The rise of TikTok Shop: A game-changer for ecommerce
The rise of short-form video platforms has transformed the social media landscape, capturing the attention of millions globally. These platforms offer engaging videos, trendy challenges, and a vibrant community of creators, revolutionizing how we consume and interact with social media. A significant part of this evolution is the integration of ecommerce, turning these platforms into powerful tools for online retail..In this blog post, we’ll explore how social media's latest ecommerce features are reshaping the landscape of online retail and discuss strategies for leveraging these tools to maximize sales and engagement..The Emergence of Social Media Shops.Social media platforms have introduced integrated shopping features to tap into their vast user bases, especially among younger generations. By blending entertainment with online shopping, these platforms offer unique and engaging experiences. Features like shoppable ads, product showcases, and creator partnerships enhance the way businesses connect with their audience and boost sales through native checkout options, leading to higher conversion rates and better return on ad spend (ROAS)..Harnessing Social Media for Ecommerce Success.Social media shops offer numerous advantages for businesses aiming to increase online sales. The primary benefit is access to a broad and growing user base, presenting opportunities to reach new customers and expand market reach. The platforms' algorithms ensure highly personalized content, increasing engagement by connecting with the right audience..How to Sell on Social Media: A Step-by-Step Guide.To maximize the potential of social media shops, businesses need to complete the setup process and optimize their product content. Here’s a step-by-step guide to creating a successful social media shop:.1. Register for the Shop Feature. - Sign up through the platform’s seller portal, selecting your region and completing account setup by uploading business information and necessary documents. Availability may vary by market..2. Product Catalog Integration. - Use automated workflows and dashboards to import, customize, and connect your product catalog to your social media account. Ensure your products are always up-to-date and displayed correctly..3. Collaborate with Creators. - Partnering with popular creators can significantly boost visibility and sales. Use affiliate programs to find influencers who align with your brand and collaborate on creative content. Strategies include sending products to influencers, partnering on videos, and co-creating product lines..4. Engage with Your Audience. - Building a strong community is crucial for long-term success. Respond to comments, engage with user-generated content, and leverage popular trends to increase visibility and connect with potential customers. Quality engagement is more valuable than quantity, so focus on reaching relevant audiences..Success Stories.Numerous brands have found success through social media shops. For instance, a clothing brand utilized shoppable ads and influencer marketing to drive traffic and generate sales. By combining engaging content with seamless shopping experiences, the brand tapped into the platform's vast user base to create new revenue streams..The Future of Social Commerce.The integration of ecommerce features into social media platforms has opened up exciting possibilities for businesses, allowing them to reach a highly engaged and easily convertible audience. By merging entertainment with shopping, these platforms have redefined consumer-brand interactions and are set to transform the online retail landscape..Whether you're a small business or an established enterprise, now is the time to explore the potential of social media shops. Utilize the right tools and support to unlock the tremendous potential of your product content and stay ahead in the competitive market..By adapting to these emerging trends and optimizing your strategies, you can ensure your business thrives in the evolving world of social commerce..
Read PostTikTok Shop expands Shopify integration in the UK
TikTok has announced today that UK Shopify merchants can connect their online store to showcase and sell products on TikTok Shop using the TikTok for Shopify app..TikTok Shop enables brands, regardless of their size, to be discovered and sell their products to the TikTok community, without ever leaving the platform. Expanding its partnership with Shopify, the entrepreneurship company that powers millions of merchants in more than 175 countries, TikTok now offers Shopify merchants connected to TikTok Shop the capability to create TikTok ad campaigns, synchronize their product catalogue, and sell products through in-feed videos and LIVE broadcasts—all accessible directly within the TikTok for Shopify app, available on the Shopify App Store..For Shopify, this expansion demonstrates its ongoing commitment to providing merchants and their customers with choice. With more consumers engaging with brands directly on mobile and entertainment platforms such as TikTok, Shopify merchants are able to connect with shoppers across multiple surfaces - all from within the Shopify platform - providing more ways to meet their customers wherever they are..Having first partnered in 2020, TikTok and Shopify have supported businesses around the world. The UK expansion follows the successful launch of TikTok Shop via the TikTok for Shopify App in the US in 2023..TikTok Shop is home to businesses of all sizes, from household names such as L'Oreal, through to thriving small businesses such as SoSweet, where TikTok Shop has turned into a seven figure revenue stream for the business; and makeup brand Pink Honey, amongst others. TikTok Shop empowers brands and creators to connect with highly-engaged customers based on their interests, and it combines the power of community, creativity, and commerce to deliver a seamless shopping experience..A TikTok spokesperson said: "At TikTok Shop, we're always looking for ways to improve the selling experience for our merchants. This latest integration with Shopify will help streamline and simplify the user journey in the UK, making it even easier for them to succeed on TikTok Shop all from the comfort of within the channel app."The integration with Shopify will be available to UK merchants from 6 March 2024..
Read PostTikTok Shopping: What Businesses Need to Know
Not long ago, it was all about Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, but now everyone is talking about TikTok..It seems like every top brand is on there, and even smaller businesses like Elf Cosmetics and start-ups like Vessi are taking the platform by storm..The social media site is so popular that in 2023, its total user spending reached over $14 billion. With eager buyers already lined up, it shouldn’t be surprising that TikTok has joined the social commerce train..Recently, the social media site announced a new feature called TikTok Shopping. Given its vast audience of 1.5 billion users, the potential is obvious..But before you start, you might have questions like is TikTok Shopping for you, and how does it work? That’s exactly what I’ll talk about here..Key Takeaways..See How My Agency Can Drive More Traffic to Your Website..BOOK A CALL.What Is TikTok Shop and How Does It Work?.If you’re scrolling through TikTok and want an easy way to buy a product that catches your eye, TikTok Shopping allows you to do just that..In its launch statement, TikTok explained:.“TikTok Shopping is a suite of solutions, features, and advertising tools that give businesses the opportunity to capture the full power of TikTok’s influence on purchase decisions.”.How does TikTok shop work, though?.The social media site explains that TikTok Shopping allows merchants to ‘enjoy a full-service commerce solution’ with TikTok managing the retail side, from product upload and purchase to shipping and fulfillment..Sellers have two options. TikTok’s Shopping Direct Integration creates an e-commerce experience for creators/merchants that want to run their e-commerce stores directly from the.TikTok platform. This option provides a full e-commerce experience with everything, including post-payment processes, occurring inside the TikTok app..Then, there is Partner Integration, where sellers can add product catalogs via a TikTok Business account, and buyers can browse and purchase inside the TikTok app. However, post-payment processes like returns occur outside TikTok on the partner’s app or website..As a buyer, you find TikTok shops as a tab on a seller’s account. You place your items in the shopping bag, just like regular e-commerce sites. Once you click on it, it takes you to the product catalog..From there, you browse the store as usual and add items to your basket. When you’ve finished shopping, you can check out in the app or go to the company’s website..Are You Using Google Ads?Try Our FREE Ads Grader!.Stop wasting money and unlock the hidden potential of your advertising...GET YOUR FREE ANALYSIS.To make TikTok shopping possible, the social media site is teaming up with well-known shopping brands, including:..Additionally, TikTok says the likes of Wix, OpenCart, BASE, and ShopLine are coming on board soon..Who Can Use TikTok Shop?.Currently, TikTok for businesses is open to account holders in the following countries:..If you have a Shopify, Square, Wix, or other TikTok shopping partner account, you should be able to set up a store..Should Your Business Use TikTok Shop?.Before learning how to sell on TikTok Shop, decide if TikTok is right for you. It makes sense to start by looking at your overall strategy and customer base..First, you must ensure that your target audience is active on the platform. If they’re not, you won’t get much traction selling your products on TikTok..According to Statista, 18 percent of TikTok’s audience are women aged 18-24, and men in the same age group account for 18 percent. Further, women aged 25-34 make up 15 percent of TikTok’s demographic, while men in the same age bracket account for 17 percent..Then, look at TikTok’s Creative Center to see which products are selling well on the platform. Here, you can find information about Top Products, Creative Insights, and Keyword Insights, and potentially spot new trends..For example, the site’s top categories include fitness and sports, recipes and cooking, fashion, home renovation, and beauty and skincare. You could be a good fit if your business is in any of those niches..Next, you need an engaging and creative sales strategy. Since TikTok is all about short videos, can you capture the audience’s imagination in minutes while saying what you want to say? You can? Great. Now, you just need to ask yourself one more thing..Is TikTok Shopping worth your while? Or could you put your time and energy somewhere else that would be more beneficial? Often, you won’t answer this question until you give it a try. It never hurts to have additional sales channels, and if social media shopping fits with your business strategy, then it might be for you..How To Set Your Business Up on TikTok Shop.Before tackling how to set up a TikTok shop, you’ll need to register. Here’s how to do it:..Now you’re signed up, let me explain how TikTok shops fit into existing TikTok campaigns..TikTok Shopping is ideal for use alongside its other advertising solutions. Here’s a look at some of TikTok’s offerings:.1. In-feed TikTok Shopping Ads for Online Shopping.If you already have existing TikTok campaigns, you can use in-feed TikTok shopping ads..TikTok provides three in-feed shopping ads: Collection Ads, Dynamic Showcase Ads, and Lead Generation. Collection ads let brands promote products by adding custom, swipeable product cards to their in-feed videos..2. Dynamic Showcase Ads..These let you advertise thousands of product SKUs with personalized video ads. Lead Generation appears inside in-feed video ads, letting your business collect TikTok users’ details with online forms..Setting Your TikTok Shop Up for Success.With your TikTok Shopping account set up, it’s time to announce your new sales outline. But what goes into a successful strategy?.1. Optimize Your Product Pages.As Kayla Bautista, Social Media Manager at NP Digital, explains:.“Understanding and optimizing TikTok’s algorithm is crucial, including posting consistently, using trending hashtags and sounds, and engaging with the audience to boost visibility and engagement. Utilizing TikTok’s shopping features, such as product links and shoppable tags, streamlines the purchasing process for users..Bautista adds:.“Make sure to have clear CTAs to guide viewers toward taking the next step in the purchasing journey.”.That means treating your TikTok shopping product pages like any other e-commerce or social media site. You should also ensure you use high-quality images, keywords, and consistent branding..Finally, create detailed descriptions, tell customers all they need to know, and keep titles within the 34-character limit..2. Start Spreading The Word.One of the most important steps of any TikTok Shopping advertising campaign is spreading the word. That means telling friends and family, sharing the link on your other social media channels, and posting regular videos..You could also consider teaming up with brand ambassadors or encouraging user-generated content to cause a stir..3. Get Tagging Down To A Fine Art.Want to stand out? Then add tags. TikTok Shopping allows businesses to tag products in their videos, making it easy for viewers to learn more about and purchase the products they see. One way to find suitable tags is to see what’s trending. Go to the ‘Discovery’ tab to view the tags users regularly add..This is how Gymshark uses tagging:.Gymshark uses branded hashtags and common words, while keeping its hashtags to a minimum. This avoids confusion and stops searchers from feeling overwhelmed by heaps of text..4. Offer Discounts.Who doesn’t love a discount? Encourage people to come to your store by offering exclusive deals. Make any offers time-limited to create a sense of urgency and provide unique deals shoppers can’t get anywhere else. For instance, if you sell cosmetics, create a branded product bundle..5. Collaborate with Influencers.Working with influencers is a simple way to promote your products and get them in front of a wider audience. You can use this tactic to enhance brand awareness, as part of your TikTok shopping promotional strategy..As Bautista states:.“Collaborating with influencers aligned with your target audience adds authenticity and credibility to the brand and can help amplify your message.”.Want an example? How about Charli D’Amelio? She has 151.9m followers and staggering estimated earnings of $17.5 million. This gives her an extensive reach and offers visibility to brands working with her, like CeraVe, Prada, and Dunkin’ Donuts..6. Create Engaging and Authentic Content.“To succeed on TikTok Shop, digital marketers should prioritize creating engaging and visually appealing content that showcases their products in action. Try incorporating storytelling techniques and creating narratives around the products to resonate with TikTok’s audience,” Bautista explains..Fortunately, TikTok has plenty of tools to improve and engage your audience, like filters, effects, and music..As the TikTok platform relies on short-form content, you’ll want to capture attention and encourage interaction through fun, entertaining content like Duolingo. The language learning app features the mascot Duo the Owl in funny, memorable videos to entertain its audience..7. Utilize TikTok Ads.Once you’ve tried the organic methods, you might want to consider investing in TikTok ads. This approach increases visibility and engagement with your target audience as you promote your TikTok Shop products..You can try different ad formats, like in-feed ads, branded hashtag challenges, and branded effects, to increase visibility and engagement with your target audience. Before, during, and after your TikTok Shopping ads campaigns, monitor your analytics and see what works for you..As pictured below, TikTok offers four types of adverts, and you can set them up through TikTok’s Shop Ad Central..FAQs.What Is TikTok shopping?.TikTok shopping is an e-commerce platform that lets business sellers create a product catalog. It started with a pilot scheme in several countries, including the United Kingdom..How Will TikTok Shopping Impact My Business?.It’s difficult to say at this early stage. It depends on which category you’re selling in and whether your target audience is on the platform. However, it does provide a fresh outlet to sell from and a new way to reach consumers..How Do I Sell On TikTok?.Business sellers can register for an account, and then they have to wait 2-3 days for approval. Once you get an approval email, you can start selling on TikTok Shopping..How Do I Buy On TikTok?.Go to TikTok and click the “Seller” link, then click on the “Get Started” link on the next page. Then sign up for a business account, complete verification, and start listing products. Ensure you connect your TikTok account with your Shop account..Conclusion.TikTok has an audience of more than one billion users, and with the growing popularity of social shopping, it makes absolute sense that it would launch into e-commerce at some point..Like any other platform, it won’t necessarily be right for your business. However, if your ideal customer is likely to use the platform, so consider having a presence there and see how it goes..It’s easy to set up a store, and there’s only one real way to find out what TikTok Shopping can do for your business, and that’s to give it a go..
Read PostTikTok Shop: What is it and how does it work?
The world of ecommerce is constantly evolving, with a steady stream of forward-thinking innovations changing the way we browse and buy products online..In recent memory, few of these innovations have shifted the landscape quite so drastically as the introduction and subsequent rise of social commerce. Global sales through social media platforms were estimated at 992 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Online purchases through this channel will become even more popular in the future. Forecasts suggest that the value of social commerce sales would reach around 2.9 trillion U.S. dollars by 2026..Downloaded more than 2.7 billion times worldwide, TikTok is the latest platform to display the true power of social commerce, striking the seemingly perfect — and incredibly lucrative — balance between entertainment and commerce..TikTok Shop is the social media giant’s new and immersive shopping feature. It enables merchants, brands, and creators to showcase and sell products directly on TikTok through various formats such as in-feed videos, LIVEs, and product showcase tabs..Graph 1: The rapid growth of TikTok users since 2018. Source..How TikTok Shop can outpace its competitors.Despite TikTok’s shop feature still being in its relative infancy compared to the likes of Facebook and Instagram, its growth has come at an unprecedented pace, cementing the platform as a highly valuable part of any ecommerce strategy..Looking for key insights into this rising phenomenon? Download your copy today!.Even before the emergence of TikTok Shop, the platform’s clever use of viral trends such as the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has fuelled 20.6% of consumers who purchase products over social media to do so frequently after spotting something on TikTok. This marks the highest percentage of frequent social shoppers in comparison to the next-in-line platforms: YouTube (16.6%), and Instagram (16.4%)..A further 67% of TikTok users say they feel inspired to shop when using the platform, even when they weren’t looking to do so..Furthermore, nearly half (48%) of TikTok users are interested in making a purchase on or from TikTok in the next three months, and half of TikTok users have bought something after watching TikTok LIVE..Integrating a seamless in-app shopping feature into a platform that already holds this kind of influence in terms of purchase intent uniquely positions TikTok as a social commerce superpower, one with astronomical growth potential..Graph 2: TikTok leads the way in terms of purchase intent.Keys to TikTok Shop success.Each brand that sells on TikTok Shop is unique in its own way, and will need to tailor its approach to the platform accordingly. However, there are 3 overarching pillars that everyone should observe when creating content to sell on the platform..Entertainment value: The majority of social media users are on platforms primarily to be entertained, especially in the case of TikTok. That means hard sales messaging will rarely resonate, and any sales-focused content should possess entertainment value to trigger that initial engagement with prospective consumers..Of those who shop on TikTok, 71.2% say they’re more likely to buy when stumbling across a product of interest in their feed and Stories first, reinforcing that the platform should be seen as entertainment-first..Community: Another major draw of social media is its ability to make you feel part of something. Social platforms are a tool for keeping up to date with people — where did a friend eat last night? What sneakers did they just buy? In fact, 38% of TikTok users have convinced a friend of family member to buy a product they have discovered on the platform..TikTok's participatory nature is creating an entirely new way for brands to authentically connect with creators and their communities - empowering meaningful relationships with consumers that result in communities of brand loyalists, monetisation opportunities and greater spending..A seamless shopping experience: With any form of ecommerce, the checkout process needs to be straightforward. On social, where everything is instant, this is more important than ever before..Image 1: TikTok Shop offers 3 methods of product discovery.How do people discover products?.There are 3 native ways for people to discover products and brands on TikTok Shop; LIVE shopping, in-feed videos and product showcases..LIVE Shopping: This immersive content format allows brands to showcase products in real-time via live stream events. Multiple products can be pinned throughout the stream and viewers can simply tap the pin and checkout without ever leaving the app..Shoppable videos: Clips containing product links can be displayed as in-feed videos, similar to ads that appear when scrolling through Instagram stories. Videos can be anywhere between 9 and 15 seconds long, and can include multiple calls-to-action..Product showcase: The product showcase tab is ideal for brands wanting to display a wider product range, and essentially act as a brand catalog advertising multiple, relevant products..What tools does TikTok Shop offer to help merchants succeed?.TikTok Shop offers a number of resources and initiatives that share best practices and useful tools for succeeding on the platform..This includes the Creator Marketplace, which connects brands with the platform’s creators to enable easy collaboration. This is an extremely valuable avenue for brands to explore, as it allows them to share content that looks native to the platform, without having to create it themselves..Similarly, the Creative Exchange connects creative experts with brands to build native-looking TikTok videos that can be used to promote products..Also handy for sellers, Follow Me is a multi-channel educational program aimed at small-and-medium-sized businesses..Finally, sellers should defintely take a look at the TikTok Shop Academy. This is TikTok's own free course that guides merchants though TikTok Shop's product features, guidelines and tips for increasing sales. .Graph 3: A breakdown of how TikTok LIVE drives purchases.Why TikTok is a goldmine for brands.With more people than ever logging into social media on a daily basis, we’ve likely only just begun scratching the surface of what is possible with social commerce..Despite only launching in 2017, TikTok has become the 7th most-downloaded app of the 2010s and 58% of users now use the app as a source of shopping inspiration..While TikTok’s popularity has traditionally been assigned to teenage demographics, its user base has evolved substantially over the last couple of years. The app is now attracting huge numbers across millennials, Gen X and baby boomers, while women in the 18-24 age range now make up nearly 1/4 of the platform’s advertising audience..This skyrocketing popularity across multiple age brackets, along with a growing tendency to use the app as a product discovery tool make TikTok an extremely appealing prospect for a brand of any size. We’ve already seen this format completely revolutionize the ecommerce landscape in Southeast Asia..Through seamless integration with TikTok Shop in the UK, and the US, ChannelEngine ensures businesses can take full advantage of the platform as an incredibly exciting and highly-effective channel for both brand discovery and product sales..
Read PostGet Latest Trends and Revenue Tips
Weekly value packed emails straight to your inbox.