TikTok is taking the world by storm!
Its daily audience has now surpassed the popularity of Instagram and numbers are about to rise even more. So if you are thinking about how to push your business forward, then TikTok is the way to go.
The platform is especially popular among younger audiences and is used by over 1 billion people every month. With so many people using TikTok, it’s an ideal place for brands to advertise their products and services.
Yes, social media marketing is essential for eCommerce businesses to grow their online sales. But with one billion monthly active users on TikTok and more than 40,000 posts per minute shared on this app, it becomes very tricky for business owners to market their products when there are so many things getting in the way.
The secret to successful TikTok advertising isn’t just about creating an ad – you also need to know how best to optimize it for maximum reach and engagement. In this article, we’ll deep-dive into TikTok for eCommerce marketing.
Why should your eCommerce business market on TikTok?
- TikTok has over 1 billion active monthly users.
- In 2021, TikTok was ranked the #1 downloaded app both in the U.S. and worldwide.
- TikTok is reported to have more GenZ users than Instagram and will soon surpass Snapchat by 2023.
- 59% of TikTok users say they feel a sense of community when they are on TikTok.
- 35% of TikTok users claim they’ve spent less time watching TV or other video content since they started using TikTok.
- 73% of global users say they feel a deeper connection to brands they interact with on TikTok, compared to other platforms.
For brands, it's a ripe opportunity to reach consumers through dedicated content that's actually relevant to them. TikTok's targeting capabilities are so precise that you can reach specific users based on their location, age, or interests.
Paid ads TikTok eCommerce marketing strategy
How do TikTok ads work?
TikTok ads are similar to other mobile ad networks like Facebook and Instagram — they allow companies to reach new audiences and convert them into paying customers. You can run ads on TikTok using its dedicated ad network, which allows you to target specific audiences based on location, gender, age range, interests, etc.
There are two options to create TikTik ads -
Boost existing content with TikTok Promote
TikTok Promote allows you to boost your own original content on the platform, making it more visible within the app feed.
Once you have some videos up on your TikTok account, you can start boosting them with Promote. This feature allows advertisers to pay to promote videos they post on their own accounts so they get more views than they otherwise would have received organically. You can choose which audience you want to target (for example, people who live in a certain city or country) and how much money you want to spend on each video.
Here’s how to boost a TikTok post -
- Tap the three-line icon for settings on your TikTok profile, then tap Creator tools.
- Tap Promote.
- Select the video you want to promote.
- Choose your advertising goal - more website visits, more video views, or more followers.
- Strategically choose your audience, budget, and duration.
- Tap next and enter your payment info and tap Start Promotion!
Create your ad(s)
You can also choose to create strategic ad campaigns using TikTok’s dedicated ad management tools.
Types of TikTok ads
In-feed video
These are ads that appear among the native news feed of TikTok users on the “For You” page.
Brand takeover
This type of ad allows you to dominate the conversation as your message takes over the whole screen for a few seconds. It then turns into an in-feed video ad.
Spark ads
TikTok rolled out this ad type in 2021, giving brands the ability to sponsor popular organic content that relates to their products.
Image ads
Brands can place image ads in videos that appear via TikTok’s news feed apps: BuzzVideo, TopBuzz, and Babe.
Video ads
These ads are full-screen videos of 5 to 60 seconds that appear in a user’s “For You” feed.
Carousel ads
These ads include up to 10 images and appear in TikTok’s news feed apps.
Branded AR content
Your ads can also appear as branded stickers, lenses, and other types of AR content so TikTok users can use them in their videos.
Sponsored influencer content
For this type of TikTok advertisement, you get your message across through sponsored content from an influential TikTok user.
Paid ads TikTok eCommerce marketing tips
If you're thinking about advertising on TikTok, make sure you've got the right strategy in place. Here are five tips to get the most out of your paid advertising campaigns -
1. Name your campaign and set a budget
When you create a new campaign, you'll need to give it a name. This is especially important if you're running more than one ad at a time because it'll let you easily separate them later on. Your campaign name can be up to 512 characters.
You can set a daily budget for your campaigns and also choose how much money you want to spend over a given period of time (e.g., per week). For example, if you want to spend $100 per week on TikTok ads, then set your budget at $14 per day ($100/7). If you have all the required resources, you can also set No Limit on your campaign budget.
2. Name your ad group and select placements
Naming your ad groups makes it easier for you to keep track of all your campaigns and see which ones are performing well (or not). Each campaign can include up to 999 ad groups. And each ad group name can be up to 512 characters long.
Once you have a good name for your ad group, you can create placements in it. Placements are where your ads will show up on TikTok and they can be separated into multiple placements.
Available ad placement options include -
- TikTok placement: In-feed ads in the For You feed.
- News Feed App placement: Ads within TikTok’s other apps—BuzzVideo, TopBuzz, NewsRepublic, and Babe.
- Pangle placement: The TikTok audience network.
- Automatic placement: It allows TikTok to automatically optimize ad delivery.
Note: not all these placement options are available in all countries.
3. Choose whether to use Automated Creative Optimization (ACO)
ACO allows you to automatically optimize your creatives based on performance data. If you choose not to use ACO, you'll have more control over your ads but will need to manually adjust them from time to time as they perform differently on different devices, at different times with different audiences.
TikTok recommends that new marketers turn this setting on to reap the best benefits from their TikTok advertising efforts.
4. Target the right audience
Make sure to use all available targeting options in order for your ads to be as effective as possible. The best way to do this is by using multiple targeting options at once — this will allow you to reach people who have shown interest in similar content before on TikTok.
For example, if you have a video about the benefits of using a certain product or service that appeals specifically to women ages 18-24, you could use gender targeting as well as age range targeting so that only those users see your ad.
5. Set your ad group budget and schedule
Along with setting an overall budget for your TikTok marketing, it’s also recommended to set budgets for individual ad groups.
TikTok allows you to set both an individual ad group budget and a schedule for how often you want to run the ads. You can choose from daily, weekly, or monthly schedules, offering flexibility in how much money you want to spend and when you want the ads running.
6. Set your campaign optimization and bidding strategy
Start with setting your campaign optimization goal.
Optimization goals are the metrics you want to track and optimize for. This includes conversion, clicks, or reach.
Next, choose your bidding strategy. This includes -
Bid Cap
A bid cap is the maximum amount you want to spend on a campaign per day. You can set the bid cap manually or let the system automatically adjust it based on your budget.
Cost Cap
The cost cap is the maximum amount you want to spend on a campaign over its lifetime. You can set the cost cap manually or let the system automatically adjust it based on your budget.
Lowest Cost
This bids as low as possible to win impressions based on our ad groups’ budget, but it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll get those impressions at a specific price point.
Finally, choose your delivery type - standard or accelerated.
Standard delivery type ensures that your budget is divided evenly over the scheduled dates of the campaign. Accelerated delivery, on the other hand, spends your budget as fast as possible to get results faster.
Organic TikTok eCommerce marketing strategy
What is organic TikTok marketing?
Organic TikTok marketing is all about creating content that engages people and encourages them to share it with their friends and followers.
The goal of organic TikTok marketing is to get people talking about your brand or business without paying for ads or promotions. The idea behind this is that if you build up a large enough audience, they will share your content with their followers. This will increase awareness and engagement with your brand.
Organic TikTok marketing tips
1. Use your profile page as an opportunity to tell your story and showcase your products
When people think of posting on TikTok, they usually think of making or watching music videos or comedy sketches. However, there are other types of content that can be shared on TikTok — like product reviews, recommendations, or behind the scenes of your brand.
2. Create engaging content that will resonate with your audience
44% of daily TikTok users want branded content to be fun and entertaining.
Creating a successful organic TikTok campaign starts with creating quality content that people want to watch, comment on, and like. You can do this by creating videos that are entertaining, informative, or both. The more interesting your videos are, the more likely people will be to watch them and share them with others.
3. Create a unique brand identity
One of the most important elements of your organic TikTok eCommerce marketing strategy should be to create a unique brand identity. This means that you need to make sure that your brand is recognizable and memorable. It also means that you have to make sure that your products are differentiated from those of your competitors.
You need to first understand how people use TikTok and what they expect from content on the platform. To do this, take some time to watch videos and see what kind of high-performing content is out there.
Then, try creating videos yourself that follow these patterns and styles. If your video performs well, then you know you have found something that resonates with users on this platform!
4. Hop on to hot trends
When it comes to TikTok eCommerce organic marketing, it's important that you know what's trending so that you can capitalize on it in your business model and product lines. Trends come and go quickly so it's important not to get caught up in something that may not be relevant anymore when it comes time for sales season or holiday shopping season.
5. Use hashtags that are relevant to your brand and are used by other brands in your niche
One of the easiest ways to get discovered on TikTok is by using relevant hashtags in your posts. This will help people find your content more easily when they search for similar content on the app. Think about what hashtags are associated with your brand or product (for example, "fashion", "beauty", etc.) and use them whenever possible — but don't overdo it!
6. Connect in the comments
TikTok is a social platform, so it’s important to engage with your audience and respond to comments. This can be as simple as thanking people for watching your content or as involved as answering questions about product use.
If you want to encourage customers to engage with you on TikTok, consider adding a call-to-action in your video description that asks consumers to comment on their experience with your brand, product, or just the video posted.
7. Create custom branded filters
The most effective way to use TikTok is by creating branded filters that can be used in any video on the app. These filters are great for brand awareness because they allow you to add your logo or other branding elements into a video without interrupting the user experience. The best part about them? They’re totally free!
Augmented reality is the future of eCommerce. It can bring products to life, making them more engaging and memorable for customers. The potential for AR in eCommerce is huge - it allows you to create an immersive experience for your shoppers, no matter where they are in the world. You can increase customer engagement, reach new customers, and reduce returns by leveraging AR.
8. Run contests and giveaways
If you have the budget, run contests on TikTok to encourage user participation and engagement. Giveaways are an excellent way to increase your audience engagement, build relationships with influencers, and grow your brand awareness.
You can run a contest by asking users to submit videos or photos that show them using your product in a creative way. This will help you gain valuable insights into how customers interact with your brand and improve its performance over time.
9. Ask questions and curate content
TikTok has an active community, so it makes sense for brands to participate by asking questions through their stories and comments sections. This allows them to engage with customers and build up their following in real-time.
TikTok advertising best practices
- Stay on brand.
- Be direct.
- Shoot all your content vertically.
- Promote at the right time.
- Use both sound and text in your creatives.
- Incorporate hashtags.
- Incorporate interactive add-ons like stickers, etc.
- Partner with influencers who resonate with your brand.
Conclusion
The times have changed. Traditional marketing will not necessarily work anymore.
As we discussed, TikTok is a unique platform with a substantial user base that is eager to engage with you. The more you interact, the more popular you will become, and the more engagement your eCommerce store will get out of it.
If you are a Shopify store owner, TikTok is a great platform to start growing your followers. Also, the beauty of the app is that it has a diverse range of users. This can be a great way to reach out to different demographic groups which is why brands are now investing in this marketing platform.
We hope this guide helped give you a better idea of how to effectively integrate TikTok into your marketing strategy. We encourage you to test out different strategies and learn what works best for your audience.
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