Keen to reach new audiences and drive more sales? Now’s the time to start selling on the world’s most downloaded social media app.

If you’re like most business owners, you’ve already spent a fair bit of time trying to grow your social following on Instagram and Facebook. But what about TikTok? 

Many ecommerce businesses are still trying to get a handle on TikTok, and if or how it can help grow sales. Here’s a primer on how you can take the first steps. 

TikTok + Business: Stats You Need to Know for 2022

With over 1 billion monthly active users globally, TikTok presents huge revenue opportunities for ecommerce businesses. And with 650,000 new users joining every day, that opportunity is growing at an incredible rate.

TikTok captures more monthly hours from users than Facebook and Instagram combined. Users around the world spend nearly 26 hours per month on the platform.

The content is bite-sized, engaging and addictive.

What does TikTok’s user base look like?

It’s not all dance trends for kids. In fact TikTok users over 25 years old have now surpassed the younger audiences.

According to Hootsuite’s Digital 2022 report, globally you have the opportunity to reach:

  • 18-24 years old – 5,619,900 users
  • 25-34 years old – 4,087,200 users
  • 35-44 years old – 1,676,800 users
  • 45-54 years old – 825,300 users
  • 55+ – 445,400 users

Trending topics amongst these older age groups include fashion and style, lifestyle, home inspiration and even finance.

So what is the real power of TikTok? Discoverability.

Unlike other social media platforms, TikTok utilises widespread content virality, regardless of how many followers you have. 

Key takeaway: This means your business has the opportunity to reach millions of users, even when you’re first starting out.

How easy is it to sell on TikTok?

TikTok has made it easy for ecommerce sellers to showcase their products, reach new audiences and generate incredible sales volumes.

 Consumer spending on TikTok increased by a whopping 77% in 2021. Overall, users spent $2.3 billion dollars in the app, compared to $1.3 billion the year before. Consumers are already conditioned to buying on TikTok and the opportunity for Australian ecommerce businesses is ready to explode.

#TikTokMadeMeBuyIt

This hashtag has over 12 billion views to date. Social commerce has been booming on the platform since the introduction of in-app shopping, with TikTok stating that 37% of users who see a product on TikTok immediately want to buy it.

TikTok now has an API that allows you to connect your eCommerce platform to the app, delivering product catalogue feeds directly into your account.

While TikTok Live Shopping is not yet available in Australia, TikTok announced at the Melbourne Fashion Festival 2021 Australian Fashion Summit, that they are looking at Australia as the next major market for growth in the social commerce space. 

Key takeaway: It’s time to get your ecommerce store ready for the next big thing.

“20.6 percent of consumers who purchase products over social media say they do so all the time on TikTok, making it the platform with the highest percentage of frequent social shoppers. In comparison, just 16.6 percent of social media shoppers say they always purchase things on YouTube, while 16.4 percent do so on Instagram.”

– source Shopify

Which ecommerce platforms integrate with TikTok Shopping?

TikTok announced its partnership with Shopify Australia in 2021 and the sales impact has been explosive. Since then, TikTok has made integrations available with additional platforms and the list continues to grow.

Currently, integrations are available with:

So How Do You Start Selling On TikTok?

The first step is to ensure that your account is set up as a TikTok Business Account. 

If you have no content on the platform yet, start establishing your brand voice by creating your first videos.

Keep your videos short and sweet and try some of these ideas to get you started.

Create shopping experiences that captivate and convert

  • How to videos
  • Product demonstrations
  • Team introductions
  • Case studies
  • Before and After
  • Process videos
  • Order packing videos
  • Answer FAQs
  • Aesthetic videos that convey the feel of your brand

From there you can proceed to set up your  TikTok Shop and TikTok Ads Account

Running Ads on TikTok

The power of TikTok ads lies in its incredibly accurate ability to determine a viewer’s likes, affinities and behaviours.

In fact, it’s a common highlight among TikTok users just how accurate the algorithm is in predicting their preferences and serving them the content they wanted, before they even knew they needed it.

What this means for you as an advertiser, is that you are able to rely on the algorithm to uncover your best performing audiences automatically.

Making your ad campaigns easy and effective is the core goal.

With the TikTok API for your ecommerce store, you can sync your product catalogue and install the TikTok pixel for campaign performance tracking in minutes. This unlocks catalogue-based ad formats like Collection Ads and Dynamic Showcase Ads. 

Tip: Ad Credits for Merchants: Eligible merchants who spend $25USD ($32AUD) in 14 days will receive $100USD ($129AUD) in ad credits to jumpstart their first TikTok campaign.

Ecommerce Shipping Made Simple

With the increase in sales this new approach could give you, you’ll want to make shipping even easier for your customers. Help them get the best shipping for the best rate using the Transdirect ecommerce integration.

Simply pre-select your preferred couriers to provide the service that best suits your product. Then once they’re at check out, the seamless integration lets them pick which courier, delivery type and rate that suits their needs.

Integrating TikTok and Transdirect with your ecommerce platform is one of the smartest moves to grow your sales in 2022.