How to Switch to a TikTok Business Account

Thinking about getting more from your TikTok strategy? Switching to a TikTok Business Account unlocks a suite of powerful analytics, advertising tools, and creative features designed to help you connect with your audience and grow your brand. This guide breaks down exactly why you should switch, provides a step-by-step tutorial on how to do it, and outlines what to do next to harness your new professional tools.

Why Bother? The Real Benefits of a TikTok Business Account

Making any change to your social media accounts can feel like a chore, but this one is absolutely worth the 60 seconds it takes. A Business Account isn’t just a label, it’s a toolkit designed for growth. Here’s a peek at what you unlock the moment you make the switch.

Go Deep with Advanced Analytics

This is arguably the single most important reason to upgrade. Standard personal accounts offer virtually no insight into your performance. A Business Account, however, gives you access to a massive trove of data that tells you exactly what’s working, what’s not, and who you’re talking to. You'll get access to:

• Follower deep-dives: See exactly when your followers are most active online, broken down by day and hour. You’ll also get demographic data like gender, age, and top countries, helping you tailor content to your real audience.
• Video performance metrics: Go beyond just likes and views. Track total playtime, average watch time, where your views came from (For You page, your profile, etc.), and how many people watched the full video. This data is pure gold for figuring out what hooks your viewers.
• Profile traffic insights: Understand how people are finding and interacting with your main profile. See how many profile views you got over time and which videos drove the most traffic back to your page.

Unlock Advertising and Promotion Tools

Ready to put some fuel on your best content? A Business Account is your ticket into TikTok’s advertising ecosystem. This allows you to:

• Run targeted ad campaigns: Create sophisticated campaigns right within the TikTok Ads Manager, targeting users based on interests, demographics, and behavior. This is how you reach new potential customers beyond your existing followers.
• Use the "Promote" feature: Want to give a high-performing video an extra boost? The Promote feature lets you quickly turn an organic video into a simple ad to get more views, website clicks, or followers. It’s a simple entry point into paid advertising.

Professionalize Your Profile

A Business Account adds professional features to your bio section, turning it from a simple profile into a business landing page. You’ll be able to:

• Add a clickable website link: This is a massive win. You can finally drive traffic directly from your TikTok profile to your online store, blog, or booking page without needing to meet a specific follower count.
• Include an email address: Add a dedicated contact button, making it easier for potential partners, customers, or clients to get in touch professionally.
• Select a Business Category: Tell TikTok (and your visitors) what your brand is all about, whether you’re a restaurant, an apparel brand, a public relations agency, or a B2B service. This adds legitimacy and helps categorize your account.

Access the Commercial Music Library (CML)

Music is the heartbeat of TikTok, but using trending sounds for commercial purposes can land your brand in legal trouble. A Business Account solves this by giving you exclusive access to a library of over 1.3 million pre-cleared, royalty-free songs and sounds. While you do lose access to some of the viral pop songs available on personal accounts, the CML ensures every video you post is 100% commercially safe, protecting your brand from potential copyright infringements.

Know Your Options: Business Account vs. Creator Account

One common point of confusion is the difference between a Business Account and a Creator Account. They both offer upgrades over a personal profile, but they serve different goals. Here’s how to choose the right one for you.

TikTok Business Account

This is the best choice for brands, companies, retailers, and organizations - basically, any entity focused on selling products or services. Its features are geared toward commercial outcomes like lead generation, website traffic, and sales.

• Best For: Companies, brand pages, e-commerce stores, service providers.
• Key Features: Website link in bio, email contact, advanced analytics, ad suite access, TikTok Shopping integration, and the protective Commercial Music Library.
• Primary Goal: Driving business results and marketing products or services.

TikTok Creator Account

This account type is designed for public figures, artists, influencers, and individuals building a personal brand. It provides analytics and monetization tools geared toward content creators without the commercial limitations of a Business Account.

• Best For: Influencers, content creators, public figures, artists.
• Key Features: In-depth analytics (similar to a Business Account), access to the Creator Marketplace to find brand deals, and - most importantly - full access to the General Music Library, including all viral and trending sounds.
• Primary Goal: Audience growth, viewer engagement, and monetizing content through brand partnerships.

So, Which One Should You Choose?

The decision comes down to the sounds. If your strategy relies heavily on jumping on the latest dance challenges or lip-sync trends using popular music, the Creator Account may be a better fit. However, if your main goal is to promote your business, drive traffic to a website, and run ads, the Business Account is the clear winner. The trade-off is giving up some trending audio in exchange for robust commercial tools and legal peace of mind.

The Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Switch

Ready to make the jump? The process is incredibly simple and takes less than a minute. Here is exactly how to do it:

1. Open your Profile page: Launch the TikTok app on your phone and tap the Profile icon in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
2. Navigate to Settings: Tap the three horizontal lines (the "hamburger menu") in the top-right corner. A menu will pop up from the bottom of the screen. Select "Settings and privacy."
3. Manage Your Account: On the next screen, tap on "Account," which should be the first option at the top.
4. Initiate the Switch: Look for the option that says "Switch to Business Account" and tap it.
5. Follow the Prompts: TikTok will show you a few screens highlighting the benefits you’re about to unlock. Tap "Next" to proceed through them.
6. Choose Your Business Category: Scroll through the list and select the category that best represents your brand or business (e.g., "Clothing & Accessories," "Beauty & Personal Care," "Marketing & Advertising"). This helps TikTok serve you relevant content and understand what your page is about.
7. Add Your Business Information: You’ll be prompted to add your business email address and a website. Don’t skip this! The website link is one of the most valuable pieces of real estate on your entire profile.

And that’s it! You'll receive a confirmation, and your profile will officially be a TikTok Business Account, ready for you to start using your new professional features.

You’ve Switched! Now What? Four Things To Do Immediately

Flipping the switch is just the beginning. The real value comes from using your new tools to build a smarter, more effective TikTok strategy. Here are four things to do right after you convert your account.

1. Optimize Your New Professional Profile

First impressions count. Now that you have new profile features, use them. Make sure you’ve added your website link, filled out your email address for contact, and chosen the correct business category. Update your bio to clearly state what your business does and include a strong call to action, like "Shop our new collection at our website!" Your profile is now your official storefront - make it look the part.

2. Spend a Week Living in Your Analytics

Don't let your new data go to waste. For one week, make it a point to check your Business Suite every day. Go to the "Analytics" tab and look for patterns.

• When are your followers most active? Start scheduling your videos an hour or so before those peak times.
• Which videos from the past month had the highest average watch time? Try to figure out why they held people's attention.
• Where did your top videos get most of their views - the For You Page or profile views? This can tell you what kind of content reaches new audiences versus what resonates with your existing followers.

Let this invaluable feedback guide your content decisions from now on. Stop guessing and start making data-driven choices.

3. Get Familiar with the Commercial Music Library

Instead of seeing the Commercial Music Library as a limitation, dive in and explore what’s inside. TikTok regularly updates it with popular, license-free tracks that are still engaging. Start saving sounds you like to your Favorites so you have a quick-access audio library when you’re planning content. Building your strategy around commercially safe audio removes any risk and positions you as a professional, responsible brand.

4. Plan Your First Content Leveraging Your New Tools

Think about how your content can now directly support your business goals. Plan a video that ends with a clear call-to-action mentioning the link in your bio. Create a behind-the-scenes look at your product-making process. Or, identify a recent video that performed well organically and use the Promote feature to show it to a new, targeted audience for the weekend. Start building content with your analytics and business tools in mind from the very beginning.

Final Thoughts

Switching your TikTok to a Business Account is a foundational step in transforming your presence from a hobby into a deliberate marketing channel. The tools you gain provide the feedback needed to understand your audience, create more impactful content, and directly tie your efforts back to measurable business growth.

As we help our own clients scale on social media, we understand firsthand how essential it is to have a simple, uncluttered view of your entire content plan, especially for video-heavy platforms like TikTok and Instagram. We built Postbase because we found legacy social media tools were holding us back - they felt out of date and struggled to keep up with formats like Reels and TikToks. Our platform provides one beautiful calendar to visualize your multi-platform strategy, so you can schedule video content effortlessly, manage all your comments in a unified inbox, and track analytics without endlessly switching tabs.