Are you trying to become a famous TikToker?
You’re not alone. With more than 1.60 billion users worldwide and over 117 million of them located in the United States, hundreds of thousands -if not millions- of people are trying to do the same.
No one can blame them. The successful Chinese app generated a revenue of $9.4 billion in 2022 (a 100 percent increase from the previous year).
Not to mention, most TikTok celebrities make an average of $100,000 to $250,000 per branded post.
The competition is fierce, but achieving TikTok fame is far from impossible.
Today’s guide on how to become TikTok famous offers career information and a step-by-step plan to help you turn your dream gig into a reality.
An Overview of TikTok Fame: A Primer
A TikToker is a content creator on the social media platform TikTok. You become TikTok famous by amassing a large number of followers who tune in to view your content every day.
Videos are the only type of content you can share on TikTok. They’re typically short shots of content, with a length ranging between 15 seconds and 10 minutes.
As a TikTok influencer, you should be able to condense your content into consumable shorts while still entertaining your audience.
You need to be consistent and diligent with daily posting. You also need to be creative, original, and up-to-date with the type of content you put up.
A huge part of becoming a successful TikTok creator has to do with influencer marketing. Being famous online and maintaining such status is only possible through a solid brand marketing strategy.
Digital marketers, brand owners, and TikTokers all know this. It’s now common practice for businesses to approach TikTok influencers and vice versa for product or service promotions/ads.
This allows companies to reach vast audiences and benefit from the established trust between a TikToker and their followers. In turn, the TikToker is financially or otherwise compensated for the exposure.
The more famous a TikToker, the more TikTok followers will see the promotion/ad and the more brand sales. This is why TikTok influencers get more money per branded post the more popular they are.
How Much Do TikTok Influencers Make?
There are several ways TikTok influencers make money from TikTok.
Most TikTok famous individuals do promotions for various brands and get paid per TikTok video. They make anything between $1000 to $500,000 per post based on their engagement level, with the average falling between $100,000 and $250,000.
But the most popular way to make money on TikTok is via TikTok’s Creator Fund. If your TikTok account is eligible, you can earn between 2 to 3 cents per 1,000 views.
That translates into $200 to $300 for a video with 10 million views. The exact amount you make is calculated based on various criteria besides views such as engagement and views’ authenticity.
What You’ll Need to Become TikTok Famous [& Associated Costs]
Becoming a famous TikTok creator is nothing like becoming qualified for a regular job.
You don’t need specific degrees or training, but certain skills and tools can help you reach TikTok fame faster. These include:
- A reliable camera or smartphone: The content on TikTok is visual, so you need to make videos of decent quality to better engage the audience. This is where a dependable camera comes in, whether standalone or on a phone. An entry-level, good-quality camera or smartphone costs between $400 to $1,000.
- A decent level of digital and tech knowledge: Your activity as a TikTok influencer mainly involves recording, editing, and uploading videos. There’s also tracking engagement, managing your account, and keeping up with online trends. You can learn these skills through self-practice, free tutorials online, or paid courses (varying prices).
- A self-marketing strategy: You don’t have to go extreme by starting a social media marketing agency, but a solid marketing strategy is crucial. It helps increase and preserve your exposure and engagement. You can form one yourself using free online sources or hire a professional marketer for around $200 to $500 bucks.
How Much Does it Cost to Become TikTok Famous?
It doesn’t cost much to become TikTok famous. There are no degrees, certificates, training, and so on that you need to pay for.
The most important thing you need is content that people like, and that may cost you nothing at all. Technically, you’ll need equipment to make the content and a set of skills for editing and management.
These cost a total of $1,000 to 1,500 on average, and sometimes much less.
Is it Hard to Become TikTok Famous?
No, it’s not difficult to become a famous TikToker. There’s no studying involved to acquire a special degree or a training requirement to become certified.
Becoming a TikTok influencer only calls for the consistent posting of videos on the platform. The content should appeal to many people; usually by being funny, useful, interesting, or all three.
Becoming TikTok famous is also easier than other social media platforms such as YouTube or Instagram. Unlike these networks, you don’t need to spend a lot of time building a follower base to start making money from ads, sponsorships, and views.
TikTok’s operation model and algorithm make it a lot simpler and faster for a video to go viral. For example, the short video format encourages more people to watch and quickly move to the next video, which translates to more views.
How Long Does it Take to Become TikTok Famous?
Becoming TikTok famous can happen overnight or it can take several months. You can say that’s part of the platform’s charm.
How to Become TikTok Famous in 4 Simple Steps
Now that you know more about TikTok influencers, here’s a simple step-by-step guide to kickstart your fame:
1. Choose a Niche
You can try to be everyone’s favorite on TikTok, but you’ll soon find out that sticking to a niche is a more realistic approach.
Choosing a niche for your content is easier than it sounds. Think of a few topics/fields that interest you, combine them, and then try to derive a relevant niche.
For example, if you’re into cooking, gaming, and anime, you can post videos recreating dishes featured in games and shows.
2. Be Consistent
You can’t be consistent enough for TikTok. There’s no such thing as too much content on this always-buzzing platform.
Becoming TikTok famous is all about getting more views and gaining more followers. The more you upload videos, the higher the chances of people watching them.
As such, you need to post at least once per day. If you make longer videos, uploading 3 or 4 times a week could be alright.
3. Keep Up with Trends But Stay Original
There’s a reason trends become trends – people like them.
Jumping in on trends is a great way to gain more followers, and you should always keep an eye out for rising/potential trends. This way you can be involved early on.
Although keeping up with trends is an essential part of being a TikToker, you still need to have your own thing going on.
If your entire content is just reproducing trends, then you don’t have content. You need to be creative and show the world your personality. Bring something new to the niche to keep people hooked.
4. Strategize and Network
Finally, you need to engage your audience to establish a loyal follower base and attract new ones looking for authenticity.
Consider hiring a freelance social media manager to keep track of comments, platform trends, and posting schedules.
Building a network can also go a long way in boosting your TikTok status. Don’t be shy to reach out to other creators, form friendships, and do collaborations.
Reasons to Consider Becoming TikTok Famous
Becoming a famous TikToker comes with a whole array of advantages. Here are a few of the top reasons you should consider this career path:
- It’s easier than other social media platforms: TikTok’s usage model and algorithm make it significantly easier for content to go viral compared to other networks like YouTube. This is especially true for creators in the early stages.
- You make your schedule: Being a TikTok influencer is a grind, but you get to decide when to work. Unlike a 9-to-5, TikTokers run on their own schedule.
- Opens up ventures: The exposure you gain can lead you to other ventures such as modeling, acting, singing, and marketing. Many TikTok influencers are now working in movies, collaborating with clothing/beauty, and releasing songs/albums.
- You can make it big: Between paid promotions, gifts, Creator Fund earnings, and ventures, TikTokers can make a lot of money. Many even turn it from a side hustle to a full-blown career.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you’re aiming to become a famous TikToker, certain questions are bound to come to mind. Here are a couple of the most common inquiries and their answers:
Does TikTok Pay You?
While TikTok does not pay creators directly to make and upload videos, it rewards them using an in-app funding method.
The Creator Fund aims to support creative expression. Creators can withdraw calculated funds 30 days after receiving them.
Other in-app monetization features include Creator Marketplace, Live gifts, and video gifts.
How Much Does TikTok Pay?
Eligible TikTok accounts can earn between 2 to 3 cents per 1,000 views on video. That’s $20 to $30 for 1 million views.
The exact amount you can earn is calculated based on various criteria besides the number of views. These include engagement rates, posting frequency, and views’ authenticity.
Similar Gigs to Check Out
You can often find inspiration for becoming a famous content creator on TikTok in similar gigs. Check out the following guides for additional pointers:
- How to Become a Model: A lot of modeling nowadays is online. As such, many tips on becoming a social media model can apply to becoming a TikTok influencer.
- How to Become an Influencer: You can use most of the general tactics for becoming an influencer to outline your path to TikTok fame.
- How to Become Famous: Gaining fame nowadays is closely tied to online popularity. Strategies to achieve both are also applicable to becoming TikTok famous.
Wrapping Up
This is the end of today’s guide on how to become TikTok famous.
The trickiest part about becoming TikTok famous is how luck-dependent it can be. A super silly video that took no time to make can go viral while one that’s been hours or days in the works may not hit 10,000 views.
Hopefully, today’s walk-through will help you master the platform.
As always, share your thoughts in the comments and share the post if you found it helpful.
