Here’s How TikTok Shop Is Helping Emerging Entrepreneurs

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TikTok is helping more than just influencers gain reach and keep people on trend, they’re also helping brands and businesses to flourish online through their social commerce, which is the new method of online shopping.

Move along e-commerce, social commerce is coming your way!

As part of the one-year anniversary of TikTok Shop, they’re celebrating it by sharing their game-changing impact on the business industry.

By offering local businesses and entrepreneurs a chance to showcase their products to a wider audience, TikTok Shop has disrupted the traditional mode of e-commerce, empowering small businesses and helping them reach new customers.

In an exclusive interview, TikTok Shop and Zucca told TRP how a trailblazing local fashion brand is successfully handling its operation well by using TikTok Shop.

They also gave online business tips and tricks shared by Wilson Leong, FMCG Category Director of TikTok Shop Malaysia as well as Gary Ng, Co-Founder of Zucca Commerce.

TikTok Shop says, “It’s all about creativity”

Wilson Leong, FMCG Category Director of TikTok Shop Malaysia, says creators know what is the best way to resonate with their audiences.

1. What services does TikTok Shop provide to brands so that they can increase their sales by using TikTok Shop?

TikTok Shop provides a suite of e-commerce solutions for sellers to increase orders, sales performance, and video views, and help businesses thrive by selling directly through their TikTok accounts. It offers unique experiences for shoppers to discover and purchase products through in-feed videos, live streams, and creator products without leaving the TikTok app.

We believe that this combination of shopping and entertainment, which we refer to as “shoppertainment” – where the shopper can be entertained, buy and sell all at once – is the future of e-commerce.

TikTok Shop also holds campaigns and sales promotions to incentivise buyers and merchants, for example, we recently partnered with StarVendors to bolster, support, and drive the growth of local SMEs, by launching the Mega Raya Fest 2023 to showcase our first-ever LIVE selling that sellers will carry out in a physical event setting. For the buyers on TikTok Shop, they will be able to see the sellers in action for themselves, and can even purchase the products through the LIVE sessions on the spot.

2. Can any brands truly increase their revenue and customer engagement by creating popular TikTok videos?

Yes, creating popular TikTok videos can definitely increase a brand’s revenue and customer engagement, especially among younger demographics. Brands that create entertaining, engaging, and relevant content on TikTok have the potential to reach millions of users and build a loyal following.

Besides, with our Shoppable Video launched, which can provide our buyers with a seamless user experience from influencer content to online stores, where one can be entertained and purchase their necessities all in one place. It allows sellers to promote their products and services creatively and attract their audiences in ways that could not have been possible before.

Video content will still remain the key approach in shoppertainment, live video streaming is gaining in popularity and shows no signs of slowing down too. Personalised and targeted content will continue to be an effective tool. Overall, if a brand invests in creating engaging and relevant TikTok videos, it will have a strong chance of increasing its revenue and customer engagement on the platform.

3. What are the greatest strategies for using TikTok Shop to market products?

Again, creating engaging and creative content is very important as TikTok is all about creativity and entertainment, so it’s important to create content that resonates with your target audience. You can even utilise trending hashtags and music to make your videos stand out as trends play a big role on TikTok, participating in popular trends can really help increase the visibility of your content.

Besides, creators or livestream hosts on TikTok have large followings and can help you reach a wider audience. Identify influencers in your industry and collaborate with them to create sponsored content that promotes your products.

Oftentimes, creators know what is the best way to resonate with their audiences and they might also be able to reach the potential customers that you have never reached out to, so it’s important to tap into this area and allow the creators to engage with your audience to build relationships and increase loyalty.

Besides that, we regularly offer seasonal or limited-time campaigns along with specific hashtags where brands can create their content and tag the specific hashtags to increase their brands’ visibility and engagement on the platform. For example, we recently concluded our #TikTokShopBazaarRamadan and #TikTokShopBazaarRaya hashtag challenge, during the campaign period, we incentivise buyers with benefits like cash vouchers, rewards, and offers from participating stores.

Lastly, make sure to take advantage of our available features such as Shoppable Videos and Product Category. Recently, we even launched the Shopping Centre for users to find more product options and help merchants better manage orders within TikTok Shop. It makes shopping easy and convenient by streamlining consumers’ shopping flow, where they can directly access anything related to shopping activities in one tab.

4. Where does TikTok Shop expect to be in the next 5 years?

We are committed to our continuous efforts to grow within the Malaysian market and supporting SMEs and entrepreneurs that are looking for an opportunity to grow or start their businesses online.

We will also continue to work closely with the government to carry out initiatives that aim to grow the local economy. For example, we partnered with MDEC last year for their DE Dagang initiative, which seeks to help Malaysian businesses in the sectors of Tourism & Craft, Halal & Agriculture, and Export (Malaysian-made products & Malaysian brands) to leverage digital platforms for their growth.

Zucca Commerce says 35% of monthly sales are repeat customers

Gary Ng, Co-Founder of Zucca Commerce, says when a product aligns with the market trend, it can attract a massive amount of attention and interest from potential customers.

1. In your experience as a seller, can any brands truly increase their revenue and customer engagement by creating popular TikTok videos?

I can say that TikTok videos have the potential to increase revenue and customer engagement for brands that use them effectively. In my opinion, it all comes down to creating fun and engaging content that resonates with TikTok’s young, tech-savvy audience. By leveraging popular TikTok trends and working with influencers who have a large following on the platform, we have been able to reach a wider audience and increase our sales.

However, I also believe that it’s important for brands to approach TikTok marketing with a clear strategy in mind. Simply creating a video that gains traction once does not guarantee long-term success, and brands need to have a solid plan in place for how they will continue to engage with their TikTok audience and drive sales over time.

Overall, I would say that TikTok has the potential to be a powerful tool for brands looking to increase their revenue and customer engagement, but it needs to be used strategically and creatively to be effective.

2. Can a seller’s business actually expand if their product becomes viral?

A business can expand significantly if its product is aligned with current trends. At Zucca, we have seen firsthand the impact that a hot-selling product can have on our business.

When a product aligns with the market trend, it can attract a massive amount of attention and interest from potential customers. This increased exposure can lead to a surge in sales and revenue, as well as a significant increase in brand awareness.

However, it’s important to note that trends and consumers’ demands are often unpredictable. Again, sellers need to have a clear strategy in mind and make a consistent effort and investment to maintain business performance.

3. What are your greatest strategies for using TikTok Shop to market your products?

One of our strategies aside from creating engaging content, is to leverage the influence of popular creators. With that, we are able to reach a wider audience and build brand awareness in a short amount of time. We recognise the importance of maintaining the authenticity and native essence of our content.

Therefore, we also invest heavily in content production to showcase the quality of our products and enhance our brand equity. An example is that we often showcase our products with talents or models as we believe that by providing our audience with practical and valuable information about our products, for example showing the clothing on an actual human body, we are able to build trust and establish ourselves as a reputable brand in the eyes of our customers.

4. How do you (ZUCCA) evaluate success in TikTok Shop compared to other platforms?

At ZUCCA, we evaluate success in TikTok Shop by examining the level of customer engagement and retention rates on the platform compared to other platforms. One of the key differences between TikTok Shop and other platforms is that it provides us with a direct channel of communication with our customers.

This allows us to address customer concerns and queries in real-time, for example, the feedback we received from our live streams has helped us in making informed decisions and reducing guesswork when it comes to improving our products and services which has resulted in a higher retention rate compared to other platforms.

In fact, 35% of our monthly sales are generated from repeat customers. Overall, we believe that our success on TikTok Shop is driven by our ability to connect with our customers and address their needs in a timely and effective manner.

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All in all, it looks like small or medium businesses can actually make it big if they advertise their products on a social commerce platform. It just takes time, hard work and perseverance.

Via TikTok Shop, sellers can sell their products there through an easy and navigatable product showcase profile tab, they can do LIVE streams to promote/auction their products and they can also do short entertaining videos (advertainment) to attract potential customers.

Not to mention, they may also utilize tons of other features on TikTok Shop to leverage their businesses. To start, just get familiar with their TikTok Shop Seller Centre and you’re good to go.

So much potential through just one tool: Social Media. And you thought TikTok was just a short video dancing app. Think again.

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