Gifts in TikTok EXPLAINED!
Being a social media influencer can be a very fruitful career choice. From advertising and brand partnerships to donations from their supporters, influencers can make a lot of money in a variety of ways.
While a lot of influencers make their living from social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, TikTok is another great platform where you can make money online via donations known as gifts.
If you’re one of these aspiring social media influencers, you probably already know how people make money on apps like Instagram, but you might also be interested to learn how TikTok gifts can add to your revenue stream.
Let’s take a look at how TikTok gifts work and how influencers are making so much money from this popular short-form video app.
How TikTok Gifts Work
Gifting on TikTok can be a little confusing because there are several types of in-app currencies. To get TikTok gifts, one must purchase TikTok coins first. These are available in different bundles. The bigger the bundle, the bigger the discount.
When you make a purchase, the coins are added to your TikTok account. These coins cannot be refunded or exchanged for cash. The use of third-party services here is strictly prohibited and it can get your account banned.
Once you have obtained the coins, you can exchange them for a variety of unique virtual gifts. These gifts are used to reward your favorite content creators on the platform.
If you enjoy their content, you can support them by sending gifts in various amounts and forms. All you need to do is select ‘Give Gift’ below the video. Everyone watching the video and the person who created the TikTok will be able to see your username and the type of gift you gave them.
Checking Your Balance
Once you’ve purchased coins, you may want to check your balance within the app. Fortunately, TikTok makes this super easy:
- Tap on Me in the lower right-hand corner
- Tap on the three dots in the upper right-hand corner
- Tap Balance
Here, you will see the coins that you have on your TikTok account.
How Gifts Convert into Diamonds
Once you send someone a gift on TikTok, it is converted into a diamond on that person’s profile. Diamonds are used to measure the praise and popularity a content creator gets on TikTok. They cannot be bought with money.
How to Exchange Diamonds for Cash
Though they can’t be bought, Diamonds can be exchanged for cash once received.
When you make enough diamonds, you can collect the cash via PayPal or another verified payment service. The minimum withdrawal amount is $100. The maximum amount you can withdraw weekly is $1,000.
Note that you can’t trade this in-app currency with other users and the owners of the app can change your balance if they find it fitting.
How to Make Money on TikTok
When it comes to making money on TikTok, it can easily be compared to Twitch where viewers support their favorite streamers by subscribing, making donations, and cheering for them.
The main difference, of course, is that Twitch is centered around gaming while TikTok is more of a music and entertainment app. Still, the basic concept of supporting creators with gifts is more or less the same.
There are various methods of gaining popularity on TikTok. You can sing, dance, or make memes and funny videos. The platform has over 500 million users around the world, so there is potential to gain a very large audience.
Most of the top influencers on TikTok use other platforms as well, like YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, etc. These platforms allow creators to generate traffic from multiple platforms to cultivate as big an audience as possible.
Can’t Buy Coins or Gifts?
TikTok developers are making strides to protect the younger audience. From their set of community guidelines to making in-app purchases, there are many things that users under the age of 18 are limited to.
Buying coins is one of those limitations. Anyone with an account who is under 18 (or legally an adult in some regions) won’t be allowed to purchase coins to send to their favorite creators. Although this can be frustrating, it is another way to ensure that minors are not being taken advantage of on the platform.
For any other issues with the TikTok gifts, coins, or diamonds you can send an email to transaction@tiktok.com. The TikTok support team is available twenty-four hours per day to help users.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can’t I send gifts to someone on TikTok?
Some users won’t see an option to send gifts on TikTok. This is because the app has an age restriction that limits your ability to send gifts to others. After suffering a lawsuit, the company decided to change their policy regarding monetary gifts to protect younger audiences from scams.
If you are too young to send a gift, you can still help your favorite creator by sharing their content with others. If it’s something you really enjoy watching, others will to.
Do TikTok creators make money?
Yes. But, there are limitations for how much they can withdraw at one time. Some of the more famous creators on TikTok can earn quite a bit, but it takes a lot of work to get to that point, and once there, it takes a lot of work to stay at the top.
Releasing new creative content, avoiding conflict, and keeping an audience engage with limited resources is a difficult job. If you’re interested in joining the TikTok elite, we have an article here for you.
When can I send gifts on TikTok?
You can only send gifts to your favorite creator during their live videos. Unfortunately, you can’t send them gifts on any uploaded posts. If you want to earn digital awards on your TikTok account, you’ll need to go Live more often.
Can I get a refund on a gift I’ve sent?
Unfortunately, no. TikTok’s official policy is that all sales are final meaning you won’t get your coins or your money back. If you send a gift to a creator on accident, or they let you down, there is no way to get that gift back.
Before sending a gift, make sure that you’re sending the right gift to the right creator.
Final Thoughts
The gifting program on TikTok is a little complicated, but hopefully reading this helped you figure it out. Remember that the coins and gifts you purchase are non-refundable, so use them carefully.
Good luck with earning your diamonds and becoming an Internet celebrity, if you choose to do so. Keeping people’s attention these days is very difficult, so try to be imaginative and have fun.
