Just hear me out... TikTok Shop

Greetings, store owners!

I hope you all have recovered from spook-ifying everything in the shop now that October is upon us. And you know what comes after Halloween, right?

Given that economic conditions are decidedly meh, it might be worth trying something new this holiday season.

TikTok Shop officially rolled out in the U.S. a few weeks ago. Seeking to capitalize on the #tiktokmademebuyit movement, the social media platform seems to be going all in on ecomm. Here are three reasons to give it a try.

1. No longer just for Gen Z

If you’ve been using that handy excuse of “my audience is old” to not get on TikTok, it’s probably time to retire that reasoning. (See what I did there?) TikTok user demographics are changing as the platform continues to get crazy big.

But what really makes TikTok stand out as a place for product discovery is the amount of attention its users give to it. TikTok accounts for almost a third of social media users’ time on platforms, with Facebook and Instagram getting only 20%. The average user spends 55 minutes per day on the app, meaning there’s more time to be served ads, run across a viral product video, or browse the newly implemented Shop tab.

2. TikTok really wants you to sell there

Speaking of the Shop tab, TikTok is implementing a host of features and programs to support your need to try the newest beauty dupe. Creators can tag products in the videos and brands can connect a video to an item in their TikTok shop. Creators can also earn money when they feature products through the new Affiliate program.

Fulfilled by TikTok is also a thing, as is a big partnership with Shopify. And a couple weeks ago, TikTok announced it will subsidize discounts of up to 50% for its merchants in a bid to compete with Amazon this holiday shopping season.

3. Crazy low commish

While platforms like Amazon and Facebook have margin-eating seller fees, typically around 15%, TikTok Shop is starting off at just 5%. This will undoubtedly go up, as all things do with time. (Hello, Etsy, looking at you.) But with the push for holiday discounts, the investment TikTok is making into ecommerce, and rock-bottom seller fees, the time to try is NOW!

I would walk you through the steps of setting up a TikTok Shop, but I think Hootsuite already nailed it. It really didn’t take long. I set up a “test” shop in about 15 minutes.

📣 Tell me how it goes!!!

Closing with a friendly reminder that I want to hear how your recent experiments have gone! If you go through setting up a TikTok Shop, let me know and I will share a link on my socials.

Did you try last week’s 3 Questions to Ask Customers test? Drop me a line and let me know what they said!

Go forth and kick ass,

-Ang