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Balancing Content Creation and Advertising With TikTok’s Casey Hamlyn

September 30, 2024 No Comments

Harnessing the magic of TikTok in retail media

In this episode of The Garage podcast, hosts Dan Massimino and Evan Hovorka are joined by Casey Hamlyn, North America measurement lead at TikTok.

Join them as they explore the world of retail media on TikTok, from the challenges of balancing content creation with advertising, to the importance of data hygiene and trust-building.

Hamlyn also discusses the future of the advertising landscape, and expands on how machine learning and AI are transforming TikTok ads.

“We provide resources across all of the paid ad side to help advertisers make quality creative. Because, frankly, whether it’s paid or not paid, it helps if advertisers are making awesome creative that people love,” he says on the podcast. “And then the balance isn’t about paid and not paid. It’s about how many good TikToks do you have in the system that people want to watch and be entertained by.”

If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts.

Key takeaways:

[15:07] In data management, it’s crucial to recognize that systems evolve over time, and new challenges continually emerge, especially with online transactions that weren’t initially considered. He uses the example of Nielsen, who emphasize sophisticated data quality checks and sustainable processes. They utilize a system of flags and notifications (e.g., yellow, green, red) to indicate the severity of data issues. Hamlyn offers a key lesson: Data hygiene deteriorates over time, requiring ongoing adaptation of data processes and sets to maintain accuracy. Continuous evolution and vigilance are essential for effective data management.

[19:00] TikTok balances content creation and advertising to ensure a seamless user experience by prioritizing high-quality creative content. The platform allows all types of content, whether paid or organic, to have visibility, which keeps users engaged. Senior-level decision-making oversees the equilibrium between paid ads and non-paid content, emphasizing long-term strategy and the importance of quality. TikTok supports advertisers by providing extensive resources and training to help them create compelling and engaging ads.

[26:57] TikTok is still in the early stages of establishing itself as a credible and reliable partner in the retail media space. Success in retail media requires dependable operations, strong relationships, and effective campaign management, including accurate measurement and negotiation. TikTok’s immediate goal is to prove its reliability and consistency in handling routine tasks before exploring advanced features and special projects. Hamlyn outlines how the platform aims to meet various levels of retail media sophistication, adapting to different capabilities and needs, while gradually introducing more innovative solutions as trust and credibility are solidified.

[32:16] Hamlyn anticipates significant advancements in the advertising industry, driven by reduced supply bottlenecks and enhanced creativity and processes. TikTok is leading this shift with its rapidly growing search and shop functions and new machine learning tools that transform traditional ads into engaging TikTok-style content. These tools speed up the creative process, helping marketers quickly adapt and optimize their briefs. These advancements are revolutionizing how marketers produce and manage high-volume ad content, marking a departure from traditional methods and setting the stage for unprecedented growth in the industry.

By Dan Massimino

Dan Massimino leads Communication and Learning and Development for Albertsons Media Collective, ensuring all marketing and messaging is on-brand and driving growth for the Retail Media industry and brands profitability.

Evan Hovorka

Evan Hovorka leads product development at Albertsons Media Collective, where he and his team design and build innovative marketing technology that drives profitability for brands.

Sourced from ADWEEK

In News

TikTok Shares Updated Trend Insights for Marketers

August 27, 2024 No Comments

By Andrew Hutchinson

TikTok has shared some new insights into key trends in the app, as an addendum to its “What’s Next 2024” report.

TikTok published its What’s Next trend prediction report in December last year, which outlined the key engagement shifts it was seeing in the app. And now, it’s published a new “What’s Next: In Action” update, which aims to provide more insight into how its trend predictions have evolved throughout the year, and what marketers should be aware of heading into the second half of 2024.

And there are some interesting notes.

First off, the report looks at each of its What’s Next report predictions, and provides an overview of how they’ve evolved over the first six months of the year.

As you can see, TikTok has also included an updated list of key hashtags to help marketers tap into each trend.

Each summary also includes a brand example, and key notes:

While there are also some broader trend notes relating to TikTok user behaviors and shifts.

The report also includes overall summaries and tips, linked back to its initial trend notes.

It’s a good overview of the current state of TikTok trends, and where brands should be looking, with some practical examples of how marketers can tap into key trends.

And with TikTok driving some of the bigger trend shifts, it is worth paying attention. Of course, you can also do your own research on hashtags related more specifically to your brand in TikTok’s Creative Center, but it may also be worth noting these more general shifts, and considering if and how they fit your messaging.

If you’re looking to tap into TikTok for your holiday push, it’s worth checking out.

You can download TikTok’s 20-page “What’s Next: In Action” report here.

By Andrew Hutchinson

Sourced from SocialMediaToday

In News

For Olympic activations, brands are turning to platforms beyond broadcast

July 29, 2024 No Comments

By Alyssa Meyers

“I’m calling it the first TikTok Olympics,” one executive told us.

The Olympics is expected to be one of the biggest broadcast events of the summer. But for many younger viewers, they might spend more time watching the competition and the content that surrounds it on social platforms like TikTok than on the TV screen.

That means that the organizing committee itself, as well as the advertisers looking to target audiences interested in the games, are preparing for an Olympic-sized presence on social media to accompany the competition on NBC. In other words, expect Olympics-related ads, content, and shoulder programming to descend on just about every screen ahead of the Opening Ceremony.

“It’s no longer enough to make a beautiful TV ad and put an official logo at the end of it,” Rahul Titus, global head of influence at Ogilvy, told Marketing Brew. “You need to make sure you’re looking at it as a connected ecosystem, where you’re activating your athletes on the ground, on social media, pre the event, post-event, and that’s a much more complicated and complex system. Obviously, there’s beauty in it and it’s a very high-reward system if you get it right, but it’s tougher.”

“The TikTok Olympics”

The TikTokification of the Olympics isn’t limited to advertisers. The organizing committee for Paris 2024, for example, is using social channels like TikTok to amplify its messaging around the games, according to Augustin Pénicaud, VP of Havas Play, Havas’s sports and entertainment division that has been working with the organizing committee and several official brand partners. While TV remains central to the Olympic experience, “you cannot be solely and only on TV,” he said.

National teams also realize the power of branching beyond broadcast. Team Great Britain inked an official partnership with TikTok, Team Canada and brand partner Lululemon dropped their Paris 2024 kits on the platform, and Team USA first released a promotional film across social. Even Olympics broadcaster NBCUniversal is giving TikTok, Snap, YouTube, Meta, and Overtime front-and-center access to the competition and is promoting the games through its own socials.

Social media isn’t exactly a new ballgame for brands, but compared to past Olympics, they’re leaning further in, according to Titus.

“I’m calling it the first TikTok Olympics,” he said, later adding that “it’s quite refreshing to see that whole ecosystem being fully utilized for the first time.”

While official sponsorships and broadcast ads are still valuable, even major brands with access to those assets are increasingly embracing social. Coca-Cola, an official Olympic partner that’s running a 360-campaign including TV ads, is more focused on social than during prior Olympics, in part because of the platform’s reach among Gen Z audiences, according to Robin Triplett, VP of North America integrated marketing.

“We have several brands showing up…and each brand has its own social voice and audience that we can engage with during this special event,” Triplett said in an email. “Social media also provides more opportunity to quickly act upon the events taking place, cheer on our incredible athlete partners, and engage directly with the consumer in real time.”

Athleta, which is running its first-ever linear TV ad during the Olympics and is activating on the ground in Paris, is also using social in a “significant way,” CMO Ilona Aman said. Team USA sponsors like Reese’s and Core Power are also stretching their campaigns across platforms including linear, digital, social, and audio.

Flood the Seine

Beyond TikTok, brands are turning to emerging media platforms such as newsletter and podcast companies that create sports content to help expand the reach of their Olympic efforts, and several of those companies’ executives told Marketing Brew that they’ve experienced a boost in revenue thanks to the interest.

Podcast company Acast has fielded some recent advertiser interest in sports-related podcasts like The Mid-Point with Gabby Logan, according to Tom Roach, Acast’s commercial strategy director for the UK. And New York Times-owned The Athletic, which is covering the Olympics for the first time, began having conversations with brands about sponsorships a couple of years ago, with renewed brand interest a few months out from the games, according to Chief Commercial Officer Seb Tomich; Nike and MassMutual are sponsoring some of the publication’s Olympics content, and there are several other brands with campaigns that have yet to go live, he said.

Despite the interest, competition for pitching brands about Olympic campaigns has been stiff among media companies, Tomich said. “It wasn’t just us versus ESPN on every pitch,” he said.

The Gist, a sports media brand started in 2017, is working on Olympic campaigns with brands like Nike and Canadian Tire, and is partnering with Adidas to create content on the ground in Paris, according to co-founder Jacie deHoop. Just Women’s Sports, a women’s sports-focused media company, is covering the games beyond its site and newsletter to position itself as an “easily accessible second-screen experience” on platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, X, and its podcast network, Jackie Caldwell, its head of content, said in an email.

For much of the company’s audience, “we’re the only sports content that they consume,” deHoop said. “They’re going to be scrolling through their feeds during the day, they might listen to the podcast, and that’s going to be the Olympic content that they consume. They’re not necessarily going to watch a broadcast, which is just wild, but we definitely factor that in.”

Whether it’s working with sports media companies or creating social content, the options offer advertisers creative ways to get involved with the Olympics with or without official ties to the rings, Joe Caporoso, president of sports and entertainment media company Team Whistle, which has been working with Snapchat and Meta to cover the games, and selling sponsorships since late last year, said.

“Everyone’s going to be talking about the Olympics in the back half of the summer,” he said. “It only comes every four years…so you don’t want to sit that out.”

Feature Image Credit: Illustration: Anna Kim, Photo: Getty Images

By Alyssa Meyers

Sourced from Marketing Brew

In Uncategorized

What happened when the world’s most populous nation turned off TikTok

July 19, 2024 No Comments

Analysis by Diksha Madhok, CNN

As TikTok fans in the United States worry about losing access to the wildly-popular social media app, there are lessons they can learn from a country on the other side of the world.

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that could lead to a nationwide TikTok ban. While the Chinese-owned app is not disappearing from Americans’ phones anytime soon, many of its 170 million users in the country are deeply rattled.

But here is what they need to know: It is possible to survive and thrive in a TikTok-less world. Just ask the planet’s most populous nation.

In June 2020, after a violent clash on the India-China border that left at least 20 Indian soldiers dead, the government in New Delhi suddenly banned TikTok and several other well-known Chinese apps.

“It’s important to remember that when India banned TikTok and multiple Chinese apps, the US was the first to praise the decision,” said Nikhil Pahwa, the Delhi-based founder of tech website MediaNama. “[Former] US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had welcomed the ban, saying it ‘will boost India’s sovereignty.’”

While India’s abrupt decision shocked the country’s 200 million TikTok users, in the four years since, many have found other suitable alternatives.

“The ban on Tiktok led to the creation of a multibillion dollar opportunity … A 200 million user base needed somewhere to go,” said Pahwa, adding that it was ultimately American tech companies that seized the moment with their new offerings.

Life without TikTok

The ban was not without pain. Indian TikTokkers had to grapple with confusion and even anguish in the days and months that followed.

By 2020, TikTok had become hugely popular among Indians looking for relief from the pressures of strict Covid-related lockdowns.

“Everyone in India wants to be a Bollywood star, and TikTok made that dream possible by making people, including those in small towns, overnight stars,” said Saptarshi Ray, head of product at Viralo, a Bengaluru-based influencer marketing platform.

But it didn’t take long before other avenues for their creativity and commercial ventures sprang up.

A ferocious fight ensued between US tech giants and domestic startups to fill the gap. Within a week of the ban, Meta-owned Instagram cashed in by launching its TikTok copycat, Instagram Reels, in India. Google introduced its own short video offering, YouTube Shorts.

Homegrown alternatives such as MX Taka Tak and Moj also began seeing a rise in popularity and an infux in funding.

Those local startups soon fizzled out, however, unable to match the reach and financial firepower of the American firms, which are flourishing.

Citing independent findings from consulting firm Oxford Economics, a Google spokesperson said that “the YouTube creative ecosystem” contributed roughly $2 billion to the Indian economy in 2022.

According to Ray, Indian content creators swiftly moved all the old content they had shot for TikTok to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. “Some Influencers were uploading seven Reels a day and gaining four to five million subscribers a year,” he said.

But not everyone was able to build a significant following on these platforms.

“Many users and creators slipped into a deep, dark space after the ban, and some have still not emerged from that space,” said Clyde Fernandes, executive director— artist management at Opraahfx, an influencer marketing and management firm.

“The way one was gaining reach and followers on TikTok is [still] incomparable to any other platform out there at the moment,” he added.

What about safety?

US officials and lawmakers have long voiced concerns that the Chinese government could compel TikTok’s parent ByteDance to hand over data collected from American users.

Cybersecurity experts say that the national security concerns surrounding TikTok remain largely hypothetical. Indian experts, however, say its purge from national digital life hasn’t resulted in a safer space.

“I am not so sure removal of TikTok makes a dent in the cybersecurity threat landscape. Unless there is a step change in user awareness about the software on their phones, or what they download from the open internet, this is unlikely to change,” said Vivan Sharan, partner at Delhi-based tech policy consulting firm Koan Advisory Group.

US lawmakers also fear that the app could serve as a tool for Beijing to spread propaganda, misinformation or influence Americans. The removal of TikTok hasn’t insulated Indians from those threats.

“In terms of content and disinformation environment, it is plain to see we still have to grapple with serious issues like deepfakes, etc, with or without TikTok,” Sharan said. “So overall, it is hard to see which part of the risk-landscape changes significantly, assuming TikTok was certifiably problematic.”

Feature Image Credit: Manjunath Kiran/AFP/Getty Images

Analysis by Diksha Madhok, CNN

Sourced from CNN

In News

‘This is how you should do it’: Ex-LinkedIn worker exposes the secret way you can find real jobs after companies keep posting fake listings

July 17, 2024 No Comments

By Vladimir Supica

‘Didn’t even know you could do that.’

A TikToker shared some insider tips on how to navigate LinkedIn’s job board.

TikTok user Giovanna (@giovanna.ventola) posted her findings on April 5 in a video that has already garnered over 1.5 million views.

She started the video off by sharing some “gossip” from her Slack community call that involved an ex-LinkedIn employee. “There are a lot of ‘not real’ jobs that are posted on LinkedIn because a lot of companies are using the job board as a marketing tool to drive traffic to their website,” she said.

To avoid these fake listings, Giovanna shared the ex-employee’s advice. “So you want to make sure that a job posting is verified. Didn’t even know you could do that,” she said.

The TikToker also revealed a secret way to search for job listings on LinkedIn. She said that many companies circumvent paying for job listings by having their employees post about job openings. To find these posts, Giovanna suggested using a specific search query which she wrote out in an on-screen caption, “I’m hiring” AND “Customer Service Manager.”

Giovanna pointed out that you can also search for multiple job titles at the same time if you use the same format but add “OR” between different job titles.

Lastly, the video touched upon another concerning aspect of most social media platforms—oversharing and privacy. “When you like or comment on someone else’s post it shares that to everyone in your network, so everyone can creep on what you’re doing,” the TikToker warned her viewers.

In the comments section, viewers shared their own tips and tricks for navigating LinkedIn’s job market.

One of them wrote, “I’ve also noticed a ton of companies will post jobs as ‘remote’ when they’re not just to get more traction.”

“Also go with #hiring. found a lot of jobs that way,” a second said.

“If a company doesn’t even want to pay to POST a job good luck on negotiating your pay,” a third commenter remarked.

“This is why I always go directly to the company website too.. I feel like there’s so much spam specially on LinkedIn,” another added.

The Daily Dot has reached out to Giovanna via Instagram direct messages and to LinkedIn via their press email.

By Vladimir Supica

Sourced from daily dot

In News

TikTok debuts humanlike AI-generated avatars & language dubbing for brands & creators

July 12, 2024 No Comments

By Kendra Barnett

The video-sharing app, which is embroiled in a legal battle with the US government over its right to operate in the US, is forging further into AI advertising, undeterred.

TikTok, the video-sharing platform with over a billion monthly active users, today unveiled new AI-powered tools for advertisers, including digital avatars and dubbing capabilities designed to translate branded messages into different languages across the globe. The announcement was made at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

“Creativity is the core of TikTok. When brands truly lean into creativity that reflect the culture of TikTok, they are able to connect with their community and drive real results,” said Adrienne Lahens, global head of content strategy and operations at TikTok.

The new features are part of Symphony, a suite of generative AI offerings for advertisers that TikTok launched in May. Symphony includes a variety of tools to help streamline the creative development and content production processes for creators and marketers.

Brands and creators will now be able to use prefabricated stock avatars in their content. The avatars largely look and move like real people and are designed to reflect a wide range of nationalities and languages.

Symphony users can also create their own custom versions, tailoring an avatar to their own likeness or intellectual property or developing a multilingual character however they like to share content in local languages across the globe.

Meanwhile, the new dubbing feature in Symphony will enable users to translate their own content into more than 10 languages, with the aim of helping creators and brands expand their reach and build a more global audience. Using AI, the tool seamlessly identifies the language spoken in a video, transcribes the dialogue, translates and then spits out a dubbed version in the selected languages.

As part of TikTok’s efforts to further support brands and creators with generative AI tools, the platform is also launching an advisory group. The new Symphony Collective: Industry Advisory Board brings together creators and marketers from across the brand and agency worlds to provide ongoing feedback.

“At TikTok, we are building for the future of creative and are inviting brands to come test and learn with us as we look to simplify and unlock a whole new paradigm of creation,” said Lahens.

Founding members of the collective include representatives from top brands including Wendy’s, Mondelez and the NBA, as well as agency leaders from OMD, TBWA\Chiat\Day, Tinuiti and more.

“TikTok has been a remarkable force for more open, diverse and bold forms of creativity,” said Anthony Hamelle, executive director of digital, social and innovation at TBWA\Chiat\Day US, in a statement. “With GenAI as a creative catalyst, this stage that welcomes thousands of creators and communities will become even more dynamic.”

Hamelle explained that the agency, which counts Discover, Jack in the Box, Levi’s and DirecTV among its clients, will share learnings from its own work, including TikTok content it develops for Hilton.

A select number of top creators are also involved in the Collective; among them are Drea Okeke, David Ma, Michelle Gonzales and O’Neil Thomas. They will experiment with TikTok’s AI tools in their own content and share feedback with the organization.

Drea Okeke, known for her content on Nigerian culture and food and her role on Fuse’s We Need to Talk About America, a comedic series on all things pop culture and the internet, said that she’s looking forward to participating – and getting more out of her own content in the process.

“As a creator, my goal has always been to bring joy and share my culture with the world,” she says. “TikTok has been a game-changer, allowing me to connect and build an online community in ways I never thought possible. I love using AI to streamline my creative process and boost productivity, so I’m especially excited to join the TikTok Symphony Collective Advisory Board. I’m looking forward to seeing the creative ways that AI can help us creators be even more innovative and grow.”

Filmmaker David Ma, meanwhile, plans to tap into TikTok’s new Symphony AI tools to enhance the commercial work he does for brands like Twix and Truff. “As a creator, I’m always experimenting with new filmmaking techniques for my craft and content. I’m constantly exploring new ways to scale my content without sacrificing my creativity,” he explained. “TikTok has been a pioneer in providing creative tools that allow me to effectively collaborate with brands and create lasting, long-term brand relationships.” He’s excited to participate in the Symphony Collective, he said, “to help myself and other creators find efficiency in our creative processes while maintaining our artistic voices.”

The news comes less than two months after President Biden greenlit a law that will require TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest TikTok’s US operations within a year or face a nationwide ban. TikTok is suing the US government over the decision, alleging that the law violates the First Amendment rights of the millions of Americans who use the app.

Feature Image Credit: Liza Summer

By Kendra Barnett

Sourced from The Drum

In News

TikTok’s Rise as a Discovery Platform [Infographic]

July 9, 2024 No Comments

By Andrew Hutchinson

While TikTok has become a key platform for entertainment, it’s also increasingly becoming a destination for discovery, with more and more people now turning to app to learn more about products, trends and more.

Which could be an important consideration for your marketing efforts. Depending on your target market, TikTok may now be a key driver of interest, and as such, your brand should have a presence within the expanding TikTok space.

Well, for now at least. TikTok may also be gone from the U.S. as of early next year, but that outcome is still yet to be determined, amid various legal challenges.

Till then, these insights from Adobe may be of interest. Adobe surveyed 808 consumers, as well as 251 business owners, to glean more insight into how TikTok is being used for product discovery.

Some potentially valuable notes.

By Andrew Hutchinson

Sourced from Social Media Today

In News

Instagram is copying TikTok, and the strategy is working

May 15, 2024 No Comments

By Christianna Silva

Between a behemoth copycat and a looming ban, TikTok is being attacked on all fronts.

When Instagram releases a new feature that is a direct copy of another app, its users fear the worst.

In a 2022 essay for Digital Trends, writer Cristina Alexander lamented the “TikTok-ification of Instagram” because it “takes away the type of content people love most about the platform: photos from friends and family, as well as content based on their interests.”

“And it’s something I’m just about fed up with,” Alexander wrote.

But the doomsaying rarely lasts forever. Alexander joins the ranks of Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian, and a whole host of regular users — including myself — who have fallen into the cycle of hating it when Instagram makes a copycat change and then, after a few months, come around to it.

Like it or hate it, Instagram’s copycat strategy works — and its dedication to stealing features from other apps is helping to fuel its ability to overtake TikTok.

Think of Instagram like Kirby in Super Smash Bros. He’s a formidable foe on his own, but it’s using his Copy Ability by swallowing his enemies and using their own powers against them that makes him so powerful. Instead of finding and using power ups or prioritizing his abilities, Kirby uses his enemies as his own, personal power ups. Instagram — and other Meta-owned apps — swallow their enemies, take on their features, and use them to win. Instagram used this strategy to remove Snapchat from its list of significant competitors, and TikTok is next.

For the first time since 2020, Instagram overtook TikTok in new app downloads in 2023, according to data from market intelligence firm Sensor Tower reported by the Financial Times, making it the most downloaded app in the world. In 2023, Instagram downloads grew 20 percent in comparison to TikTok’s 4 percent.

This comes after Instagram launched Reels, a TikTok-esque feature that was originally panned by its user base but has now become a mainstay on the app. And it might be the inclusion of Reels that has helped launch the platform back to the top.

“Instagram has outperformed TikTok in adoption over the past few years, driven by the popularity of its Reels feature along with legacy social media features and functions,” Abraham Yousef, a senior insights manager at Sensor Tower, told the Financial Times.

Instagram’s successful copycat strategy might be the reason it is succeeding, but TikTok is facing a battle at all fronts.

President Joe Biden said that if Congress passes the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act” — which would ban TikTok and all other apps based in China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran from U.S. app stores — he’ll sign it into law. Lawmakers argue that TikTok user data for U.S. citizens could be accessed by the Chinese state, but TikTok has consistently denied that claim.

The legislative push to ban TikTok led to multiple congressional hearings and, just last week, the app encouraged all of its U.S. users to call their representatives to “stop a TikTok shutdown.” It comes two years after it was reported that Meta paid a Republican consulting firm to create public distrust around TikTok.

All the while, TikTok is becoming increasingly less fun and more focused on ecommerce. With the emergence of TikTok shop, it feels like every other video on the For You Page is a promoted or sponsored post. The TikTok experience is changing, and it might not be for the better.

Just because fewer people are downloading the app, and many more are complaining about their experience on it, doesn’t mean TikTok is fully failing, though. The app has higher engagement than its rivals, with users spending an average of 95 minutes on TikTok in comparison to 62 minutes on Instagram, 30 minutes on X, and 19 minutes on Snapchat, according to the Financial Times report.

We’ll have to wait and see what a TikTok ban will look like, but one thing is certain — even if the app isn’t banned in the U.S., the fight for users won’t be over.

Feature Image Credit: Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images

By Christianna Silva

Sourced from Mashable

In News

What TikTok’s new Shopify integration means for sellers

May 14, 2024 No Comments

By Stephanie Lennox.

Want to leverage the power of TikTok to skyrocket your sales? Look no further: selling just got easier with Shopify’s new UK integration.

The social media giant, known for its trendsetting power, has finally launched their integration with Shopify in the UK, allowing merchants to showcase and sell products directly through the TikTok app.

This integration, facilitated by the new “TikTok for Shopify” app, opens doors for small businesses, Tiktok dropshippers and side hustlers to tap into a highly engaged audience and potentially skyrocket their sales.

What’s all the fuss about?

Hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, #Squishmallows and Love and Pebble #Beautypops perfectly illustrate the platform’s influence on consumer behaviour, and just a few examples of brands are gaining massive popularity solely through user-generated content. It’s a breeding ground for new customers and trends!

TikTok Shop capitalises on this by offering businesses the ability to:

Create shoppable videos: showcase products directly within engaging video content.
Host live streams: interact with potential customers in real-time, answer questions, and promote products.
Sell directly through the app: eliminate the need for external website visits, creating a frictionless shopping experience.

This translates to a powerful combination of community, creativity, and commerce.

Brits: the prime audience for your TikTok shop

The UK presents a fertile ground for this integration. Now as a seller, the integration can provide you with a highly engaged audience and mobile-first commerce.

Brits happen to spend an exceptional amount of time on TikTok – a staggering 49 hours and 29 minutes per month on the Android app alone, according to Digital 2024: The United Kingdom report.

In addition to that, Brits hold the highest average monthly usage of TikTok globally, spending nearly 50 hours on the app. This translates to a massive potential customer base actively engaged with the platform.

TikTok also ranks first in mobile app spending in the UK, surpassing giants like Tinder and Disney+. Since consumers are increasingly comfortable shopping directly from their mobile devices, this integration allows businesses to tap into this trend and meet their audience where they already are.

How to make this work for you:

Identify your niche: the key to success lies in understanding your target audience and the type of content that resonates with them.
Embrace creativity: leverage the power of short-form video to showcase your products in an engaging and entertaining way. Tutorials, behind-the-scenes glimpses, and user-generated content are all effective strategies.
Focus on high-quality visuals: product demonstrations, unboxing videos, and lifestyle content are all effective ways to grab attention.
Utilise trending sounds and hashtags: ride the wave of popular trends whenever you can to increase your discoverability.
Run contests and giveaways: surprise and delight your fans by incentivising engagement, which also encourages user-generated content.
Offer exclusive deals and promotions: motivate viewers to take action and convert them into paying customers.
Partner with influencers: collaborate with relevant Tiktok creators to reach a wider audience and leverage their established communities.
Run targeted ads: utilise Tiktok’s advertising platform to target users based on demographics, interests, and behaviours.
Prioritise customer relationships: respond to comments, answer questions, and actively participate in the conversation to build trust and brand loyalty.
Use data & analytics: capitalize on insights provided by both Shopify and Tiktok to understand your audience’s preferences and optimize your business strategy accordingly.

Conclusion

The Shopify integration with TikTok Shop presents a unique opportunity for small businesses and side hustlers in the UK to streamline and simplify the user journey. By embracing creative content, and building an engaged community, you can leverage the power of TikTok to reach a wider audience and achieve significant sales growth.

By Stephanie Lennox

Stephanie Lennox is the resident funding & finance expert at Startups: A successful startup founder in her own right, 2x bestselling author and business strategist, she covers everything from business grants and loans to venture capital and angel investing. With over 14 years of hands-on experience in the startup industry, Stephanie is passionate about how business owners can not only survive but thrive in the face of turbulent financial times and economic crises. With a background in media, publishing, finance and sales psychology, and an education at Oxford University, Stephanie has been featured on all things ‘entrepreneur’ in such prominent media outlets as The Bookseller, The Guardian, TimeOut, The Southbank Centre and ITV News, as well as several other national publications.

Sourced from Startups.

In News

Could TikTok help transform your small business – or will you be a slave to the algorithm? We speak to business owners about how they use it

October 26, 2023 No Comments

By Angharad Carrick

TikTok launched in the UK in 2018 and boasts around 150m users in Europe
The algorithm and shop feature mean many business owners now use TikTok
We speak to entrepreneurs using the platform about the benefits and challenges

When Karim Ullah opened his restaurant in March 2020, he didn’t expect to be forced to close 11 days later.

Karim Ullah, owner of Brohmon restaurant in Essex, joined TikTok three months ago

During the pandemic, Karim was pushed to stay open for takeaways to stay afloat, and since then the restaurant has successfully launched its own craft beer and gin.

Now he’s looking to TikTok to bring his business to the masses after his daughter found success on the platform with her own musical ventures.

The current economic climate is tougher than ever for smaller businesses and, like Karim, many business owners are looking for new channels to promote their products on.

Given its popularity with a younger audience and more and more businesses moving to TikTok, could it be the answer for small businesses?

Can TikTok help my small business?

Platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter can be a great way to reach a larger audience and both big and small businesses have stood to benefit.

There have been some runaway successes who have used social media to build their own business.

Joe Wicks, who shot to fame during the pandemic offering PE lessons to the nation, has spun out his own fitness app, while Grace Beverley, another fitness influencer, launched her own clothing line and recently secured investment.

TikTok is the newest kid on the block. It now boasts 1billion active users and launched in the UK in 2018.

Unlike other social media apps which prioritise connections, TikTok’s ‘For You Page’ presents users with videos related to their their interests through its unique algorithm.

It now also has its own shopping feature, where creators and businesses can sell their products, from which TikTok takes a small commission.

For many it might not seem the most obvious place to advertise your business, but for many business owners it has proved to be a risk worth taking.

Candice Mason, founder of Mother Cuppa, found initial success on TikTok

A new Oxford Economics report found that one in five businesses founded less than five years ago spend more than half of their social media budgets on TikTok.

Candice Mason joined TikTok just six months after launching her business Mother Cuppa Tea and found near-instant success.

‘I tried to build a following across a variety of platforms,’ she said. ‘I found TikTok to be a really lovely and friendly place. There were ladies of a similar age that joined at a similar time and we built our own little community over there. Very early on the videos did incredibly well.’

The Oxford Economics report found that 47 per cent of TikTok users have bought a product or service on the platform and 45 per cent have visited a restaurant or tourist attraction as a result of seeing it on TikTok.

Karim, who runs Brohmon restaurant in Essex, only started posting on TikTok three months ago and has had limited success so far, but he remains confident it will be an important part of the business.

‘I think we may be a little early on our journey,’ he said. ‘As we go further down the road, I expect TikTok to be very successful [for us].

‘TikTok is known as something that young people use to post on but I’m amazed at how many people my age have joined TikTok to see what’s happening. I think every business should be on TikTok.’

How does TikTok compare to other platforms?

One of TikTok’s defining features is its algorithm, which is based on interests rather than followers, so there is no need to gain thousands of followers to succeed.

Users view content based on the topics they’re interested in and other videos they have interacted with, which can make it a great way for small businesses to reach a new audience.

One of the benefits is that TikTok prefers users to upload videos between 15 and 30 seconds, rather than 3+ minutes as on Facebook.

I think every business should be on TikTok

Karim Ullah, owner of Brohmon restaurant

Claire Gleave, founder of maternity brand Natal Active said: ‘Sometimes I’ve done videos where I’ve been at soft play with my kids running around in the background and I’ve answered a question on video.’

A video platform might not best work for the product or service you’re selling, though.

Ben Spray, founder of digital marketing agency We Are Marketable, said: ‘On Facebook, we find you can do different types of creatives – images, videos, carousel posts, text, so that’s where we find it wins a lot more.

‘There are other features like instant lead forms where Facebook and Instagram can pull details from your profile… I haven’t seen that available on TikTok.’

Crucially, Spray found that small businesses tend to get a higher return on ad spend on Facebook compared to TikTok, where prices of products tend to be lower.

‘You’re making about three to five times ad spend on TikTok, whereas on Facebook it’s about £5-10 for every pound spent.’

For Candice, who found initial success, investing in TikTok did little to help: ‘I spent £350 on marketing and it all it did was get me a few 1000 views. I didn’t get any sales out of it.’

She was offered one-to-one coaching to help with marketing but she said it ‘became more about trying to get sales and money going through the platform and it just leaves a bit of a bad taste.

Digital marketer Ben Spray thinks business owners advertising to a younger audience should join TikTok

‘I basically sit at a very steady number of views, very, very little interaction, a lot of effort for very little outcome.’

Most importantly, how successful TikTok can be for your business depends on the type of product you’re selling and who you’re trying to sell to.

Spray said: ‘I personally would recommend [TikTok] for people that are targeting a younger demographic, because that’s the majority of the market on there. And also from the clients that we’ve worked with, a service or product that’s a lower cost, because seems to perform better than higher cost services, on the clients we’ve tested.’

TikTok’s shop is flooded with discounted goods, everything from clothes to kitchen utensils, and Claire has found it difficult to sell her products as a result.

‘If you’re spending £55 on a pair of maternity leggings, you wouldn’t necessarily impulse buy,’ she said. ‘You’d want to know the brand, read the reviews and learn a bit more about the product before you do it.’

Slave to the algorithm?

TikTok’s algorithm can be very hit and miss and, while you might have built up a loyal following, users might not always see your posts, unlike Instagram or Facebook.

Karim is as bemused as other creators: ‘The algorithm is crazy, I know why it’s doing what it’s doing. When my daughter started, she would get 500 people view her videos. Then as she started putting up more posts, she was getting thousands watching her. She doesn’t know [why] either.

‘I think it’s a case of just posting videos and building your brand and channel. I would love to find a good reason as to why some things work, I think it’s anyone’s guess.’

Claire Gleave, founder of Natal Active, has had mixed experiences with TikTok after going viral

This lack of understanding means it can be difficult to keep up momentum, and some creators have found themselves having to post more and more.

Candice said: ‘As time went on, I was finding I was needing to post more than once a day to get the same traction of views and interaction.’

And while the TikTok algorithm might seem to work for its billions of users who are presented with relevant content, it can also bring some unwanted attention.

‘I had a few videos that went viral and attracted the wrong kind of people, which is a complete waste of my time,’ said Claire. ‘I’m not interested in vanity metrics on TikTok, I want to attract my ideal customer. I don’t want a million followers if they’re all men that are interested in breastfeeding.

‘My understanding of the way the algorithm works is, it will throw your video out to say, 300 random people, and it will see who engages with it. Whoever engages with it, it will show to more of those kinds of people. If I get dodgy blokes engaging with a breastfeeding video, it just shows it to more and more of those people that have those kinds of predilections.

‘It’s not showing it to mums that are breastfeeding, which are the people that I want to target.’

Candice had a similar experience: ‘My product is aimed at women over 30, it couldn’t be any clearer. When I put my money behind it and looked at the stats, I was getting 14 year old boys. That’s such a waste of my money. It just didn’t make sense.’

Building brand awareness

What’s clear is that TikTok isn’t for every small business. The algorithm can be confusing and if you’re looking to directly communicate with your loyal followers, it’s probably not the platform for you.

Business owners who are not particularly clued up on social media might struggle with just how regularly you need to post on TikTok.

Candice said: ‘You need time to really put your energy into [social media platforms] to get momentum. I’m still working full-time trying to launch a business and trying to be on all of these platforms. You end up feeling like you’re spreading yourself too thin and not actually doing a very good job on any of your platforms.’

What it might help with is building brand awareness. Claire found she gets lots of traffic to her website from the platform when she’s regularly using it, and particularly when her videos have gone viral.

‘I find it’s very much about brand awareness,’ she said. ‘When the wrong people drop off and the right people filter through, then we remarket through Instagram and Facebook adverts, and the occasional TikTok advert when I’m running them.’

For Claire, TikTok might not be the runaway success she might have thought it would be, but after a few viral videos she’s willing to try.

Her top tip for business owners is: ‘Get your face in front of the camera and try different things. I strongly advise going against anything that’s not in your niche, because follower numbers don’t mean much if they’re the wrong followers. You want people that are your ideal customers that want to buy your products.’

Candice is not so sure: ‘I don’t think it’s a business platform. I think it’s an influencer platform, and I think it’s a fun platform.’

By Angharad Carrick

Sourced from This is MONEY.co.uk