly on TikTok. They must work with brand partners for any advertising collaborations.
2. Commerce Opportunities
Another major difference is commerce capabilities. Business accounts can directly enable in-app commerce experiences through TikTok Shopping features like shoppable tags in videos and a dedicated shopping tab profile.
These native shopping experiences that allow seamless in-app transactions are not accessible to standard creator accounts at this time.
3. Monetization Models
The monetization models differ significantly. Creators rely heavily on TikTok’s Creator Fund, fan tipping, promotions and brand sponsorships to earn income.
Some creators even buy TikTok views to make their content appear more popular and attractive for sponsorships.
While Business accounts monetize through advertising, commerce and influencer collaborations and do not have access to the Creator Fund or tipping features.
4. Business Accounts Analytics Focus
Finally, the analytics provided to each account type has a different focus. The analytics for business accounts focus heavily on conversions, transactions, return on ad spend and other marketing-centric metrics.
Creators are given audience growth and engagement analytics to inform their content, including followers, views, traffic sources and detailed audience demographic data.
The differences in tools and capabilities highlights how TikTok deliberately tailors business accounts and creator accounts to serve distinct goals and use cases on the platform.
Choosing the Best TikTok Account Setup
When selecting a TikTok business or creator account, focus on your goals and needs:
Business accounts make sense if you want to:
- Promote products/services to the TikTok audience at scale
- Leverage TikTok’s advanced advertising platform
- Add shopping capabilities and enable direct sales
- Manage influencer partnerships and sponsorships
Creator accounts are better if you want to:
- Build your personal brand and grow your follower base as an influencer
- Earn through the Creator Fund, fan tips and brand sponsorships
- Access audience growth and engagement insights
- Organically reach your niche without relying on ads
You can switch account types later if your needs change. But evaluate your goals upfront to choose the optimal initial TikTok account setup.
Wrapping Up
The choice between a TikTok business account and creator account depends on your goals. Business accounts enable powerful advertising and commerce tools for brands.
Creator accounts help content creators organically build an audience and monetize.
Consider your priorities and needs in choosing the account type that provides the optimal features and resources to meet your strategic goals on TikTok. You can always switch accounts later as your objectives evolve.
