How to Create a Professional Account on TikTok

Switching your TikTok to a professional account is one of the most powerful moves you can make to grow your brand or business on the platform. It's a free upgrade that unlocks a suite of tools designed to help you understand your audience, track your performance, and manage your presence effectively. This guide will walk you through exactly why you should switch, how to do it step-by-step, and how to use the features you’ll unlock once you’re on the other side.

Why You Need a TikTok Professional Account

If you're using TikTok for anything other than casually sharing videos with friends, a personal account is holding you back. Personal accounts are designed for consumption and informal sharing, while a professional account - either a Business or Creator account - is built for growth. Moving to a professional account gives you immediate access to features that are fundamental for any serious brand or creator.

Here’s what you get the moment you switch:

• Access to Analytics: This is the biggest game-changer. You’ll be able to see detailed data on your video views, profile views, follower count over time, and follower demographics (like location, gender, and when they’re most active). This data is the foundation for a smart content strategy. Without it, you're just guessing.
• Ability to Add a Website Link in Your Bio: Professional accounts can add a clickable link to their profile bio. This is your off-ramp, letting you direct your audience to your website, shop, latest blog post, or another social profile. It’s a direct line from TikTok traffic to your business goals.
• Branded Content Tools: If you plan on working with other brands for sponsored content, a professional account gives you access to the tools needed to properly disclose paid partnerships, keeping your content transparent and in line with advertising guidelines.
• Promotional Features: Professional accounts can use TikTok’s built-in Promote feature and run ads through the TikTok Ads Manager, allowing you to amplify your best-performing content and reach a wider, targeted audience.

Making the switch signals to both the algorithm and other users that you are a serious creator or brand, which helps build authority and trust on the platform.

Business Account vs. Creator Account: Which One Is for You?

When you decide to go pro, TikTok will ask you to choose between two types of professional accounts: Creator and Business. While they share many core features like analytics and a link-in-bio, they have key differences tailored to their intended users. Picking the right one at the start will save you from potential frustrations later on.

The Creator Account

A Creator Account is best suited for individuals - influencers, artists, public figures, and thought leaders who are building a personal brand. The goal of a Creator Account is tied to personal influence and content creation.

Perks of a Creator Account:

• Full Access to TikTok's Music Library: This is a massive advantage. You can use any trending sound or popular song on TikTok without worrying about copyright restrictions for commercial use. This allows you to jump on trends easily.
• Creator-Centric Analytics: The analytics dashboard includes useful insights for creators, such as follower growth trends and detailed content performance data.
• Eligibility for the TikTok Creator Fund: If you meet the eligibility criteria (e.g., minimum followers, views), you can apply to monetize your content directly through the Creator Fund.
• Creator Marketplace Access: This is TikTok’s official platform for connecting brands with creators for paid collaborations, opening up monetization opportunities.
• Q&,A Feature: You can enable a Q&,A feature on your profile, allowing your audience to ask questions that you can reply to directly with a video, which is a great tool for building engagement.

Choose a Creator Account if: You are the face of your brand, an influencer looking to grow, an artist, or if participating in sound-based trends is a core part of your content strategy.

The Business Account

A Business Account is designed for companies, brands, retailers, and organizations. The focus is on marketing, sales, and connecting commercial activity to the platform. It provides tools geared more toward traditional business use cases.

Perks of a Business Account:

• Business Creative Hub: This is an in-app resource that shows you trending content within your business category, gives you creative inspiration, and helps you stay on top of best practices for marketing on the platform.
• Commercial Music Library: This is the most crucial difference. Business accounts have access to a library of over 1 million royalty-free sounds and songs cleared for commercial use. However, you do NOT have access to popular, trending music from mainstream artists due to licensing restrictions. This is a significant drawback if your strategy relies on viral sounds.
• Email Button in Bio: You can add a dedicated email button to your profile, making it easy for potential customers or partners to contact you directly.
• TikTok Ads Manager Integration: Seamlessly create and manage advertising campaigns, turning your organic content into paid promotions when needed.

Choose a Business Account if: You are a brand selling products or services, a retail organization, an institution trying to reach an audience of potential customers, and you can live without using mainstream trending sounds in your videos.

How to Switch to a Professional Account: A Step-by-Step Guide

Don’t worry, switching is simple and takes less than a minute. You can also switch back to a personal account or change between Creator and Business accounts at any time, though you may lose access to some analytics data from the previous account type.

Here’s exactly what to do:

1. Open Your Profile and Access Settings

First, open the TikTok app and go to your Profile tab in the bottom-right corner. From there, tap the three horizontal lines (the "hamburger menu") in the top-right corner to open your settings menu.

2. Navigate to "Settings and privacy"

From the menu that appears, select "Settings and privacy". This will take you to the main control center for your account.

3. Select "Account"

Near the top of the "Settings and privacy" list, you'll see an option for "Account". Tap on it.

4. Choose to Switch to a Professional Account

Inside the Account menu, you will see an option that says "Switch to Business Account" (it may automatically direct you there or to a Creator portal depending on your account's history). Tap on this option to begin the process.

5. Follow the On-Screen Prompts

TikTok will now show you a few screens explaining the benefits of a professional account. Tap "Next" to proceed. You'll then be asked to choose a category that best describes your account. Pick the one that is most relevant to your niche or industry - this helps the algorithm understand your content and who to show it to.

6. Finish and Customize

Once you’ve selected your category, you'll be prompted to add a website and email to your bio. You can do this now or skip it and add them later. That's it! You've successfully switched to a professional account.

Optimizing Your New Professional Profile

Now that you've unlocked new features, it’s time to polish your profile to make a strong first impression and make the most of your tools.

1. Write a Bio That Converts

Your bio is your digital elevator pitch. You have limited characters, so make them count. Clearly state who you are, what you do, and what viewers can expect from your content. Inject some brand personality and, most importantly, include a clear call to action (CTA) that tells people what to do next. For example, "Shop our new collection 👇" or "Grab your free guide 👇".

2. Use a High-Quality Profile Photo

Your profile picture should be instantly recognizable. If you're a business, use a clean, high-resolution version of your logo. If you're a creator or personal brand, use a clear, professional headshot where your face is easily visible, even as a small thumbnail.

3. Strategize Your "Link in Bio"

You only get one clickable link, so use it wisely. Don’t just drop your homepage URL. Direct traffic to a specific landing page aligned with your current marketing goals, such as a product page, a contact form, or your newest YouTube video. Many creators and brands use "link in bio" tools like Linktree or Beacons to create a simple landing page that houses multiple links.

Final Thoughts

Switching to a TikTok professional account is a fundamental step toward building a successful presence on the platform. It moves you from a passive creator to a strategic marketer by giving you the data and tools you need to understand your audience, measure your progress, and grow with intention.

As you get your new professional account set up, the next natural step is to plan your content calendar. To make that even easier, we built Postbase from the ground up to handle short-form video. We simplify social media management, so you can easily plan and schedule your TikToks right alongside your Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Our focus is on rock-solid reliability, which means what you schedule actually goes live, helping you stay consistent without endless double-checking.