TikTok’s E-Commerce Venture: What This Means for Businesses

Since becoming available globally back in 2018, TikTok has gone from strength to strength in the world of social media. 

In 2021, it was the most downloaded app not just in the social media category but across the board, with a huge 656 million total downloads. Overall, it has been downloaded more than 3 billion times—the first non-Facebook app to achieve this figure.

Indeed, it is the new powerhouse social media platform. So how can you effectively utilise TikTok for your business?

Is TikTok for small business or large companies?

Because TikTok is constantly pushing innovative features on its platform, you’ll find that you’re able to use TikTok for companies, small businesses and everything in between.

Over the past year, Shopify partnered up with TikTok for e-commerce advancement. In essence, this partnership quickly arose due to a demand by e-commerce businesses who recognised TikTok as a massive marketing opportunity – where short product ads can be served to the large consumer base already on the app.. DHL has also partnered with Shopify to allow those who sell on this platform to integrate an API feature, a DHL plugin, linking them to DHL Express’ suite of services. This integration makes it possible for Shopify’s 1.7 million active merchants to serve consumers in over 175 countries globally. Additionally, through this integration, all shipping information – order details, tracking information, and customer data – can be readily accessed via Shopify.

Examples of e-commerce businesses succeeding with Tiktok

There are many different brands around the world that have begun to use TikTok for e-commerce purposes. Here are just some fantastic examples of e-commerce businesses on TikTok seeing sensational results.

1. Gymshark

British fitness clothing company Gymshark realised that while they had wanted to angle their brand message advocating for exercising and eating a clean diet to maintain a healthy lifestyle, they may alienate some of their target audience with this approach.

Instead, they decided to take a more tongue-in-cheek approach to their content which has amassed them a following of 3.4 million people and counting. 

On top of that, Gymshark also partnered with DHL Express, optimising their international market with DHL express delivery options, seeing an impressive 210% increase in year-on-year sales.

2. Fenty Beauty

Moving away from humour and into the tutorial territory temporarily, DHL Partner Fenty Beauty has seen a sensational slew of success posting makeup tutorials galore. 

Through this focus on sharing factual contents, Rihanna’s makeup brand now has 1.1 million followers and a massive 16.9 million total likes across all the videos.

Top TikTok tips for every e-commerce business

• Be authentic: People can sense when something feels manufactured and fake. You know your business best, so show it in its bare-bones version, because “behind-the-scenes” content is what makes it authentic and relatable.

• Get to the point: You have to get their attention immediately, or nobody’s going to stick around to watch the rest of the TikTok video. 

• Choose one approach and stick to it: Whether you want to go for content on the comedic side or you’d prefer a more technical/factual approach in your messaging, choose one. Don’t convolute your brand personality by mixing your tone—you’ll cloud your message.

• Don’t just dive right in: Without a proper understanding of the content that’s on Tiktok, you’re in danger of creating an out-and-out commercial (which may not resonate so well with target audiences). Spend time watching the hottest-trending content to better understand the overarching culture of the platform.

So there you have it. Everything you need to know about e-commerce on Tiktok, for companies and small businesses alike. Now it’s time to get out there and take advantage of the biggest social media platform with a top-notch content strategy.

Complete your TikTok e-commerce strategy on last mile delivery with DHL Express

Whatever social media strategy you choose to implement for your e-commerce business, ensuring you have the logistical means to address customer demand is key. Otherwise, having a strong following and high engagement level could backfire when customers are not satisfied with your delivery standards or inappropriate handling of shipments. This might result in them leaving negative reviews on your social media accounts, ultimately hurting your brand and your business.