eCommerce Support - Part 4 - TikTok

As part of our "eCommerce support" series, we couldn't help but take a look at a social medium that is growing as fast as no other social platform before. We're talking, of course, about TikTok, which has been available since 2018 (that's when the Chinese product ByteDance merged with the Musical.ly platform), gained popularity in 2020 and is still considered to be a phenomenon. Along with Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest, which we've covered before, the app is becoming another channel for eCommerce to communicate with their audience and increase sales. Why should you bet on TikTok and how to do it? We come with the answer!

TikTok - the most controversial social media?

TikTok hasn't missed your attention, has it? It's still on your list of suggested apps to download, your friends at work tell you what they found interesting on it yesterday and your daughter says that "you could have seen it on TikTok" when you ask her a specific question? It's definitely fair to say that this app - like no other before - has divided society into 3 groups: staunch supporters, those with neutral feelings, and vociferous opponents. Thus, it is likely (unless you are an exception) that one of the following descriptions applies to you as well.

• You have a real love for TikTok, you use it every day and you don't even want to think how much time a day you spend looking at more or less successful creations.
• You are completely uninterested in TikTok (even if you see the fascination of your friends or children using this app).
• You know that TikTok exists, but you don't feel like using it - especially when you hear news about the tragic consequences of some of the TikTok challenges.

STOP! If you are running an e-business, the options available don't end with the 3 above. The 4 description will be best for you:

• 4. You know that TikTok can be a suitable support for eCommerce and so you want to learn how you can use it for business purposes.

How it works - why viral videos are a phenomenon of today?

However, before we start trying to convince you that TikTok is a tool worth using in your daily e-business activities, it is necessary to present the basic principles connected with the functioning of this application. TikTok in a nutshell is an application:

• created by Chinese company ByteDance,
• released to users in China in 2016 as Douyin
• which was created in 2018 by merging with the platform at Musical.ly,
• has been downloaded more than 3 billion times (as of January 2022),
• with over one billion daily active users,
• which reached 6 million active users in Poland,
• is designed to publish short videos (15-60 seconds) resembling music videos, which, as the creativity of users shows, are enough to present an interesting creation (usually for humorous purposes).

For comparison: Facebook took 8 years and Instagram 6 years to reach the kind of number of monthly users that TikTok achieved in a few years. Has the popularity of these portals among both younger and older people made TikTok an interesting alternative? We can suspect so, although we certainly also have to take into account the online reality (access, infrastructure, use of mobile devices) in which earlier social media thrived.

However, the rapid growth of the platform (despite parents' concerns) can certainly be explained by the need for a new channel where it is possible to provide entertaining content without parental access. The desire to express oneself and share what is "in one's head" also must had an impact.

The basic question: Is my target audience on TikTok?

Thinking about whether TikTok can prove to be a support for eCommerce, you should undoubtedly first answer the question of what is the target group of your brand. Statistics don't lie - this medium is currently used mostly by young people in the age range of 10-19 (25%) and 20-29 (22,4%), which altogether gives almost 50% of the app users. What's more, as indicated by the data collected by the app, as much as 90% of TikTok users use the platform daily, and the average frequency is between 7 and 8 times a day.

Generation Z is your target? Then don't hesitate, just sign up for an account and think how you can use its capabilities not only to increase sales, but also to build a very loyal audience and brand awareness.

You can't do without good content

It is clear that creating your own content (in this case, in the form of a video) is the primary action that companies operating in the e-world have to take to promote their products and services. A 15-second video allows you to show the possibilities of the offers available, make an interesting comparison or create a funny viral that will make your brand memorable. However, it is important to remember about the appropriate level of presented content in order not to harm the brand image that has been built with effort. TikTok was created for humorous purposes and such forms of presentation are best received.

Real-time marketing videos are most popular on TikTok, as well as those that have not been directed down to the second - authenticity and sincerity are at a premium. As indicated by the analysis of TikTok marketers, creators who rely on such solutions are able to achieve even several times greater user engagement than those who create neat and "pretty" but unrealistic videos. We cannot forget about the very popular challenges which, if properly designed, can significantly increase the reach and evoke positive feelings towards your brand.

Social and live commerce - the future of online shopping

Tiktok also offers us other solutions to help our eCommerce grow. The most important of them are developing social (and live) commerce, Tiktok Ads and well-known cooperation with influencers from Instagram.

Social shopping familiar from Facebook and Instagram - they've also appeared on this platform thanks to TikTok's partnership with Shopify and Square. eCommerces can now tag their products in organic posts, while customers are able to make a purchase in the app on the retailer's profile or by redirecting to the website, giving plenty of room for eCommerce advertising on the platform. TikTok is also aiming to make selling and buying on the platform easier by introducing TikTok Shopping.

It is also worth mentioning that the first live commerce on TikTok - that is, live online sales conducted by users - was organized in December 2021 in the UK. At that time, it was possible to directly purchase products on the platform, which were presented in a humorous way. The hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, created specifically for shopping on the platform, has been used as many as 7 billion times, which shows what the platform is capable of - the potential is visible at a glance.

TikTok Ads - possibilities

Facebook Ads, Instagram Ads, LinkedIn Ads, Pinterest Ads... It just had to happen - the possibility to advertise had to appear on TikTok as soon as it was discovered. The app allows to create an ad in an attractive way in different formats (TopView, Brand Takeover, Branded Hashtag Challenge, In-Feed Ads, Branded Effects appearing on different channels), which allows to diversify the content delivered. Thus it is possible to organize campaigns focused on a specific goal: reach, website traffic, product sales or conversion. And all this for relatively low rates and for a wide audience. Worth a try, right?

The power of influencer marketing

TikTok has made influencers, who attract the attention of audiences counted in thousands or millions, much younger than before. Cooperation with such a person, if the right rules are followed and properly adjusted to the needs or target, will allow you to provide information about the product or service to the target group. When people well-known on the Internet present products (along with highlighting the name of the e-store) in humorous and very creative videos, they naturally increase brand recognition and arouse the desire to make a purchase. The additional use of thematic hashtags provides a better advertising equivalent of this product placement than typical offline campaigns. In this way, the organic reach of this advertising formula can reach incomparably higher values.

In the context of these possibilities, it is worth emphasizing that TikTok itself has provided tools that increase the effectiveness of creations. These include, for example, tags that allow you to match ads to appropriate people or stickers that can be placed on the video (you can create special stickers for your brand).

Be the first to pick an apple from the tree - create a TikTok account

TikTok has been popular among users - both in Poland and worldwide - for only 2 years. Such a short period of time leads us to suspect that most eCommerces have not yet discovered all the possibilities the app provides to companies wishing to reach their customers. So you have every right to suspect that by creating your eCommerce business account on TikTok, you will be ahead of your competition and the first to reach your target audience - especially if they include consumers from Gen Z.

It's also worth keeping in mind that TikTok is a relatively new app, which means that it's bound to be developed in various ways and equipped with new features - also designed to meet the needs of eCommerces. You don't want to miss that, do you?