Everyone can sell products on TikTok. It’s just a matter of understanding why it has become so popular.
TikTok’s popularity is out of any discussion, and there still is a lot to see. Not only because of its broadening demographics but mostly due to one of the things we repeat the most: video is the preferred type of content, both for promotion and sale.
One of TikTok’s trending functions is live selling, only available in a few countries for now (more on this, below). Social Commerce and live streams give an idea on why more businesses of all sizes use TikTok, or rely on User-Generated content to make room for themselves in an increasingly hybrid world.
Since Content2Sell focuses on product content for e-commerce, we could not leave TikTok aside for much longer. Most companies don’t use TikTok yet, partly because they’re unaware of its e-commercial potential.
So, we in this article we’ll dig a little deeper on its opportunities and explain how to sell products on TikTok.
If you’re completely new to this, check out previous post:
Why you should consider live selling on TikTok?
A guide to sell products on TikTok
Why is TikTok becoming so popular?
The vibe about TikTok is the result of combining entertainment, educational and promotional content in a seamless way that diffuses the line between entertainment and the random ads many users hate to see.
Quick, easy-to-create, and casual content are a tempting opportunity for brands to show their most authentic side. Short videos, on the other hand, are easy to consume and easy to share. When properly planned, they can make a very effective impact among their viewers.
Just take a look at TikTok’s number of monthly active users from two different sources:
Demographics
Knowing the audience is a vital part of any marketing strategy. Only this way can one ensure to deliver the proper content in the proper format. Every audience uses a different platform, and TikTok is (still) well known for being Gen-Z and Millenials’ favorite.
That, however, does not exclude older generations, which are increasing globally over time.
- About 35% of users are aged 19-29, about 18% 30-39, and about 19% are over 39 years old.
- In terms of gender, 57% of users are female, 41% are male, and 2%, other.
Opportunities
With 1 billion monthly active users, and over 1 million videos watched daily, there probably is a prospect pool hidden somewhere for every product retailer. Their hashtag formula helps brands and creators to create relevant and localized content, reach more users and followers.
Influencers and collaborating creators
On our previous post we talked about the role of Creators and influencers when it comes to User-Generated content. That was already a thing in Youtube, Facebook, Instagram, and many others. But the since the 2020 lockdowns, e-commerce has exponentially increased their importance for brands to gain visibility across communities.
Not only do they resonate with local audiences but are mostly in the same age segment as the majority of TikTok users. For instance, only Zach King and Will Smith are over 30.
Again, stats don’t lie: creators have made about 35% of TikTok users discover brands and products, and 65% of users declare to enjoy Creators’ videos. Reaction, unboxing, Q&A videos or hashtagged challenges, just to name a few.
But as the August United influencer agency says, brands need to be open to show the bad, and their ugly side. In other words, include their struggles and challenges to the perfect and idealized image that Social Media has been promoting for years.
And that is something small and medium enterprises with little time or budget should definitely take advantage of.
Viralization
While it’s everybody’s dream to create a piece of content that goes viral and multiplies followers, it may be a tad too ambitious to expect a Forbes mention on your first attempt to sell product on TikTok.
That being said, viralization depends on originality as much as it does on grasping the precise moment when a product becomes most valuable. That, still, doesn’t mean that targeting the right community, or finding a popular Creator can’t bring good sales in.
A good base of followers, a creative challenge related to your product, or even a hashtag that’s challenging and easy to remember could do the job.
Now, imagine what all of those combined can do. This is why Challenge Campaigns are so successful.
Challenges
Challenges are an easy way to tease users, and get them to interact with your product, brand, or campaign. And especially, to share their experience in an enjoyable way. It is also a good idea to accept challenges and participate in them, for it grows visibility and shows the human side of brands.
Branded hashtag challenges make, according to TikTok, an engagement increase of about 17,5%.
Before launching a challenge, make sure it complies with TikTok’s conditions and that it is not too controversial, as things may turn around.
Setting up a business profile
TikTok creators may be solely focused on entertaining and, maybe, monetizing their videos. And that should not surprise anyone, after years of seeing the success of many streamers on other channels. Instead, it should be seen as an innovating and profitable way to connect with an audience, and an opportunity to expand it.
Why you need a business profile
While personal profiles (unrelated to businesses) operate just like Instagram’s, Business profiles provide are what allow monetizing content, both for businesses and Creators.
There’s a drawback, however: Pro profiles offer less sounds, probably as a way to balance their relative advantage. Nevertheless, there are very useful advantages.
- Richer analytics about audiences and performances
- Guides, suggestions, and insights for better results
- A sounds and influencers showcase for more reach
- A large library of music free of royalties
Business and Professional profiles can add a link to their website, as well as an email and store category to be easily found. Profile bios work in the same way as Instagram’s and allow brands to create a brief introduction about them, their mission and activity. Not only that. They can also be edited and adapted to specific strategies and promotions.
Product links and catalogs
The biggest and most recent leap forward in e-commerce is its entrance in Social Media. More platforms followed Instagram Shopping (which entered the scene in 2020). And even more are integrating in-app selling after 1. seeing its success in increasing brands’ visibility, and 2 a significant increase in the time spent in them.
By becoming sales platforms, they have become a safe meeting ground for people and businesses.
More people spend more time in Social Media, allowing platforms to maximize their advertising profit. This is partly due to a growing number of online shops, more competition, and a rising cost of ads.
Live streaming takes brands and products right in front of their potential buyers. They solve their questions in real-time, they show products in action, and allow to make high-quality sales (which are less likely to be returned, can make any buyer a potential promoter).
But, for now, we need to settle for external product links to redirect users from the in-app videos to product pages. As we’ll see below, it’s just a matter of time.
Content creation
The main purpose of TikTok is offering engaging content to provide brands (and users) with followers. But there are tools to easily find out what’s hot for your profile, what’s going viral, and to search for specific keywords that are relevant for your business.
Unleash your creativity
If there’s one app where user demographics allow feeling free and creative, that is TikTok. Time will tell whether or how long it will stay up there, but it all points to a growing number of users and a broader age range.
That could mean either that older generations are settling with today’s buzz, or that brands have (finally) understood that natural and close interaction works as good. After all, who doesn’t want to share entertaining and educational content in a fun way?
TikTok’s tabs
- Discover tab. It shows the trending content within the TikTok community. From popular videos to hashtags, creators, and sponsored content.
- For you tab. As algorithms learn to know users better, platforms provide more personalized suggestions based on relevant information for them.
TikTok tools
- Stitch. Stitch is the creation tool that allows taking parts of another public video and add it to the one that is being created. This vastly used for reaction videos.
- Duet. A side-by-side video post taking a video from another creator. Duet presents the two videos in a split screen played at the same time, for example, for sync or joint works.
Along with this TikTok also includes many functions that are now common in every phone. Filters, speed edition, zooms, flashing, timers, and effects, as well as adding sounds or other graphic elements, from sketches to stickers and emojis.
Sounds (and music)
A large library of sounds and music can be used for commercial purposes for free.
Therefore, knowing your target audience becomes crucial to capture their interest by combining them with content that is relevant to it.
LIVE features
With LIVE Events, Creators can let their audience and followers know about their upcoming live broadcasts, which can be saved and register to. Another associated function is LIVE Replay, that must be enabled by Creators to remain discoverable after their LIVE Event has ended.
LIVE Gifts allow creators to gain credit after viewers show appreciation for their content. That credit is called “Diamonds” and can be redeemed for actual money. Find Creators belonging to the Creator Next Program (or signing up to it), and you can benefit from their value too if you prefer not to create your own content.
TikTok Shopping
Like ourselves and a zillion e-merchants around the globe, you must be wondering about TikTok Shopping and the live streaming commerce option. TikTok Shopping was test-launched in the USA, Canada, and the UK in 2021, after partnering with Shopify.
Shortly after, new e-commerce platforms wanted in: Wix, Prestashop or ECWid, to name a few. It’s a matter of time for TikTok to announce an API to integrate product catalogs directly on the platform.
Pixel
You may have noticed how, after visiting a specific website, you start seeing related ads almost immediately. Well, that’s what the Pixel does: it’s an invisible piece of code that is easily pasted on a website’s header to remember and track their viewers’ profile. Needless to say, as long as they have an account.
And while it’s been used by Google and Facebook for many years now, it is not exclusive to them. TikTok also has a Pixel code to help professional profiles reach and retarget their audience. And yes, it works with the most used ones: WooCommerce, Shopify and BigCommerce.
Haven’t decided what e-commerce platform to use?
Take a read at our post: WooCommerce or Shopify
Ad types
In-feed ads
In-feed native videos are like Youtube’s: shown before the chosen video to watch. They allow including links to websites, e-shops and appstores. However, users can skip them.
Top-view ads
Top-view ads are one-minute-long videos at the max. Shown on the “For You” tab upon opening TikTok, they are based on personalized recommendations from the app’s algorithm.
Branded hashtag challenge
Like you would suspect from the name, this type of ad are basically a challenge from you to the community to perform a specific action (called challenge – so make sure there is some difficulty) under a hashtag. These ads appear on the Discovery tab, can make brands become rapidly visible, and increase traffic and sales.
You can learn more about them here.
Branded lens ad
Filter ads are quite an innovative format that users can superpose on their videos, like Instagram’s. Well used, users can create specific environments or appealing looks which can be branded.
Brand takeover ad
Brand takeovers are very useful for product launches and brand promotions, as they take over the entire device screen when users open the app. And since there can only be one per country, category and day, they can make a huge social impact.
Ad requirements
| Image files: | JPG or PNG only |
| Video files: | MP4, MOV, MPEG, 3GP or AVI |
| Aspect ratio: | 9:16, 1:1 and 16:9 (Vertical) |
| Image resolution: | 1200×628 (Recommended) |
| Video resolution: | 720 × 1280 px, 640 × 640 px or 1280 × 720 px |
| Video duration: | 5 – 60 seconds |
| Brand name: | 20 characters Max. |
| Ad description: | 100 characters Max. No emojis allowed |
Conclusion
TikTok has opened a whole new universe, laser focused on the power video and the authenticity it offers. By teaming up with other platforms and using trendy resources like hashtags, royalty-free sounds and music, and exploiting challenges, it seems like this is just the beginning. So, it’s fertile ground for brands who need to connect with their audience in a direct, casual, simple, and fun way.
However, the platform doesn’t work by itself. Instead, it is powered by the content we upload. And while catalogs are not integrated in the app, it is time to upgrade product content with high-quality product photography and videos. Missing out on this one means letting competitors step ahead, both in brand awareness, presence and sales.
Thus, getting a FREE CONTENT AUDITwill make the difference between anticipation and running late.
