Shopify & TikTok: How Can You Sell on TikTok with Shopify?
Shopify has been in the news recently for the new possibilities of selling on YouTube. And most merchants already know about making Facebook and Instagram shoppable.
But what about Shopify and TikTok? What are the possibilities for selling on the TikTok platform?
As social media plays a bigger role in people’s lives, it also plays a bigger role in their shopping sprees. So, Shopify store owners who can master the TikTok video ads platform are at a big advantage over the competition.
TikTok is incredibly popular, with over one billion monthly active users (of which only 7 percent are over the age of 50). Younger audiences, especially teens and early twenties are big users.
Without a doubt, it’s the most rapidly expanding video social network on the planet and marketers are paying attention to the promotional opportunities available.
So, let’s take a closer look at TikTok and how you can harness the power of the platform to boost your Shopify sales…
Shopify and TikTok: The marketing opportunity
TikTok is a social network where users produce and share short, entertaining videos. It was launched in China in September 2016.
The idea was that anyone should be able to make a video.
The platform has similarities with YouTube in that it is video-based but the similarities really end there. The videos are ultra-short (think seconds rather than minutes in most cases) and almost entirely produced by amateurs (home-video style).
TikTok videos are shared widely across other social networks like Facebook, Instagram and Reddit.
As the platform has grown in recent years, it has matured from a hub for teens making fun videos into a more widely-used platform.
While youth still makes up the majority of the audience, the latest user U.S.-based user figures are more balanced (according to ComScore):
- Age 10-19 – 32.5%
- Age 20-29 – 29.5%
- Age 30-39 – 16.4%
- Age 40-49 – 13.9%
- Age 50+ – 7.1%
(Note: More females than males use the app currently.)
The marketing opportunity with TikTok is vast, especially if your Shopify store sells mainly to under 40-year-olds, as that age group constitutes well over three-quarters of the user base in the U.S.
TikTok for business
TikTok for Business was launched in June 2020 to help businesses promote their products and services via the short entertaining videos that had been so popular for years for teens.
Merchants were provided with tips and data on market research and analysis, to help them understand the market and use TikTok to promote their businesses without paying for expensive ads.
Shopify-TikTok: The partnership
Soon after TikTok for Business was launched, Shopify announced a partnership with TikTok. This provided Shopify merchants with access to start using TikTok videos to promote their products and services.
The TikTok channel was also released on the Shopify App Store and it’s the best way for Shopify merchants to post content on TikTok.
By installing the TikTok channel, Shopify merchants include the TikTok Pixel in their stores and can monitor the performance of their TikTok ads.
The platform includes creative tools like short video templates and transitions that make it easy to create TikTok clips that impress your target audience. Simply tag your products in your
TikTok videos and watch your sales increase.
High-performing organic content can be turned into ads on TikTok with great results. And brands that are strong on visual content like makeup brands, apparel lines, accessories, and the fashion industry, in general, should find that the TikTok platform lends itself especially well to their content.
You can also laser-target and expand your potential audience on TikTok with lookalike audiences (which Facebook marketers will be familiar with) and retarget customers who leave without buying.
It is claimed that one in four viewers have purchased or researched a product after watching a TikTok video of that product.
With the Shopify-TikTok partnership, you can make sales on TikTok but still use Shopify to manage orders, returns, and payments.
What about the proposed U.S. ban on TikTok?
Despite what you may have heard about TikTok being banned in the U.S. because of its Chinese connections and concerns over the use of personal data, it was challenged in the courts and hasn’t taken effect.
As recently as June 2022, a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was calling on Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores over the same concerns.
However, Shopify merchants shouldn’t be too nervous about investing time and effort into the Shopify-TikTok relationship as banning an app is not as easy as it sounds. The FCC does not have the power to see it done.
How to install the TikTok channel on Shopify
Installing the TikTok channel on your Shopify store is simple.
First, go to the TikTok app page on the Shopify App Store and simply click the Add App button.
Once installation is complete, the TikTok channel will appear on the Shopify Admin dashboard like this:
(This image is taken from https://pagefly.io/blogs/shopify/selling-on-tiktok-with-shopify. We can’t use this but I have left it here as a sample. Can you get an alternative screenshot from a client’s Shopify Admin panel? If not, we’ll have to do without the images but posts are better with images.)
Once you click the TikTok link on the left-hand side in the Admin panel, you can connect your TikTok for Business account to your Shopify store.
(This image is taken from https://pagefly.io/blogs/shopify/selling-on-tiktok-with-shopify. We can’t use this but I have left it here as a sample. Can you get an alternative screenshot from a client’s Shopify Admin panel? If not, we’ll have to do without the images but posts are better with images.)
A Tik Tok Business dashboard will appear after you connect your account. From here, you can control your TikTok for Business account and your channel will be up and running on your store, ready for your ads to start working.
Promoting your shop on TikTok
How do you promote your TikTok video content to maximize its reach? You need to make engaging video ads…
First, create a short video. The most effective TikTok videos have some kind of special effect and music. The Tik Tok business dashboard helps you do that effectively without being a video expert.
There are three basic options to help you create your first TikTok ad video:
- Video Template: this video will be based on a slideshow template that can be edited for your preferences.
- Smart Video: this is where you upload product images to generate videos with background music (no copyright) and special effects (no video editing expertise required).
- Smart Video Soundtrack: this is where your homemade video gets a soundtrack using smart technology — all you need to do is upload the original video.
TikTok Ads Manager will display a dashboard from where you control campaigns. Simply click the Create an Ad button to begin your campaign and follow the prompts from there.
There are a few steps to go through before your video will be live:
- Choose the Advertising Objective (more awareness, traffic, video views, app installs or conversions).
- Activate the option to A/B Test your strategy so that you can choose between two variables and optimize your campaign (you can target two different markets with the same content or test two different ads on the same target market).
- Select your bidding, targeting and tracking preferences.
- Create your ad(s) if you haven’t done so already (if you selected the Creative A/B testing option, you will need to create at least two ads).
That’s pretty much it. As long as you have deposited funds into your TikTok Business account, you will be up and running with your first TikTok ad campaign for your Shopify store.
Boost Shopify sales with TikTok ads
Ignoring the vast potential to attract a whole new target audience (or to reach out to an existing target audience where they love to spend time) could be costly,
At a time when many Shopify store owners are fighting tooth and nail to repel post-pandemic challenges and warnings of a recession, small advantages can make a big difference to sales and profitability.
The Shopify-TikTok partnership is a big opportunity for store owners to gain such an advantage over the competition — especially if your target audience is youthful. And the TikTok channel app makes it easy to set up and manage.
