TikTok is one of the fastest growing social media platforms in the world, in the last 3 years TikTok has grown to over 800 million users. To put that into perspective, it took Instagram 6 years to deliver that kind of growth.  Having launched in 2016, the last 18 months have truly shaped what TikTok brings to the social landscape, having quintupled their growth TikTok now records over 150 million daily users. 

But what has caused the phenomenal growth? TikTok is seen as more of an entertainment platform, instead of a lifestyle platform. Real, authentic and engaging content is celebrated and rewarded with likes, shares and virality. Something which is no longer found on the likes of Facebook or Instagram. TikTok is breathing life back into organic social media, which means your eCommerce business should be taking advantage of this, right now.  

Over the past few weeks and months, brands who have adopted TikTok as a key marketing channel are beginning to see the results payoff.  To help support your business growth I have shared my 5 top tips on how to improve your sales, using TikTok.

1. Set the tone

Video marketing has rapidly become the cornerstone to online marketing because it’s short form content that’s quick and digestible for the user. However, for most eCommerce businesses creating video content is a challenge due to time and resources. TikTok solves this problem and makes video content far more accessible, due to its functionality and user appetite for authentic, unpolished content which is great news for brands needing to get in front of new audiences. 

When establishing your presence on TikTok you firstly need to consider your brand tone.  Take time to think about what emotion you want your audience to feel when engaging with you. Whether you’re inspiring, a changemaker, funny or emotional this tone will need to underpin your strategy and remain consistent throughout your content in order to drive a connection with your audience. Creating a consistent tone within your content, sets expectations for your audience meaning they become to know like and trust you much quicker. 

Note: Be authentically you. Don’t change your brand and who you are to mirror someone else’s success. 

Secondly, don’t make your content about a hard-sell. Keep your content, light and fun. TikTok is about creating entertainment and people will naturally buy from you if they engage with you.  

2. Content pillars you should be using.

As with any social media strategy, your content will be devised through content pillars. Based on what works best for eCommerce businesses, this is the content you should be focusing on to help drive more sales. 

• Who You Are
  • Talk about your backstory, why you started your own business and where you are at now. People love discovering small businesses to feel inspired and connecting with the founder behind them. See an example of how this is done here. 
• Packing Your Orders 
  • Videos of you packing orders really connects with your audience because it gives a peek behind the scenes and demonstrates the impact orders have on a small business owner rather than a cooperation. It shows the true value which is placed on customers and demonstrates the meaning each order makes to a small business. If you use sustainable packaging, this is also a great opportunity to showcase this and demonstrate the value you place on the planet too. See an example of how this is done here. 
• Showcasing your products
  • If your products or brand stands for something unique, this is the place to share your messaging and connect with your audience. Talk about how unique your styles, material, giveback or any USP within your business to bring to life what you stand for and what products you sell. Visuals alone can be strong enough to sell your brand, especially if it’s on trend, however using audio within your content to reinforce this works really well too. See an example here. 
• Customer Shoutouts
  • TikTok users love seeing their orders being packed and receiving a shoutout from the brand. This completes the full consumer cycle and closes the loop on the engagement. Creating this type of content truly supports the ethos of TikTok being an entertainment platform. See an example of how this is done here.  

3. How often you should post. 

Consistency is key. For some businesses their first video explodes, for others it can take a little longer. However, you must not lose sight of how powerful TikTok can be for your brand and sales. Once you get it right, there will be no looking back. 

Here are some recommendations:

• Post daily, sometimes twice daily
• Stick to your content pillars
• Test, tweak and optimise content until you find your brands winning formula. 
  • Test your posting times, hashtags, music and tone of voice. 

4. What hashtags to use.

By using hashtags you will increase your brands discoverability, but it will also help TikTok understand who you are trying to reach and will allow them to put your content in front of people who have previously engaged with similar content. Therefore, using the right hashtags is crucial. 

Use a combination of niche and broad hashtags, this will allow you to test what works for your business and will put you in front of your target audience.

To research the right hashtags to use, you can use TikTok’s native hashtag search, which provides you with search volumes. 

To help get you started, use hashtags such as:

• #Smallbusinesscheck
• #Smallbizowner
• #Smallbisnis
• #Smallbusinessowner
• #Orderpacking
• #Packingorders

5. Use the self-serve ad platform

Take advantage of TikTok’s advertising platform, which is by far the most cost effective advertising platform currently on the market. It’s self-service interface makes setting up ads extremely easy and the impact this has on your site traffic is noticeable. 

As you can see from the below screenshot, this site went from having very little activity to experiencing large traffic peaks from where TikTok ads were live. 

You can see from this ad campaign that we have run previously, just how cheap TikTok ads are in comparison to Facebook. Although targeting is broad, it’s equally as effective as on Facebook. 

Putting your product and brand in front of more eyeballs across new audiences and sectors not only delivers extended reach but allows for additional data capture that can be built into high value retargeting audiences on Facebook or Google. 

To conclude, TikTok is transforming businesses overnight and now is the best time to be taking advantage of this. Organic reach is still very much alive, and as an eCommerce business you need to ensure you are visible on the platform and making TikTok a key marketing strategy within your business.