Yes, money moves on TikTok. And no, we are not talking about the typical sponsored ones like those that are usually seen in the Stories and other Instagram publications agreed between the influencer on duty and the brand. Here we refer to the purchase of virtual currencies, the possession of their own wallet and the exchange of cash for gifts and vice versa. Don’t know how it works? That is why we are here. Be comfortable.
The wallet: what is it, what is it for and how to top it up?
Beyond virals, challenges and other musical compositions, TikTok is also a platform where money can be handled. To do this, the social network uses its own virtual currency that is stored in a wallet or Wallet. All profiles –yes, you too– have a wallet associated with them, even if they have never used it, in which both the coins that the user tops up and the prizes received from other people (LIVE Gifts) are stored.
Top up the wallet It is very simple and involves a few followed through your user profile:
- Enter the TikTok app and go to your user in “Me” (bottom right corner).
- Tap on the three dots in the upper right corner and once inside “Settings and privacy” tap on “Balance”.
- you will see Wallet with a balance of 0 euro coins and a red “Reload” button. Tap on him.
- The coin purchase options will be displayed.
- Choose the option that interests you and tap on the price.
- A purchase dropdown will open Google Play (if you are on Android), where you can choose the payment method (by tapping on it, you can select a credit or debit card, Paypal, PaySafeCar or redeem a code) or the Apps Store (if you’re on iOS).
- Tap on “Buy” (Android) or double-tap the side button on your iPhone.
The price of the coins varies if you use Android or if you are on iOS, the latter operating system where it comes out a little more expensive buy them. You have the price table below to give you an idea of the differences – the bigger the package, the bigger the discount:
| Number of coins available on Android | Price | Number of coins available on iOS | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 1,09 euros | 65 | 1,09 euros |
| 350 | 5,49 euros | 330 | 5,49 euros |
| 1.400 | 21,99 euros | 1.321 | 21,99 euros |
| 3.500 | 54,99 euros | 3.303 | 54,99 euros |
| 7.000 | 109,99 euros | 6.607 | 109,99 euros |
Once purchased, coins cannot be returned or exchanged for cash. Keep this in mind before spending too much if you are not going to use them all later and you regret accumulating too many. The best strategy is to acquire them little by little and whenever they are necessary for your activity within the social network.
Wallet full, now what? It’s time to make gifts
Do you already have your TikTok Wallet full of coins? Then you will be wondering how to use them, of course. This money used to buy Virtual Gifts with which to reward those people you follow for their content on the platform.
If you like what a TikToker uploads, a good way to let them know is with this type of giveaway. These are in the form of an emoji or sticker and all you have to do to send it is tap on Gift under the video you are watching – they are always done during a live broadcast. Everyone who is watching the video, by the way, will see your profile and know that you made a gift.
Diamond Program: exchange gifts for money
Once a person receives a Virtual Gift, it is transformed into diamonds. Its value is variable (calculated based on various factors, including the number of Diamonds a user has accumulated) and can never be purchased: the only way to get it is through fan gifts. In fact, the platform itself considers them a measure of the popularity of a user’s content.
The Diamond Program is the one that allows you to redeem the diamonds you have accumulated for money in cash – and no, they cannot be transferred to another person. You must have accumulated a minimum of diamonds (there is also a maximum per week to be exchanged) to be able to convert them into US dollars that will be transferred by TikTok to the user’s Paypal account.
It is very important that a user’s first and last name exactly match the PayPal account information and that it is verified for proceed to collect the money for all exchanged diamonds
To check your diamond balance and proceed with the redemption, this is what you must do:
- Enter the TikTok app and go to your user page, on the “Me” icon (bottom right corner).
- Tap on the three dots in the upper right corner and, within “Settings and privacy”, tap on “Balance”.
- you will see Wallet and in it “LIVE Gifts”. Tap on this option.
- A Rewards page will load where you can see the total diamonds earned, the current balance of diamonds you have, and their cash equivalent (in dollars).
- Tap on Redeem and follow the process to send the money to your associated Paypal account.
To give you an idea of the limits, despite the fact that the value of the diamonds is variable as we tell you, the lower withdrawal limit would be equivalent to $100 in “real money”, and the upper limit per week would be $1.000. So, if you want to earn this “extra” using TikTok, think about creating a content strategy that has to do with talking to your followers live (and that they enjoy what you show them, of course).
How do I access the Diamond program?
Not all users can access the Diamond program, so it is necessary to meet a series of requirements that mark from the social network itself. And are next:
- You must be part of the program Creator Next, that is, have a minimum number of followers and views that TikTok marks.
- You must be at least 18 years of age.
- You must have at least 100.000 followers as well as an account age of more than 30 days.
- You must have at least one video posted in the last 30 days.
- Your TikTok profile must be free of penalties above.
- If you have a company account, you cannot participate.
- Business accounts are not eligible.
Controversies with the Diamond Program
Although at first it may seem easy to earn money with the platform’s program, the truth is that many content creators complain that it is not exactly the best for it. Users often comment on how difficult it is for them to send you gifts, since it implies a previous monetary expense by the followers, often too much. youths.
Then there is the issue of inequality in conversion of the Diamonds That is, the money that a user spends on Coins is not comparable who then receives another by exchanging the Diamonds, getting lost quite a lot along the way – “getting lost” is a manner of speaking, of course.
So much so that in the end it is not such an easy way to earn money, which is why many prefer to continue resorting to sponsored collaborations. Even so, it does not hurt to know all the ways by which one can get to swell your checking account with TikTok. Now you know.
How much can a TikTok profile earn?
The amount of diamonds that a TikTok user can earn during a broadcast will depend mainly on their number of followers and their level of engagement, that is, the percentage of followers who have an interaction with the user. For the same reason, it is increasingly absurd to buy fake followers on social networks.
As we have said above, the diamonds that each user enters will depend on multiple factors. Among them, a very important one is the purchasing power of the audience. A content aimed at minors will not be the same as a more technical one designed for adults who have a salary.
On the other hand, there are online calculators that allow you to estimate how much a TikTok user could earn per post. We are no longer talking about diamonds as such, but about sponsored content. A rather interesting tool is TikTok Money Calculator, developed by Influencer Marketing Club. You can access it through this link. It allows you to add the name of any user and get an approximate estimate of how much you could ask for each publication based on statistics such as the number of followers, the average number of visits per publication and the audience retention percentage.
On the other hand, the same tool is also used to calculate the number of likes, followers and videos that we would have to get in a certain profile to get a ratio of engagement specific or achieve a monetary goal for each post. As always, these data should be interpreted with caution. Most of the time, these data are made taking into account advertisers from the United States, who usually pay a higher price than here in Spain or Latin America. However, it’s a good place to start if you don’t know how much you should price your brand partnerships, or if you suspect that you’re selling sponsorships well below what they should be paying you.
The ideal in these cases is to try different tools to make an average. There is another identical tool FeedPixels with which you can make more estimates and draw your own conclusions. In this case, we have introduced the profile of the famous tiktokers Nachter in the two calculators to be able to compare both estimates. As you may have noticed, the FeedPixel earnings calculator gives lower and probably also more realistic data.
With all this, what is clear is that TikTok is just another business. Either with donations from your followers or with sponsorships, there are users capable of making a lot of money every month on this platform. And yet, this could only be the beginning. It would not be strange if TikTok, with the rapid deployment it has had, ends up implementing its own advertising network with partners just like YouTube did in its day.
