NEWS/OPINION-AMERICA: On my estimation based on Internet research, there are around 30,000 TikTok influencers living in America making a living from this platform. The information comes from the Exploding Topics website and the Sprout Social website.
How TikTok influencers make money
TikTok influencers make their money in various ways. Here are some examples:
- Brand partnerships and sponsorships: they collaborate with the manufacturers and retailers of various brands to promote products or services. They might sponsor content or participate in campaigns. If they reach a certain engagement figure they get paid.
- Affiliate marketing: affiliate marketing is advertising certain products on their platform for which they earn commissions. They promote products and services. When someone makes a purchase using the link or code the influencer receives a percentage of the sale.
- Live streaming gifts: the TikTok platform offers a virtual gifting feature where viewers can purchase in-app virtual gifts and send them to their favourite influencers during live streams. The influencer receives a portion of the revenue generated from them.
- Merchandise sales: Many TikTok influencers create their own merchandise such as accessories and clothing or personalised products which they promote to their followers and sell.
- Content creation and consulting: through their experience, some influencers offer services like content creation, social media consultations and video editing for which they charge.
- Crowdfunding and fan support: often TikTok influencers have a loyal fan base who support them through crowdfunding platforms like Patreon. Fans can make regular donations or subscribe for exclusive content or perks.
RELATED: A good example of domestic cat exploitation on TikTok showing a grossly obese cat – TikTok has also been linked with animal welfare issues.
Pet products Gen Zs
It said that 42% of adults with a personal social media account like to show off their pets. And the growth of TikTok as a platform is aligned to a boom in Millennial and Gen Z pet ownership. And the under-35s account for 59% of new pet owners in the UK.
You can see the link between social media and particularly TikTok and young people and how they can be influenced in purchasing pet products or adopting a companion animal.
America moves to ban TikTok over China links
You may have read about this. The American authorities believe that TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, is linked to the Chinese government and are acting as an agent for the Chinese government to spy on America. There have been concerns raised about data privacy and security related to TikTok. In 2020 the US government expressed concerns that TikTok might be collecting and sharing user data with the Chinese government. TikTok denies this absolutely and have done so repeatedly. They state that they store user data in the United States and Singapore and that they have implemented measures to protect user privacy.
But TikTok is fighting for its survival according to The Times newspaper. America’s House Of Representatives has passed a bill to ban TikTok unless it is sold off from ByteDance, its owner.
There are 150 million US users of TikTok and if ByteDance is stealing information from those users a shutdown of the platform is justified. A large majority of Democrats and Republicans believe that ByteDance is doing this and there is now a Cold War between America and China.
The bill will proceed to the Senate. It requires that ByteDance divest itself from TikTok within six months of the bill becoming law failing which TikTok will be banned from distribution in the US.
Loss of livelihood
Going back to the beginning of this article, 30,000 TikTok influencers will lose their livelihoods if the above happens. There’s a good chance that it might. President Biden has stated that TikTok is a serious national security threat and he will sign off any bill that is presented to him if it gets that far.
A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Wang Wenbin, said that the US was suppressing the app even though it had “never found evidence that TikTok threatens US national security.”
And another TikTok spokesperson said that they “are hopeful the Senate will consider the facts, listen to their constituents and realise the impact on the economy, 7 million small businesses and the 170 million Americans who use our service.”
Picture logo by By ByteDance Ltd – https://www.tiktok.com/, Public Domain, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=63490775
