TikTok has leaned on ecommerce for some time. It has helped boost ad activity and open more opportunities for individual creators to earn more through its brand partners.
The app’s Chinese version Douyin has become an ecommerce site similar to Alibaba. And with the holiday season right around the corner, TikTok is presenting itself as a shopping destination through Community Commerce.
“The TikTok made me buy it phenomenon has helped products of all kinds fly off the shelves – from leggings and milk frothers to cranberry juice, cleaning products, homewares, and everything in between. TikTok is so notorious for helping brands take off that’s it’s often covered in the news, and some retailers have created #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt sections in their stores, knowing that shoppers are looking to buy things they see on the app,” says TikTok.
Its massive popularity presents new marketing opportunities. And looking at how viral TikTok trends are, they now drive new shopping behaviors.
TikTok has shared new tips to boost product marketing campaigns.
Product Engagement
TikTok says its platform maximizes engagement with marketers’ products through entertainment.
“People are less satisfied with much of the advertising they see online. They’re looking for ad experiences that are genuinely entertaining, especially when it comes to commerce marketing; around one-third of people want commerce to be more entertaining,” explains TikTok.
For You
TikTok also says it has an edge due to its algorithm through its For You page.
“While other content feeds are built around a user’s following, the For You page is built around videos that users like, share, and watch repeatedly. So if someone’s For You page shows them a video talking about, say, makeup products or homewares, there’s a good chance they care about beauty or interior design,” notes TikTok.
Product Discovery
TikTok notes that Community Commerce helps product discovery. It encourages audiences to make entertaining user-generated content, as these are more authentic than content shared by the brands.
“That content is then shared with and enjoyed by those creators’ trusted communities. In essence, it’s the digitization of word-of-mouth marketing – and it empowers brands to form genuine connections with people in a way that drives awareness, favorability, and sales,” adds TikTok.
Finally, TikTok is evolving its ecommerce tools to allow users to go from discovery to action quickly.
“They hear about a product in videos on their For You page, then engage with that content and use our advertising products to visit a brand’s site to browse or make a purchase. All of this takes place within the TikTok app itself, and it happens so smoothly that users can return to their feeds as soon as they’re done, then restart the process,” says TikTok.
Read more about TikTok advertising insights and tips here.
