There’s no denying that TikTok is a powerhouse when it comes to advertisements in certain industries, particularly influencer and affiliate marketing. It has crept in into us and is now the newest Social media hub of note. Admittedly, it’s geared up for Gen Z, but let’s examine how to do affiliate marketing on TikTok, and whether it would be a good fit for your affiliate business.
Consider affiliate marketing on TikTok because of these reasons.
There are some numbers to begin with, and they might be surprising to those who still view TikTok as a niche platform for Gen Z entertainment. As a new TikTok-addicted GenXer, I can tell you that it’s just a small part of what happens there. However, that’s just anecdotal evidence, so let’s look at some real research.
According to the Influencer Marketing Hub, there are now 1 billion (!) active TikTok users who watch 167 million hours of videos every Internet minute. Statista has already predicted less than that:
People are spending more time on TikTok than they are on Netflix or Disney now. Instead of watching a movie on Netflix (and we all know what happens when you finish them all), people are now spending hours on TikTok scrolling through videos of all kinds—from mental health and nutrition to makeup tutorials to comedy skits and everything in between.
What’s more, despite its high popularity, TikTok only has the highest engagement rates per post (17.96% and 4.96%, respectively) for micro-influencers and mega-influencers, and this is unbeatable in both cases.
An engaged audience serving engaging content is the foundation of successful affiliate marketing.
TikTok uses affiliate marketing to function.
Creators work with brands on TikTok to increase brand exposure, often by including (or mentioning) associated links. You may still earn commissions from sales made from the links, but TikTok makes it more difficult than other social media platforms, such as Instagram, to place links directly in your stories.
Since linking in TikTok videos is only available to accounts with 10,000 followers, affiliates often include a link in their bio. A TikToker can also receive a discount code from a brand and mention it in their videos and captions, earning them a percentage of sales made via that code.
You can also:
- Have a landing page (like linktree or any other) with multiple affiliate links, linked in your profile bio.
- Or mention a link (that’s easy enough to memorize – using a customizable link shortener is usually a must in this case) within your videos.
Make sure to follow TikTok’s advertising guidelines, though, to not get your account in trouble.
How to begin with TikTok affiliate marketing
Do you recall when you had to attain a specific number of followers to include a swipe-up link in your Instagram stories? In addition to being able to add a link to your TikTok videos with more than 10,000 followers, TikTok still requires that you adhere to this policy for adding links to your bio. To add a link in your bio, you must have a registered business on TikTok.
You must begin with either having an established following on TikTok that hasn’t yet been monetized or starting fresh on the platform.
We will examine how to handle those situations.
If you already have a TikTok account and an audience when you already have an account.
If you’ve already established a large TikTok personal account following, monetization with affiliate marketing might be a smart move. You can only include a link in your biography and advertise brands and products if you switch to a TikTok business account. Fortunately, this is surprisingly simple.
You can switch to a business account by going to your profile, opening the hamburger menu in the top right corner, and then selecting Settings and privacy > Manage account > Switch to business account.
Pick the right category for your account, depending on your industry. Then add your email address and bio. That’s pretty much it.
You can now access TikTok analytics and advertising options from the hamburger menu in the Business suite. Working with other creators to promote a brand, you can also manage your branded content collaborations.
After you register your business via the “Business registration” option, you can finally add the much-desired clickable link in your biography that will lead to the affiliate offers you promote, your landing page, or your website.
You can create an affiliate marketing funnel on TikTok or add TikTok to an existing funnel you created using affiliate marketing tools on other platforms.
Make sure to include something in the bio that makes people want to click on your link, encourages them to take action, and describes the value they will receive. Here is an excellent example:
It’s also a great idea to get your business account verified once you have a big following and an engaged community. TikTok provides guidelines for verifying business accounts.
If you’re just beginning on TikTok when you’re just beginning on TikTok.
In addition to following all the steps listed above, you must first build an audience if you want to add a link to your bio and benefit from TikTok affiliate marketing sales. In general, an engaged audience is a crucial component of TikTok affiliate marketing (and marketing in general), so start there.
Despite the fact that you can still convert your personal account to a business account regardless of how many followers you have, you will not be able to use promotional tools on TikTok. You will, however, still be able to post videos.
When you register your business on TikTok, you can add a website link to your bio (or your affiliate link). Before you do that, make sure you add links to your other social media accounts (Instagram and YouTube) to your account settings to redirect traffic and build your following there as well. You can accomplish this by clicking the ‘Edit profile’ button on your profile page.
It’s true that you should still have your bio filled out if you want to build an engaged audience and post actively. Use that space to let people know what to expect from your account. You can also add a call to action to follow you.
If you want to know how to maximize organic traffic on TikTok.
Whether you want to build your TikTok following or just engage people, engaging people is important to getting them interested in your affiliate offers. Here are some pointers for doing so:
You can advertise products or services to your TikTok audience by following these steps.
Before you begin marketing products or services to your large fan base, make sure they are ready to purchase them as well. Remember two things first:
- Create videos that are aligned with your target audience’s values.
You may continue posting the same type of TikTok videos, but occasionally switch things up by incorporating affiliate links to products. For example, if you are a beauty influencer doing makeup tutorials or get-ready-with-me videos, including some products with an affiliate link might be the most appropriate format for you and your audience.
When choosing the affiliate programs to join, consider whether you will be able to create engaging, genuine affiliate marketing content that suits your audience.
- Your expert knowledge can be shown in order to support sales.
If you’re an expert on nutrition, beauty, or job hunting, use your professional knowledge to substantiate your advertisements’ claims. Of course, you should start with selecting a product or service that actually works and that you yourself trust and can genuinely recommend.
It is imperative to keep trust in mind when monetizing your TikTok presence, as trust is a huge driver of engagement on social media.
- Remember to have fun on TikTok!
It may be beneficial to produce a more traditional ad video every now and then, provided that that is what the audience is comfortable with. Younger audiences tend to be wary of traditional advertisements, so you may need to be a bit more imaginative.
It is advisable not to turn your TikTok videos into infomercials or your account into a shopping channel when promoting your affiliate products. Identify what your audience enjoys and wants, and see what works for them and gets clicks. Furthermore, adjust your promotional posts to TikTok content in general. That’s why people come here.
An affiliate marketer (or hoping to be one) can prosper on TikTok. You may rapidly develop a large following and an interested audience for your affiliate offers here. You must, however, offer something of value to your audience as well.
There are so many videos and content creators on TikTok battling for their audience’s attention that you won’t be able to win that race. Make your profile a place people want to watch your content in addition to creating TikTok a location where you earn some affiliate commissions. That is the only way this whole thing will work.
