Most people were desperately searching for things to do while they were stuck at home during the Covid pandemic. After all, there was only so much time they could spend binge-watching or making sourdough bread.
TikTok did its part in 2020, by introducing TikTok Battles to the TikTok Live streams that were added to the social media platform the previous year.
The Battles are still around today.
What are TikTok Battles?
After an influencer or content creator launches a TikTok live session, they have the option to turn the stream into a competition with another creator. The challenger becomes another host of the session, so both participants must be eligible to host streams on the app (essentially meaning they must each have at least 1,000 TikTok followers).
The Battle can take any form: debates, dance-offs, singing challenges, showing off other special talents — there are no rules or formats as long as all of the activity stays within TikTok’s terms and conditions. Each Battle lasts for just five minutes, but the feature has become so popular with some creators that they stay online for hours, taking on new challengers.
Why would any TikTok user want to be live on the app for that long? Because winning Battles can pay off big.
What Do TikTok Battle Competitors Win?
Participants in TikTok Live Battles aren’t just fighting for bragging rights. They’re battling for money — because the competitors’ real goal is convincing those watching to give them gifts.
As you probably know, Live stream viewers can show their appreciation for the host(s) by tipping them, and those tips come in the form of virtual TikTok gifts that creators can redeem for cash.
Users buy TikTok coins and then use them to purchase the gifts, which they can give to creators during Live sessions. TikTok gifts are worth between a penny and more than $500, although creators only receive about half of their value. The app keeps the rest.
The value of those gifts can add up quickly, and that’s the point of TikTok Battles. The winner of each competition is the host that receives the most “money” from their supporters, and their potential reward is what makes Battles so compelling. Participants often get as crazy or outrageous as necessary to convince the audience to support them with big-money tips.
TikTok keeps score, too. There’s a weekly leaderboard on the app, listing the creators who’ve earned the most loot in the competitions. That’s another incentive for some people to stay in Live streams for hours at a time, competing.
And even the losers in these Battles can win. They earn greater exposure for their TikTok presence, possibly earning more engagement and followers for their TikTok accounts.
About the Author
Peter Hasselworth is a contributor at iDigic, sharing valuable insights about Instagram growth and social media marketing strategies.