How to Sell on TikTok in 2023 (Beginners Guide)

If you’re looking for the best online selling sites or social media platforms with millions of potential customers for your brand, you would consider marketing and selling on TikTok.

This video-sharing social media app is among the most visited platforms globally, with more than 1.5 billion monthly active users by 2022.

The high number of active users on presents an opportunity to sell products and make money on TikTok. You can market your store by creating unique and branded content.

But before you sell on TikTok, you need to understand how the social media platform works. It will help you learn how to win multiple conversions and get qualified leads.

Average Number of Monthly Active Users on TikTok in 2022

Source: Digital Information World

How do you market a brand on TikTok? This guide will show you how to sell on TikTok. You’ll also learn how to set up a TikTok account and promote your brand on the platform.

Here are the things you’ll also learn about selling on TikTok.

  • Reasons to Sell Products on TikTok
  • How to Set up an Account in TikTok (Step-by-Step)
  • How to Sell Products on TikTok
  • How to Promote Your E-commerce Store on TikTok
  • How to Track and Analyze the Sales You Receive Through TikTok
  • How to Track TikTok Shopify Sales

Why Should You Sell Products on TikTok?

Tik Tok is a video-sharing social media platform where brands and influencers create engaging content to express their personalities and build brand awareness.

Over the years, Tik Tok has become one of the best platforms for influencer marketing and brand promotion. You can create content and share it with millions of people.

So, what are the reasons to sell products on TikTok?

How to Sell Products on TikTok for Business

Source: YouTube

TikTok is among the most visited social media accounts globally, providing a large market base for e-commerce businesses. You can reach out to millions of potential customers.

Even the people you don’t know will likely view your content on TikTok, unlike Facebook and Instagram with friends and channels you already know and follow.

TikTok is more engaging and ideal for selling or marketing products because of TikTok’s algorithm that focuses on keeping users on the platform for as long as possible.

Here are the other reasons to consider using TikTok for marketing and driving sales.

Your Videos Can Go Viral

6 Steps on How to Go Viral on TikTok

Source: Ignite Visibility

Over the past few years, many digital marketers have criticized Facebook’s algorithm that focuses on in feed videos from friends and family. Your content will reach people you already know.

With a TikTok feed, you can watch viral videos from people you don’t know or have never seen before. That means your short videos can go viral and engage as many people as possible, driving sales.

TikTok Users Buy What They See

Consumers always buy what they see. When you post regular videos of your product or use TikTok ads, the chances are that many people will see the products and buy them.

Research reveals that about half of TikTok users buy products from brands they see on the video-sharing App. Take advantage of product-based trends to increase sales.

The phrase “TikTok made me buy it” has become popular in marketing things on TikTok. It markets trending products that most TikTokers have seen and bought through TikTok.

TikTok Made Me Buy It Promotion

Source: TikTok

TikTok is Ideal for Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is becoming an increasingly popular digital marketing strategy on social media platforms. The global influencer marketing value has hit a record $13.8 billion.

Brands work with TikTok influencers to market their products and services on TikTok. That’s because people in the TikTok creator marketplace can reach out to millions of followers.

If you consider investing in influencer marketing, hire the right influencer to represent your brand. The good news is that you can find many influencer marketers on TikTok.

Average Engagement Rate for Influencers on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter

TikTok Integrates Perfectly With Instagram

You probably have an impressive social media presence on Instagram, and you want to integrate your Instagram bio on TikTok. Well, TikTok has features that allow users to link up to Instagram.

Use the link button to Instagram on your profile page on TikTok. It makes it easy for people to glimpse your Instagram account when browsing your TikTok bio.

You can post a TikTok video on your TikTok feed and also share it on your Instagram feed and stories. There’s an option for automatic sharing to make your work easy.

How to Set up an Account in TikTok (Step-by-Step)

Hashtags In TikTok Account Settings

Source: TikTok

Now that you’ve learned the benefits of using TikTok in digital marketing, you may wonder how to set up an account and start selling your products and services.

For marketing purposes, consider opening a TikTok business account. You’ll gain access to the latest TikTok marketing trends to become a professional marketer on TikTok.

The good thing about the business account on TikTok is that it provides a commercial music library for content creators marketing their businesses on the platform.

With the TikTok for business, you’ll access more than 500,000 songs, a web business suite, and performance and audience data.

So, how do you set up a TikTok profile for business?

Well, it’s a straightforward process with a few requirements. You can get started so long as you have a smartphone or laptop and an internet connection.

Here are the steps to follow when setting up a TikTok account for business.

Step 1: Register for a TikTok Account

Download a TikTok app from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store and create a new account. Go to your profile page for business account settings.

Step 2: Set Up the TikTok Account for Business

Signing Up to TikTok for Business for New Members

Source: TikTok

Navigate through the page to the “Me” button on the screen’s top right corner. Click the “Settings and Privacy” button and click the “Manage Account” option.

Next, tap the “Switch to Business Account” button, then select the category that suits your business. It can be clothing, electronics, beauty, education, pets, or baby products.

Product Categories on TikTok

Source: TikTok

Step 3: Optimize and Complete Your Profile

Pick social media usernames that match your brand, then upload a profile picture. You can use your logo as the profile photo to brand the TikTok bio.

Don’t forget to add a brief description of the brand and your website link to the link-in-bio box. The site link helps to drive traffic to your official website.

Optimizing Profile on TikTok for Business: Bio, Website, Email, and Category

Source: TikTok

Once you’ve optimized the TikTok for business, complete the setup process and start creating, uploading, and sharing relevant and helpful TikTok content.

Pro Tip: Remember to link your TikTok business account with your Instagram account to convert your followers across the two platforms.

How to Sell Products on TikTok

Selling products on TikTok should not be difficult now that you’ve created a TikTok for business. You need to pick the right products for your target market to achieve high sales.

Here are the tips to help you sell on TikTok.

Select the Products to Sell on Tiktok

What products do you plan to market and sell on your TikTok for business account?

As a TikTok creator, you must identify the products that sell faster on the video-sharing platform. You can evaluate the trending videos to get an idea of what sells quickly.

Alternatively, you can visit the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag challenge to get ideas of products that can sell faster on the social media platform.

You can also get inspiration from TikTok’s business success stories.

Success Stories and Inspiration on TikTok for Business

Source: TikTok Inspiration

Identify Your Niche and Target Audience

Most active TikTok users are teenagers, followed by people aged 20-29, then 30-39. This information can help you tailor your marketing strategies to suit your audience.

If your audience doesn’t use TikTok frequently, consider exploring other marketing strategies and platforms. For example, a lower percentage of seniors use TikTok frequently.

Once you identify your niche and target audience, check the videos posted and shared by marketers selling similar products. Learn their language and marketing strategies.

Create Relevant Content and Promote Your Products

Post a lot of content on TikTok to thrive your account and win more conversions.

Even if your primary objective is to increase sales, you don’t have to be too “promotional” or “salesy.” Otherwise, most TikTok active users will stay away from your videos.

Ensure that you are having fun as viewers can tell if you are authentic or stage-managing every act to promote your products. Don’t forget to add the product links.

You need to participate in TikTok trends and challenges while promoting your product on a low key. It can be a viral meme or dance crave.

You can use brand takeovers and promotional campaigns as TikTok offers many promotional opportunities. Such in feed ad campaigns encourage user generated content, improving brand awareness.

As a TikTok user, organizing a hashtag challenge can also encourage users to create user generated content and share them with others. Use sponsor branded hashtags.

Tag Your Video Content with Products

Adding Products to a TikTok Account for Business

The best way to sell items on TikTok is by tagging the products in your videos. You must do it correctly to engage and convert as many people as possible.

The good news is that you can use the TikTok Shopping feature to tag products on the videos with simple taps. This strategy will strengthen your brand takeover and awareness.

Sell Products Through Influencer Marketers

Another strategy big and small business owners use to sell products on TikTok is through influencer marketing.

TikTok is home to many influencer marketers ready to endorse your product to their followers. However, you must pay a fee for the influencer marketing service.

But before you hire an influencer marketer, ensure that the person you choose fits perfectly into your niche or brand. They should engage their followers to buy your product.

While influencer marketing is an excellent way to reach out to millions of potential customers, it’s an expensive marketing strategy.

How to Promote Your E-commerce Store on TikTok

Listed Products on TikTok for Business

Source: Ecwid

As an e-commerce marketer, you can use your personal TikTok account to promote your e-commerce business.

It’s simple!

You can link your e-commerce business page with your TikTok home page so that viewers will see the link first whenever they access the TikTok page.

Don’t forget to add a call to action to your content. It alerts the viewers that you’ve dedicated a platform where they can learn more about your products or services.

There are many marketing strategies to promote your e-commerce store on TikTok.

One of the marketing strategies to consider is running optimized ads on your TikTok account. However, you must install the TikTok’s Pixel to optimize and run the ads.

When you run paid advertising solutions on an ecommerce platform, Pixel allows you to share visitor events on the external website to TikTok for tracking purposes.

TikTok’s Pixel is a code you can install on your e-commerce store website to share and track paid ads. Some of the ecommerce platforms that work well with the app include:

  • Shopify
  • BigCommerce
  • Square Online

Promoting Your Shopify Store on TikTok

Adding Products on Shopify Website to a TikTok App

Source: Shopify

To market your Shopify store on TikTok, you must link up the two accounts.

You can quickly connect your e-commerce store to your TikTok for business account by adding the TikTok App from your dashboard on Shopify.

After installing the App, follow the steps or prompts to link your TikTok personal account. You can begin creating ads from your Shopify store.

Promoting Your BigCommerce Store on TikTok

If you own a store on BigCommerce, you can connect it to TikTok to promote your product.

Promoting Big Commerce Products on TikTok

Source: Fit Small Business

To do that, go to the Channel Manager and install TikTok For Business. Connect the TikTok account and authorize it.

After connecting the two accounts, create and link a TikTok Ad account and a TikTok Business Center account. Note that the latter is different from the Business account.

Once you connect the accounts, set up the TikTok Pixel, then click “Create New” in the “Catalog” section to sync your BigCommerce catalog with your TikTok profile.

Finalize the process by setting up TikTok Shopping.

Connecting Big Commerce Storefront to TikTok

Source: Big Commerce

Promoting Your Square Online Store on TikTok

You can also promote a Square e-commerce website on TikTok. That is after connecting the two accounts. But before you do that, you must have the following requirements.

  • TikTok Business Account
  • Live Square Online website
  • Effective payment methods
  • Return policy on Square Online
  • Correct business contact information

So, how do you connect Square Online with your TikTok for business account?

Go to “Account & Settings” on the Square Dashboard and click “Online Sales Channels.” Select your TikTok Business Account from the list and click the “Get Started” button.

To finalize the integration process, feed in your TikTok username, then click “Get on the Waitlist.” When Square approves your account, it will notify you through email.

Unless you disable specific items in the Listings Manager, all the products listed in your Square Online store will get published on your TikTok profile.

How to Track and Analyze the Sales You Receive Through TikTok

When marketing your products on TikTok shopping, tracking engagement with the target audience is essential. It helps you determine what is working and what’s not.

With TikTok, one can track and manage account analytics and create videos their audience enjoys watching. They’ll use the information to optimize their content.

You can use the analytics tool in your account to gain insight into some exciting metrics that will help you refine your marketing strategies.

So, how do you access TikTok’s in-platform analytics?

To check TikTok’s in-platform analytics on mobile, go to your profile and click the “Settings & Privacy” tab on the top right corner of the page.

Next, go to the “Account” section and select the “Creator Tools” tab. From here, you can choose Analytics.

If you are using a computer desktop, log in to your account and move the cursor to the top right side of your profile picture. Select “View Analytics.”

Here are some of the metrics the TikTok analytics tool evaluates.

In-Platform Analytics on TikTok: Overview, Content, Followers, and Live

Source: TikTok

  • Overview: This category tracks engagement. Here, you can view the analytics for the last week to two months. It also provides a custom date range to help you know the account’s performance on a particular date.
  • Content: This section tracks the most popular videos in your account within the selected date range. You’ll also get information for each post and metrics such as likes, views, shares, and comments from the TikTok community.
  • Followers: Here, you can check the audience growth and demographics. You’ll be able to get information about followers, including their gender and the location they view your TikTok videos, whether in the U.S. or other countries.
  • Live: Here, you will get insights into the live videos hosted in the last 7-28 days. The analytics include the follower count, live time, and the Diamonds earned.

Pro Tip: The best way to track ad performance and analyze sales is via conversion tracking by TikTok Pixel. With this extra tool, you can access detailed analytics and track the sales coming from your TikTok ads after placing the unique code on your sales website.

How to Track TikTok Shopify Sales

How to Connect Shopify to TikTok for Business

Source: TikTok

So far, you already know how to promote your Shopify store on TikTok.

But how do you determine the success of promoting your products on TikTok?

You need to track your Shopify sales through the TikTok Channel on Shopify App Store.

Most Shopify merchants use this marketing tool to market items on TikTok. However, it’s only available to merchants operating in the United States.

Using TikTok Channel, you can install TikTok Pixel on your Shopify Store and track the performance of your TikTok Ads.

Tracking sales with Pixel is easy as you can set up the tool within a few minutes. Get unique codes for your products from the tool and post them on your Shopify store.

Besides using Pixel for conversion tracking, you can use it to optimize sales on TikTok and create custom audiences using the data sets provided by the tool.

Executive Summary

So far, you know the essentials to creating a successful marketing strategy to sell on TikTok. To maximize the power of TikTok in marketing, create a TikTok for Business account.

You can promote products on your TikTok account or partner with a reliable influencer marketer to reach out to a larger audience and build a sustainable business.

Remember to implement all the TikTok marketing strategies shared in this guide. I hope that this guide will help you start marketing, selling products, and making money on TikTok.