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Hey, it's Ashley!

Welcome to The TikTok Marketer, a weekly newsletter, where I share 3 actionable growth tactics to help you scale on TikTok.

Today we’ll cover:

• TikTok Shop Is Clamping Down

• Can TikTok Ads compete with Meta?

• TikTok Brand of the Week - Good Girl Snacks

TikTok Shop is Clamping Down: A Strategic Opportunity for Brands

In its ongoing effort to ensure a safe and reliable e-commerce environment, TikTok has recently blocked 37 million attempted product listings on its UK platform, as revealed in their latest safety report.

This decisive action underscores TikTok's commitment to quality and trust, distinguishing TikTok Shop from other platforms.

Closing Loopholes, Elevating Standards

For months, a significant loophole allowed even small creators to promote products without meeting the usual 5,000-follower threshold. TikTok has now addressed this, reinforcing its standards.

Moreover, over 500,000 creators have been removed for violating platform rules, paving the way for reputable brands to shine.

A Call to Action for Established Brands

This clean-up creates an unparalleled opportunity for well-established brands. With questionable sellers and knock-off products on the decline, more reputable brands are jumping onboard.

Despite the inevitability of some trying to circumvent these rules, TikTok's direction is clear and promising for those committed to quality and authenticity.

Capitalize Now on the Cultural Shift

Now is the time for your brand to step forward. Embrace this cultural shift and establish your presence in a cleaner, more reputable TikTok Shop.

👉 Before you read on:

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Can TikTok Ads compete with Meta?

Ongoing Issues and Strategic Insights

Every day brings new challenges in digital advertising, and recently, Meta has been no stranger to bugs, impacting brands that rely heavily on its platform.

Meanwhile, if you're considering integrating TikTok into your advertising strategy, you should be aware of the platform's unique dynamics.

Pros & Cons of Diving into TikTok Advertising

Pros:

- Adaptability Across Platforms: If you're already creating ads that perform well on TikTok, you'll likely find success with similar strategies on other platforms.

- Spark Ads: Known in the Meta universe as whitelisted ads, Spark Ads significantly mitigate creative fatigue by allowing brands to repurpose top-performing organic posts into paid campaigns.

This strategy has consistently outperformed traditional ad setups.

Cons:

- Creative Fatigue: TikTok ads demand constant refreshment. Even a winning ad loses its effectiveness as spending scales up, necessitating frequent content updates.

- Fast Burn Rate: The most critical metric on TikTok is the hook rate (2-second video views per impression). Our findings suggest the best practice is to tweak parts of your videos—like hooks, CTA, text overlays etc—rather than launching entirely new ads weekly.

Cost and Conversion Metrics: A Comparative Overview

TikTok's average CPMs stand at about $10, with a lower click-through rate of 0.5%, leading to a cost-per-click of $2.

Meta, on the other hand, has higher CPMs ($18) and CTRs (1%), with CPCs averaging $1.80. These figures are highly dependent on various factors such as your campaign's objectives, spending rate, and the specificities of your audience targeting.

Despite the lower cost, TikTok traffic generally converts at a lower rate than Meta, reflecting a slight dip in the quality of traffic and website conversion rates, this though has started to change with the introduction of TikTok Shop and keeping the user on the platform.

Learning and Ad Performance

TikTok excels in understanding user behavior quickly due to its engagement-driven algorithms, allowing for faster optimization of ad delivery.

Conversely, Meta provides more reliable insights into potential purchase behaviors, often resulting in better customer acquisition costs and return on ad spend. Brands can expect more consistency from Meta, whereas TikTok requires continual campaign adjustments to achieve similar levels of performance.

TikTok Shops: The Cutting Edge of Conversion

TikTok Shops offer a seamless shopping experience, allowing users to make purchases without leaving the app, thus significantly enhancing conversion rates.

Although setting up a TikTok Shop can be complex the convenience and reduced friction make it a valuable tool for brands aiming to optimize their e-commerce strategy.

TikTok Brand of the Week - Good Girl Snacks

Good Girl Snacks on TikTok: Fueling Brand Growth with 'Hot Girl Pickles'

In the vast sea of TikTok, where giants dominate with massive followings, Good Girl Snacks stands out with a modest but fiercely loyal audience.

With just over 7,000 followers, the brand has made significant inroads since its inception in October 2023, amassing 1.8 million views across 180 posts, and maintaining a consistent posting schedule of five times a week.

@goodgirlsnacks

Our company’s creative branding and design aesthetic is so cute 🥹 #branddesign #branding #brandingdesign #brandingdesign #brandingmarketin... See more

A Unique Approach to Branding:

Good Girl Snacks isn’t just selling pickles; they are selling a mindset. Naming their flagship product 'Hot Girl Pickles™' cleverly taps into the cultural zeitgeist of 'hot girl walks' and 'girl dinners,' which celebrate empowering activities fueled by female energy.

This approach resonates deeply with their audience, aligning the brand with empowerment, positivity, and inclusivity.

Engagement Through Storytelling and Authenticity:

Founders Leah and Yasaman observed a gap in the market for pickles that not only taste great but also align with the values of clean and organic eating.

Their entrepreneurial journey, from quitting their jobs to diving headfirst into the snack industry, is documented in a relatable, vlog-style on TikTok, providing followers with a transparent view of the highs and lows of startup life.

Innovative Flavors and Engaging Content:

Good Girl Snacks' content strategy is brilliantly simple yet effective. They consistently produce short, digestible, and binge-worthy content that showcases their product innovation and brand personality.

Their most viral video, which features the crunchy and tangy Hot Girl Pickles™, has reached 319,000 views, illustrating the potential for even small brands to achieve significant impact on TikTok.

Key Insights for Elevating Your Brand on TikTok:

- Capitalize on Cultural Trends: Use relevant cultural trends to frame your product in a way that resonates with your target audience. Good Girl Snacks’ use of the 'hot girl' concept as an empowering metaphor has helped them create a distinct and appealing brand identity.

- Document the Journey: Share your brand’s journey openly to build trust and create a narrative that people want to follow and support.

- Prioritize Quality and Consistency: Consistent posting and high-quality, relatable content are key to building and maintaining an engaged audience.

- Focus on Niche Appeal: Even with a smaller following, targeted and niche marketing can drive deep engagement and loyalty.

TL;DR: Good Girl Snacks demonstrates that a brand doesn’t need millions of followers to make a splash on TikTok.

By aligning their products with broader cultural movements and maintaining a transparent, engaging social media presence, they have crafted a unique niche that promises continued growth and engagement.

Stay inspired,

Ashley ✌️

If you’d like to see more content of mine, be sure to give me a follow: 

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🚀 3 ways I can help your brand add an extra $100k/mo with TikTok.

1. TikTok consultation Work with me 1-on-1 in weekly or bi-weekly deep-dive sessions to build and execute your TikTok strategy.

2. Join our TikTok Accelerator Community and join like-minded marketers.

3. Get your FREE How to Dominate TikTok Shop workbook which is exactly what we do to scale brands to $100k a month on the platform.