TikTok is available in 155 countries, has over 1 billion users, and over 1,5 billion downloads being the most downloaded app on Appstore in 2019. If your brand’s target audience includes anyone between the ages of 13 and 30, you should have an eCommerce TikTok strategy. But make it fast – the brand quickly matures and it will most likely become more and more expensive. So what is the eCommerce potential of TikTok?
Overview on TikTok
TikTok videos last up to 15 seconds but still, music is TikTok’s DNA, and its users can post videos with background tunes from popular acts like Taylor Swift, Stormzy, or Billie Eilish. Its emphasis on music has given TikTok an edge over Instagram and Snapchat and has cut through with younger audiences.
The type of content featured on TikTok differs from what you see on the other platforms. This is partly because of the way TikTok is structured, as well as the nature of its user base. TikTok’s users share short videos, not text posts, static images, Stories, or longer-from video. TikTok users don’t write the types of captions you see on Instagram posts, nor the longer blocks of text commonly included in Facebook posts. While you can use hashtags on TikTok, users don’t use the quantity of them that Instagram fans do.
TikTok has gained traction during coronavirus outbreak
All of this makes TikTok incredibly entertaining and explains its phenomenal download rate among 16 to 30-year-olds.
Even if the channel is populated in the vast majority by young people, the platform has gained traction during these difficult times. World Health Organization opened up an account on TikTok in order to inform on coronavirus.
In a snippet, here are some more statistics on TikTok:
- 41 percent of TikTok users are aged between 16 and 24.
- 56% of TikTok users are male and 44% are female.
- Roughly 50% of TikTok’s global audience is under the age of 34 with 26% between 18 and 24.
- Chinese users account for 80% of the total time spent using TikTok in 2019.
- 43% of new TikTok users are from India.
- TikTok users spend an average of 52 minutes per day on the app.
- 26.5 million monthly active users are from the USA
- In less than 18 months, the number of US adult TikTok users grew 5.5 times.
- 90% of TIkTok users visit the app more than once per day.
- ByteDance’s collection of apps, including TikTok, has a total of 1 billion monthly active users.
@who Join the WHO ##SafeHands challenge and show us how you practice ##handhygiene to be safe from ##coronavirus. Let’s fight ##COVID19 together!
♬ original sound – who
TikTok influencers, much cheaper then YouTube ones
Although TikTok has recently introduced an official advertising platform, influencer marketing is still probably the most common way for brands to market on TikTok. Here, brands partner with influential TikTok creators to create relevant content and share it with their audience. With these sponsored posts, you can have millions of eyeballs watching them, ensuring your business and/or products gets maximum exposure.
Brands make deals with influencers, and prices can vary markedly depending on the circumstances. However, one thing is consistent in nearly all cases – Influencers get paid more if they have both a high engagement rate, as well as a high number of followers. Brands have learned that you can easily buy followers who are of no practical value to anybody. Hence, they are far more interested in you having genuine followers, those who interact with your posts.
@whiteland_dairy_queen Introducing our Blizzard of the Month! Mint Oreo! We’re excited to share it with all of you! Stop by and get yours soon! ##DairyQueen ##Oreo ##fyp
♬ Hold On – Moguai,Cheat Codes
TikTok is currently trialing biddable ads, and this may change the way influencers can earn income on the platform in the future. According to Adweek, TikTok has told agency partners in the U.S. that it is working on a biddable advertising option on the platform. With biddable ads, advertisers will be able to bid against one another for the ad impressions they want on a self-managed platform. Presumably, TikTok will develop some form of ad revenue-sharing program in the same way that YouTube has.
TikTok influence agencies
Until TikTok REALLY takes wings though, TalentX Entertainment, a new influencer agency representing some of TikTok’s biggest stars, told Business Insider it charged $0.01 to $0.02 for each sponsored-video view on TikTok. On YouTube, it charges between $0.03 and $0.08 per view
Working with TikTok influencers for eCommerce/product campaigns can be FREE for product exchange, or can be 100K+ based on:
- How many followers they have?
- What is the engagement rate?
- Where are their followers from?
It also depends on:
- what you want the influencers to do?
- how difficult the task is?
Usually, influencers from the UK are the most expensive groups :-), then it will be the US.
TikTok is currently not as glitzy or smooth as Facebook or Instagram adverts, but that’s part of its offbeat charm. The low barrier for entry allows smaller businesses to take risks and experiment with exciting video content.
How can you find TikTok influencers?
Of course, the first place to look for influencers will be Google. Type in “TikTok creators on beauty” and a huge list will appear. You have to be careful though, the top results may not necessarily be what you are looking for.
An easier way is to use an agency to look in your stead. Although fewer agencies cater to TikTok than the better-known platforms, many now do so. These include Fanbytes, the Influencer Marketing Factory, Upfluence, 6Degrees, Influencer Agency, and PMYB, amongst others. A good one is also ByteSights.com.
Read more on influencer advertising here.
TikTok, fast following the market leaders
TikTok is testing e-commerce features, such as adding shoppable product links to videos. This will definitely be a market changer.
“We went into it (the winter holiday of 2019 campaign) very much knowing that commerce and revenue coming through TikTok wouldn’t be the goal,” said Soyoung Kang, chief marketing officer at eos, which spends under 10% of its marketing budget on TikTok. “The goal was specifically to engage with a platform that’s just growing like wildfire”.
You’d better have an account on TikTok when the eCommerce feature will be live.
With Hashtag Challenge Plus, a new e-commerce feature that allows users to shop for products related to a sponsored hashtag challenges, users are encouraged to post videos using the hashtag and a brand’s products or participate in hashtag viral trends. They can also shop for a brand’s products without ever leaving TikTok.
@anagum dc: @madi so fun💚but i may or may not have broken into someone’s private property👉👈 ##howtobecool ##introducemyself ##anagum
♬ Like That – Doja Cat feat. Gucci Mane
Grocery chain Kroger, the first brand to use the in-app shopping feature, is currently running a sponsored hashtag challenge campaign in partnership with four influencers, Joey Klaasen, Cosette Rinab, Mia Finney, and Victoria Bachlet. The influencers post videos, created in partnership with digital marketing agency 360i, that promote the sponsored hashtag for Kroger.
Kroger campaign on TikTok
As part of the Kroger campaign, college kids are encouraged to post videos of their “cool and essential dorm room transformations,” using the #TransformUrDorm sponsored hashtag. The Hashtag Challenge Plus feature then makes it possible for users to tap a new discover tab to view and buy Kroger products that are curated for the specific audience – things like granola bars, popcorn makers, laundry baskets, hangers, and more. Users can purchase the products through TikTok.
Biddable Ads
There is currently only one ad unit available on TikTok: the in-stream video. It introduces itself to users when people scroll through their feed, which you expect on a platform full of 15-second videos. The in-stream video format allows the ads to flow through people’s feeds without disrupting their user experience.
There are three advertising models available for biddable ads.
- Cost Per View (CPV): Cost per view model requires advertisers to pay when users view their ad. It’s limited to a six-second time frame.
- Cost Per Impression (CPM): This model requires advertisers to pay when their ads appear in a user’s TikTok feed.
- Cost Per Click (CPC): Advertisers only pay when the user clicks on their ad.
TikTok’s biddable ad targeting options allow you to include and exclude users by:
- Age
- Gender
- Location
At the moment there are only three TikTok related apps in Shopify App Store, all three of them having up to 14 days free trial. Check them out and see if they can help you.
Take one day to scroll around on TikTok and familiarize yourself with the platform. Why not even follow some creators/influencers and engage in hashtag challenges. After all, still being an infant platform, there is much less risk of negative exposure compared to Facebook or Instagram. This is your chance to steal the thunder of the competition and master the next big thing.
@priskiss ##coronavirus ##nurse ##nursesoftiktok
♬ Oh Nanana – Bonde R300