TikTok x Shopify: A New ECommerce Resource

We all know that social commerce is the way forward; both Facebook and Instagram now provide businesses with the tools they need to sell online. In many cases, customers can make a purchase without even leaving the social media app. Now, TikTok is joining the party by teaming up with one of the most popular ecommerce platforms around, Shopify.

New Partnership for TikTok

According to TikTok, the platform is an empowering environment for all businesses. It believes that businesses can find a home on the platform as it allows them to sell through two means:

• Storytelling
• Creative content

After the rise in popularity of the platform, it didn’t take long for TikTok For Business to follow. For businesses and marketers, it has always been the aim to be active wherever the consumers are present. At the moment, it just so happens that lots of consumers are spending time on TikTok. As a result, businesses have followed and for many it’s proven to be a great success!

Now, the social media giant is teaming up with Shopify to provide opportunities to over one million businesses on the platform. In a statement, TikTok said that this partnership will help businesses to ‘create and run campaigns’ on this engaging platform. Shopify is an experienced name in the field, and some say the right brand to bring TikTok into the commerce world for the first time.

New Opportunities for Shopify Users

As with most business relationships, there are benefits for both parties. For Shopify, its users can look after their TikTok campaigns from the comfort of the Shopify platform. It’s expected that users will create, manage, and optimize their campaigns all in this one location thanks to the new TikTok channel app. To gain access to this app, Shopify users should go to the Shopify App Store and search for it here.

Rather than running everything from the TikTok For Business Ads Manager, most of the same features are available through this app on Shopify. Therefore, we don’t need several tabs open throughout the day because everything is accessible through Shopify alone.

The Shopify Dashboard

What can Shopify users expect after downloading and installing the TikTok channel app? There are a few special features to note:

• Ad Management — If you like running ads on TikTok, you can now create, as well as manage, campaigns from the Shopify dashboard. What’s more, you can also review performance and pay attention to targeting here.
• 1-Click Pixel — Tracking conversions is essential, but it can sometimes become a convoluted process. With the 1-Click Pixel, all it takes is one click to connect the TikTok Pixel.
• Ad Credit — Just in case the benefits themselves weren’t enough, $300 ad credit is available to all eligible merchants. If you haven’t previously used TikTok for advertising, now could be the time to start testing.
• Creative Tools — So far, TikTok has received praise for the nature of the ad platform. We’ve spoken to beginners with no online advertising experience, and they enjoyed the process of creating ads that truly resonate with an audience. Now, these same creative tools are used to turn products into TikToks, and it doesn’t take an advanced degree to get started.

See Related: TikTok Ad Campaigns — How It Works

#ShopBlack

With the launch of the new partnership, TikTok will also see the introduction of a co-branded hashtag by the name of #ShopBlack. As the name suggests, the idea is to bring attention to the many excellent Black-owned businesses. With this hashtag, the two platforms are hoping that Black business owners will want to share their journey to not only celebrate success but also motivate and inspire the next generation.

Check out Mood Junky

As part of the campaign, users have access to a custom branded effect, content, and music. Although the initial campaign is a short one, there are hopes that the effect will last forever in that spotlights will be shone on Black business owners who deserve praise and attention. At the moment, we’re still seeing lots of #SupportBlackOwnedBusinesses and #BlackOwnedBusinesses hashtags throughout social media.

If you’re currently a Shopify user, it’s natural to want to take advantage of the trend that has presented itself. We’ll discover the benefits of advertising on TikTok later in the guide, but for now, the best way to get started is by downloading the TikTok channel app. From here, you’ll need to connect your TikTok For Business account (this is easy to create if you haven’t already!). The platform will also encourage you to connect the 1-Click Pixel, and we recommend doing so.

Some of the best features for beginners are the ready-made templates for ads. After selecting a product that you wish to advertise, it’s easy to use the templates and create an In-Feed shoppable video ad. According to Shopify, the templates choose existing videos and imagery which makes the platform accessible for businesses of all sizes.

Over time, it looks as though this partnership could bring rewards for users of both TikTok and Shopify. The ability to create TikTok ads on Shopify has tremendous value for small businesses aiming to become more efficient with their time. The two have already tried a trial run of adding a shopping button similar in nature to the ones seen on Facebook and Instagram. If implemented, it would allow users to click through to storefronts and potentially make purchases without leaving the social media platform.

Recently, TikTok revealed the testing of a feature that will help users to discover new Shopify sellers by expanding video reach. Ultimately, users would shop the products of merchants while still on the TikTok app. Unfortunately, details about a potential feature of this nature are still sparse. There’s no information on how payment would work or when it would release. If one spokesperson is to be believed, testing could start with a handful of users very soon.

TikTok has gained in value for businesses in recent years, and this trend doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. New features include:

• Shop Now buttons
• Ecommerce links in bios
• Shoppable features with hashtags

This partnership is anything but one-sided, since Shopify users are also enjoying the fruits of investment. Sadly, the problem for most sellers is the inability to compete with the likes of Amazon and Walmart. A partnership with TikTok could lead to live stream opportunities, video marketing, and a closer relationship with consumers.

Why Advertise on TikTok?

With all this discussion around TikTok, why should you consider advertising on this social media platform in the first place?

Audience Size

Previously, it seemed that social media advertising revolved around Facebook and Instagram. Therefore, it’s a breath of fresh air to have another option. The more TikTok grows, the more opportunities there are to find the people who really need our products. TikTok has gone from absolutely nothing in the Western world to an app with around 80 million active monthly users in the United States alone. With a 60/40 split leaning towards females, it’s a fairly even user base in terms of gender. Those with a young target market can benefit from the fact that six in ten users are between 16 and 24 years of age.

Video Content

Additionally, many businesses enjoy the video nature of TikTok. We know that Instagram is image-based, but TikTok is the only social media platform that really homes into this market. Although YouTube is also video-based, it’s not quite on the same level in terms of interaction and the social aspects.

Engagement

Over time, developers at TikTok have worked incredibly hard to master the art of delivery algorithms; in other words, delivering the right content to the right people. Why? The ultimate reward is people staying on the platform for longer. There are two benefits of choosing TikTok for marketing purposes:

• Most users open the app at least twice per day
• Even those with a tiny following can go viral

Localized Marketing

It’s easy to disregard TikTok after learning that it’s active in 140 countries and right across the United States. Yet, it’s possible to actually generate localized campaigns so that you aren’t displaying ads to people with no access to your business. For physical locations, this is an effective tool and one that competes with localized features on Facebook and Instagram. We can utilize our marketing budget effectively and reduce waste.

Influencers

Like all social media platforms, TikTok has influencers, but they also have micro-influencers — local influencers with over 10,000 followers. We can work with these influencers as a small business and garner a positive relationship with them and their audience.

Competition

With the addition of TikTok, businesses are now spread across more platforms. For many, this means less competition in their niche because not all competitors have made the jump. If you’re already on Shopify, it makes sense to download the TikTok channel app and get started.

See Related: How to Create A Hashtag Campaign on TikTok