In 2020, I used T-Tok to promote my new book. In the course of my research, it was hard for me to see what T-Tok's business model was. I don't see any posts marked as "promoted." My experiment with T-Tok failed, meaning I didn't sell a single book. But since then, I've become interested in their business model. I interviewed THE Brendan Weinstein, learned something from here.

The business model of traditional

Most social media platforms generate revenue by tracking user data. They then use this data to help companies determine which users are appropriate to advertise.

ads will appear as native posts on the user's News Feed bar, but there will be an "ad" disclaimer at the bottom.

T-Tok's revenue model is different from other social media platforms.

　　1. T-Tok's B2B revenue model

T-Tok monetizes a partnership between influencers and brands.

If I want to promote BAIB on T-Tok, I will contact T-Tok first. Then, they would find an influencer blogger based on my budget and promoted content. And this blogger will wear a printed one BAIB's shirt dances in T-Tok style.

The advertising fees I pay are split between T-Tok and influencer bloggers.

T-Tok users may not notice that these videos are ads. Users will see these videos, so this makes these ads more influential than native ads,

2. Branded Filters in T-Tok , users can add filters to short videos. Some brands may add exclusive filters for users to add their brand to their videos. Then, they may ask the influencer to shoot a short video with this filter, and other users will follow suit after seeing it. Some brands may create a combination of campaigns and filters.

On T-Tok, users can create audio and upload it to the platform for others to use. This feature caught fire "Put a finger down." if" this game. Some brands come up with their own versions of mini-games to use with filters. For example, games created by BAIB are labeled "#BAIBFingerDownGame".

　　3. B2C revenue model

The company wants to partner with e-commerce platforms. Let users purchase goods on the platform. T-Tok, on the other hand, gets a cut from every sale made on the platform.

T-Tok can close multiple deals with different e-commerce platforms. Signing an exclusive deal with a platform is also an option. This exclusive deal allows T-Tok to get a better commission.

4.T-Tok expenses Because T-Tok

has different revenue models, the company also spends in other areas.

The residence of the influencer anchor - the company will buy a house for the top influencer. The cost of the house is paid by the company. T-Tok It is also necessary to cover the living expenses of online celebrity anchors, including food purchases, house maintenance, phone bills and transportation expenses. Internet celebrity streamers need video equipment, photography equipment, and makeup artists to complete the video shooting.

Managing the living environment of influencers can improve the quality of video content. The quality of video content is improved, and companies can charge more for advertising. In December, for example, brands were more likely to advertise on the beaches of Los Angeles than on the snowy streets of New York.

　　5. Alex's monetization idea

User paid unlock function - When creating my own T-Tok account, I want to put a link in my bio, but there is no input box in the software to add a link.

The platform will let users unlock this feature themselves. Once a user reaches 1,000 followers, they can add a link to their profile.

Allowing users to pay for this feature can increase revenue for T-Tok. During the promotion of the book, you can earn 15 per book Dollar. If I unlock this feature for $10 a month on T-Tok and sell 2 books a month, I can make money. Some brands will spend more on this feature.

users pay to promote content — not much different from B2B advertising. Users pay on T-Tok to get more views.

Of course, the problem with this feature is that someone may abuse it. Videos with inappropriate content may be posted and promoted to get maximum views.

So platforms need to establish a review process to prevent abuse.

Users pay for free ads – Users pay to avoid seeing branded advertising content on the platform.

The problem with this idea is that the most popular influencer videos on T-Tok contain ads. Ad-free platforms prevent users from seeing those influencer videos on T-Tok. If users see fewer ads, T-Tok's ad revenue will decrease. At the same time, brands will demand a discount on advertising dollars because they have fewer potential audiences for their ads.

My opinion

Branded co-ads perform better than native ads. Native ads may be ignored or blocked. If the brand cooperates with the influencer, the possibility of being blocked or ignored will be reduced. Influencers who work with brands can lose popularity. But brands can also work with new influencers.

Brand collaboration makes T-Tok as a platform look more organized. On other platforms, ads can ruin the user experience and may even seem out of place with other video content. And at T-Tok , it may be difficult for users to spot that this is an advertisement. They don't have the same problem.

On other platforms, small brands can generate significant revenue. But T-Tok Ads from well-known brands. They have to take the time to find the right influencer streamer. They don't want any unknown sock brand to be promoted on the platform. One wears a BAIB printed on it The shirts of popular influencers look like the intention of advertising is obvious. But wearing an influencer with the Lenovo logo on it won't, because it's already a well-known brand.

restricting ads adds subtlety to ads. With BAIB Compared to advertising, it is difficult for users to notice that Lenovo is advertising. If the ads are not restricted, then every last Lenovo ad will have 7 Uncle Jimmy sock ads, which will ruin T-Tok of the external image. When working with e-commerce platforms, T-Tok needs to maintain its image. Otherwise, they lose users. Don't make users feel like they're being pitched while watching a video.

T-Tok may become the main social platform for the "post-10s".

Conclusion

　　T-Tok The competitive advantage lies in its background music. No other platform allows users to use popular songs without legal issues. Anyone can create pop dances and post them on the platform, but without background music, those dances will look incongruous and the music will attract attention. Similar developments have been developed on other platforms T-Tok's features, but the imitation of these platforms has not been able to steal T-Tok users.

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