TikTok Outlines Updates To In-Stream Shopping Ads and Options

TikTok has announced some new updates for eCommerce providers in the app, including an update to its AI-powered Smart+ campaigns, automated ad creation, improvements to search ads, and more.

First off, TikTok’s looking to expand its Smart+ catalog ads by expanding them to website and app promotions within a single campaign.

Smart+, which TikTok launched last year, is TikTok’s own AI-powered, automated ad solution, which uses your uploaded catalog data to display your ads to the right shoppers, at the right time, in the app.

And now, TikTok’s expanding Smart+ to include both website and app conversions in your campaign, helping to boost the potential of your automated ads.

“We’re also bringing new features to the Smart+ solution overall. In addition to lower-funnel performance objectives like website sales and app installs, Smart+ is now available for the Traffic objective, allowing brands to power their customer acquisition with AI-powered automation.”

That’ll give you more ways to utilize TikTok’s automated ad option to get better reach and performance across your promotions.

TikTok’s also adding new elements to its GMV Max campaigns, with “Affiliate Creative for Ads,” which will enable TikTok Shop merchants to automatically use their affiliate content within their GMV Max campaigns, and LIVE formats for GMV Max.

GMV (gross merchandise value) Max campaigns enable TikTok Shop merchants to automate their advertising campaigns, and these new additions will give brands more considerations in promoting their products through variable means.

TikTok’s also extending its search ads to the Shop tab, providing another option to help reach users in a product discovery mindset, while it’s also added new elements to its Symphony AI-powered ad creation tools, including a new process to automate ad creation based on limited info:

“Transform your brand or product details into TikTok-ready content in minutes with our new product-to-video tool. Simply input the information and assets for your brand or product or import them directly from a URL.”

TikTok’s Symphony tools also provide access to AI avatars, video script generation, automated language translation, and more.

In-stream shopping has long been a key focus for TikTok, following the same model that it did in China, where in-app commerce is now the main revenue driver of the local version of the app.

Indeed, according to reports, in-app sales in the Chinese version of the app (Douyin) generated close to $US500 billion in sales last year, which is more than 10x TikTok’s total revenue, including (and primarily driven by) ad sales.

And while Western consumers haven’t been as keen to take up in-app shopping as Asian users have as yet, there are signs that TikTok’s in-stream shopping is gaining steam:

• 62% of TikTok users say they follow links on TikTok to discover products on a brand’s websites, and TikTok is driving 1.8x more online conversions than other media channels.
• 2 in 5 users who discovered a product on TikTok went to a physical location that sells it, and TikTok is driving 2.6x more offline conversions than other media channels.

TikTok also notes that the number of people shopping on TikTok Shop in the U.S. has nearly tripled every month since its launch.

So while it hasn’t seen the rapid adoption on in-stream shopping that it did in China, TikTok shopping is catching on, and TikTok’s looking to expand on those in-app buying behaviors by adding services listings within the app.

Which is also a China-originated concept, with Douyin offering meal delivery services and ride-hailing links, among other options, direct in the app.

TikTok looks to be set to integrate the same, with a new services listing added to TikTok ‘s live-streaming display options this week.

TikTok is also looking to find more ways to connect users to local services, which points to a gradual expansion of its in-stream ecommerce offerings to include more types of transactional elements.

So it’s not just direct in-stream sales, TikTok’s also looking to expand to other areas, in order to get money moving in the app.

And it’s generating more interest over time, which could present more opportunities for your promotions.

I mean, that’s if TikTok doesn’t get banned first. But barring that outcome, the opportunities for direct selling in the app are steadily on the rise.