TikTok is the fastest-developing app nowadays. Its audience is vast. In the Philippines, the potential reach of ads is 35.96 million.[1] Expect its content ecology to be diverse. The latest among Tik Tok innovations: The TikTok Shop.
With this shopping platform, you can be a content creator and an online seller at the same time. Brands now have direct reach to Tik Tok viewers which consist of 47.3% of total Filipino internet users.[2]
Be a TikTok Seller PH. Sell your product or promote your talent — directly through Tik Tok while providing entertaining content. Let us look into this new shopping platform and look closely at what it can do. This article will guide you to starting your path toward success as a TikTok Seller in the Philippines.
Why TikTok?
In 2022, ads posted in TikTok PH reached 49.4% of the population aged 18 and above. [3]. That’s 44.4 million TikTok users in the Philippines [4]. This short video format platform is undeniably a cultural phenomenon in itself. The diversity of content niches is a good sign leading to a potential thriving community around your brand.
TikTok shop provides several tracks to gain leverage across audiences and create conversions. Become viral. Collaborate with TikTok Creators. Get the boost you need with TikTok ads.
As a TikTok Seller PH, creativity and a knack for trends are plus attributes. Ride the wave — join the TikTok Shop campaigns. Be creative in response to a trending hashtag or challenge. The platform seamlessly merges ads with organic content. Become viral and see your business grow.
On the logistics and marketing side, Tik Tok Shop provides ease of transaction. As of present, TikTok is providing limited-time offers — giving away shipping and new user discounts. Enjoy qualified transactions, without any commission or transaction fees. With the help of a Business Account and Analytics, you’ll have a clear vantage point of your brand development.
Success as a TikTok Seller in the PH
The success of your TikTok Shop brand will largely rely on your creativity. That means you have to be a prolific content maker. Quantity is primary in the TikTok algorithm. Quality will make you stand out, however. The goal is to be authentic. Authenticity is what attracts real people intent on patronizing your brand.
Authenticity comes from doing what you want. Passion breeds inspiration. With that said, you don’t have to look very far in terms of finding a niche for your brand. Start with what you are experienced, knowledgeable, and passionate about. Thinking and making content will never be a chore in moving forward.
An effective Tik Tok seller creates a graceful balance between product promotion and content creation. Content should pique interest and build a following while avoiding ending up a hard sell. It will be slow at the start. But consistency is the key to gaining traction.
Setting up your Tik Tok Shop
Setting up shop for a Tik Tok Seller in the PH is easy. You can use your existing Tik Tok account — or you can create a dedicated account.
Do these easy steps:
- Go to Tik Tok Seller PH Center — https://seller-ph.TikTok.com — this link is dedicated to the Philippine Market business registration. That means your account is operating in the Philippines alone. Note that if you’re using a Creator Tik Tok Account, you’ll need a minimum of a thousand followers.
- Contact information. Provide an accessible and working phone number and email address. These contact info are primarily used as a security measure in case of any account lockouts. In other words, Tik Tok will, from time to time, ask to make sure it is you who’ll open the account.
- Identity Verification. TikTok Shop will ask to have your business information verified.
- For Individual Identification, you’ll need a scanned copy of any of these government-provided IDs:
- Driver’s License
- Passport
- PhilSys National ID
- PhilPost ID (Postal ID)
- Tax Identification Number (TIN)
- Unified Multi-Purpose ID
- Voter’s ID
- As for Corporate Identification, prepare a scanned copy of either SEC or DTI business registration certificate.
- For Individual Identification, you’ll need a scanned copy of any of these government-provided IDs:
NOTE: Make sure that you provide the correct documents. Uploads of all necessary information are irreversible. This info will be visible in your seller profile.
- Add your very first product! You’ll be asked to set up your shop first. Provide an address of the preferred pick-up point or warehouse. They’ll also ask for a phone number for better efficient coordination. You can opt for a return address that can be the same as the pick-up point or a different address if you prefer.
- Set your payment preferences. Open the Payments tab by clicking on “My Account” then Seller Profile.
Take Advantage of Tik Tok Shop Features to Increase Your Sales —
Widen your market and optimize your brand. In turn, Tik Tok provides the seller with features that will accelerate your revenue stream. In the process, there are appropriate approaches that will work best. Early on in your Tik Tok seller path, you’ll work your way from the ground up. Soon enough, you can work your way toward collaboration with Tik Tok influencers.
Effective captioning complements great content. Make it short but effective. Provide a tag that leads your viewers straight to your featured product. It is an instant free advertisement. No matter what the content is, your top products are featured.
Your profile is virtually your e-commerce storefront. No one likes a chaotic store display. Yours should navigate the visitor’s attention to the products. Also, photos should be clear. Using filters and catchy tunes that are in tune with your overall branding will always attract attention to your videos.
Take advantage of trends. It is crucial to keep yourself updated with the latest viral trends. They could be filters, music, or hashtags. Participating in trends will likely put your brand on the For You algorithm of your target market. The challenge is for your brand to respond to these trends while maintaining brand consistency.
Pretty soon, your brand will find itself on many For You pages and will attract more followers. At this point, jumpstart a trend on your end. Create hashtags that will build attention around your provided traffic while engaging with those that are viral in the community.
Collaborate with Tik Tok Influencers. Get the leverage your brand needs with the help of content creators. There is a diversity of influencers as there is a diversity of interests in the social media platform. They can build a community around your products.
As with searching and carving out a niche, you’ll need to know what type of influencer you are searching for. Having someone to promote your brand should be properly compensated — it is a collaboration after all. Given that, you have to think strategically to maximize the following of your preferred influencer. It might be x-deals or perks for the influencer. It may also be in the form of monetary compensation.
Influencers can be categorized by their follower size. Nano-influencers reach 10K followers or less while mega-influencers have more than a million followers. The more popular the influencer, the more you have to prepare a budget.
Nonetheless, collaboration with nano to micro-influencers could work given that they are well respected in their niches. In this perspective, the influencer’s advocacies and interests should be relevant to your own. Moreover, resonance is also key. It would be way easier if the influencer and its followers resonate with your brand.
Tag items in videos. TikTok makes it seamlessly easy for a seller to promote products through its native content. You can link products organically in the videos which lead directly to the products you are featuring. All you need to do is to set up your shop tab. Buyers won’t have to leave the platform to buy your stuff.
With Tik Tok LIVE shopping you can reach out to your buyers in real-time. As you are streaming live, it is possible to share dynamic links to your products and services. Each session provides a unique shopping experience where discovery drives conversion.
The Tik Tok algorithm fosters virality through a democratic mode of trendsetting. Great content is picked up by an increasing population of users. From there, organic traffic around topics, interests, or niches will form.
User-generated content (UGC) is from customers making content about a specific brand. In other words, an organic ad made by your client for your brand, for free. This is a big nod to brand authenticity. It is a solid way of ensuring conversion. Put it this way: a community trusts your brand. Moreover, it is a cost-effective marketing strategy. You can skip over the option of working with an influencer this way. Jumpstart a UGC. Make it a challenge or maybe a meme.
Utilizing the Capabilities of TikTok Ads
Brands can also be promoted through ads. All you need to do is to set up a TikTok Ads account. It works as a management tool that automatically produces and distributes optimal ads.
Setting Up TikTok Ads. Create an account on the TikTok Ads Manager. This is something you’ll have to do on a desktop browser. Go to ads.TikTok.com. Choose your billing country or region and whether the account is for business or individual purposes. Click on Next and then input an email and password. You can opt to sign up with a phone number. Enter the verification code that is sent to you and then agree to the terms and conditions.
Install TikTok Pixel. After you have set up your shop, download TikTok Pixel. This piece of code provides metrics for events, sales, and visitor activity. It gives one a bird’s eye view in terms of ad performance and conversion to sale. Here, stats on views, the user follows, add to cart, etc. are based on a defined event. Another great feature is that it can determine the most suitable audience that is likely to participate in your ads.
Start A Campaign! Click the Create button under the Campaigns tab. Choose your campaign objective. You can choose whether it’s for app installs, conversions, or traffic. Provide a name and then set a budget minimum. The daily budget option provides a steady and gradual manner of reaching users. Opt for a lifetime budget if you want your reach to be quick and sweeping.
Make an Ad Group. With an ad group, you can build your particular strategy by determining ad bids, audiences, budgets, goals, and placements schedules. Below is a step-by-step guideline for making an ad group:
- Determine where your ad will appear on TikTok. You can do this manually under ad placement. You can also let the app’s algorithm choose this for you through automatic placements. This works by optimizing ads on various placements to achieve your campaign objective. The automated creative option will create variations of your creative assets to shell out the best combinations.
- Determine your target audience. You’ll choose between Custom Audience and Lookalike Audience. Narrow your target down by employing demographics like gender, age, location, and language. Be more specific with additional demographics on user behavior and interests, operating system, mobile service provider, and even device price.
Using the Custom Audience option will target people that are already engaged with your brand. The scope of engagement includes user activities like signing up, activation, or purchase among others. It also uses traffic indications like views, clicks, or purchases. Impressions — people that have seen your app — are also used as a basis.
- Set a delivery type. This determines how your ad will appear on user accounts. Opt for Standard Delivery to have your ad appear during times of high traffic. Meanwhile, Accelerated Delivery will bring your ad to the most number of people as fast as possible.
Creating your first ad. Creating your very first ad is basically like posting your content. Follow the steps below and you’ll have an ad in minutes
- Choose your ad name.
- Choose an ad format. TikTok provides recommended ad specs for the best result across platforms and partners. Make sure your content follows formatting guidelines to ensure engagement generation.
- Provide ad details. Here you can upload fresh videos from your files or utilize a previous ad. Choose between Use Video Template or Smart Video. Then, provide a cover photo by choosing a video thumbnail. Provide all the relevant text and link for your goal. Review your post with Preview Your Ad before posting.
- Measure performance. Don’t leave your ad hanging after posting. Measure how well your campaign is through TikTok’s native analytics. It provides information on impressions, clicks, and conversion among others.
Becoming a TikTok Seller can be challenging at first. It can’t be blamed since TikTok Seller PH is considerably uncharted territory. Nonetheless, it can be as intuitive with the more familiar social media selling platforms like Facebook and Instagram. However, once you get the hang of it, the TikTok selling platform will serve your brand well. Just always remember to bring your passion up front while, at the same time, keeping things simple and close to your goal.
