TikTok has truly taken the world by storm. We’ve all seen the silly dance videos that brought many people together during lockdown, but recently it’s shopping that’s really taken off.
#TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has over 5 billion views on TikTok and has been responsible for huge crazes. Anyone remember the great feta cheese shortage from last winter? (I know I tried the baked feta recipe myself and 💯 would recommend!)
The hypes earlier this year were organic for the most part, but now with TikTok Shopping expanding its partnerships, eCommerce businesses can get involved more directly on the platform.
TikTok expands its partnerships
TikTok partnered with Shopify already last year but has been rolling out their pilot of TikTok shopping over the course of this year. At TikTok World at the end of September, they announced a whole bunch of new eCommerce partnerships, including those Wix, Square, OpenCart, Shopline, and more.
Another big announcement here was that the launch of the TikTok Shopping API that’s due to launch this year.
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Growth with #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt
With product links, brands can now directly link to items featured in videos and point users directly to their landing page. This is particularly useful when dealing with influencer campaigns, which can reach huge networks.
A lot of the time, brands are caught completely unaware when something takes off. Earlier this year, 22-year-old, TikTok influencer, Nathalie Covarrubias, posted this video to the platform:
@natt.cova Run to your nearest Kate Spade store! They’re on sale today #Katespade #heartpurse #YouShouldKnow ♬ original sound – Nat
The searches for “heart” on Kate Spade’s site saw a huge surge. The $300 bag sold out! Although it was meant as a limited-time seasonal item for Valentine’s Day, they made it into a year-round offering because it we viral.
Covarrubias didn’t intend to make an ad at all. She was just really excited about her new bag and wanted to share. Kate Spade later reached out to her with free items and had her record some sponsored content as a follow-up.
The new Live Shopping feature has gotten incredibly popular recently and is definitely worth keeping in mind. Reminiscent of daytime QVC programs from the mid-90s, this has proven a huge success for many brands.
Wal-Mart is a big player that has really taken this medium on board. They piloted live shopping with TikTok influencers last Christmas. Given how successful it was, they repeated it again in March and then for Back-to-School season in August.
TikTok Authenticity
One of the main things that sets TikTok apart from other video streaming platforms like YouTube or Instagram is authenticity. There’s an allure to the unpolished and raw nature of TikToks that you just don’t see with the highly stylized and filtered content you see on Instagram.
For that reason, it’s really important to take a different approach to making your content for TikTok than for other channels. While you can be very successful and reach a wide audience, you need to make sure your content fits the TikTok mold.
