With social media platforms such as TikTok becoming more and more popular by the second, content creators are given the opportunity to make a living out of collaborating with brands and publishing sponsored content and posts.
This newly established career path is especially lucrative on TikTok, where influencer marketing is now booming due to the nature of the posts, which makes product or service promotion seem authentic and genuine for the community that is being addressed; in other words, an ad does not look like an ad when it’s posted on this platform.
However, the question on everyone’s mind is: how much do these digital figures actually make and can they really make more than CEOs? In an article published last month by Business Insider, a few TikTokers shared their income on the app, giving us a better understanding of how much we could make if we ever decide to become influencers.
First of all, it is important to note that unlike Facebook or Youtube, which share a percentage of ad revenue with qualifying users, TikTok actually uses built-in monetization tools like virtual “gifts” and a Creator Fund to pay users who have at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 views every month.
When it comes to the Creator Fund, Preston Seo, who is a personal finance influencer and has around 9 million followers, revealed that he has earned around $1,664 between January 2021 to May 2021, noting that his account earns anything between $9 to $38 per day on average. Moreover, the TikToker also disclosed the amount he charges per sponsored post, which can reach about $600.
In addition, other influencers receive virtual ‘gifts’, which can be converted to cash, during live streams. For example, ASMR content creator Lucy Davis could make $20 to $300 each time she goes live seeing that the social media figure has more than 500,000 followers.
We can’t forget to mention song promotion on the app, which has earned Nicole, Natalie, and Nika Taylor (who btw have more than 10 million followers under their belt) around “$750 to promote a song in a single video, $1,400 for two videos, and $2,000 for three videos”.
Forbes also joined the conversation by releasing a list of the top-earning TikTokers of 2021 along with their paychecks, which goes as follows:
1. Charli D’Amelio: $17.5 million
2. Dixie D’Amelio: $10 million
3. Addison Rae: $8.5 million
4 (tie). Bella Poarch & Josh Richards: $5 million
6 (tie). Kris Collins & Avanni Gregg: $4.75 million
While these numbers mostly revolve more around macro-influencers, micro-influencers still have a shot at making additional income on the app, keeping in mind that rates will definitely vary according to their following count in addition to the engagement and reach on each post.
In short, can you have a lengthy career that is based on filming TikToks? Yahoo Finance believes that “if a young TikTok influencer invests their multi-million salary wisely, they could create just as much stability for their future as an S&P 500 CEO” and we can’t help but agree.