Even if you are yet to post even a single video of you shaking your booty on TikTok, if you have a professional account you will have received some marketing on TikTok Shop. But what is it and should you be using it?
What is TikTok Shop?
According to the brand: “TikTok Shop is an innovative shopping feature which enables merchants to sell products directly on TikTok through in-feed videos, LIVES, and in-app product category.”
Innovative? That seems like a bit of a stretch since nearly every other social platform already offers multiple shopping features including within videos, and the ‘shop’ (aka in-app product category) looks exactly the same as Meta’s shopping option on Facebook and Instagram. OK, so we’re splitting hairs, the innovation is that there are different kinds of sellers.
You can either be a merchant OR an affiliate, where you earn a commission by listing merchants’ products via links in your videos, LIVEs or showcase. Now we’re getting somewhere, let’s look at the details:
What kind of business can sell on TikTok?
Straight from the brand’s mouth: “TikTok Shop UK supports a wide range of products from Clothing & Accessories, Beauty & Beauty tools, Home & Living, to Books, Electronics, Pet, and Sports, etc.”
So, basically physical products! No digital downloads, services or courses as yet.
How much does it cost?
Like the other social selling options, merchants can set up their shop on TikTok for free, and there are no subscription or product listing fees. You will however pay a commission to TikTok. At the time of writing this is 1.8% for the first 90 days of a product being listed, and 5% after that.
Affiliates don’t pay anything, they just earn. To become an affiliate you must:
- Be over 18
- Have over 1,000 followers
- Have posted a video in the last 28 days.
Should I do it?
There are pros and cons but if you are a retail business, it is definitely a route you should be looking into. The tag #tiktokmademebuyit is trending daily with billions of posts relating to it! If you need support with this, or any other aspect of selling online, get in touch.
