Learn how individuals and brands can unlock the potential of their businesses with e-commerce features integrated into TikTok Shop, the popular social media platform.
TikTok is Not an Ordinary Social Media Platform!
TikTok has captivated millions of users worldwide. Initially, a lip-synching platform known as Musical.ly and then a casual dancing app, TikTok has rapidly transformed into more than an entertainment source. Though it is included in social media, the audience it captures is different from that of other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and the like.
TikTok differs from other social media sites in several ways. For instance:
- TikTok is usually focused on short videos, not longer than one or two minutes. This short format of video makes it very easy for TikTok users to consume content without any need for scrolling down a long stream of texts and blogs.
- Secondly, a typical user of TikTok is Generation Gen Z and Millennials, they are wary of traditional marketing means. They belong to much younger demographics which makes it necessary to come up with innovative and imperceptible forms of marketing.
- The algorithm that TikTok uses for offering personalized user experience is unique. It takes into account various factors such as video information, user setting, device and account setting, location, behavior, preferences, and interaction of users to curate the “For You Page”.
- And more importantly, this platform offers a range of editing tools, filters, effects, stickers, background music and sources for helping TikTok users create engaging and entertaining videos. In this way, TikTok users can showcase their personalities, passions, and talents to a larger audience.
- These are reasons which have helped TikTok retain its position as the most downloaded app in 2022(879.2 million downloads).
- These are factors that make TikTok much different from other social media sites, and these dissimilarities are precisely the reason why TikTok has begun a serious threat to major e-commerce players. But how? The answer is TikTok Shop.
These are factors that make TikTok much different from other social media sites, and these dissimilarities are precisely the reason why TikTok has begun a serious threat to major e-commerce players.
But how? The answer is TikTok Shop.
What is TikTok Shop?
It is an innovative ecommerce feature introduced by TikTok that allows businesses, merchants, brands, and creators to showcase their products and services and sell them directly to TikTok users. They can market their products and services through in-feed videos, LIVEs, and product showcase profile tabs.
It offers seamless integration between social media platforms and ecommerce; users can easily discover and purchase products without leaving the app. TikTok has indeed come up with an innovative and holistic user experience by incorporating advanced shopping functionalities in its app.
TikTok is aiming at helping brands, merchants, and businesses achieve high-quality traffic, providing a better consumer experience, and offering seamless collaborators via an affiliate marketplace.
How Can You Deploy TikTok Shop for Securing Your Marketing Goals?
You can use TikTok Shop to meet your marketing goals in several ways. For instance,
- You can create shoppable videos and live streams to market your products and link them to your online store.
- You can set up a product showcase page on your TikTok profile to allow your users to browse and buy products within the app.
- You can collaborate with influencers and affiliates for promoting your products to their followers and earn a commission for their promotion services.
- You can use TikTok Shop’s data dashboard to track the performance, traffic, customer reviews, and transaction data to measure the success of your marketing campaign.
In which Countries TikTok Shop is Available?
TikTok Shop is currently available in select countries, such as the US, UK, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
Who Can Use TikTok Shop?
Currently, the TikTok Shop feature is limited to some regions. To use TikTok Shop, you must fall into one of these categories:
Sellers:
These are brands or merchants who sell their products on TikTok Shop in addition to external sites such as Shopify etc. Sellers can create product listings, set up storefronts, track their sale performance, and integrate with the existing systems. They can also manage their shops, inventory, promotion, and partnership through the TikTok app.
Creators:
Creators are those TikTok users who make content for fun and earn commission through imperceptibly displaying advertised content through TikTok live shopping and in-feed videos. They must possess some criteria for becoming creators on TikTok Shop. For example:
They must have at least 1000 followers;
They must have posted a video in the last 28 days;
She/He must be 18 years old or above
His or her videos must have had 50+ views in the last 28 days
Affiliate:
TikTok shop affiliates are sellers and creators who collaborate for attracting new customers and increasing sales. To get affiliate status, you must be a registered TikTok shop seller resident of countries where TikTok Shop is available.
Partner:
These are digital marketing agencies and ecommerce professionals who offer marketing and ecommerce services to sellers on TikTok Shop.
To get the partner status on the TikTok shop, the business or marketing service provider must be registered business in one of the countries where the TikTok shop feature is accessible.
How Can You Apply for TikTok Shop?
It is very easy and straightforward. You can apply for TikTok Shop by following simple steps.
Create a TikTok Business Account:
Download the app and create a business account, click on the right corner of your profile and select manage account, and then “Switch to Pro Account” and follow the instruction to set up a business account.
Apply to Join TikTok Shop:
If you are a resident of the USA and other countries where TikTok Shop is available, you can join it as a TikTok seller or creator through an app or website. You will have to provide some documents for verification and your identity.
Create your Shop on TikTok Seller Center:
When your application has been approved, you can access to TikTok seller center where you can create product listings, set up a storefront, track your store performance, and manage all other ecommerce tasks.
And here you go!
Now you can deploy various TikTok tools like shoppable videos, live streams, product showcases, and other features for the promotion and selling of your products to the TikTok community.
Why Should Businesses Consider TikTok Shop?
Social commerce, that is integration of social media and ecommerce, is exploding and millions of users are relying upon social media platforms to discover and purchase products of their choice. Global sales through social media platforms reached 990 billion US dollars in 2022, and it is estimated to reach 2.6 trillion US dollars by 2026.
This huge sale volume indicates the growing popularity of social commerce and TikTok Shop is no exception. It has become a more lucrative and the most powerful commerce destination where merchants can explore new purchasing opportunities.
TikTok Shop offers many advantages:
TikTok is Driving the Ecommerce Worldwide!
It has more than one billion active users worldwide, they spend 38.6 minutes per day on the app. The data provided by TikTok’s community commerce reveals the deep impacts of TikTok on the buying patterns of consumers.
For instance, 67% of users inform the surveyors that they get inspired to buy products after interacting with the TikTok app despite not having a pre-determined mind.
73% of users said that they felt a deeper connection to a brand with which they interact on TikTok in comparison with other social media platforms.
TikTok Shop Can Help Users Hear from Trusted Creators, Not from Companies
The one reason which makes TikTok Shop a powerful social commerce platform is opportunity for the consumers to get product recommendations from creators directly rather than from companies and brands. Different surveys indicate that consumers are likely to be inspired to buy if they get recommendations from friends, members of the family, or social media influencers.
TikTok Shop has ecommerce features to make this happen. In a short video, an influencer can imperceptibly inspire his followers to purchase some particular products without irritating TikTok users.
TikTok Shop Enables Creative Positioning of Products:
The creators can use their ingenuity and innovative prowess to bring products to life. Users can see products in the action. A quick TikTok video featuring social media influencers using the product in the background TikTok music and themes appears more organic form of marketing than other traditional marketing. You can watch a beauty product transforming skin in a short video and more.
A short video equipped with mood-influencing music in a real-life setting can go a long way in influencing the behaviors and preferences of TikTok users. That makes TikTok shop a must for merchants and brands.
TikTok Has Peaked the Virality Effect:
The most important factor that has contributed to social commerce is the ability of social media platforms to make a picture, a meme, a video clip, or a post viral, influencing millions of users and generating debate and discourse. TikTok has amplified this virality effect to an unprecedented level.
For instance, thousands of women started using the Dyson Hair Wrap tool for hair drying after one video clip on TikTok went viral, and there are also many other examples. Creators can exploit this virality effect to enhance the outreach of products to millions of users worldwide.
Final Thoughts:
No doubt, TikTok Shop offers huge potential for social commerce. This platform provides far better options, opportunities, and outreach to promote and sell your products. Whether you are a start-up or established or mature organization, you must tap this potential, if you are registered in the list of countries TikTok Shop is operational.
FAQs
Yes, you can track the performance of your TikTok Shop by leveraging the performance tracking features and analytics. You can get access to data related to product reviews, engagement, conversion rates, and more.
Depending upon your location and business type, you can join TikTok Shop as a creator or seller through the TikTok app or website.
Creating engaging and authentic content; using hashtags, keywords, Call-to-Actions, and captions to optimize TikTok video for conversion and discovery; participating in challenges, trends, and hashtags; collaborating with influencers and affiliates are some practices considered the best for selling on TikTok Shop.
You can create and promote your products on TikTok Shop through In-feed videos, LIVEs, and product showcases.
No, it is available in selected countries, though TikTok is gradually expanding its availability to different countries.
