From Awareness to Purchase: The Full-Funnel Power of TikTok Video Shopping Ads

Shopping ads on search, social, and retail media advertising are some of the most efficient ad formats in digital marketing. Instead of hand-crafting each ad, you connect your feed, and the publisher builds a beautiful product ad on the fly. This easy-to-use, fun format has quickly become a big hit in the retail media world, with over half of ad agency professionals agreeing that shoppable video content will be the next big thing in retail media in the coming years. 

One of the most important newcomers to shoppable ads, TikTok, launched Video Shopping Ads to monetize its huge potential as an ecommerce platform. And though shopping ads have traditionally been relegated to bottom-of-the-funnel advertising, TikTok’s unique video-only experience means that marketers can now use this easily shoppable, appealing ad product in the middle and upper funnel as well. 

Video Shopping Ads are, of course, great for providing audiences with that final push to make a purchase, but the presence of these ads in the “For You” section of TikTok users’ feeds means they’re also extremely useful for driving awareness and keeping your product top-of-mind during the consideration phase. 

Here’s everything you need to know about mastering the full funnel with TikTok Video Shopping Ads.

What are TikTok Video Shopping Ads?

TikTok Video Shopping Ads are part of a new ecommerce push to help drive sales beyond the “For You” page and create experiences that help users discover new products or remind them of old favorites. 

TikTok Video Shopping Ads work a little like shoppable Instagram ads in that they appear as users browse their feeds and allow users to tap their way to a shoppable landing page for more information. However, TikTok Video Shopping Ads are more dynamic than static content since they offer a combination of eye-catching video footage and relevant product details. 

For example, TikTok’s Video Shopping Ads page showcases some sample ads, including one featuring a woman roller skating. In a small box at the bottom of the video, the pink skates she is wearing are featured alongside a prominent “Shop Now” button. Tapping the button takes users to an in-app landing page that allows users to instantly add the skates to their carts. The landing page also showcases the product in other colors and includes pricing information. 

Serving the right ad to the right audience is easy with dynamic Video Shopping Ads, which automatically combine video creative with product cards, test different variations, and optimize campaign performance by favoring the combinations with the highest conversion rates. Depending on which stage of the purchase funnel you’re focusing on, campaigns can either be product-specific to drive sales with a “shop now” button or center on a broader brand message by driving viewers to a website to increase awareness.  

TikTok is an incredible marketing machine for social advertisers. Video Shopping Ads are an awesome complement to the other innovative TikTok ad formats.

How to set up a TikTok Shopping Video Ads campaign

Getting started with TikTok Video Shopping Ads is actually pretty simple. Here is a step-by-step look at how to set up your TikTok video shopping ad campaign.

Start a TikTok Shop

The first thing you’ll need is a TikTok Shop account if you don’t have one already. Your TikTok Shops enable TikTok users to purchase products without ever leaving the app.

Brands that set up TikTok Shop accounts have dedicated shopping tabs on their profiles. These tabs allow users to browse and purchase products through the app. Products in your TikTok Shopping catalog feature a photo and brief (under 34 character) description. However, your TikTok video shopping ad does not necessarily have to link to your TikTok shop. The ads can also be used to drive users to your own website or app. But TikTok does recommend using Video Shopping Ads in conjunction with TikTok Shop since they are designed to work seamlessly together. 

Create your campaign

Once you’re approved for a TikTok Shop account, log into your account, go to TikTok Ads Manager, and choose the Campaign option. Select Product Sales as the objective, choose TikTok Shop as the product source, and complete the campaign settings. 

Set up an ad group

You’ll be given a choice between Video Shopping Ads and Live Shopping Ads. Choose Video Shopping Ads. To target audiences, set your age limits to 18+

Choose your full-funnel optimization goal

In order to use TikTok Video Shopping Ads for your specific funnel optimization goals, choose the most relevant option from the menu. TikTok offers the following groups:

• Gross Revenue
• Purchase
• Initiate Checkout
• Click

From there, you’ll choose your bidding options and you are now ready to create Video Shopping Ads.

Ad creation

Choose the Identity of the account that will represent your business in your TikTok ad. This can either be your own account or a partner. Then, add the products you want to promote. TikTok allows the promotion of up to 20 products in Video Shopping Ads. Just make sure that each product you select is active and in stock within your shop. After you’ve selected your products, TikTok will automatically generate landing pages. 

Finally, upload the video you’ll use as ad creative, fill out the remaining ad settings, and hit submit! 

What are the benefits of TikTok Video Shopping Ads?

Unlike many other platforms, TikTok’s audience is not only open to ads but often actively using the platform to discover new products. In addition to its highly engaged users, TikTok’s short-form video format is among the most engaging types of social media content currently available to advertisers. According to Sprout Social, 66% of consumers find short-form video to be the most appealing of all types of social media content. 

Since TikTok’s primary focus is short-form video, there’s no better way to offer audiences the video content they’re looking for. Here are a few of the reasons TikTok Video Shopping Ads are one of the best ways to incorporate short-form video into your advertising strategy. 

Reach your customers across the funnel

As The Drum noted in 2022, TikTok users “no longer go shopping; they’re always shopping.” A well-planned TikTok strategy can meet buyers at every phase of the purchase funnel, from discovery to purchase and beyond. Video Shopping Ads provide fun, engaging opportunities to showcase your best products and grow your brand both in the app and beyond. 

Build awareness of your brand and goods

According to TikTok, 56% of its users have said that TikTok ads have helped them discover new products. TikTok Video Shopping Ads take that discovery to the next level, giving them an easy way to explore your product catalog through an automatically generated, optimized landing page. 

Drive sales and revenue

Additionally, 64% of TikTok users have made a purchase, either online or in-person, after seeing a product advertised on TikTok. While the buy button certainly makes it easier for audiences to purchase products after viewing a branded video, the benefit doesn’t stop there. Over half (54%) of users have sought out a product in person after seeing it on TikTok. Connecting with audiences through shopping ads and offering product information at a touch has benefits beyond boosting sales through the app. 

Run promotions that garner attention

TikTok Video Shopping Ads are also an excellent way to keep your product top-of-mind for seasonal promotions as well. Back-to-school and holidays are important times to engage audiences with hyper-relevant content since they’re likely browsing the app for inspiration. 

Avoid ad fatigue 

On many other platforms, users complain of constantly being interrupted by irrelevant, sometimes intrusive ads. But thanks to TikTok’s carefully curated For You pages and the highly engaging nature of its native content, TikTok seems to be (for now anyway) immune to ad fatigue. In fact, many users see TikTok as a quick and easy way to connect with brands. Millennial TikTok users are 2.3 times more likely to create a post tagging a brand than other platforms, and Gen Z users are 1.2 times more likely to DM a brand. 

Staying relevant and keeping audiences informed of new products, seasonal promotions, and other brand information encourages further interactions from users who are used to connecting with brands on the platform. 

TikTok Video Shopping Ads FAQs

Where do I access TikTok Video Shopping Ads?

If you already have a TikTok Ads account, go to Ads Manager and find more information under the Product Sales tab. 

How do I get started with TikTok Video Shopping Ads?

To use TikTok Video Shopping Ads, you must list products in the TikTok Shop, though your Video Shopping Ads may also feature website links. 

How are TikTok Video Shopping Ads sold?

Like other forms of TikTok advertising, Video Shopping Ads are sold on a bidding system. 

As TikTok’s popularity continues to grow, TikTok is now a major social advertising publisher. As with every walled garden, understanding the ins and outs of how to best use the tools provided is key to maximizing success. Using Video Shopping Ads across the funnel to generate, stimulate, and capture demand is a next-level approach to getting the most out of your TikTok advertising strategy.

How can Skai help with your omnichannel TikTok marketing program?

Use Skai to connect, analyze, and optimize TikTok campaigns alongside all your other performance media channels. Leverage our omnichannel capabilities to help monitor, manage, and measure spend and performance on the world’s fastest-growing social media platform.
With Skai, you get powerful TikTok campaign management features plus a holistic view of performance across all the media that matters to your business such as:

• Secure integration. Quickly connect TikTok and start finding opportunities for scale immediately.
• Omnichannel visibility. See TikTok spending and performance alongside paid search, paid social, and retail media publishers, unlocking insights from across walled gardens.
• Impactful optimization. Make the edits and changes that impact campaign performance quickly and securely.
• Holistic intelligence. Know for sure which publishers are delivering results and why, all in one place.

Social advertising campaigns that perform

Skai’s Paid Social solution has unique, best-in-class capabilities to automate, optimize, and scale your ads at an enterprise level. In a privacy-first world, Skai offers integrated solutions to reach consumers on all the platforms that matter and drive powerful growth no other independent social platforms can achieve. 

And, as part of our omnichannel platform, connect the walled gardens and manage social campaigns on the top publishers across retail media, paid search, and app marketing.

For more information about Skai for TikTok and other social advertising programs, we welcome you to schedule a quick demo with our team to see our cutting-edge innovation firsthand.