How to set up a TikTok business account the right way

To set up a TikTok business account, open your profile, go to Settings and privacy, then Account, and follow the option to switch your account to a business account. TikTok may ask you to verify the business along the way. Before you tap anything, know the trade-off: a business account gets business tools and a website link on its profile, but it loses the general music library, because those songs are not cleared for commercial use.

What changes when you switch

• Music: instead of the general music library, you work with sounds cleared for commercial use.
• A website link on your profile, so people can go straight to your booking page or your site.
• Business tools, such as an analytics dashboard and a place to manage leads.
• Who it is for: TikTok's help center says anyone whose primary goal on TikTok is to promote a product or service should use a business account. If you are posting for your bakery, that is you.

Prepare these before you switch

• A business email and phone number that will still be yours if an employee leaves.
• Your business name exactly as it appears on your sign, for the profile name.
• A clear profile picture: your logo, or the storefront if your logo is hard to read small.
• One line for the bio: what you do and where, the way you would say it to a stranger.
• The link you want people to visit: booking, ordering or your website.

Create the account under the business's email, not a personal one. It is the same lesson as on Facebook: whoever owns the login owns the account.

The steps in the app

1. In the TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
2. Tap the Menu button at the top and select Settings and privacy.
3. Tap Account.
4. Choose the option to switch to a business account and follow the steps. TikTok renames these screens from time to time, and it may ask you to verify your business before you get the business tools.
5. Pick the category closest to what you sell, then fill in your bio and your website link.

The music rule that surprises everyone

The first thing most new business accounts notice is that the popular song they wanted is gone. TikTok's help center says business accounts do not have access to the general music library, because those songs are not cleared for commercial use and are meant for personal entertainment only. Use the sounds TikTok marks as available for business, your own voice, or the natural sound of your place. Instagram has the same rule for business accounts, which we explained in why your business account cannot use popular songs.

Do not switch back and forth

It is tempting to flip to a personal account for one trending song and back again. TikTok advises against it: switching back means your verification is not saved, and you would have to verify the business again to get the business tools back. Pick the business account and plan your videos around the sounds you can use.

After the switch

• Post a few videos before you judge anything. One video tells you nothing.
• Use the analytics to see which videos people watched to the end.
• Answer comments, because they are often your next video idea.
• Keep the sound strategy simple: voice-over and the real sound of your work travel well.

If you are still deciding whether TikTok deserves a place in your week, we weighed that up in is TikTok worth it for a small business. And if you want help filming, how to film Reels on your phone works the same way for TikTok.

If you want it handled

TikTok is one of the networks you can choose in our plans: you send clips from your phone, we edit and post them with sounds a business account may use. If you also want ads, our TikTok Ads service runs them for you. If you enjoy filming and editing yourself, the steps above are all you need. Otherwise, everything is on the pricing page.