TikTok for Business: How Shopify is Transforming the Video App

The viral video-generating app, Tiktok, has recently introduced a Shopify shop tab, enabling users to buy products directly from the app. We look at advertising on TikTok, why Shopify is particularly interesting for ecommerce, and what it means for the future of a businesses social media use as we know it.

Using TikTok for business- all you need to know

As a relatively new social media channel, TikTok has taken the world by storm- literally- having reached 150 markets globally, in 75 languages, and boasts 1 billion monthly active users. 

The app has always had a content-first focus when it comes to business advertising, allowing ads to feature in between hilarious viral videos and dance routines as well as the more common #sponcontent.

However, with the recent plans for integration with the e-commerce platform Shopify, advertising on TikTok is about to have an even bigger impact. 

With 52% of TikTok users saying they find new products via ads on the app, it’s quickly become one of the highest performing social platforms for e-commerce businesses. The direct access to over 1 billion monthly users alone is enough to make a significant impact on conversions for any type of ad. And with the integration of Shopify, it will also mean that instead of relying on users to click-through sponsored videos or ads playing between content, businesses will be able to create and run campaigns on TikTok directly from their Shopify dashboard. 

Once businesses install the new TikTok channel app on Shopify, they’ll have direct access to the TikTok Business Ads Manager, giving them full control of their adverts. This is particularly important for managing budgets, understanding CPA and the all-important conversion rate. 

Shopify unites consumers with brands on social media

Enabling shopping experiences across multiple social media platforms, Shopify has been empowering all kinds of brands online with its easy payment journey. Feeding Facebook sales and maximising influencers on Instagram, Shopify allows brands to turn shares into sales.

With 73% of online shoppers using multiple channels before buying, Shopify allows brands to have a solid commerce journey on all of them. Having a consistent and easy check-out process, Shopify connects consumers to brands in the social media space where they may not have previously shopped.

TikTok and Shopify merging is a particularly powerful opportunity for brands looking to explore social commerce as a marketing channel, or even those whose products have gone viral already!

Why savvy businesses should pay attention to social commerce

Social commerce is already an $89.4 billion market and it’s projected to grow to $604.5 billion in the next seven years. That’s a huge potential for businesses to capitalise on an audience who is already actively shopping on their favourite social platforms. And it makes sense, considering how many of us spend hours a day scrolling, tweeting and liking across social channels.

Businesses looking to reach new markets should consider using a social channel as a longer-term option for advertising as it’s fast, direct and can be updated or changed in real-time. Using social commerce also opens businesses up to new countries as well as consumers who wouldn’t otherwise have known about them. 

Using TikTok specifically means getting more creative with images or video content for ads too, unlike Facebook adverts or LinkedIn posts, adverts on TikTok go through their ‘Smart Video’ tool. It uses AI to analyse the content and helps brands create the filtered, professionally edited footage that users are used to on TikTok.

As with all great digital marketing strategies, if you’re thinking about using TikiTok as another marketing channel, it’s best to create some business goals first. Understand what your business wants to get from advertising on TikTok- more sales, brand awareness, improve website traffic? And consider how you can position your products with Shopify to maximise ROI.