TikTok has already made its impact on the social media landscape – now it’s changing the game for the e-commerce industry too.
According to Statista, from 131.5 million application installs in 2017 to 740 million installs in 2021, TikTok continues to dominate mobile application downloads across multiple mobile stores and devices. This has brought an enormous amount of attention to the platform’s demographics, which comprise all ages and nationalities but are predominantly from the Millennial, Generation Z, and Generation Alpha segments.
Whether you work for a multinational corporation or an independent mom-and-pop shop, it’s increasingly clear that having a TikTok account could help boost your audience engagement and sales. For small and medium businesses (SMBs) in particular, TikTok’s dedicated monetisation features such as TikTok for Business and its monetisation schemes could help break down traditional barriers to entry in the e-commerce space – making it possible for you to gain and retain new customers with ease.
1. TikTok’s minimal monetisation requirements
The most important way TikTok is equalising the e-commerce playing field for small businesses is through its comprehensive suite of free-of-charge business solutions. Upon creating a TikTok for Business account, users are granted access to free basic monetisation features including live-streaming, Shopify integration, and native link-outs to e-commerce sites or products.
TikTok even expanded its marketing services in New Zealand as recently as August 2021, when it launched the TikTok for Business Ads Manager platform. Through the platform, Kiwi SMBs can enjoy value-add functions such as integrated creative tools and video templates, flexible budget spending for improved cost management, and intelligent performance targeting to grow their audiences. A TikTok Business Account also grants you access to performance analytics, curated TikTok for Business guides on the Small Business Resource Center, and more, to help you boost your TikTok e-commerce sales. This removes costly barriers to growth that SMBs tend to face, allowing them to prioritise low overheads and flexible scalability while remaining competitive.
2. Easy-to-use approach to creator and influencer marketing
One of the key offerings in the TikTok for Business account suite is TikTok’s Creator Marketplace. The Creator Marketplace is one of the most powerful e-commerce tools for small businesses, and enables brands to find and connect with specific creators and creatives who can represent, build, and support your brand identity and voice. TikTok’s own studies even found that 62% of the platform’s users prefer TikTok-specific branded content made in partnership with influencers through the Creator Marketplace – giving this type of content a substantial edge over types of marketing and monetisation activities on TikTok.
The Creator Marketplace provides a direct way to connect, collaborate, and partner with creatives based on your unique business and budget goals. Integrated campaign management, reporting, and analytics tools streamline the influencer and creator marketing process, elevating TikTok from a simple social media application into an all-in-one e-commerce platform. A native Creator Marketplace API also allows you to feed the reporting data into your own external marketing platforms or analysis, helping you manage multiple end-to-end influencer marketing campaigns with ease.
Get ahead of the e-commerce game with TikTok for Business
Small businesses stand to benefit the most from TikTok’s native integration of e-commerce features into its TikTok for Business accounts. Through its all-in-one approach to digital marketing with minimal monetisation requirements, TikTok is enabling SMBs to build up organic and intuitive e-commerce strategies to develop their brand voice and boost sales.
Open a DHL Express account today to discover even more ways your small business can keep up with the latest e-commerce and logistics trends to stay ahead of the crowd. DHL Express is here to help your business grow with our suite of logistics solutions, industry insights, and express international last-mile delivery services.
