TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program is finally out of beta and officially available for eligible creators. Who can join? How are rewards calculated? What do creators and brands need to know about the new program? Don’t worry, because The Digital Dept. is breaking it all down.
Who is eligible?
To be eligible for the Creator Rewards Program, users must:
- Be based in the United States (or another country where the Creator Rewards program is available)
- Be 18 years or older
- Have over 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in the last 30 days
- Be in good standing with their account
- Have a Personal Account. Business Accounts are not eligible for the Creator Rewards Program.
If you were previously enrolled in the Beta program, you should automatically be enrolled in the Creator Rewards Program.
What content is eligible for rewards?
The program rewards original minute+ video content. The be rewarded for your content, your video must:
- Be over 1 minute long
- Be an original piece of content (aka it cannot be a duet, stitch, or copyrighted content)
- Be a video (no photo slides or Stories)
- Be uploaded after joining the Creator Rewards Program
- Not include advertising or sponsored content
- Adhere to TikTok’s community guidelines
How does TikTok reward content?
The RPM (aka “Rewards per 1,000 qualified views”) varies from video to video, but TikTok provides rewards for eligible videos once they reach 1,000 qualified For You feed views.
Eligible content is judged on 4 main criteria:
- Originality
- Play Duration
- Search Value
- Creator and Community Engagement
These 4 main factors will impact how much a videos is rewarded.
What counts as a Qualified View?
Only qualified views are counted towards the creator’s RPM. Qualified views are unique video views from the For You feed.
Paid views, fraud views, views with fewer than 5 seconds watched, and promoted views all would not count toward the Qualified Views count.
What does all of this mean for brands?
As mentioned above, Brand Accounts are not eligible to join the Creator Rewards Program and branded content is not eligible for creators to earn payment. However, there are still important takeaways for brands.
First, TikTok’s continued focus on minute+ content showcases what the platform is prioritizing in their algorithm across the board. Gone are the days that simple 15-second clips alone will move the needle. The platform is highlighting engaging storytelling content, and brands should be incorporating this style of content in their social strategies.
Second, TikTok has essentially laid out the metrics that they deem most valuable when assessing a video’s performance. Originality, Play Duration, Search Value, and Creator and Community Engagement are the data points that brands and creators need to prioritize. A successful video will not only receive a high view and like count but also a high percentage of viewers who watch the entire video. You can go to “Video Analytics > Watched Full Video” to see the percentage of viewers who complete the video. You should also consider how videos will drive Engagement and Search Value when planning out your content strategy.
Now that you know more about TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program, try signing up if you are an eligible creator! And for brands, let’s chat about your next TikTok campaign.
