Even before the launch of TikTok Shop in 2023, TikTok was already a social commerce powerhouse and an impulse purchase haven. With the launch of the eCommerce feature, TikTok Shop, the businesses selling on the platform started reporting remarkable figures and the sales have been growing ever since. TikTok Shop is part of the full suite of eCommerce solutions on the platform, allowing all steps from discovery to checkout to be completed within the same app. And what’s best, its powerful features can be further amplified thanks to a fully integrated ad experience, powered by Shop Ads. Read on to find out more.
What Are TikTok Shop Ads?
TikTok Shop Ads are a specialized advertising solution available to businesses with a TikTok Shop. By selecting the Product Sales objective in TikTok Ads Manager, you can create these ads, which leverage products directly from your Shop, Showcase, or Catalog.
TikTok Shop Ads are designed to be highly customizable. This allows businesses to optimize them for the actions that matter most to your business—be it driving sales, increasing product visibility, or engaging potential customers. These ads seamlessly integrate with TikTok’s platform to create a dynamic shopping experience that connects users directly to your products.
Why Use TikTok Shop Ads with Your TikTok Shop Account?
TikTok Shop and TikTok Shop Ads are powerful tools in their own right. However, when combined, they can maximize your revenue potential by driving Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) growth, reaching a wider audience, and boosting your business’s overall performance on TikTok. Using Shop Ads with your TikTok Shop can help you:
– Drive GMV growth: TikTok Shop Ads bring new traffic to your Shop and LIVE events, ensuring your products get more visibility. This increase in traffic directly correlates to higher GMV, providing a solid foundation for sustained growth.
– Reach a wider audience: TikTok Shop Ads amplify your reach, putting your products in front of users who may not have encountered your content organically. This is crucial for expanding your customer base and ensuring that your brand message reaches the right audience at the right time.
– Get discovered by potential affiliates: Affiliates are constantly on the lookout for high-performing products to promote. By using TikTok Shop Ads, you increase your chances of being noticed by these affiliates, which can lead to additional sales through their promotional efforts, via the TikTok Shop Affiliate Program.
Furthermore, driving ads to your TikTok Shop is a strategic decision that offers several unique advantages:
– A frictionless shopping experience: TikTok Shop Ads provide a smooth, end-to-end shopping experience for customers. From discovery to checkout, everything happens within the app. The chances of cart abandonment are improved and the user experience is enhanced.
– Unprecedented accuracy in measurement: Since conversions happen directly on TikTok, there’s no signal loss, making measurement more accurate than ever. This ensures a solid grasp of your ad performance so that you can optimize accordingly. Also, unlike traditional eCommerce platforms, TikTok’s integrated ecosystem means that you don’t need to worry about complex pixel implementations. This simplifies the process and ensures a seamless experience from ad creation to conversion tracking.
– New shoppable surfaces: TikTok is constantly evolving, offering new shoppable surfaces that capture users at different stages of their purchase journey. This makes your products always visible and accessible to potential buyers. A TikTok Shop Ad Agency can help you realize this potential.
Combining Features of TikTok Shop and TikTok Shop Ads
TikTok Shop offers several organic formats that allow you to sell and showcase your products effectively:
– Store Page: A dedicated space for your products, allowing users to browse your entire catalog.
– Product Links on Shoppable Videos: You can integrate product links directly into your videos, making it easy for viewers to purchase what they see.
– Shop Tab: A convenient tab that displays all your shoppable content in one place.
– LIVE Shopping: A whole new level of brand-consumer engagement that allows businesses to engage with their audience in real-time and drive immediate sales through LIVE Shopping events.
On the other hand, TikTok Shop Ads offer paid advertising options that complement the organic formats:
– Video Shopping Ads (VSA): A hyper-relevant, smart video format that appears across the For You Page (FYP). VSA drives sales and traffic through native, in-feed experiences with seamless checkout capabilities.
– LIVE Shopping Ads: Designed to drive engagement from the FYP, these ads amplify user reach, visibility, and ad efficiency during LIVE events. LIVE shopping reaches the users when they’re already engaged and significantly cuts down the journey from inspiration to purchase.
– Product Shopping Ads: These allow brands to showcase individual products in a way that is tailored to users’ purchase journeys, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
The combination of organic formats and TikTok Shop Ads encompasses the full TikTok Shop eCommerce potential. When used together, these tools significantly elevate your shop’s performance. For one, they provide increased brand recall: users who see ads after engaging with organic content are more likely to remember your brand, which means higher engagement and conversions. Furthermore, the integration of organic and paid content increases the attention your ads receive, making them more effective in driving sales.
Main Benefits of TikTok Shop Ads
Campaigns that combine LIVE Shopping Ads and Video Shopping Ads see a substantial uplift in GMV. This trend is consistent across all categories, proving the effectiveness of a holistic approach that leverages the full suite of TikTok Shop tools. This effect is not just immediate. Shops using the full eCommerce suite on TikTok, including Shop Ads, experience a faster increase in monthly total GMV. This is due to the platform’s ability to capture and engage users at every stage of their purchase journey, leading to sustained growth.
TikTok Shop Ads offer several key benefits that make them a must-have for any business:
– Better ROAS: With all conversions happening on the platform and no signal loss, TikTok Shop Ads deliver higher Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) and lower Cost Per Acquisition (CPA).
– Accurate Measurement: Compared to traditional direct response campaigns, TikTok Shop Ads provide more accurate measurement, as conversions can be directly attributed to an ad.
– Frictionless Shopping Experience: TikTok Shop Ads offer a seamless, end-to-end shopping experience, ensuring that users can discover, engage with, and purchase products without leaving the app.
Exploring TikTok Shop Ads Formats
The two main TikTok Shop Ads formats are Video Shopping Ads and LIVE Shopping Ads.
Video Shopping Ads (VSA)
These ads represent a hyper-relevant, smart video format that appears across the For You Page. They offer several key benefits:
– Driving Sales and Traffic: VSA creates a native, in-feed experience that feels organic and leads to seamless checkout without users leaving the app.
– Precise and Easy Measurement: With no signal loss, sellers can easily measure the impact of their ads and optimize accordingly.
– Rich Customization Features: Sellers can tailor the ads to meet their marketing needs, ensuring they resonate with the target audience.
– Targeting Users Across Their Purchase Journey: VSA reach users at different stages of their purchase journey, increasing the likelihood of conversion.
LIVE Shopping Ads (LSA)
These ads are designed to drive engagement from the For You Page and offer several advantages:
– Amplified User Reach: Increase your visibility and ad efficiency by engaging users in real-time during LIVE events.
– Rich Optimization Goals: Adjust your ads to target users at different stages of the funnel, ensuring maximum impact.
– Flexible Content Formats: Choose the content formats that best fit your marketing needs, allowing for a tailored approach to every campaign.
When Is a Business Ready for TikTok Shop Ads?
TikTok Shop Ads can benefit shops at any stage of their journey:
New Shops: For businesses that have just uploaded their first product(s), Shop Ads help generate the first sale and set the stage for future growth.
Shops in Probation Period: If your shop is still in the probation period (the initial stage in which product uploads and orders are limited), Shop Ads can help you reach the required sales record to exit this stage and continue scaling.
Shops with Established Catalogs: For businesses with a maximized product catalog, Shop Ads can help you get discovered by more users and identify products with the highest audience synergy.
Shops with Shoppable or Affiliate Videos: Boost content that’s already performing well organically with Shop Ads to further increase sales.
Wrapping It Up
TikTok Shop Ads represent a simple, effective solution to fuel your business growth on TikTok. Whether you’re just starting or already have an established presence, Shop Ads offer a powerful way to drive sales, reach new audiences, and optimize your overall performance on the platform.
Ready to take your TikTok Shop to the next level? Reach out to GrowMojo, a certified TikTok Shop partner, to maximize the potential of TikTok Shop Ads and achieve your business goals.
