TikTok’s fame snowballed over the last few years, keeping its reign as the most popular app of 2019 and 2020. With more than one billion monthly active users and 2.6 billion downloads, TikTok is now more popular than any other social network, outranking media giants like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

From dancing videos targeted towards only teens to creative short video advertisement that appears “organic”, its becoming more apparent that TikToks innovative and seamless marketing strategy works. The reason behind Tik Toks fame and success lies in their ability to integrate marketing for consumers with companies without coming off “fake”.

The reason behind TikTok’s fame and success? The short video format allows room for unfettered creativity, which in turn appeals to a whole market of young internet-weaned consumers who have the ability to sniff out SponCon from a mile away. It’s exactly TikTok’s “organic,” unvarnished content that has allowed the platform to create a lucrative bridge between the consumer youth and companies.

A Highly Personalized… Shopping List?

TikTok’s secret sauce is its near-mind reading algorithms. Perfectly tailored to its users interest using their personal data, TikTok can curate a scarily accurate personalized feed that is so enticing, according to TikTok’s 2021 report, daily time spent on TikTok reaches to the extend of an average length of a movie.

But these algorithms do more than just predict the next dance video that pops up on your feed. It can also predict what you might like for Christmas. Around 47% of TikTokers say that they bought something they saw on TikTok. That’s nearly half. With over three billion views, #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt is one of the most popular hashtags on the platform. Instead of relying on traditional advertisements or influencers, everyday users giving their review and recommendation of their must-haves is becoming the new wave.

Two out of three TikTokers also reported they plan to spend more than USD $200 on gifts this year. A significant portion of these users, about 77%, say that they’re inspired by TikTok with gift ideas this year. With numbers like that, it’s no surprise retailers are climbing aboard the TikTok train.

Making It Easy to Shop

TikTok has become a go-to social e-commerce platform for Generation Z and Millennials. Maximizing on the live shopping trend, TikTok has made e-commerce shopping on the app incredibly streamlined and efficient.

TikTok Shopping offers the ability to link products in the short clips, allowing the viewers to click through the tagged products to purchase them effortlessly. They also offer three in-feed ad products for online shopping, such as: Collection Ads, Dynamic Showcase Ads (DSAs), and Lead Generation. The Collection Ads feature allows brands and retailers to include swipeable product cards in their videos, while the Dynamic Showcase Ads feature helps brands promote products with personalized video ads. With Lead Generation, brands can easily collect user information through online forms.

TikTok is no longer an app for pure, short-lived entertainment, it’s innovating the way e-commerce sites make conversions. And other e-commerce retailers are paying attention. Recently, Amazon launched a “Latest to Go Viral” product page that showcases products that are hot on, you guessed it, TikTok.

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