TikTok wants to go beyond creating trends and establish itself as a complete consumer platform in Brazil with the launch of TikTok Shop and Search Ads, a search tool with ads. With these two fronts, the idea is to transform discovery into purchase, without the having to leave the platform. Brands such as O Boticário, Eudora, Riachuelo, Amazon and Shopee already operate on Shop, taking advantage of the audience reach to boost sales in real time.
TikTok Shop emerged in Southeast Asia in 2020 and quickly expanded to Europe, including countries such as the United Kingdom and . Now, the platform arrives in Brazil with a proposal to go beyond the traditional e-commerce model.
With the concept of discovery commerce, Shop bets on a sales process that begins with the spontaneous discovery of products through content on TikTok. To this end, the platform developed the concept of looping link, in which the watches a video, becomes interested in a product, makes the purchase and shares the experience — fueling the cycle of engagement.
“Previously, when interested in a product, such as a blush from a specific brand, the had to interrupt their experience, exit the app and access another website or store to complete the purchase. Now, with Shop, all they have to do is watch a video with the product, click and complete the purchase in just a few steps, without leaving the feed. After a single registration with payment and shipping information, it is possible to buy in two or three clicks, depending on the type of item. The experience is fluid, intuitive and fully integrated with content consumption”, explains Gabriela Comazzetto, general director of Business at TikTok in Latin America.
Visual searches expand possibilities for brands
An ad format linked to searches made within the platform, Search Ads aims to capture the consumer’s intention at the moment they have already shown interest in a product or service. “Search Ads is a response to behavior that is already happening, so that brands can actually connect at the moment when people already have the intention. In other words, I made the discovery and I have the intention. Then, Ads comes in to capture that and generate conversion”, highlights Gabriela. One of the first cases, with American Eagle, showed a 20% increase in conversions when in-feed campaigns were combined with search ads.
The launch of Search Ads was driven by the increase in searches on the platform. In the United States, 40% of consumers use TikTok as a search tool. In Brazil, brands immediately adopted it. “We opened the pilot to a few companies and had 100% sold out. Now we are expanding to the beta phase”, says the executive. There is no consolidated data from Brazil yet, but the international results are encouraging the team.
The launch in Brazil began in the alpha phase with a few brands and had immediate adoption. “We had 100% sold out. Now we are in the beta phase, with more companies testing. We already have campaigns with banks, pharmaceutical companies, consumer goods and retail”, says the executive.
Relevant and native content
For the new format to work, Gabriela emphasizes that the content needs to be relevant and native to the TikTok language. The company has an internal team dedicated to helping brands and agencies create more creative and engaging content. “The video needs to talk to the community, bring the end of the message at the beginning, use visual resources, music, subtitles and voice,” says.
According to Gabriela, the strategy for presence on the platform should consider three pillars: organic content, partnerships with creators and paid media. “Creators are the heart of the platform, and we’re not just talking about the big ones. We consider creators as soon as they have a thousand followers. Small brands can benefit a lot from this”, she comments.
The new search model focuses on a more visual, contextual and -friendly experience. Sectors such as tourism, gastronomy, literature and health are some of the sectors that will benefit the most, but the executive emphasizes that the tool is useful for all types of businesses. One of the examples cited is BookTok, a community of readers that boosted sales of authors such as Colleen Hoover, who went viral on the platform and sold over 30 million copies.
Image: TikTok
*This text was translated by AI
