It’s no secret that TikTok is a powerful social media platform. As we move through 2022, TikTok has solidified itself as one of the most popular social media platforms, and the app currently boasts over 1 billion active users.
Cameron Yoder sat down with Christian Cachafeiro, Associate Ecommerce Analyst at Teikametrics, to discuss how sellers and brands can leverage the TikTok app for their ecommerce business in 2022 and beyond. Many know and love TikTok as a fun app. But there is a unique opportunity for sellers to get in on the ground level and grow with other businesses.
Prefer to watch the interview? Watch the full video below.
There is a common misconception that TikTok is only for children and dancing videos; however, this is not the case. If you have not already, take the time to test the app as a consumer. This will give you a better understanding of the algorithm and how to create content specifically for TikTok.
The TikTok Algorithm Explained
One of the driving factors behind TikTok’s success is its algorithm. An algorithm is a piece of proprietary technology that a platform generates and owns to determine the most relevant content for a viewer’s For You page.
As mentioned in the video above, if a TikTok user does not want to see videos of funny dances, the TikTok algorithm will not serve them videos that fit within that category. The app will only serve you videos relevant to what you want to see.
Here is how TikTok themselves’ define the algorithm used on their For You page:
“A stream of videos curated to your interests, making it easy to find content and creators you love … powered by a recommendation system that delivers content to each user that is likely to be of interest to that particular user.”
The algorithm can change with a user over time based on their viewing preference and activities within other apps.
For brands on TikTok, this means constantly adjusting your strategy to put yourself in front of the right audience on their For You page.
The algorithm is a huge bet for a business’s presence on the app from an e-commerce perspective. A company is betting on the algorithm that it will serve the right product or video to the right audience to convert.
TikTok As A Lifeline For Businesses
Not many businesses have a presence on TikTok to deliver products to consumers yet. This allows for a significant opportunity to take up space and see success as a new business on the app.
Many mom-and-pop shops or small brick-and-mortar stores turned to TikTok during the pandemic to make up for the lack of foot traffic in their stores. They started to make content that highlights their product or the process of making their product. A surge of followers was reflected in the stores’ ecommerce sales.
Starting Out on TikTok
If you are going to make the leap and generate a presence for your brand on TikTok, now is the time to do so. While TikTok was the most downloaded app during January of 2022, it is still considered to be in its early stages, meaning businesses that are jumping on the bandwagon now are still considered to be getting in on the ground floor.
Back in 2020, the app launched, TikTok For Business, to give brands the opportunity to connect their ecommerce storefront with TikTok as a way to reach new audiences and boost sales. TikTok For Business allows a business to advertise within the app, but still, remain authentic and not bombard viewers with advertisements. You can learn more about TikTok for businesses here.
How To Sell on TikTok?
Let’s dive into some key tactics when it comes to building your presence as a brand on TikTok.
One of the most important aspects of creating content on the app is understanding how to grab the attention of the consumers. With over a million videos viewed on the app every day, it is imperative to stand out from the masses within the first three seconds of your video to draw a viewer in.
When it comes to TikTok, consistency is key. This goes back to the power of the algorithm, the more videos a user is sharing that are related to their niche, the more the algorithm will tag the content and serve it to the correct audience.
Additionally, ensure that your content is providing value through the content. In the early stages of TikTok for brands, businesses were using it as a way to just advertise their products. While this may work for certain brands, it is most important that your content provides value and not just information about a product. This will help you build a loyal following on the app.
In order to capitalize on TikTok’s ecommerce capabilities, it is important to include a CTA or call-to-action in your videos. By including a CTA, you are more likely to increase conversions and boost sales for your business.
Another key element for businesses on TikTok is utilizing hashtags. Hashtags are essential for driving traffic to your content and will allow it to be discovered by a new audience. The key is to find the perfect balance of hashtags without over-saturating your content with too many. With TikTok, you want the app to serve up your video based on the hashtag you are using not just adding in the popular hashtags that everyone else is using.
Advertising on TikTok
Compared to other platforms, such as Facebook or Google, the cost of advertising on TikTok is much lower. This is because the big players that you would see on these major platforms are not advertising on TikTok yet.
Additionally, at this point in time, TikTok still has a good mixture of organic traffic and advertising. This gives sellers a lot to work with to sell products successfully. The app also offers a unique way of advertising to users, which is through TikTok For Business. This feature allows businesses to create ads that are still authentic and not overbearing like other platforms.
How Does This Connect To Amazon?
The great thing about TikTok is that it can be used as a way to drive traffic to your Amazon product listing. This is done by including a link to your listing in the description of your video.
When users see your video and are interested in purchasing the product, they can click on the link and be taken directly to your listing. This is a great way to increase traffic to your listing and improve your conversion rate.
This can also be done by working with influencers on the TikTok app. Have them share the link to your product on their profile via affiliate links.
Another way to capitalize on off-Amazon traffic through TikTok is to utilize attribution links. This is a program available to all brand-registered sellers.
Amazon Attribution enables brands to track the traffic they drive to Amazon from non-Amazon channels. Amazon wants you to understand how you’re driving traffic to Amazon. So you can drive more through social media, email marketing campaigns, paid, and unpaid media and get rewarded.
Learn more about the power of TikTok by watching the full interview here.
