• by Colin Kirkland , Yesterday

TikTok is trying to make it easier for creators to earn commission-based payouts and sponsored perks when promoting hotels, restaurants, local experiences and other services via a new in-app monetization program. 

“TikTok Go,” which first focused on hotel promotions, now invites eligible creators to select cities and interests across Hotel, Travel, Food & Drinks, Leisure, and Beauty.

Each category contains specific earnings opportunities for creators adding relevant tags to their TikTok videos -- a promotional strategy to boost consumer bookings. 

Creators must be over 18 years of age with at least 1,000 followers to become eligible for the program. They can also tap into the program for collaborations with localized merchants and future sponsorship perks. 

For transparency, TikTok Go posts will include relevant location info and a note indicating that the creator is earning commissions for the video. 

“Whether you’re traveling for work, a staycation, or just posting where you’re at, if you add the right tag, you’ll get paid,” TikTok creator @Amaya explains in a video. 

“I’ve always noticed that while affiliate programs usually focus on physical products, so many creators naturally talk about services — the hotels they book, the classes they take, the restaurants they go to,” writes Jerry Soer, a product strategy specialist at TikTok. “Those recommendations can now be tracked and monetized.”

TikTok Go is now active for hotels for creators in Indonesia, Japan and the United States.

The company says it plans to expand the program to more markets in the future.