If you’re not already on TikTok, we’re about to give you several good reasons to expand your marketing onto this dynamic and growing platform. Popular with all age groups, but particularly the younger crowd (ages 13-25), this app is home to a huge pool of potential customers and potential earnings.
It's soon going to be a whole lot easier for SPOD merchants to sell on TikTok thanks to a new, seamless Shopify integration allowing customers to shop for your products directly in the TikTok app. This new feature is currently in testing and is set to be released in fall 2021.
Get selling on this popular platform in less time than it takes to master the latest TikTok dance moves. Here are our tips for making the most of this trendy social network.
1. Get to know the platform
The first step to using TikTok to sell your merchandise is understanding a bit about it and why it’s an advantageous place to sell products. Here’s TikTok in a nutshell: this app is for creating, editing and sharing short videos (maximum 60 seconds long) with your followers. Followers see videos in their feed or by visiting your page. Videos can be anything from recipes or tutorials to the infamous TikTok dances. They can be edited in-app, adding music and effects. People can also respond to one another’s videos by duplicating one video and adding another video alongside it.
TikTok is a great place to start promoting your SPOD merchandise because you will have no overhead costs. Like SPOD, there are no sign-up costs and it’s easy to get started.
You can increase your visibility in the app for free as well. Joining a popular challenge will help get more subscribers. If you choose a challenge that appeals to your target audience, your marketing is likely to have a greater return on investment.
So sign up for a TikTok account if you don’t have one already and start connecting with a new audience.
2. Use TikTok Ad Manager to reach your customers
TikTok’s Ad Manager is a great option when you’re ready to really push your products on the app. You can choose who sees your ads and what your marketing budget is. It also allows you to track how successful your ad campaigns have been.
It is quick and easy to share your ads to TikTok:
- Create a TikTok Ads Manager Account
- Select a goal such as reach, awareness, website traffic, or sales
- Determine your target audience and how much you want to pay
- Create your videos using TikTok’s in-app tools and create your ad campaign
3. Use TikTok’s Shopify integration to sell in-app
Shopify merchants are increasingly leaning on social media channels such as Facebook and Instagram to build their customer base and increase their sales volume. TikTok Shopping allows Shopify merchants with a TikTok for Business account to add a shopping tab to their profile and use it as a storefront that links directly to their online store for checkout.
TikTok is also offering a new feature called “product links” to Shopify merchants, which can be used to tag products in TikTok posts. When a viewer clicks a tagged product in a merchant’s TikTok video, it takes them to the merchant's online store for checkout.
TikTok Shopping is currently available to Shopify merchants in the US and UK. The feature will be rolling out to other regions in the coming months.
4. Stick to your niche
On TikTok and any other platforms you’re selling on, it’s important that you’re reaching the right people. To make your business lucrative, your products should appeal strongly and directly to your target audience. Before you even start thinking about which products or designs to sell, you’ll want to establish your niche and then find them on TikTok. This may sound daunting, but it’s easier than it sounds.
- When you’re determining what niche to appeal to, think about the following factors:
- Is there an established audience?
- What’s the size of that audience?
- Is the audience passionate about the subject?
- Are there any competitors?
When it comes to finding your target audience on TikTok, check out the next tip!
5. Tag and be tagged
Always use hashtags to add relevant keywords on your TikTok videos. This makes them searchable by potential customers. Create your own hashtags for your brand and encourage your followers and customers to use them. Tell your followers to tag you and share TikTok videos of themselves sporting your products.
You can also use hashtags to search for TikTok videos related to your niche. They will lead you to your target audience and, potentially, to your competition. It can be helpful to follow lots of your own competitors to keep an eye on what’s trending in your niche. When you find users you think could become customers, be sure to like and engage with their posts.
6. Collaborate!
Once you have the lay of the land and have built up your TikTok following, you might benefit from joining forces with companies or influencers to promote products.
Some companies pay influencers to promote their merchandise in their videos or run affiliate programs where you get paid a commission on any sales that resulted from your promotion of their product. If you’re interested in partnering with companies, approach them in a professional way.
If selling your own merchandise on Tik-Tok is going well, you may also consider paying other people to promote it. Approach people on TikTok who have a large following and whose image aligns with your brand. Be yourself, be friendly and ask if they would be interested in collaborating. This kind of collaboration is an investment, because of course you have to pay or trade with your affiliates, but it can bring lots of fresh traffic to your site.
7. Tap into trends
When you notice a new trend on your TikTok feed, jump on the bandwagon! By participating in TikTok challenges or using popular dance moves, music, or effects to promote your products, you’ll improve your relevance and visibility on the platform. Remember Tip #5 and always tag your trendy posts to make sure they get seen by the most users.
8. Get chatty
Regular and recurring engagement with your followers is the best way to build brand loyalty and develop a fan base. Having a lot of followers is not enough to turn likes into sales. Try asking questions in your videos and reply to comments - both the good and the bad. Take the time to follow your fans and respond to their content as well. The more a follower likes your profile or feels connected to you, the more likely they are to become a returning customer.
9. Post regularly and often
This one is simple: the more you post, the more followers you will get. Aim for 1-4 posts per day if you’re really trying to jumpstart your TikTok presence. It helps to spend time on the app engaging with other users as well.
To experiment with your posting frequency and find out what works best for you, try posting 1 video per day for 1 week, then increase to 2 videos per day for 1 week, and so on. See how many followers you gain and how much time you put into creating content to find a good balance.
10. Start your own trends
Anyone can start a TikTok trend! A trend can be anything from a funny effect, a popular sound sample, a dance move or anything else under the sun—the app is your stage. Don’t be afraid to be silly, take risks, be creative and upload some original and interesting content. You could spark the next viral trend!
Ready to get started with SPOD and start selling your merch on TikTok?