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Category: Social Media

5 Surprising Facts About Facebook

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Where would the internet be today if it weren’t for Facebook? When you think of the biggest success stories in the internet’s fairly short history, the longest chapter likely belongs to Mark Zuckerberg (and others) and his invention of Facebook. The social media site has evolved into a multimedia giant and now employs tens of thousands of people and pulls in over nine figures in revenue. Think you know everything about Facebook, though? Here are some surprising facts you might not have known.

5. Exclusive Club (At First)

If you happened to be around 17 to 22 years old around the time Facebook got started, there’s a good chance that you were one of the first people to know about the site. That’s because upon launch, Facebook was only available to students of Harvard before branching out into the Ivy League and then the rest of North American colleges. You needed a college email address to sign up for Facebook, but it then eventually opened to the public in 2006 for better or worse, as long as you were 13 years old per the terms of service.

4. A Decade of Trading

It feels like it was just yesterday when it was announced that Facebook had its initial public offering (IPO) and went public. However, it was now more than a decade ago as the company was openly traded starting on May 18, 2012. The stock, which is now known as Meta Platforms Inc., has been the subject of many headlines ever since. After a sketchy start, Facebook stock climbed to a peak of over $380 per share. It has come back down since then due to the economy and recent changes, putting it around 2018 levels.

3. Finding a Date

While you have likely used Facebook’s marketplace feature to buy used video games, furniture, etc., you might not know that you can also find a date. In mid 2018, Facebook announced that there would be a dating feature on its app that allowed you pretty much the same service that was provided by giants Tinder and Bumble. The official launch for the service came in late 2019 without much ballyhoo and is still around to this day. Get ready to hear “We met on Facebook Dating” in at least one wedding down the road.

2. Leaving the ‘Is’

Early adopters of Facebook will remember when your status simply read “(Your name) is…” and then you filled out the rest. It was a unique feature that paved the way for many grammatical errors because you were handcuffed by what you could say. For example, “Mark Zuckerberg is Hey does anyone want to come over to my place later for the game?” In 2007, Facebook dropped the ‘is’ part of the status allowing you full freedom to post.

1. Metaverse of Madness

You’ve probably met at least one person that has said that they’re done with Facebook forever due to privacy policies, their feelings on Zuckerberg or anything in between. However, people that boycott Facebook might not know that they’re still supporting the company through the Meta platform that nearly 80 percent of all internet users take part in each day. Other platforms owned by Facebook include Instagram, Oculus, WhatsApp and Mapillary just to name a few.

5 Surprising Facts About Twitter

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Every day, hundreds of millions of people post hundreds of millions of tweets. Some are completely random and let people know what they had for breakfast, while others are breaking big news stories. Twitter, perhaps more than any other social media platform, has been polarizing and basically a battleground for political opinions. Things were more simple when it started all those years ago, so let’s take a dive through Twitter’s history and find some of the most surprising facts that you might not have known before.

5. The First Tweet is Old Enough to Drive

It’s hard to stay relevant for more than a few minutes in today’s world fueled by technology, it seems. However, Twitter has proven to be a mainstay and has lasted for more than 16 years. On March 21, 2006, the first ever tweet was sent by Jack Dorsey at 3:50 PM Eastern time. It simply read “just setting up my twttr.” Since then, the website hasn’t looked back with countless tweets making their way to the universe.

4. The Creation of the Hashtag

You might think that the hashtag that we all know and love came with the invention of Twitter, but it actually took some time for it to become a thing. The pound sign, as we knew it before social media, was first used by Chris Messina to get tweets based around single topics all in one space. “How do you feel about using # (pound) for groups,” Messina asked in a tweet back in August 2007. Now, there’s a hashtag for just about everything and you can see them plastered more than company slogans in advertising.

3. Library of Congress Gets Involved

Back in 2010, the Library of Congress began archiving every public tweet when the social media platform really started to take off. This included adding all presidential tweets into the national archives. However, that would come to an end on January 1, 2018. The LoC opted to instead archive tweets selectively so that the ones that were more culturally significant were focused on instead of just any random thought. It also proved to be a lot more cost effective.

2. The Failed Ventures

Tweeting isn’t the only thing that Twitter has had a focus on over the years. There were also short form videos and live streaming, both of which went by the wayside. Vine was the video service that created countless internet memes and was massively popular, paving the way for TikTok. However, they cut the service back in 2016 and are probably kicking themselves for that. As for live streaming, Twitter had their attempt with Periscope, but was overshadowed by platforms such as YouTube and Twitch.

1. Notable Bans

There’s a chance that you’ve been blocked by someone on Twitter, but you really have to do something against terms of service to get banned from the site. There have been some notable bans during Twitter’s history, including then-president Donald Trump due to the acts of January 6, 2021. Other notable people that have been banned from Twitter include Azealia Banks, Tila Tequila, Martin Shkreli, Alex Jones and even former Major League Baseball star Aubrey Huff.

5 Surprising Facts About Youtube

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No matter where you are in the world, everyone knows YouTube. The platform created a user-friendly interface that allows us to watch videos for hours on end each day in any genre that you can imagine. YouTube has been around for over 15 years now and no competitor has been able to even come close to touching its success. There are some interesting things that have happened to the video giant over the years, and here are a few of the more surprising YouTube facts.

5. Humble Beginnings

We might not have YouTube if eBay didn’t purchase PayPal back in the early 2000s. That’s because when the buyout happened, it made PayPal employees Steve Chen, Chad Hurley and Jawed Karim very wealthy. They used the money to create YouTube after Karim was trying to find videos of a certain “wardrobe malfunction” during the Super Bowl and a tsunami that hit Indonesia. With that, YouTube was created and the first video came from Karim at the San Diego Zoo.

4. Sub Milestones

The names on YouTube have changed over the years, but the race to become the most subscribed hasn’t. Brookers became the first YouTuber to reach 10,000 and the numbers have ballooned since. FRED became the first to 1 million in 2009 and four years later Smosh hit 10 million. PewDiePie would be the first to reach 20 million, doing so in January 2014 when he was already the top subscribe getter. He held that title for 2,050 days before being surpassed by T-Series in 2019 and they have held the title since then following a three week back-and-forth.

3. Low Watch Time

You may have noticed that YouTube has been going all in on the YouTube Shorts program, highlighting shorter videos in a different format than their standard ones. That’s because short videos tend to get a lot of clicks and don’t require a lot of attention. In fact, nearly a quarter of the videos on YouTube are turned off before 10 seconds even elapse. That’s why you’re seeing the site embrace more of the TikTok length of videos.

2. Ads Pay the Bills

It may feel like it was more recent, but YouTube has been using advertising in its videos since back in January of 2009. The reason it feels more recent is because the website has upped the amount of ads you’re watching in recent years, including double advertisements before videos even play. Because of this, YouTube has made an insane amount of money, and in their most recently reported quarter earned $7.34 billion in revenue. Just a reminder, that’s only in three months.

1. Down with Dislikes

YouTube made a lot of headlines in December 2021 when it announced that it would be removing the public dislike counter on every video. Perhaps the reason is because YouTube itself uploaded the most disliked video in the website’s history. The 2018 YouTube Rewind was universally panned, amassing 20.1 million dislikes to make it by far the most disliked video. Other videos in the top five include “Johny Johny Yes Papa” (12.7 million), the Justin Bieber song “Baby” (13.51 million), the trailer for “Sadak 2” (13.7 million) and “Baby Shark Dance” (16.62 million).

How To Build A Following On LinkedIn

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When we think of building a following on social media, some of the first thoughts usually come from Twitter or Instagram. However, in the professional universe, LinkedIn is the go-to for social media. With more than 830 million users on the site, LinkedIn has become a great way to recruit and network for businesses. It can be difficult to stand out, but if you can build a following, you’ll get noticed very quickly. Here’s how to do just that.

5. Have a Full Profile

No matter what social media platform you’re using, it’s important to have your profile and bio completely filled out. If all you have is a profile picture (and it’s important to have a professional one of those, even), then people aren’t likely to engage with your content. If you post something and someone clicks on your profile, you want it to look like you know exactly what you’re talking about in your posts. Fill your bio out to the best of your abilities and keep it as professional as possible for maximum success.

4. Have a Website/Blog

It’s great to make your own posts on LinkedIn, but it’s much easier to make content more shareable and capable of going viral if you have your own website or blog. Attempt to make posts on your website and then share them on your LinkedIn, copying and pasting a portion of the text from your post to garner attention and include the link. You can also put a button on your website that directs to your LinkedIn profile to get more traffic. Images are another big way to get quick attention and shares on LinkedIn, as well.

3. Keep Posting

One thing about social media and developing a following is that most people simply tap out too quickly. After they make a few posts that don’t get shared, they get discouraged and end up ignoring their social media sites altogether, and LinkedIn is no exception. If you only get one or two shares on a post, don’t fret. Just keep sharing what you have and eventually it will catch on. While quality is the most important thing, quantity is also important when you’re sharing posts.

2. Actively Engage

Once you’ve posted on LinkedIn, don’t just let it sit there and be shared. If you don’t have a large following as it is, you’re hurting yourself by not engaging with those that interact with your content. Try to respond to as many people as possible as quickly as possible. This makes you more accessible and relatable, allowing people to feel comfort in being able to get an answer or response from you. You don’t have to respond to troll accounts or anything like that, but do your best to make sure everyone is heard in their comments.

1. Analyze the Analytics

Thankfully, LinkedIn has made it easy to track how your posts are doing thanks to the page analytics function on the website. From here, you’ll be able to see how your posts are doing, what time of the day you’re getting the most engagement and where your viewers are coming from. Pay close attention to these analytics and use them to tweak your future strategy. It’s becoming easier every day to manage social media, and this is another one of those great tools.

Top 5 Most Positive Twitter Personalities

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Out of all of the social media platforms, Twitter is perhaps the one that gets pointed out the most for its toxicity. While most people post their real name and picture on Facebook (another battleground for opposing opinions), Twitter allows you to be completely anonymous. Because of the constant fighting on Twitter, it can be a bit grating on your mental health. If you love Twitter but want to get away from the bickering and check out something positive on the site, you’re in luck. Here are five positive Twitter personalities that are sure to brighten your day and make you forget how hectic life can be.

5. WholesomeMemes (@wholesomememe)

Back in August 2016, a man named Chris started up a Twitter account focusing on the most wholesome memes that the internet was churning out. Since then, the account has exploded in popularity with people wanting a quick smile, amassing nearly 3 million followers thanks to an endless stream of content that gets posted pretty much hourly. From birds hopping around in sweaters to original cartoons, Wholesomememes has a little something for everyone that needs some brightness.

4. Maria Popova (@brainpicker)

Bulgarian born Maria Popova started a blog back in 2006 that quickly became popular called Brain Pickings, and the following year joined Twitter. Now with nearly 1 million followers, Popova has been finding some of the most interesting tidbits, many of which are surrounded in the positivity of human nature. Popova has been very active in the years since starting her account and has also written several of her own pieces with interesting finds.

3. WeRateDogs (@dog_rates)

Do you absolutely love dogs and think they’re perfect no matter what? That’s what the people over at WeRateDogs think too. People from all over the world send photographs of their dogs to the account to get a rating, none of which are below 10 out of 10. There are also dogs that make the news that get an impromptu rating. It’s all for a good cause, too, as this account helps to support animal charities that include the Kentucky Humane Society and JustFoodForDogs to name a couple.

2. Preschool Gems (@PreschoolGems

Kids really do say the darndest things. That’s what Leslie McCollom of Portland, Oregon found out while being a teacher. McCollom takes some of the wildest things that young children have said in classrooms and makes quick quotes on Twitter such as “Why is an elephant?” or “Never forget: ‘Have a strang hart and be your salf.’” They’re very cute messages, and McCollom has even created a book that curates all of her favorite preschool-isms.

1. Earthpix (@EarthPix)

If you need to remind yourself that the Earth is a beautiful place filled with natural wonder, look no further than the EarthPix Twitter account. From the crystal clear waters off the shores of Italy to county fairs in the rural United States, EarthPix shows us the varying cultures of the world and the beauty in everyday life. There are now more than 3 million people following EarthPix, all of whom want to see this planet we share and the people who help to make humanity what it is today.

Top 5 Richest TikTokers

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There have been a lot of social media platforms to come and go over the years, but some have certainly caught on and become giants in the industry. Over the past couple of years, video platform TikTok has quickly made its way to the top and has become the most used app around the world. Because of this, TikTok has also made some of its users very rich and famous. Here are the five that have benefitted the most from TikTok’s explosion in popularity since its inception (at under its current namesake) in 2018.

5. Loren Gray ($5 Million)

Loren Gray was one of the first people to make it big on TikTok, going back to the time when it was still musical.ly. At the time, she was still in elementary school and would make her way to Los Angeles and grow her social media presence. Gray’s following has now ballooned to over 54 million on TikTok alone and she has used her following to start a career in both acting and music videos. Some notable artists she’s worked with include Taylor Swift.

4. Baby Ariel ($6 Million)

Born in 2000 as Ariel Martin, this Florida native is better known as Baby Ariel on social media platforms, especially on TikTok. What originally was a hobby that started when she was bored, Martin has become an international star that has gotten into acting in recent years. This includes starring in the television films “Zombies 2” and “Zombies 3”, as well as the web series “Chicken Girls”.

3. Burak Ozdemir ($11 Million)

Believe it or not, the oldest person on our list is Burak Ozdemir (or CZN Burak as he’s commonly known). You might think that he’s in his 30s or 40s, but he’s still only 27 years old. Ozdemir’s father owns a textile business in their native Turkey, and Ozdemir himself went into the restaurant business. He opened several restaurants that span multiple countries and have seen a boom in business thanks to his popular TikTok page that has around 62 million followers and over 1 billion likes.

2. Addison Rae ($15 Million)

A dancer from Louisiana, Addison Rae (last name Easterling) actually dropped out of college shortly after enrolling at LSU when her videos on TikTok began going viral. Since then, Rae has become a staple of social media and has branched out into business ventures that include fashion and cosmetics partnerships and even acting and singing. Rae released her first single in 2021 with “Obsessed” and starred in the 2021 Netflix film “He’s All That”.

1. Charlie and Dixie D’Amelio ($30 Million) 

It might seem like cheating to include two people in the top spot together, but it would be hard to disassociate the D’Amelio sisters since they came into the limelight together. Their mother Heidi was a model and her father an aspiring politician. Charlie and Dixie would end up getting into social media where they quickly took off and signed with a talent agency. Since then, they have gathered over 100 million combined followers and they have become extremely wealthy as a result. It’s likely we’ve only seen the beginning of their careers, too.

Top 5 Richest YouTubers

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When it was first brought onto the internet in 2005, YouTube was just a way of uploading some grainy family videos or goofs with your friends that might get around 10 views. These days, it’s how most of us get our entertainment, news and more as YouTube’s reach is higher than that of cable television. With that said, there have been plenty of people to amass a big fortune thanks to YouTube. You’ll notice that the list of the richest YouTubers skews a bit older due to its time of inception compared to the richest TikTokers or Instagrammers (and most are from playing video games), and here are those five that have created the largest net worth.

5. DanTDM ($35 Million)

Dan Middleton began his YouTube channel back in 2012 under the name TheDiamondMinecart and has since changed it to DanTDM as of 2016. His videos routinely hit millions of views, and the main source of his views come from his Minecraft videos. Middleton has over 26 million subscribers with his three most watched videos all coming more than five years ago and reaching over 50 million views. Naturally, these three videos are indeed Minecraft ones.

4. Markiplier ($35 Million)

More of a variety streamer, 33 year old Mark Fischbach has been a busy man over the past decade under the name Markiplier on youTube. He is considered one of the “OGs” of YouTube that has had a steady following during his time on the platform. These days, Fischbach has over 33 million subscribers with some of his videos reaching over 100 million views. Like DanTDM, there is one game in particular that Markiplier was known most for, and that’s “Five Nights at Freddy’s”.

3. PewDiePie ($40 Million)

For several years, Felix Kjellberg was the king of YouTube. He was the most subscribed to channel on the platform beginning in 2013 and held that spot until he was overtaken by Indian record label T-Series. Of course, Kjellberg is known as PewDiePie (or Pewds to his loyal fans) that was in the spotlight on a mainstream basis, but due to some unfavorable coverage has cut down on his uploading schedule and has enjoyed a more subdued life with his now-wife Marzia Bisognin, a fellow internet personality.

2. Ryan Kaji ($50 Million)

Sometimes you catch lightning in a bottle, and that’s exactly what happened for Ryan Kaji and his family. When watching YouTube at a very young age, Kaji asked his mother why he wasn’t on YouTube playing with toys. She then quit her job and helped him make a channel and now it’s a media empire. Yes, all of that is true. Still, go call your mother and tell her that you love her despite not making you a millionaire at just a few years old. Ryan Kaji, between his YouTube channel and various merchandise, is worth $50 million.

1. Jeffree Star ($200 Million)

It might come as a surprise to see Jeffree Star at the top of the list considering that he has under 16 million subscribers, which is peanuts compared to the rest of those on the list. However, the makeup artist is also an entrepreneur and the cosmetics line that he created is bringing in around $100 million per year. When you add those two up, you get a lot of wealth. Interestingly enough, this number could be higher but Star turned down $500 million from L’Oreal for his cosmetics line.

Top 5 Richest Facebook Personalities

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Facebook has been a platform where we all share our status updates, photos and videos, but it has also been a place to become famous. This is thanks in part to the ability to livestream on Facebook, especially with Facebook Gaming. Between getting sponsorships, earning money from subscribers and more, Facebook users are finding more ways than ever to become rich. Who are the wealthiest among the pack, though? Here are the five richest Facebook personalities.

5. Darkness429 ($1.5 Million)

Most people have a full time job that runs from 9am to 5pm, and Darkness429 is no exception. However, his job is playing video games for thousands of people on Facebook Gaming. Now, Darkness429 is one of the most followed people on the platform, and the Tampa, Florida native specializes in the game “Escape from Tarkov” (though he’s good at just every first person shooter). He’s also popular on YouTube and Instagram, helping to earn him some extra money away from his full time streaming gig.

4. Alodia Gosiengfiao ($1.6 Million)

The first entry on the list from the Philippines is Alodia Gosiengfiao, who was born in March 1988 and earned recognition from her cosplaying photos on the internet. Back in 2018, Gosiengfiao signed a contract with Facebook gaming to make her instantly one of the highest paid people on the platform. Though she wasn’t too well versed in making video game content at first, Gosiengfiao found her stride and earned millions of followers and dollars in the process.

3. ChooxTv ($2 Million)

A native of the Philippines, ChooxTv has over 13 million followers on Facebook gaming. Among the richest non-Americans on Facebook, Choox spends most of his time streaming games such as Mobile Legends, which has earned him most of his views in recent months. Every video that he posts tends to get over 100,000 likes on Facebook as well as thousands of comments from his fans. Having a YouTube channel also helps, padding his net worth to the point of $2 million USD.

2. StoneMountain64 ($3.5 Million)

David Steinberg, aka StoneMountain64, is one of the original people that got popular on the Facebook Gaming platform. Steinberg had been uploading gaming videos to YouTube since back in 2011, and in 2015 started to use Facebook to upload his videos more frequently. Shortly thereafter, Steinberg was one of the first to ink a partnership deal to make him a full time streamer on the platform. Now with millions of followers, he’s worth millions of dollars and has over 1 billion minutes viewed on his videos in just one year.

1. Disguised Toast ($5 Million)

Born in Taiwan, Jeremy Wang moved to Canada at a young age where he learned to work with software, creating apps for major brands like Mercedes Benz and the NFL. After spending years behind the scenes, Wang started streaming on his own, earning himself a big following on Twitch by playing “League of Legends” among other games. Then, Yang took his talents to Facebook Gaming where he inked a large contract that earned him millions. Now, he’s at the top of the earnings board and is worth an estimated $5 million and a Streamer Award for Best Strategy Game Streamer. 

Top 5 Richest Instagrammers

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Do you remember back in the early days of social media when it was basically just MySpace and Facebook vying for your attention? Now, it seems like there are hundreds of social media sites available, and it’s wild to think that some of them can make you filthy rich. Among those is Instagram, which has seen a boom in ‘influencers’ that are making millions of dollars. Who are some of the richest Instagrammers, though? For this list, we removed those that were already celebrities before even hopping on Instagram. Instead, we’re focused on those that became famous because of Instagram.

5. Sommer Ray ($8 Million)

At first, Sommer Ray was a YouTuber that focused on fitness videos before branching out into other forms of social media. This includes Instagram where she has amassed a following of over 26.4 million people. Sommer Ray has been on a few different social media teams, which includes the Cloutgang with her then-boyfriend RiceGum. Ray also runs a beauty company called IMARAIS Beauty, though that company has just 21.6k followers on Instagram.

4. Dixie D’Amelio ($10 Million)

A name that you’ll see again later in this list, Dixie D’Amelio is the older of the D’Amelio sisters that have made a big splash on social media. After her father’s political campaign, D’Amelio took to TikTok with her sister and began appearing on various videos and TV shows thanks to her talent agency. Now, on Instagram, D’Amelio is making tens of thousands per post and has a following of just under 25 million at just 20 years old.

3. Khaby Lame ($13 Million)

Nobody has more followers on TikTok than Khaby Lame, and that success has translated into a booming Instagram account. The 22 year old from Senegal went viral for his videos where he doesn’t really say anything, instead silently judging life hack videos. Lame is now an ambassador for several companies including Hugo Boss and his reach on Instagram has neared 77 million while he lives in Milan, Italy.

2. Addison Rae ($15 Million)

Another influencer that first found success on TikTok when it was still in its infancy, Addison Rae is a Louisiana native that was a dancer and aspiring sportscaster at Louisiana State before her social media career took off. Rae has used her success to reach over 40 million followers on Instagram and has made big bucks from her own fragrance that was a creation of her partnership with cosmetics giant Sephora. Throw in a little bit of acting with “He’s All That” and a hit song with “Obsessed” and Rae is doing just fine for herself.

1. Charli D’Amelio ($20 Million)

The other D’Amelio sister (the younger one of the two) is now the richest influencer on Instagram. You probably guessed that she got her start on TikTok, and was the most followed person on the platform before Khaby Lame overtook her. Still, D’Amelio is doing great at only 18 years old thanks to her many social media partnerships and has nearly 50 million Instagram followers. Has money changed her? “I’m trying to show people that I’m a person, and I deal with the same thing as you guys,” she said. “I’m trying to make the best of it.”

Top 5 Ways To Make Money On TikTok

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After a social media app starts to take off, not many people are thinking about how they can make money from the trend. Eventually, though, that platform will become so large that it’s a money making machine, and it’s not just those behind the scenes that are pulling in cash. Users are able to make money from their content, and that includes TikTok. Want to know how you can earn some cash through your TikTok hobby? Here are five ways to do just that.

5. Creator Fund

Beginning in March 2021, TikTok rolled out what’s known as the creator fund, calling it an appreciation for those that have made the app as successful as it is. This is not the easiest program to get into, however. To become part of the creator fund, you have to have over 100,000 authentic views in a 30 day span on your videos. As long as you get that amount, you can grab a piece of the pie, but there is no one set amount for each creator.

4. Ads Manager

Don’t feel like trying to get viewers the old fashioned way on Tiktok? There’s an easier route you can take, but you have to invest in yourself first. Through TikTok ads, you can promote your own videos that show up in between popular videos on the site, and this will direct people to your profile or a store that you run. While it might not be the easiest or most organic way of doing things, this is a better option if your goal is to sell things instead of creating videos.

3. Make Some Coins

There’s a newer feature on TikTok where a virtual currency can be sent to content creators called coins. When someone sends you coins, you can cash those out for real money with a minimum cashout of $100. The best way to get coins is through live video on TikTok. People that are watching are more likely to do realtime donations through coins than they would a video that was published several days prior. Think of it like donating bits to a Twitch streamer.

2. Sponsored Content

Of course, nothing makes money on social media quite like doing some old fashioned sponsored content. There are plenty of companies that are willing to advertise on TikTok by working with content creators, even if they’re on the smaller side of the follower spectrum. To get in on the action, simply go to the ‘more options’ tab on your ‘post’ screen then click on ‘branded content.’ You can also work directly with brands to advertise on your TikTok, eliminating the middleman in your sponsorship.

1. Merch Sales

Just like any entertainer, you can make a good amount of money just from your merchandise sales. Musicians do it, movie studios do it, content creators do it, so you might as well join them. Making merchandise on websites like Teespring is easy and doesn’t cost you anything. Of course, they’ll take a cut for being the ones using inventory to design and ship out your merchandise, but you still can set how much of the profits that you’re getting. Make sure to add your merchandise link on your TikTok profile and you’ll be good to go.