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How to Sell Products on TikTok

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how to sell products on tiktok

By now, you’ve probably heard a lot of buzz about Gen Z’s favorite social media app, TikTok.

TikTok is a video sharing platform that allows users to create and share dynamic short-form (maximum of 60 seconds) videos.

Users can add song snippets, special effects, and filters to their videos and then share them with a vast global network.

There are more than one billion users on TikTok, and the app is available in over 150 countries. It’s ideal for brands targeting a younger audience, as the majority of TikTok users are between the ages of 10 and 29.

Tapping into this diverse market offers a lucrative opportunity for brands. With the right TikTok marketing techniques, you can leverage this social network and open your brand up to an exciting market of Gen Z’ers and millennials.

Below, I’ll show you the strategies and tactics you need to sell products on TikTok.

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Why Should You Sell Products on TikTok?

TikTok is the most-downloaded social app worldwide. In 2020, TikTok was ranked one of the world’s top mobile apps, outperforming YouTtube, Tinder, and Netflix.

Bringing your brand to TikTok gives you visibility with millions of new users worldwide. These new customers have real buying power—–combined, they influence more than $350 billion in annual sales in the US.

TikTok’s unique algorithm means even accounts with little to no followers can go viral on the TikTok For You page (FYP).

Plus, integrations with Shopify and other strong eCommerce platforms have made it easy for brands to sell products directly on TikTok.

When you look at these stats, it’s no surprise brands across the globe are jumping on board and finding creative ways to sell products on TikTok.

sell products on TikTok - distribution of users by age/income

How to Set up an Account in TikTok That Will Drive Sales

If you want to sell products on TikTok, you need to lead your efforts with a strong strategy.

Your TikTok profile acts as your eCommerce home page, so it’s important to optimize your profile before you start selling.

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Here are a few easy ways to do this.

1. Describe Your Brand in Your Bio

Your TikTok bio is your chance to introduce your brand and products to your audience.

Your bio is the first thing people will see when they visit your page, so it’s important to make a good first impression. It’s also important to provide accurate information about your brand.

In a few words, describe your brand and what you do. Using keywords in your social networks is the best way to improve your SEO on TikTok.

2. Get Creative With Emojis

Remember, your target market on TikTok is mostly Gen Z’ers, millennials, and Generation Alpha.

That means it’s important to speak their language.

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Emojis are colorful and eye-catching and act as visual indicators of your products and services.

Using emojis can help increase conversions in your online store, so be sure to make good use of them when you sell products on TikTok.

example use of emojis in in your tiktok profile; helps sell products on tiktok

3. Add a CTA

Your TikTok profile should lead users towards actions you want them to take.

Adding a CTA to your profile will tell users exactly what to do next, and can help increase conversions.

For example, you can use a CTA to direct followers to your eCommerce shop, blog, or another social channel where you sell products.

You can also promote discount codes or sales in your TikTok bio.

How to Sell Products on TikTok

Once you have your bio set up, it’s time to create your strategy. Here are a few tips to help your products sell.

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1. Use Sponsor Branded Hashtags

If you want to sell products on TikTok, you need to get your brand in front of as many people as possible.

One of the most effective ways to do this is by sponsoring a branded hashtag that asks users to create user-generated content (UGC). TikTok calls this the Hashtag Challenge Plus, and it allows users to shop for products related to a sponsored hashtag.

Once you establish your challenge, you can create a paid-for hashtag with a specific landing page to direct your users towards a sale. The challenge will show up on the Discovery page, which drives more views.

TikTok also allows in-app shopping for your hashtag so viewers can buy directly from the app.

Brands such as Kroger have leveraged this feature effectively, with campaigns such as the #TransformUrDorm challenge. TikTok users were asked to create before and after videos of their dorm room makeovers. From there, they were prompted to buy dorm items such as toasters and popcorn makers directly in the TikTok app.

The award-winning campaign brought Kroger more than 800 million views and generated 304k UGC videos.

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award winning TikTok marketing campaigns - sell products on TikTok

2. Use Shoppable Videos

In 2020, TikTok announced a new deal with eCommerce giant Shopify to integrate Shopify’s more than 1 million eCommerce merchants with TikTok’s growing audience.

Shopify merchants can now connect their shops to their TikTok for Business accounts and sell products on TikTok directly, through in-feed shoppable videos and ads.

This is a great way to grow your Shopify eCommerce store and your TikTok following at the same time.

3. Leverage TikTok for Shopify Features

The Shopify app itself has a host of built-in features to help you sell products on TikTok.

Here are a few noteworthy TikTok for Shopify features:

  • TikTok campaigns: Merchants can create ad campaigns, target audiences, and track ad performance all in one place.
  • Video template tool: This tool allows you to create a video ad using a TikTok template and any existing photo, text, and logo assets.
  • Audience targeting: TikTok lets you target ads based on location, demographic, and behavioral metrics.
  • One-click pixel: The TikTok Pixel allows you to track the performance of your campaigns. These analytics help drive conversions in your future campaigns.
  • Creative tools: TitTok creative tools help turn Shopify merchant products into high-quality TikToks. This is a great way to connect with this new audience.

If you’re new to this integration, try everything. As marketers, A/B testing is our greatest asset.

You’ll never know what works until you try it.

How to Promote Your E-commerce Store on TikTok

Once you have your store connected to your TikTok channel, you can start creating content that promotes your products.

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Here are a few effective ways to promote your Shopify store on TikTok to drive more conversions.

1. Embed Your TikTok Feed on Your Website

Certain apps, such as Vop, allow you to embed your TikTok feed onto your sales website.

This lets your customers see your products in action before they commit to a sale.

If you regularly showcase user-generated content on your TikTok feed, you can tap into genuine, digital, word-of-mouth advertising. This can go a long way in improving the trust customers have in your brand.

add your tiktok feed to your webpate - sell products on tiktok

2. Use Paid Advertising on TikTok

Leveraging TikTok’s paid advertising features are a great way to tap into this exciting new market.

To begin creating ads, you need to know what you’re working with. TikTok content has specific specs and parameters you need to follow.

  • Image files: JPG or PNG only
  • Video files: MP4, MOV, MPEG, 3GP or AVI
  • Aspect ratio: 9:16, 1:1 and 16:9
  • Image resolution: 1200×628 is recommended, but not necessary
  • Video resolution: 720×1280 pixels, 640×640 pixels or 1280×720 pixels
  • Video duration: 5 to 60 seconds
  • Brand name: The brand name you display in an ad must be between 2 and 20 characters. If you’re advertising an app, you can use 4 to 40 characters
  • Ad description: Your ad description must be between 12 and 100 characters. You cannot use emojis in your description

From there, it’s all about creating engaging, creative, and fun ads that attract the attention of TikTok’s youthful demographic.

example of fun ad that can help you sell products on tiktok

When creating ads, be sure to use audio. TikTok has always been an audio/video platform, so it’s important to create content that fits in this sphere.

Voiceovers, background music, and special effects audio can help make your ads more effective.

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Get creative! Tiktok is a platform built for content creators. Make your ads fun, fresh, and exciting to attract new customers.

3. Include Your E-commerce Link in Your TikTok Bio

Every TikTok bio allows you to add a website link.

Use this space to add a link to your eCommerce shop, or any pages you want to increase traffic to, like relevant promotions or landing pages.

This tactic is a great way to guide users to the content you want to be seen and increase sales on TikTok.

example of including your link to your website )or other content) - sell products on tiktok

How to Track and Analyze the Sales You Receive Through TikTok

Installing the TikTok Pixel on your website, eCommerce store, and ads, allows you to track events along your customer purchase paths.

For example, if someone views a product, completes a payment, searches for a product, or adds billing info to your checkout flow, you can track it.

You can also track when a user downloads your content, clicks a button, or views a page.

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This is helpful when you want to see if your eCommerce link in your profile bio is effective. Or, if you want to know how many people are making purchases through your shoppable videos.

The more data you collect, the better you can understand your customer journey.

From there, you can determine what works and where you should focus more resources.

How to Track TikTok Shopify Sales

The Shopify sales you make through TikTok can be managed directly within Shopify’s dashboard. This includes all ad creation, targeting, optimizations, and tracking.

Merchants can use Shopify-specific apps such as the “Magic TikTok Pixel” to better track conversions in TikTok campaigns.

When you install the Magic TikTok Pixel you will be able to:

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  • Track user event types such as registration, product page browsing, add to cart, and place an order.
  • Track TikTok users that have made purchases. You can also analyze their data to determine future purchase trends, such as total sales per product and average order value.
  • Use data to retarget and ensure your return on ad spend (ROAS) improves every time.

Conclusion

Now that you know how to sell products on TikTok, it’s time to start experimenting.

TikTok is still evolving as a platform, and we can expect even more sales opportunities coming out soon.

For now, it’s important to get started with the shopping features that are already available. This will help you drive more eCommerce sales and attract loyal audiences.

If you want to develop a more comprehensive social media ad campaign that includes TikTok, but need help doing so, reach out to our agency.

How have you found success when selling products on TikTok?

See How My Agency Can Drive Massive Amounts of Traffic to Your Website

  • SEO – unlock massive amounts of SEO traffic. See real results.
  • Content Marketing – our team creates epic content that will get shared, get links, and attract traffic.
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How To Combine PR and Content Marketing Superpowers To Achieve Business Goals

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A figure pulls open a dress shirt to reveal the term PR on a Superman-like costume, reflecting the superpower resulting from combining content and PR.

A transformative shift is happening, and it’s not AI.

The aisle between public relations and content marketing is rapidly narrowing. If you’re smart about the convergence, you can forever enhance your brand’s storytelling.

The goals and roles of content marketing and PR overlap more and more. The job descriptions look awfully similar. Shrinking budgets and a shrewd eye for efficiency mean you and your PR pals could face the chopping block if you don’t streamline operations and deliver on the company’s goals (because marketing communications is always first to be axed, right?).

Yikes. Let’s take a big, deep breath. This is not a threat. It’s an opportunity.

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Reach across the aisle to PR and streamline content creation, improve distribution strategies, and get back to the heart of what you both are meant to do: Build strong relationships and tell impactful stories.

So, before you panic-post that open-to-work banner on LinkedIn, consider these tips from content marketing, PR, and journalism pros who’ve figured out how to thrive in an increasingly narrowing content ecosystem.

1. See journalists as your audience

Savvy pros know the ability to tell an impactful story — and support it with publish-ready collateral — grounds successful media relationships. And as a content marketer, your skills in storytelling and connecting with audiences, including journalists, naturally support your PR pals’ media outreach.

Strategic storytelling creates content focused on what the audience needs and wants. Sharing content on your blog or social media builds relationships with journalists who source those channels for story ideas, event updates, and subject matter experts.

“Embedding PR strategies in your content marketing pieces informs your audience and can easily be picked up by media,” says Alex Sanchez, chief experience officer at BeWell, New Mexico’s Health Insurance Marketplace. “We have seen reporters do this many times, pulling stories from our blogs and putting them in the nightly news — most of the time without even reaching out to us.”

Acacia James, weekend producer/morning associate producer at WTOP radio in Washington, D.C., says blogs and social media posts are helpful to her work. “If I see a story idea, and I see that they’re willing to share information, it’s easier to contact them — and we can also backlink their content. It’s huge for us to be able to use every avenue.” 

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Kirby Winn, manager of PR at ImpactLife, says reporters and assignment editors are key consumers of their content. “And I don’t mean a news release that just hit their inbox. They’re going to our blog and consuming our stories, just like any other audience member,” he says. “Our organization has put more focus into content marketing in the past few years — it supports a media pitch so well and highlights the stories we have to tell.”

Storytelling attracts earned media that might not pick up the generic news topic. “It’s one thing to pitch a general story about how we help consumers sign up for low-cost health insurance,” Alex says. “Now, imagine a single mom who just got a plan after years of thinking it was too expensive. She had a terrible car accident, and the $60,000 ER bill that would have ruined her financially was covered. Now that’s a story journalists will want to cover, and that will be relatable to their audience and ours.” 

2. Learn the media outlet’s audience

Seventy-three percent of reporters say one-fourth or less of the stories pitched are relevant to their audiences, according to Cision’s 2023 State of the Media Report (registration required).

PR pros are known for building relationships with journalists, while content marketers thrive in building communities around content. Merge these best practices to build desirable content that works for your target audience and the media’s audiences simultaneously.

WTOP’s Acacia James says sources who show they’re ready to share helpful, relevant content often win pitches for coverage. “In radio, we do a lot of research on who is listening to us, and we’re focused on a prototype called ‘Mike and Jen’ — normal, everyday people in Generation X … So when we get press releases and pitches, we ask, ‘How interested will Mike and Jen be in this story?’” 

3. Deliver the full content package (and make journalists’ jobs easier)

Cranking out content to their media outlet’s standards has never been tougher for journalists. Newsrooms are significantly understaffed, and anything you can do to make their lives easier will be appreciated and potentially rewarded with coverage. Content marketers are built to think about all the elements to tell the story through multiple mediums and channels.

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“Today’s content marketing pretty much provides a package to the media outlet,” says So Young Pak, director of media relations at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. “PR is doing a lot of storytelling work in advance of media publication. We (and content marketing) work together to provide the elements to go with each story — photos, subject matter experts, patients, videos, and data points, if needed.”   

At WTOP, the successful content package includes audio. “As a radio station, we are focused on high-quality sound,” Acacia James says. “Savvy sources know to record and send us voice memos, and then we pull cuts from the audio … You will naturally want to do someone a favor if they did you one — like providing helpful soundbites, audio, and newsworthy stories.”  

While production value matters to some media, you shouldn’t stress about it. “In the past decade, how we work with reporters has changed. Back in the day, if they couldn’t be there in person, they weren’t going to interview your expert,” says Jason Carlton, an accredited PR professional and manager of marketing and communications at Intermountain Health. “During COVID, we had to switch to virtual interviewing. Now, many journalists are OK with running a Teams or Zoom interview they’ve done with an expert on the news.”

BeWell’s Alex Sanchez agrees. “I’ve heard old school PR folks cringe at the idea of putting up a Zoom video instead of getting traditional video interviews. It doesn’t really matter to consumers. Focus on the story, on the timeliness, and the relevance. Consumers want authenticity, not super stylized, stiff content.”

4. Unite great minds to maximize efficiency

Everyone needs to set aside the debate about which team — PR or content marketing — gets credit for the resulting media coverage.

At MedStar Washington Hospital Center, So Young and colleagues adopt a collaborative mindset on multichannel stories. “We can get the interview and gather information for all the different pieces — blog, audio, video, press release, internal newsletter, or magazine. That way, we’re not trying to figure things out individually, and the subject matter experts only have to have that conversation once,” she says.

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Regular, cross-team meetings are essential to understand the best channels for reaching key audiences, including the media. A story that began life as a press release might reap SEO and earned media gold if it’s strategized as a blog, video, and media pitch.

“At Intermountain Health, we have individual teams for media relations, marketing, social media, and hospital communications. That setup works well because it allows us to bring in the people who are the given experts in those areas,” says Intermountain’s Jason Carlton. “Together, we decide if a story is best for the blog, a media pitch, or a mix of channels — that way, we avoid duplicating work and the risk of diluting the story’s impact.”

5. Measure what matters

Cutting through the noise to earn media mentions requires keen attention to metrics. Since content marketing and PR metrics overlap, synthesizing the data in your team meetings can save time while streamlining your storytelling efforts.

“For content marketers, using analytical tools such as GA4 can help measure the effectiveness of their content campaigns and landing pages to determine meaningful KPIs such as organic traffic, keyword rankings, lead generation, and conversion rates,” says John Martino, director of digital marketing for Visiting Angels. “PR teams can use media coverage and social interactions to assess user engagement and brand awareness. A unified and omnichannel approach can help both teams demonstrate their value in enhancing brand visibility, engagement, and overall business success.”

To track your shared goals, launch a shared dashboard that helps tell the combined “story of your stories” to internal and executive teams. Among the metrics to monitor:

  • Page views: Obviously, this queen of metrics continues to be important across PR and content marketing. Take your analysis to the next level by evaluating which niche audiences are contributing to these views to further hone your storytelling targets, including media outlets.
  • Earned media mentions: Through a media tracker service or good old Google Alerts, you can tally the echo of your content marketing and PR. Look at your site’s referral traffic report to identify media outlets that send traffic to your blog or other web pages.
  • Organic search queries: Dive into your analytics platform to surface organic search queries that lead to visitors. Build from those questions to develop stories that further resonate with your audience and your targeted media.
  • On-page actions: When visitors show up on your content, what are they doing? What do they click? Where do they go next? Building next-step pathways is your bread and butter in content marketing — and PR can use them as a natural pipeline for media to pick up more stories, angles, and quotes.

But perhaps the biggest metric to track is team satisfaction. Who on the collaborative team had the most fun writing blogs, producing videos, or calling the news stations? Lean into the natural skills and passions of your team members to distribute work properly, maximize the team output, and improve relationships with the media, your audience, and internal teams.

“It’s really trying to understand the problem to solve — the needle to move — and determining a plan that will help them achieve their goal,” Jason says. “If you don’t have those measurable objectives, you’re not going to know whether you made a difference.”

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Don’t fear the merger

Whether you deliberately work together or not, content marketing and public relations are tied together. ImpactLife’s Kirby Winn explains, “As soon as we begin to talk about (ourselves) to a reporter who doesn’t know us, they are certainly going to check out our stories.”

But consciously uniting PR and content marketing will ease the challenges you both face. Working together allows you to save time, eliminate duplicate work, and gain free time to tell more stories and drive them into impactful media placements.

Register to attend Content Marketing World in San Diego. Use the code BLOG100 to save $100. Can’t attend in person this year? Check out the Digital Pass for access to on-demand session recordings from the live event through the end of the year.

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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

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Trends in Content Localization – Moz

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Trends in Content Localization - Moz

Multinational fast food chains are one of the best-known examples of recognizing that product menus may sometimes have to change significantly to serve distinct audiences. The above video is just a short run-through of the same business selling smokehouse burgers, kofta, paneer, and rice bowls in an effort to appeal to people in a variety of places. I can’t personally judge the validity of these representations, but what I can see is that, in such cases, you don’t merely localize your content but the products on which your content is founded.

Sometimes, even the branding of businesses is different around the world; what we call Burger King in America is Hungry Jack’s in Australia, Lays potato chips here are Sabritas in Mexico, and DiGiorno frozen pizza is familiar in the US, but Canada knows it as Delissio.

Tales of product tailoring failures often become famous, likely because some of them may seem humorous from a distance, but cultural sensitivity should always be taken seriously. If a brand you are marketing is on its way to becoming a large global seller, the best insurance against reputation damage and revenue loss as a result of cultural insensitivity is to employ regional and cultural experts whose first-hand and lived experiences can steward the organization in acting with awareness and respect.

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How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy

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How AI Is Redefining Startup GTM Strategy

AI and startups? It just makes sense.

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