TikTik has added the ability to directly purchase products used in videos as well as sign up people to sign up as an affiliate to promote products. This is a powerful feature because of the dynastic nature of video: now a few-minute-long video can act as a complete sales funnel. Awareness > Interest > Desire > Action.
Let me start off by saying this: that you will be getting many people selling courses on how to be successful using TikTok shop showing you their proof of earnings and lambos they bought from TikTok shop etc. Ignore these people; they, like the forex guys, are making that money from selling courses and not from TikTok shop. And I will also tell you that even if those screenshots of TikTok shops are real, you will have a very hard time mimicking US success in South Africa due to supply and logistics.
The TikTok shop supply chain and where you fit in (very important)
There are two main components on TikTok shop: People and Products
People
People can be current influencers with a following or entrepreneurs wanting to sell a product. Most influencers will not be shop owners, as selling stuff is hard; you have to manage stock, do fulfillment, etc. And most entrepreneurs won’t have a large following as they are busy running a shop.
TikTok Shop has two solutions for this problem. As an entrepreneur, you can “boost” your videos by basically advertising them to more eyeballs, or you can sign up an existing influencer as an affiliate, and they get a cut of every sale. Early research shows that the former is more expensive than the latter.
Promotion
We can divide videos on TikTok into two broad categories: organic and promoted. Existing influencers usually have organic reach from the days before TikTok shop existed. New shop owners are saying that it is very hard to make their videos go viral and sell products for free (organic). So they either have to pay or ride on the coattails of an existing influencer (or operator that knows how to make viral videos better than the shop owner) and share commission.
Products
Products are the items sold on TikTok shop. I will deal with the fulfilment method and the type of product. TikTok shop must be seen as just another Ecommerce sales channel. That means someone actually has to fulfil the order. All the TikTok shop course sellers are hyping drop shipping and external affiliate marketing. Now we know in SA. This is a problem. We do not have any great products for drop shipping or affiliate marketing. Another problem is that due to a lack of post office, we use private couriers, and every package has to incur a shipping cost unless the seller eats the cost.
What products are selling well on TikTok
Lots of stats are coming out with a lot of vanity products
Health and beauty
Supplements
Toys & gadgets
Novelty t-shirts maybe?
We see sellers for
acne removal
vitamin gummies
Then there are the other asinine products like shoes for dogs the dogs probably hate
You need a reliable wholesaler. TikTok is very strict at times you don’t want account banned when you cannot fulfil orders.
Making videos
This is one of the most important factors. You need to create videos that sell. Now alot of these course gurus are telling you that you can create videos using 100% AI, AI voice, AI video. I have seen some of those videos and I aint buying shit from those videos. The making of videos that sell if you don’t have influencers promoting is very important.
