When audiences flock to TikTok, they come to be entertained, uplifted and discover new content. It’s up to the platform to ensure they’re taken on a unique journey that blends discovery with decisive calls to action.
And TikTok has put in the time and research to make sure that happens. Whether it’s making a purchase, signing up for services or initiating downloads – on or off the platform – TikTok ensures its community always has a meaningful next step. TikTok excels at merging discovery with actionable engagement, transforming user interest into concrete results.
Adolfo Fernandez, TikTok’s global head of performance solutions, emphasizes TikTok’s unique ability to understand the consumer journey from discovery to conversion. “While other platforms track ad clicks as their primary revenue driver, TikTok’s model is designed to encompass a more realistic consumer journey, one that considers a more dynamic way of measuring different types of engagement,” he says.
Rather than relying on one metric to measure campaigns, TikTok employs several solutions, including media mix modelling to understand the sales impact of all traditional and digital marketing touchpoints, and brand lift studies, which are non-randomized tests that provide insight into a campaign’s effectiveness.
According to Fernandez, TikTok’s user experience begins with audiences discovering new things and extends through a suite of ad products crafted to harness interest, seamlessly guiding consumers deeper into the purchasing journey.
As per global research conducted by Material, 58% of TikTok audiences discover new brands and products, significantly more than on other platforms, with a 2.7x higher likelihood of engaging with brands online. When it comes to follow-up searches, 45% of Canadians on TikTok continue looking for more information about companies and products on the platform after discovering something on TikTok. That discovery often continues offline, with two in five TikTok users who discover a product on the platform following up with a retailer that sells the item.
“While the click-and-buy scenario isn’t the only outcome we’re focused on, 61% of people on TikTok have made a purchase immediately after seeing an ad on TikTok,” says Fernandez.
And they return to TikTok after making a purchase, with 33% of TikTok audiences coming back to look up additional information about the purchase.
“As we look at how our platform drives performance, it’s important to me that clients have transparency into the mechanics they need to track that progression through the funnel,” explains Jorge Ruiz, TikTok’s global head of marketing science. “This is why it’s so important to have strong attribution and incrementality solutions. You want to start using TikTok’s measurement solutions in conjunction with each other so you can understand the journey.”
Recently Silk & Snow, a Canadian mattress and bedding company, looked to TikTok to boost higher-value sales per transaction across North America and tap into new audiences in the U.S. The campaign used a combination of the company’s branded content and creator-led creative, like product reviews, utilizing TikTok’s targeting and evaluation tools. (For example, ads were targeted using the platform’s Value-Based Optimization matching and High Spending Power to serve ads to users who were likely to generate a higher value per purchase and were willing to spend more based on their history with TikTok ads.)
Silk & Snow’s campaign results included a 60% lift in return on ad spend compared with the company’s benchmark and a 900% lift compared with a control group. The campaign also resulted in a 38% lower cost per acquisition compared with campaign benchmarks and a 25% reduction in the drop-off ratio between add-to-cart and payment completion.
Quebec-based Good Protein, meanwhile, wanted to reach Canadians intending to buy their product with a two-month campaign. The brand used TikTok’s Smart Performance Campaign, which includes auto-targeting, auto-bidding and auto-creative to employ multiple versions of the ads used in the campaign. Ad bidding in the campaign was done using TikTok’s Maximum Delivery strategy, which maximizes the number of results for the budget provided.
It also used Spark Ads, allowing the brand to use more natural brand or creator-driven creative. The brand tested over 40 versions of the creative, with recipes including Good Protein’s products, reviews and creators answering questions through video responses.
The brand saw a 19% lift in return on advertising spend through the campaign. Conversions jumped by 190% and cost per acquisition dropped by 23%. It also saw a 25% increase in the average watch time per video.
As TikTok continues to refine its approach to measuring and shaping its community behaviour on the platform, it’s helping drive conversions well beyond the screen. That’s welcome news in a marketing landscape where every dollar needs to go just a little bit further.
“We know that Canadians’ consumer decision-making journeys are more fragmented and less predictable. But what hasn’t changed is that the key to performance is maximizing your investment reliably and predictably,” according to Erinn Piller, head of global business marketing, TikTok Canada. “This evolving landscape marks a new era for performance. TikTok’s pivotal role in discovery offers endless opportunities to connect with audiences, whether that’s on our platform or through other channels in your marketing mix. As TikTok’s discovery journey translates into a significant impact for you and your brand, we’re here to help you connect the dots and maximize your performance everywhere.”
Learn more about TikTok’s performance solutions here.
To learn more about sponsored content opportunities with strategy contact associate publisher Neil Ewen at newen@brunico.com
