Making the Most of TikTok Shopping for Your Business: An All-inclusive Guide!

Clocking in at upwards of 1 billion monthly active users, TikTok, while a relatively newer kid on the social media block, is certainly not an unpopular one by any stretch of the imagination. In the US alone, the platform boasts an astonishing 150 million users! Such is the popularity of TikTok that it has prompted other platforms to introduce short video segments as well. Consequently, these numbers have also compelled business owners to grab some real estate on the platform for themselves; after all, who wouldn’t want their wares exposed to these many eyeballs? 

Of late, a new feature launched by the platform, called TikTok Shopping has further incentivized brands to promote themselves over here. Why, you ask? Well, that’s exactly what we are going to discuss in today’s article. From touching upon the salient aspects of TikTok Shopping to delineating the various ways in which you can leverage it for your business, we’ve got you covered on all fronts! All set, then? Let’s go!

An overview of TikTok shopping

As one might guess from the feature’s name itself, TikTok Shopping offers users of the platform the choice to make a purchase directly within the application rather than going to a separate location on the browser. By allowing brands and creators to display and sell their offerings directly on the platform, TikTok has allowed itself to score heavily on the ease-of-doing-business front in relation to other social media applications. One can derive a most succinct understanding of this feature from the brand itself which advertises it as a  “full-service commerce solution”, a tool designed to empower businesses “to capture the full power of TikTok’s influence on purchase decisions”. The best part? The retail side is managed by TikTok itself. Yes; right from product upload to order fulfilment! 

As a seller, you can opt into this feature in two ways:

1. Shopping direct integration: With this, you’ll be able to run your e-commerce stores directly from TikTok. This option gives you access to a complete e-commerce experience with all operations taking place inside the platform.
2. Partner integration: Here, you can add product catalogs through a TikTok business account. While buyers can browse through and buy your products inside TikTok, post-payment processes will take place on the partner’s website or application.

Now, let’s briefly take a look at some of the advantages of setting up TikTok Shop:

• You can leverage TikTok’s massive audience base to improve your product discovery. Additionally, because this base comprises a diverse demographic, you’ll be able to capture the interests of audiences of all kinds.
• By enabling customers to directly purchase your products and services from within the application, you stand to increase your conversion rate.
• TikTok shop functions as an additional touchpoint on top of your online store, allowing you to cater to your customer’s online shopping preferences more efficiently.
• No customer likes it when you go all salesy on them. TikTok Shop lets you to organically introduce your offerings into entertaining content, thereby making buyers more receptive to your products.
• By tapping into TikTok user behavior, you can craft a personalized shopping experience for your buyers.
• If you manage to produce content that is in tune with TikTok trends, you can easily boost your reach, consequently attracting greater attention and realizing more sales.

Setting up TikTok Shop

Before you proceed to set up TikTok Shop, check if you satisfy all the necessary parameters to be eligible for opening a TikTok Shop seller account. Once you have done that, execute the following steps. 

• To get started, create a TikTok business account. It’s a rather straightforward process (and doesn’t cost a penny!). A business account will make you privy to sophisticated features such as advanced analytics and also to the TikTok Ads Manager.
• Next, you need to register for TikTok Shop. You can do this by filling out the application available in the seller registration portal; you’d need to upload all the requisite documents including proof of residency, ID, and proof of business ownership.
• After submitting your application, you need to wait for a couple of days to hear back. Should you be accepted, you’ll be able to immediately access the entire feature suite of TikTok Shopping.
• Lastly, link your TikTok account with your TikTok Shop; this will allow you to promote your shop in your bio (and in your content, too).

If you have a Shopify store, this is how you can integrate it into TikTok.

• Download the TikTok Shopify app from the Shopify store or App store.
• As soon as you open the app, you’ll see a pop-up titled “Become a Seller” appearing on your screen. To sign up, you can enter either your phone number and email or the credentials of your existing TikTok account.
• Now, you will be redirected to another form where you would need to enter your personal and business details, along with uploading the necessary documents. 
• After this, the verification and approval process will ensue; this will take 2-4 business days.
• Once you get the approval, you can proceed with creating ad campaigns and marketing your offerings. 

Once you finish setting up, your business will obtain a distinct Shopping tab on its profile; a shopping bag icon will represent it. When customers click on it, they’ll be invited to navigate a mini storefront where they can not just browse through your offerings but check out too!

TikTok Shop features to take note of

In order to effectively promote your business on TikTok, you need to make deft use of all the enterprising features that the platform has to offer. Below, we take a look at a few of them.

Live shopping

What’s better than showcasing your products and services to your audience in real time? That’s exactly what the live shopping feature helps you do. Engage your viewers in a conversation and subtly nudge them towards purchasing the offerings being exhibited in the live stream; they get to buy it directly inside the app itself, remember? It’s as hassle-free for them as it gets! Besides, there are few better ways of winning the trust of your audience than interacting with them in real time; it helps seal the credibility of your organization, making it easy for you to inspire an active interest in your offerings. One of the primary reasons why a buyer backs out of a transaction is because they are unable to get some of their queries resolved at the time of making the purchase. With live shopping, you wouldn’t have to worry about inviting this possibility at all. What’s more, you get to see a “Livestream Analytics”, too, which gives you an accurate idea of your performance.

TikTok challenges

TikTok challenges are essentially campaigns started by creators and sellers centering around interesting ideas with the intention of engaging followers. When done right, it can make your business the talk of the town, bringing your offerings right under the spotlight! An impactful campaign can skyrocket your sales, even helping some of your not-so-popular offerings to enter the conversation.

Collaborations

Partnering with creators and influencers who are relevant and popular in your niche can immensely help your cause both in terms of brand reputation as well as conversions. Unlike businesses, influencers connect with their audience on a personal level and by collaborating with them, you are able to harness that very connect, thus giving yourself a competitive edge. 

Some best practices

• Prioritize authenticity. While planning your campaigns, do not simply go chasing after strategies that seem to be working well for your competitors; they might end up falling flat on their faces for your audience. Develop a thorough understanding of both your customers as well as the unique idiom of the platform that is TikTok. Doing so will no doubt help you come up with highly memorable campaigns. 
• Optimize product pages. Use high-quality images, employ an attractive design language, and pay attention to brand consistency. If your TikTok storefront isn’t appealing, you’ll have a tough time selling your wares.
• Tap into the reach of your other social media platforms in order to prop up your TikTok shop. Other than that, you can always spread word of it via your newsletter, too.
• Stay abreast of algorithmic changes. Social media platforms are notorious for the dizzying rate at which they undergo changes in their algorithm. If your content strategy isn’t attuned to these changes, all your efforts will, unfortunately, go in vain.

Wrapping it up

As unconventional as it is exciting, TikTok Shopping is a wonderful avenue, the sound use of which can propel your business to astronomic realms of success. We hope the insights shared above will help you put this feature to good use for your brand, helping you solidify customer relationships while also amplifying your returns.