TikTok Business vs. Personal Accounts: How To Choose
It’s time: You’re ready to stop lurking and start actually using TikTok to grow your business. But how do you decide between a TikTok business vs. personal account?
It may sound straightforward, but actually, there are benefits to both account types. We’re taking a closer look at TikTok’s business and creator accounts to help you choose the right one for your needs.
What are the different types of TikTok accounts?
On TikTok, there are two types of accounts to choose from: Creator/Personal and Business. Here’s a quick overview of what each account type offers:
| Creator Account | Business Account | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Personal | Business |
| Best for | General TikTok users Content creators Most public figures | Brands Businesses of all sizes |
| Privacy settings | Public or private | Public only |
| Verified Accounts | Yes | Yes |
| Access to sounds? | Sounds and Commercial Sounds | Commercial Sounds only |
| Access to Promote (ads) feature? | Yes | Yes |
| Access to analytics? | Yes (in-app only) | Yes (downloadable) |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
Note: TikTok used to have two professional account types, Business and Creator, that were distinct from the standard personal account. In 2021, they merged the personal and creator accounts, giving all users access to creator-specific tools.
What is a TikTok creator account?
A creator or personal account is the default TikTok account type. If you’re just getting started on TikTok, you’ll have a creator account.
Pros of a TikTok creator account
Access to more sounds: Creators have access to both Sounds and Commercial Sounds, meaning that you can post a video of your grandma dancing to Lizzo’s latest single without worrying about the audio being removed due to copyright issues. Business accounts don’t have access to every trending sound on TikTok, which can limit their ability to participate in emerging trends.
Privacy settings: Creators can set their accounts to private if needed. Business accounts default to public and do not have the ability to toggle between privacy settings.
Verification: Just like brands and businesses, creator accounts can be verified on TikTok.
Access to the Promote feature: Creator accounts can use TikTok’s advertising tools to get more people to discover their videos and gain more followers. Promote isn’t available for videos that have copyrighted sound, so you can only promote videos that use original audio that has been cleared for commercial purposes.
Limited ability to add a link in bio: Creators can add a link to their bio if they meet certain requirements.
Access to special TikTok development programs: Personal accounts have access to several creator-specific programs, like Creator Next, which allows creators monetize as they grow their communities and the Creator Fund, which TikTok established to pay qualified users for creating content. Business accounts do not have access to these programs.
@creatorportal Introducing Creator Next: where as TikTok Creators you can develop your community while monetizing your content.
However! Both business and creator accounts can access the Creator Marketplace. This platform connects business accounts and creators looking for collaboration opportunities.
Access to Analytics: Creator accounts have access to simple analytics under “Creator Tools.” The analytics data can’t be downloaded, though (more on this below).
Cons of a TikTok creator account
Access to Analytics: Creator accounts cannot download their analytics data, and the in-app view is limited to a 60-day data range. This can make it harder to analyze your business or brand’s performance on TikTok, identify long-term trends, or create an overview to share with other team members.
Cannot manage your account using a third-party platform: Creator accounts can’t be connected to third-party social media management platforms like Hootsuite. If you want to plan out your content, schedule posts for the future, manage comments, and access up-to-date engagement metrics, a personal TikTok account won’t be able to take you far.
TikTok creator accounts are best for…
General TikTok users, influencers, and most public figures.
What is a TikTok business account?
As you might have guessed by the name, a TikTok business account is perfect for brands and businesses of all sizes. Business accounts allow users to access more advanced features and delve into their analytics.
Upgrading to a TikTok business account is free and only takes a few seconds. Best of all, it’s easy to switch back to a creator account if you change your mind.
Pros of a TikTok business account
Manage your account using a third-party platform: Business accounts can be connected to third-party social media management platforms like Hootsuite, granting you access to a wide range of features.
Hootsuite lets you plan and schedule videos, engage with your audience, and find out how your content is performing, so you can focus on content creation and let this powerful platform do the rest.
Hootsuite allows you to preview and post or schedule content and even recommends your best times to post for maximum engagement. You can also schedule posts for any time in the future (unlike TikTok’s in-app scheduling feature, which has a 10-day limit)
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Try HootsuiteVerification: TikTok provides verified badges to help users make informed choices about the accounts they choose to follow. Your business account can be verified on TikTok, which can increase your visibility across the platform and help you build trust with your followers.
Access to the Promote feature: Business accounts can use TikTok’s advertising tools to get more people to discover their content and gain more followers. Promote isn’t available for videos that have copyrighted sound, so you can only promote videos that use original audio that has been cleared for commercial purposes.
Access to the TikTok Shop feature: Business accounts can link their Shopify site and display and sell products directly on TikTok. Merchants can also live stream to showcase and sell products.
Ability to add a link in bio: Business accounts with over 1,000 followers have access to the website field. Adding a website link to your TikTok bio is a great way to drive traffic to your site after users have engaged with your video.
@tiktok_small_business
Attention #BusinessTikTok and EntrepreneurTok! Are you ready to switch to a TikTok Business Account? Head to your profile and click the menu in the top right corner, select Settings and privacy, then Manage Account, and finally Switch to Business Account!
Cons of a TikTok business account
Limited access to sounds: Business accounts only have access to Commercial Sounds. No copyright worries here — these songs and sounds have been pre-cleared for commercial use.
@tiktok_small_business
Check out how to use the Commercial Music Library to include copyright safe music in your TikToks. #tiktokbusinessaccount #smallbusinesscheck
Unfortunately, not every trending sound will be part of TikTok’s commercial sound library. This can make it much more difficult to participate in audio-based trends.
No access to TikTok’s development programs: Business accounts do not have access to the Creator Next or the Creator Fund programs. As you might be able to guess from the name, these are restricted to creators only.
Business accounts can still access the Creator Marketplace to connect with creators and find influencers, though.
TikTok business accounts are best for…
Brands and businesses of all sizes.
Choosing between TikTok business and creator accounts
Let’s review all the different TikTok features for each account type:
| Creator | Business | |
|---|---|---|
| Analytics | In-app access | Full access, downloadable |
| Verification | Yes | Yes |
| Shop Feature (powered by Shopify) | Yes | Yes |
| Access to all Sounds | Yes | No (Commercial Sounds only) |
| Ability to Promote Feature | Yes | Yes |
| Connect to a third-party social media dashboard such as Hootsuite | No | Yes |
| Pricing | Free | Free |
If you’re looking to upgrade your TikTok game, we recommend switching to a business account. TikTok is always adding new features to help businesses connect with shoppers to sell their products. If you want to boost your sales, a business account is the way to go.
How to switch to a business account on TikTok
If you’re ready to switch from a creator to a business account, just follow these easy steps:
- Tap Profile in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap the 3-line icon in the top right to go to your settings.
- Tap Settings and Privacy
- Tap Manage Account.
- Tap Switch to Business Account to choose.
- Follow the instructions to finish.
If you’re not loving the business account features, don’t worry: TikTok allows you to revert back to a creator account. However, you will immediately lose access to the business features.
How to switch to a creator account on TikTok
TikTok doesn’t recommend switching back and forth between business and personal accounts, but if you need to, it’s pretty simple.
- Tap Profile in the bottom right to go to your profile.
- Tap the 3-line icon in the top right to go to your settings.
- Tap Settings and Privacy
- Tap Manage account
- Tap Switch to Personal Account
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