How to Sell and Advertise on TikTok

16 min read

People are swarming to TikTok like bees to honey, all for the edutainment, music, dance moves, hilarious pets, and whatever else tickles their fancy. That’s the magic of a video feed so personalized it might know you better than your friend!

Being one of the world’s fastest-growing social media platforms, TikTok is a fantastic way to connect with your audience and reach new customers in a relaxed, natural way. Keep reading to discover the best TikTok tools for small business owners.

Why Should You Use TikTok for Your Business?

Let’s kick things off with a question on everyone’s mind: should you use TikTok for your business? And why is TikTok a big deal for businesses?

To tackle those questions, let’s highlight what makes this platform stand out from other social media channels:

TikTok Boasts a Big and Loyal Fan Base

TikTok not only has a huge fan base but it’s also filled with loyal users who are eager to connect with brands:

TikTok has 1.5 billion monthly active users worldwide
TikTok users are 5.2 times more likely to say it’s the best place to connect with brands compared to other social and video platforms.

TikTok’s audience boasts users from various age groups (from 10 to 50+ years) with diverse interests. There are many communities on TikTok, such as #baketok, #synthtok, #parenttok, and so on. That makes the platform an excellent spot for advertising, no matter what you sell.

Demographics of TikTok users by age and gender

TikTok’s Recommendation System Is Off the Charts

TikTok’s recommendation system determines which videos will appear on a user’s For You page (the steady stream of videos they see when they open the app).

As TikTok puts it, the For You page “is powered by a recommendation system that delivers content to each user that is likely to be of interest to that particular user.”

To curate this unputdownable feed, TikTok considers everything about your interactions with videos or accounts. For example, it considers clips you like or share, creators you follow, comments you post, and content you make.

Recommendations are also based on video information (captions, sounds, hashtags), your device type, and account settings (language and country).

The magic of the recommendation system allows TikTok to present users with content they like constantly. People open the app and get an endless stream of videos they are interested in. Which brings us to our next point:

People Spend a Lot of Time on TikTok

When we say “a lot,” we mean A LOT.

Users worldwide spend about 34 hours on TikTok per month. In the UK, the average is over 49 hours, while in the US, it’s 45 hours and 37 minutes.

According to Emarketer, US adults ages 18 to 54 spend more time on TikTok than any other popular social platform.

TikTok leads time spent on social for most US adults

As a business owner, you want to reach your potential customers where they already spend time. Not only does TikTok have a super big and engaged audience, but it continues growing thanks to the recommendation system that users love.

So, when promoting your brand on social media, TikTok should be at the top of your list of platforms to test out.

Products Can Go Viral on TikTok

Check out the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag—it has billions of views in the app. On TikTok, products can go viral—just like songs, trends, or filters.

You’ve probably seen the viral video of a woman’s car that burned to a crisp—yet her Stanley cup survived, still holding ice. That video got 97.1 million views, not counting re-shares and media coverage.

Stanley’s marketers acted quickly. They supported their super fan by gifting a new car and highlighted their product as more than just another trendy cup—it’s durable and high-quality.

This viral video ensured that everyone became aware of Stanley cups

However, your product doesn’t need to survive fire to go viral on TikTok.

Many products have been flying off the shelves because of users’ enthusiastic review videos. For example, some CeraVe skincare products, roller skates, the Pink Stuff cleaning paste, Zara jeans, Peter Thomas Roth firming eye cream, Prepdeck kitchen organizer, and Cat Crack catnip. The list goes on and on!

TikTok users can duet, stitch, and react to each other’s videos, which, besides promoting co-creation, works as social proof for product testing. When you see dozens of videos on your For You page with different people (not brands) testing the same product, you’ll believe it’s genuinely worth the hype.

Now, let’s explore how to use the app to grow your brand visibility and sales.

How to Sell Products on TikTok

Sellers in certain countries can enjoy TikTok Shop, a handy feature that lets customers buy your products directly on the app.

How Does TikTok Shop Work?

Picture this: you’re scrolling through your For You page when a cool video pops up. Suddenly, you just have to have the product they’re showing! No worries—just tap the bag icon in the video and snag that awesome item.

How great is that? TikTok Shop makes this fun and easy shopping experience possible for your potential customers.

Shoppers can buy a product they spot in a video without leaving the app

You can also add a Shop tab to your TikTok profile that displays products from your catalog. Customers can browse your products in the app just as easily as they can browse your videos.

An example of a Shop tab in a TikTok profile

After customers tap a bag icon in your video or click on a product in your Shop tab, they can view the product’s name, description, photos, price, and *drum roll, please* a link to buy the product in your store.

Which Countries Have Access to TikTok Shop?

TikTok Shop is now available in the United Kingdom, the United States, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

How to Set Up TikTok Shop?

The easiest way to set up a TikTok Shop is to connect your product catalog to the TikTok Seller Center via your ecommerce platform.

If you use Ecwid by Lightspeed as your ecommerce platform and your business is located in the US and UK, setting up a TikTok Shop couldn’t be easier.

All you have to do is to connect your Ecwid catalog using the M2E Multichannel Connect app (for both the US and UK) or the TikTok Shop Connector app (for the US only). If your business is outside the US and UK, you can create a TikTok Shop manually.

One of the best things about syncing your product catalog with TikTok via Ecwid is that any changes you make in your Ecwid admin show up in your TikTok Shop. Whether adding products or toggling them on or off, everything updates seamlessly, saving you time managing products across platforms.

Ecwid is one of the few ecommerce platforms that allows you to connect your online store to TikTok to advertise and sell your products on the app. You can also connect your Ecwid store to other platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Amazon, and eBay.

With Ecwid, you can sell your products everywhere–on your website, social media, marketplaces, and even in person. All your products and sales will be synced, and you can manage them from a single dashboard.

If you’re ready to sell your products on TikTok, click the button below and follow the step-by-step instructions for getting started.

Sell on TikTok

How to Advertise on TikTok

TikTok has been ranked number one globally for ad equity two years in a row. In other words, users value the ads on the app. This is thanks to TikTok’s unique ad formats that let you promote your products and services in a natural way.

The result? 61% of users have purchased directly on TikTok or after seeing an ad.

One great thing about TikTok Ads is that they’re available in many countries. So, even if TikTok Shop isn’t in your country yet, you can still connect with potential customers on the app.

Let’s explore how you can advertise your business on TikTok.

To start running effective ad campaigns, connect your online store to TikTok for Business through your ecommerce platform, aka Ecwid by Lightspeed.

Connecting your online store to TikTok for Business allows you to run effective ads. For example, display ads that show a specific product to people who were checking out that item on your website. Or promote your products to people who have a lot in common with your customers and are likely to be interested in what you have to offer.

After you connect your online store to TikTok for Business with Ecwid, you’ll be able to:

Feature Products in Your Ads

Syncing your product catalog and your TikTok for Business account allows you to create and manage ads that display your products–Spark Ads, Lead Generation Ads, Collection Ads, or Catalog Sales Objective Ads.

Spark Ads are your organic in-feed videos that you can turn into ads and add a call-to-action button. With your product catalog and your TikTok for Business account synced you’ll be able to link to your product page in your Spark Ads.

You can also use organic videos of other creators that feature your product and turn them into Spark Ads to promote them in the feed.

TikTok ads blend into the platform, offering an organic feel

Lead Generation Ads help you capture leads through contact forms. When someone taps the CTA button in your video ad, a popup form appears instantly.

Collecting leads on TikTok stays within the app, so there is no need to redirect users elsewhere

Collection Ads allow customers to browse a collection of products right in the app. You can pick the items to show yourself or let TikTok Ads Manager display the most relevant products for each potential customer.

Shoppers can explore a variety of products all from one ad

Catalog Sales Objective Ads display specific products to people who have expressed interest in them on your website (this feature is available only in the US and Indonesia for now).

Depending on your experience, you can choose between a simplified way of creating ads and a fully customizable ad campaign creation.

Ecwid provides a light version of TikTok Ads Manager that you can access right from your Ecwid admin. It is a simplified experience for creating an ad campaign in no time—perfect for beginners.

Pro users can go to their TikTok Ads Manager (that can be done from the Ecwid admin) and get the full control experience on setting up an ad.

Run More Effective Ad Campaigns

When you connect your Ecwid store to TikTok for Business, you automatically gain access to a smart analytics tool called TikTok Pixel. It comes pre-installed in your store, so it can start working immediately to help you better understand potential customers’ behavior on your website.

But what does TikTok Pixel do exactly? We’re happy you asked!

TikTok Pixel tracks customers’ actions on your website, such as how many people view a specific product page, search for an item, add something to a cart, or purchase. This allows you to find the right audience for your ads.

For instance, you can use Pixel’s data to reach out to people who behave similarly to your current customers or those who previously engaged with your store.

The key to running ads that bring you sales is advertising to the right audience–people who might be interested in your products. With Ecwid, you can get data from TikTok Pixel to analyze your ad performance and adjust your ads to ensure your products are displayed to the right people.

Advertising on TikTok is available for sellers in all countries supported by TikTok. So what are you waiting for?

Advertise on TikTok

If you need help connecting your store to TikTok or want to learn more about advertising on the app, our detailed Help Center instructions will definitely come in handy.

Start Selling and Advertising on TikTok

Besides being the world’s fastest-growing social media platform, TikTok is a fantastic way to connect with potential customers in a fun and natural way.

With thoughtfully targeted ads and built-in shopping, you can reach both new and loyal customers right where they love to spend time (because, let’s face it, once you start scrolling, it’s tough to stop).

Sign up for Ecwid to create an online store and connect it to TikTok to showcase your products to a large and diverse audience.

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Nov 27, 2024

About the author

Anastasia Prokofieva is a content writer at Ecwid. She writes about online marketing and promotion to make entrepreneurs’ daily routine easier and more rewarding. She also has a soft spot for cats, chocolate, and making kombucha at home.