TikTok Shop is one of the fastest growing e-commerce platforms available for online sellers, providing a unique opportunity for businesses to reach a huge and engaged audience.
A contemporary alternative to traditional online marketplaces, such as Amazon and eBay, TikTok is a dynamic and innovative platform, offering easy-to-use software and features to create an engaging and unique shopping experience.
For online sellers and retailers looking to expand their reach and boost sales, adding a TikTok Shop to your business’s arsenal can be an exciting part of your future marketing strategy.
So why should retailers consider TikTok Shop as part of their marketing strategy?
Huge & Young Audience
TikTok is renowned for its huge global audience, boasting over 1 billion active monthly users. Primarily popular among Gen Z and Millennials, TikTok Shop encourages retailers to connect with younger, tech-savvy audiences that prefer to shop differently in the digital era.
Marketers will only be two aware that times are changing, and it’s essential that retailers change with them to maintain any prosperous and profitable retail enterprise.
With such a huge customer base that are already active and engaged on the app, TikTok Shop allows retailers to reach their target audience using TikTok’s features and advertising tools.
Easy Shopping Experience
TikTok Shop facilities the whole retail journey, from discovery and acquisition to conversion. Allowing users to discover and purchase product directly using the app, this eliminates the need to leave the platform, with such a seamless shopping experience to contribute to higher conversion rates and increased sales.
Fresh Content Formats
There’s no doubt that TikTok is a platform embraced by content creators and imaginative entrepreneurs, and it offers retailers the opportunity to harness its AI technology and creative suite tools to market its product in an innovative way.
With a limitless range of trending sounds, music, visual effects and short-form video formats to showcase products and get your customer’s attention, TikTok Shop’s engaging content tools don’t require a strong level of technical expertise or media experience to operate.
Live Shopping
In addition to its fresh and exciting forms of video and retail marketing, TikTok Shop allows retailers to utilise live shopping streams to interact with viewers, showcase products and offers exclusive deals.
Savvy and experienced retailers will be acutely aware of their ability to generate a sense of urgency and hype, encouraging viewer to engage and make purchases in a live stream format.
Influencer Marketing
Love it or loathe it, influencers are a massive part of TikTok, social media and marketing strategy in today’s digital era. A significant opportunity to expand your reach and introduce your brand and online store to new audiences, TikTok is one of the most popular platforms for influencers to work their magic.
Excellent Performance Tracking & Optimisation Tools
TikTok’s contemporary and intuitive tracking and optimisation tools offer valuable, actionable insights into product performance, from views and engagement data to conversion rates. This helps marketers track progress and identify areas of improvement for your TikTok Shop.
How To Get Started on TikTok Shop
- Create a TikTok Business Account
- Register your personal or business information
- Select your business type and submit documentation for authentication purposes
- Wait 2-3 days for application approval
- Link your bank account
- Upload products, including warehouse or shop-pickup address if applicable
- Create a visually appearing and organised product catalogue for merchandising
- Utilise live shopping ads
- Connect with influencers
- Utilise shoppable videos
- Collaborate with creators
Understanding TikTok and its Audience
Before embarking on your TikTok Shop journey, it’s imperative your retail business takes the time to consider whether it’s the appropriate platform for your brand and product. TikTok is an in-app shopping experience, primarily utilised by younger, tech-savvy audiences familiar with live shopping, product showcases, in-app checkouts and influencer-marketing opportunities.
With such an array of platforms and channels available, it’s never been more important to know your audience. Businesses with an authentic, strong brand story that are open to experimentation and visual-centric marketing are likely to thrive on TikTok Shop, whether you’re selling fast-moving-consumer-goods or beauty supplies, electronics and homewares.
Eligibility and Criteria
As ever, Pound Wholesale always advise all online sellers and retailers to check eligibility before acquiring stock and listing products on online marketplaces. Online retailers should ensure their product and brand is compatible with TikTok Shop and its guidelines, preparing its account and setting up the shop with all inventories, pricing and shipping details established.
Content Strategy
Before establishing a TikTok Shop, retailers should invest time and resources into generating engaging content ideas to market its products, from short-form videos, live streams, product demos and user-generated content to ensure your business has a wealth of content for potential customers to interactive with.
Optimised Sales Strategy
TikTok Shop, like many online marketplaces, offers numerous levers and tools to create clear calls to action, encouraging potential customer to “Shop Now” or “Learn More”.
Online shoppers ordinarily love a bargain, and TikTok users are no exception. As with any successful retailer, it’s crucial to get your pricing structure right, conducting thorough competitor and market research, factoring in all costs to formulate a strategy that offers genuine value to your target audience.
TikTok is all about popular trends, algorithm changes and experimentation – it’s crucial that online retailers stay updated with the latest TikTok news and discover exciting content formats and strategies that resonate with your target audience.