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With more than 1 billion users worldwide, according to the Business of Apps, TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms globally.
Now, it’s laying the groundwork to become one of the largest social commerce platforms, too. TikTok continues to invest in its shopping capabilities, with the launch of TikTok Shop and other features such as chat and promotions that connect brands and consumers.
Taylor Siegel, head of the social commerce practice at MRM Commerce, joined a recent episode of the “Unpacking the Digital Shelf” podcast, “Selling on TikTok — This Time, for Real,” to dissect what TikTok’s growing capabilities could mean for selling on social media.
Here’s how Siegel sees TikTok reshaping the social commerce landscape.
Entertaining, authentic videos have been crucial to TikTok’s success, creating sticky content that keeps users coming back for more.
Time spent on the app continues to rise year over year, according to Oberlo, which creates fertile ground for brands to reach millions of users with their campaigns.
“There's really no argument that TikTok is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to selling,” Siegel says.
The company made several multi-million shopping investments. It has launched TikTok Shop, which is set to lose a whopping $500 million this year, according to Insider Intelligence.
It’s also delving into paid search and paid ads. Siegel says recent studies have indicated Generation Z (Gen Z) uses TikTok as a search engine even more so than Google. Along with its Google-like paid ad program, TikTok is positioning itself as a marketplace to rival Amazon.
TikTok is launching its own brand (similar to Amazon Basics) and is on a hiring spree to acquire global supply chain talent that will help to build its backend infrastructure.
They’re “laying down the groundwork for the future of a strategy that is going to be like Amazon on TikTok,” Siegel says.
TikTok recently announced that it would experiment with paid search. Siegel says this move likely will take away market share and views from brands who have been able to drive organic sales on TikTok with quality content.
Advertisers who have centered their paid search strategy on Google may also shift to TikTok and start experimenting on the platform.
This could be a boon for TikTok in terms of revenue, but it comes with the risk of undermining what drives so many users to the platform in the first place: authentic content.
“I think no matter what, TikTok is not going to abandon the idea that the whole entire app is based on authentic video creation that doesn't feel like an ad,” Siegel says. “The whole experience of the feed and the ‘For You’ pages on TikTok when you're scrolling, the best types of ads don't feel like ads. They feel organic to the app.”
As TikTok’s social commerce capabilities evolve, some brands already have cultivated a winning strategy on the platform.
Scrub Daddy, of Shark Tank fame, only has a couple of SKUs but has amassed a major TikTok following. The brand, which was part of the initial pilot for TikTok Shop, has a creative approach to content that sets it apart, Siegel says.
Search through its page, and you’ll find content ranging from product demos to a video showing its CEO getting a Scrub Daddy tattoo, and even one that trolls sponges and explains why they’re an inferior product.
“Their content team is spectacular,” she says, “They join conversations and trends versus being bystanders within the app environment.”
Aldi, a discount grocer, is surprisingly also a TikTok innovator. The company uses the platform to showcase new limited-edition products, interesting recipes, and funny videos that are less about selling and more about entertaining its audience.
The brand is so popular on TikTok that you’ll regularly see user-generated content (UGC) showcasing weekly “Aldi Food Finds” and expert shopping tips.
“They're just being part of the conversation and staying relevant, because you wouldn't expect someone like Aldi to be on TikTok and doing well,” Siegel says.
Like Scrub Daddy and Aldi, brands must be willing to experiment to get the most out of TikTok.
“If you are a brand and you want to start selling on TikTok and experimenting with it, it's a great opportunity for you to reach new consumers and just try something new to see how those consumers are responding to shopping in a new channel.” — Taylor Siegel, Associate Director of Commerce Client Services, MRM Commerce
Siegel says brands that have already built teams specifically for selling on social media will need to slightly shift their strategy and hire talent that specializes in TikTok and deeply understands how to engage consumers on this channel. Rather than making this resource investment now, many brands are leaning on their agency partners to create content on TikTok, learn best practices, and build a foundation on the platform.
“Eventually, I think that brands will start having large TikTok teams. I think that they're going to be as big as a whole marketing team,” Siegel predicts. “That is going to eventually change as TikTok and social gets so much more important to the overall ecommerce ecosystem and branding ecosystem, and as we start learning more about what works and what doesn't.”
Listen to the full episode to hear more of Siegel’s insights on how to sell on TikTok effectively.
