TikTok Shopping Ads: What they are and how they work

TikTok Shopping is proof that social networks are no longer just for socializing, but have also become tools capable of increasing sales.

Among the latest additions are TikTok Shopping Ads, an option for brands that will now also have the possibility to boost their online shopping campaigns on the platform.

On TikTok, brands have the possibility to develop campaigns that generate greater engagement with their audiences.  It is an ideal tool to convey the message in an original, fun and entertaining way thanks to the different tools it offers, as in this case, TikTok Shopping Ads.  With the TikTok shop seller center, you will be able to create TikTok campaigns for your e-commerce achieving a  worldwide reach.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• What is TikTok Shopping?
• How to set up TikTok Shopping to TikTok Ads account
• Introduction to TikTok Shopping Ads
• Shopping Ads Formats
• Benefits of using TikTok Shopping Ads

What is TikTok Shopping?

TikTok has managed to have more than 1.218 million monthly active users and in 2023 was one of the most downloaded apps, so brands have seen an opportunity on the platform to sell their products or services. And that's where TikTok Shopping comes in.
TikTok Shopping is the platform's new shopping feature that allows brands and influencers to sell products directly from TikTok, through product showcase tabs, live streams and in-feed videos. Advertisers can add a shopping tab to their profiles and can sync their product catalogues with the app to create a direct link to their online shop.
This new feature of the platform makes it easier for users to purchase products as they can buy them directly without the need to leave the app.

How to set up TikTok Shopping to TikTok Ads account

To set up TikTok Shopping in your TikTok Ads account, there are two options. The first is from the TikTok Seller Center which allows you to connect one or more Shopping Ads accounts by following these steps:

1. Connect your Business Center

2. Connect to your Ads Manager account

3. Connect to your TikTok Shop and TikTok account

4. Create and publish your ads

The second option is from the Business Center. It requests access to one or more TikTok Shops by following these steps:

1. Request access to the TikTok Shop from the Business Center.

2. Resend the request from the Business Center if necessary.

3. Seller approves the request in the Seller Center

4. Manage TikTok Shop permissions in the Business Center

Introduction to TikTok Shopping Ads

TikTok Shopping Ads allows brands to interact in a meaningful way with their customers by offering them solutions, TikTok shopping features, and tools to boost their online sales. In addition to TikTok's videos that allow showing the content of e-commerce, there is also the option to activate a tab in the brand's profile where all its products can be displayed. Before starting with this tool, you must be clear about creating a TikTok store to offer your products to users.

The main objective of these new tools is to increase sales and increase the visibility of the ads on the platform, through three new types of formats that can be combined.

With the creative features offered by TikTok, brands can create content for their e-commerce campaigns natively and naturally that impacts people with high purchase intent while using the application. 

In addition, the platform features TikTok Shopping Shopify, which allows you to create ads, track all results and manage orders for all campaigns. 

What formats are available in Shopping Ads campaigns?

Shopping Ads include three types of ads: video shopping (Video Shopping Ads), catalog listings (Catalog Listing Ads), and live shopping (LIVE Shopping Ads). These allow users to highlight one or more products in video ads in the "For You" feed. To allow users to buy your products directly, you need to know how to add the buy now button on TikTok to include it in your videos to direct the user to the TikTok shopping cart.

• Video Shopping Ads

This format enables shopping from in-feed video ads. It allows brands to highlight one or more products with video ads in the TikTok feed. By ensuring that when a TikTok user sees your Video Shopping ad, they can search for products in your TikTok Shop by clicking on the product card or the anchored link and get to the shop to complete the purchase.

The advertiser chooses hyper-relevant and easy-to-understand videos on the "For You" page so that users can take a look at their products.

The main goal is to maximize the reach of product discovery and increase both purchase intent and conversions.

To create Video Shopping Ads, you must follow these steps:

Step 1: Create a new campaign from TikTok Ads Manager.

Step 2: Set up an ad group: Select Video Shopping Ads as ad type.

Step 3: Create your ads.

• Catalog Listing Ads

This second ad format combines the platform's algorithm recommendations and the power of the advertiser's channel products to create and display product-focused ads to TikTok shoppers. 

It is based on the product catalog and no video assets are required. It helps to better connect users with your products, through shopper-enabled experiences. 

The goal of this ad is to be able to showcase your products and push them to prominent positions to improve performance and sales. It also helps to easily extend the reach of your products to those users most likely to buy.

• LIVE Shopping Ads

This last ad format helps TikTok users to discover and view LIVE videos, and then search for and purchase products from e-commerce.

Benefits of using TikTok Shopping Ads

No doubt selling products from social networks offers great benefits for brands. Below, we explain the different benefits of TikTok Shopping Ads: 

• Simplify the shopping experience: access three new ad formats through the product sales objective in TikTok Ads Manager.

• Unlock the full potential of your catalog: Scale your product catalog with new formats to capture new shopping trends on TikTok,  like LIVE and more placements on TikTok beyond the For You page.

• Meet shoppers wherever they are in the buying journey: Reach the audiences most likely to convert with fully automated creative features and smarter, more advanced technology.

• Increased performance and optimization opportunities: TikTok Video Shopping Ads incorporate new features for TikTok Shop merchants to maximize their performance.