Introduction
Social media giant TikTok continues to spread its wings online in eCommerce. It partnered with Shopify in 2020, giving over 1 million online stores back then access to TikTok exposure.
The platform has over one billion global active users monthly. Considering there are 4.9 billion social media users globally, 1 billion is a big slice of the pie.
And one of the best benefits of this collaboration is the ability of direct selling on the platform.
The eCommerce industry is becoming more competitive. But the addition of TikTok to the Shopify app store improved the odds.
In this article, you’ll find the TikTok Shopify benefits and how to use the social media giant to reach buyers. Let’s dive right in!
What Exactly is TikTok?
TikTok is a fast-growing social media platform for creating and sharing short videos
Short-form videos are the most popular type of content on social media.
Most users scroll through with limited time. So short videos are more likely to grab and hold viewer attention.
The result? high retention rates.
These high retention rates have contributed to TikTok’s global popularity.
At first, the app allowed users to create, share, and watch 15-second videos.
But this duration increased to three minutes max. In February 2022, the app raised the limit to allow 15-second to 10-minute videos.
While short videos have high retention rates, they are not the best for monetization. So this increase was inevitable.
Also, the number of genres on the platform has increased. Now it includes stunts, pranks, jokes, dance, entertainment, and more.
TikTok users can filter the content they would like to see to skip any content that might be irrelevant to them.
And as you know, music is a critical aspect of video making. So this combo gives creatives an edge when making catchy content.
June 2020 saw the launch of TikTok for Business. This tool links to other platforms and provides market research & analysis data.
The tool also helps merchants create ads and analyze them for optimization on TikTok.
TikTok Shopify Partnership
Shopify announced a partnership with TikTok in October 2020. This was a few months after the launch of TikTok for Business
The partnership saw the release of the TikTok Channel app in Shopify’s app store.
The app sits on the TikTok for Business tool platform. But it provides specialized benefits to Shopify store owners.
For instance, it enables sellers to sell their products directly on the social media app.
But this duration increased to three minutes max. In February 2022, the app raised the limit to allow 15-second to 10-minute videos.
If you recall, TikTok has about 1 billion users, with the US market having over 140 million aged 18 and above.
Thus, the partnership enables you to showcase your products to a sizable market.
Users could only tag businesses in their videos in the past. But this partnership enabled product linking, directing every click to the checkout page.
But there is nothing as important in marketing as analytics.
With the TikTok channel app, you can create ads and optimize marketing campaigns. Also, you can track the ad data to determine the effectiveness of the marketing strategy.
How Does It Work?
Getting started with TikTok ad campaigns is a simple task. You need to have a TikTok business account, then go through the following steps.
The TikTok app is available in the Shopify App Store, so the first step is to install it from there.
After installation, the TikTok channel will appear on the admin dashboard's left bar. You will be able to connect to your TikTok account from this dashboard.
Next, link your Shopify store account with your TikTok business account. Do this by clicking the “connect account“ button.
After a successful connection, the TikTok business dashboard will appear.
The dashboard lets you control your business account. Also, it enables you to complete the TikTok channel installation.
It is where you will have access to all the TikTok data, as well. This includes sales and advertising analytics.
How To Reach Buyers?
There are four ways to reach buyers on TikTok. But first, you need to understand your audience.
Most of the billion monthly active users are young guys (Gen Z).
These are digital natives who expect the most from online brands. Also, they usually have a short attention span.
As such, any TikTok advertising strategy should consider the young generation demographic.
Considering these factors, your brand should stand out as authentic and engaging. These are necessary if you want to get the most interaction and a loyal following.
With that in mind, you can use these methods to reach customers.
Use Product Tags
Product tags link products featured in the video with their Shopify store listing.
They are effective at converting any video into a potential ad. And this creates a softer approach to marketing.
Remember, Gen Z has a short attention span, and traditional ad videos can be a nuisance or ignored. So this approach might be more effective.
Use Influencers
Over 70% of millennials and Gen Z follow influencers on social media.
A majority of them admitted they buy products based on influencer recommendations.
So forging partnerships with influencers is an effective way to target specific segments.
Moreover, continuous influencer marketing can earn you loyal followers from the celebrity.
Live Stream Shopping Events
Live streaming is like influencer marketing on steroids.
Some companies use celebrities to host live-stream shopping events.
Thus, the strategy pulls in high viewership. It reportedly has the highest return on investment in all social media advertising.
Video Advertising
Videos are the heart and soul of TikTok, so video advertising must be on this list. Creating content on the platform is a simple process requiring these steps.
Video Template
A template gives you a backbone on which you can edit or add content to create a slideshow video for the ad.
Smart Video
If you don’t want to use a template, upload product images to the Smart Video feature. It will generate videos containing background music.
It has plenty of music and special effects. And you don’t have to worry about copyright infringement.
Smart Video Soundtrack
If you already have a no-sound ad video, you can use TikTok to generate its background music.
Creating a Campaign
After creating the content, the next step is setting up the campaign. On the TikTok Ads Manager dashboard page, click the “create an ad“ button.
Next, select the advertising goal and edit the awareness, consideration, and conversion settings.
But focus more on the A/B split testing feature. It lets you choose between two variables: creative and targeting.
Targeting aims your video ads to two different target markets using the same content. But creative lets you test two ads on the same audience.
The next step requires you to work with targeting or bidding. Most of the settings for these options relate to those in other ad platforms.
Keep in mind there are two ad types: single-video and single-image. But only single video ads work on TikTok since it is a video-sharing platform.
FAQs
Here are some clarifications about frequently asked questions on TikTok.
Does Shopify Work With TikTok?
Yes. Shopify announced a partnership with TikTok in October 2020. This partnership saw the introduction of the TikTok channel app to Shopify’s app store.
How Do I Get TikTok on Shopify?
Download the TikTok channel app then connect it to your TikTok business account. After that, follow through with the settings to complete the installation.
When Did TikTok Partner with Shopify?
In October 2020.
How Do I Use TikTok for eCommerce?
You can market your products using:
- Video ads
- Influencers
- Live streaming shopping events
- Product tags
Wrap Up
The TikTok-Shopify collaboration provides eCommerce businesses access to the influential Gen Z demographic. This partnership connects Shopify merchants to Gen Z's buying power through TikTok's viral platform.
Engaging content on TikTok can drive sales and strengthen a brand's presence among this tech-savvy audience.
The TikTok app streamlines campaign creation and offers real-time ad performance insights.
These analytics are vital for merchants to identify which ads drive the most conversions. Understanding ad success elements allows businesses to refine strategies and optimize advertising efforts to sell on TikTok with Shopify.
So get started using the steps above to post your ads on the social media giant today.
We hope this article has been insightful. If you have any questions or comments, drop a comment below!
