How to Drive Sales With TikTok Shop
Promoting specialty food and beverage products on TikTok’s ecommerce platform, TikTok Shop, can help drive sales and create brand awareness, if the campaign is created and executed with the right approach.
During the SFA In the Know webinar, “Setting Up for TikTok Shop,” Kirsten VandenBout and Abbey Greendyke of Helen + Gertrude’s Creative Services, gave a comprehensive overview of how to navigate the platform as a brand, including how to leverage user-generated content, how to structure a short-form video message, and tips for operating within the social media giant’s guidelines.
“Get your TikTok Shop set up, because there’s really no downside to it, and there’s a lot of benefit from it,” said Greendyke, media lead at HGCS.
Quick Bites
How it works: TikTok Shop provides a direct link to a brand’s ecommerce site, so consumers don’t have to leave the video-sharing platform in order to make purchases. Consumers can click on product links embedded in videos or live streams, browse on TikTok’s Shop page, or through a Shop tab that brands can set up on their profile. Brands can also choose to amplify their message with paid ads on the platform.
How to set up a TikTok Shop: In order to set up a TikTok Shop, a brand must first set up a TikTok Business account through a link in the TikTok Shop Seller Center. In order to have a TikTok Shop, a brand must already have the ability to conduct ecommerce through its own website via service providers such as Shopify, Adobe/Magento, or Big Commerce.
Creating content: Content on TikTok should be created to both captivate audiences and create action, said VandenBout, director of creative services at HGCS. Videos should start with a three- to six-second “hook” that entices the viewer and encourages them to stop scrolling, followed by the main story and the call to action. It’s important to tap into trends, which are essentially the lifeblood of viewership on TikTok. It’s also important to consider sound —people speaking directly to the camera can be effective, for example — as well as various aspects of design to ensure that videos feel native to the platform, with high-quality lighting and imagery.
Never mind the ban: Despite regulators threatening to ban TikTok in the U.S. or force its sale, brands should go ahead and get started on the platform anyway, VandenBout and Greendyke said. Videos created for the platform are easily transferrable to other platforms such as Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, they said.
TikTok Shop Offers Opportunities for Discovery, and Sales
One of the key advantages that TikTok provides is the vast amount of user-generated content that is shared every day on the platform, offering brands the opportunity to attract new fans, discover more of their existing fans, and ultimately sell more products.
Existing fans on the platform who may already be talking about a brand can provide way for sellers to begin generating some of the content needed to become more visible on the platform, said VandenBout.
“Seeking these people out and finding them is a great partnership starting point, just so you can build authenticity behind the reviews and behind the product endorsements,” she said.
The key to affiliate marketing partnerships such as these is to strive for authentic, long-term and mutually beneficial relationships, said VandenBout.
“You really want to keep those creators close by—those who are fans of your products and have endorsed you in the past,” she said.
Content creators such as these can be helpful in generating the volume of content that brands will need to be successful on TikTok Shop, said VandenBout.
She recommends that brands post shoppable videos four to five times per week, and TikTok recommends that such videos be at least 20 seconds in length. Meanwhile, general TikTok videos—not shoppable videos—should be posted anywhere from three to five times per week to up to four times per day.
“Our hot tip is really to have a mix of both kinds of content,” said VandenBout.
This will help brands reach both new customers and convert users who may already be followers into buyers.
For more assistance, TikTok offers a resource called the TikTok Shop Academy where brands can learn about various aspects of selling on TikTok Shop, from how to create shoppable videos to strategies for product assortment and pricing.
View the clip below to learn about how dramatic changes in consumer shopping desires can help inform your selling strategy.
To learn more about Setting Up for TikTok Shop, watch the webinar on demand in the SFA Learning Center.