TikTok Selling: How to promote & sell your POD products

TikTok has over a billion users, highly engaged audiences, and powerful analytics tools. These qualities make TikTok selling an excellent way to promote print on demand products such as t-shirts, mugs, and tote bags. You can use TikTok to connect with target audiences who want the types of designs you feature on your print on demand products. TikTok’s business analytics and advertising tools help showcase your products to niche audiences who fit your ideal buyer profile. In this article, we’ll show you how to use TikTok selling to promote your POD products.

Main takeaways from this article:

• Engage audiences by creating content showcasing your products and inviting TikTok users to do the same.

• Use the TikTok Creator Marketplace to find influencers to promote your products.

• Extend your outreach with self-service ads and TikTok’s Ads Manager service.

• Leverage TikTok’s Small Business Resource Center to optimize your ad campaigns.

• Follow TikTok selling best practices to maximize your revenue.

Selling on TikTok is simple. You can break down the process of how to sell products on TikTok into six steps:

1. Create a TikTok business account

2. Publish engaging TikTok content

3. Encourage user-generated content

4. Collaborate with TikTok influencers

5. Launch paid ad campaigns

6. Leverage TikTok’s business resources

Let’s look at what each step involves:

1. Create a TikTok business account

To start selling on TikTok, the first step is to create a business account. To begin, you’ll first need to download the app and create a personal TikTok account. You can then switch to a business account to begin promoting your print on demand TikTok business and access detailed analytics tools.

Choose a TikTok account name that is short, easy to remember, and aligned with your branding strategy. If you plan to expand your target market later, make sure your name will appeal to your future audience as well as your current base. Check whether your desired name is already taken before registering.

When you create a TikTok account, the platform will default your profile to a personal account. Use the three dots on the upper right to switch to a business account.

After creating your business account, you can edit your profile to showcase your brand. Add a photo, bio, emojis, and a link to your website or existing social media account profile. Enhance your bio by adding a description of what makes your brand unique. You can only use eighty characters, so word your TikTok bio carefully. Link to your site to drive traffic to your ecommerce store. You can only use one clickable link by default, but you can use a tool such as Linktree to include multiple links.

2. Publish engaging TikTok content

Once your profile is up, the next step is publishing content that engages your audience. To do this effectively, use market research and analytics to help you understand your target audience and what types of content they engage with the most. For example, find out what length of video your audience prefers. TikTok users generally prefer short videos, so stick to shorter content to capture and keep your target audience's attention.

Create TikTok videos that showcase your product’s design and quality. For example, you can create content to share your design process or show your product being used or worn in different situations.

Music videos are popular on TikTok, so you can add music and sound effects to your videos to increase engagement. Humor is also popular, so don't be afraid to add fun and personality to your videos.

You can add hashtags to your videos to help TikTok users find them. In certain countries, you can add product links to your posts that connect to an online TikTok Shop, providing a great way to grow your ecommerce business.

3. Encourage user-generated content

According to Everyone Social, “79% of people say UGC highly impacts their purchasing decisions.” 

TikTok lets users issue hashtag challenges that invite other users to create videos of themselves performing specific actions. Challenge videos get marked with hashtags that let them be seen by the TikTok community. This lets users participate in challenges and contests that promote community engagement.

Business TikTok users can leverage this feature by selecting an advertising option called a Branded Hashtag Challenge (BHC). Users who click on a Branded Hashtag get sent to a landing page with your company’s logo, website link, a description of your challenge, and videos using your hashtag.

Print on demand TikTok sellers can leverage the platform’s BHC feature to promote brand awareness by using engaging content and creating challenges that engage target audiences while highlighting your product. You can showcase user-generated responses to your challenges by displaying them on your TikTok feed.

4. Collaborate with TikTok influencers

TikTok lets you connect with influencers who already have your target audience among their following. You can use the TikTok Creator Marketplace to search for creators by keywords relevant to your POD products and market niche. Once you identify possible promotional partners, you can send invitations to collaborate with other TikTok creators. Analytics and reporting tools let you track the results of your collaborative campaigns.

5. Launch paid ad campaigns

A variety of TikTok ads are available on the platform, including:

• In-feed ads: These are native ads that display in users’ customized For You feeds, making them blend in organically.

• Collection Ads: These are in-feed ads that link to a gallery of your products.

• Brand Takeover ads: When users open their TikTok app, these ads pop up, take over the screen, and play for a few seconds before being replaced by in-feed ads.

• TopView ads: After users open TikTok, these ads appear at the top of their For You Page feeds after three seconds, lasting up to sixty seconds.

• Branded Hashtag ads: These appear at the top of the user’s Discover tab, promoting your BHC challenge.

• Branded Effects ads: These let you offer TikTok users customized filters featuring your brand.

TikTok ads can help you expand the reach of your audience to grow awareness of your brand and products, drive traffic to sales channels, and promote TikTok shopping campaigns.

6. Leverage TikTok's business resources

TikTok provides a Small Business Resource Center to help businesses leverage the platform’s sales potential. The center offers templates, webinars, success stories, trends, and tips. You can see examples of other businesses that are using TikTok successfully. This lets you adapt their methods to promoting your own products. Use these resources to help you build your POD ecommerce business through TikTok shopping.

When putting the steps above into practice, you’ll get the best results if you follow established TikTok-selling best practices. Some of the most important guidelines to follow are:

1. Use TikTok features

2. Create compelling calls to action (CTAs)

3. Offer exclusive promotions

4. Create a consistent posting schedule

5. Engage with your audience

Here’s a breakdown of these best practices:

1. Use TikTok features

TikTok provides many features that can help sellers promote their products more effectively. Being familiar with these features and how to use them can help you maximize your following and TikTok print on demand sales.

Some TikTok features are similar to tools found on other social media platforms, while others are unique to TikTok’s platform. For example, TikTok uses hashtags like other social media apps, enabling you to take advantage of trends. One distinctive way TikTok lets you use hashtags is by issuing Branded Hashtag Challenges.

The platform includes features to help you create TikTok videos, edit videos, promote videos, run TikTok ads, sell products, track ad performance, and analyze campaign results. Browse the platform and use the Small Business Resource Center to familiarize yourself with the different features available to you.

2. Create compelling calls to action (CTAs)

Calls to action invite your audience to take follow-up steps after watching your videos. This can encourage them to visit your ecommerce store or purchase your products. It also helps guide them in performing such actions.

Use strong CTAs in your videos to promote desired audience actions. A strong CTA should tell viewers exactly what action you want them to take, explain how they should perform the action, and offer motivation for taking action. For example, you can tell users to visit your ecommerce online store, show them the link that takes them to your ecommerce shop, and describe what benefit they will gain from following the link.

3. Offer exclusive promotions

One way to motivate audiences to buy your TikTok print on demand products is by offering exclusive promotions. An exclusive offer makes your audience feel special while adding a sense of urgency to respond to the offer before it expires.

There are several methods you can use to offer unique promotions. You can create limited-edition lines of products which are only available to your TikTok followers. You can offer discounts that only your TikTok audience can use. Or you can allow your promotional partners to promote discount codes for your products exclusively to their followers.

4. Create a consistent posting schedule

To maintain the followers you attract on social media accounts, following a consistent posting schedule is vital. When you post regularly, audiences know when to look for your content and how often to look for your posts. If your posts start to become irregular, followers may start to lose interest simply because they’re not sure if you’re posting or when they should be looking for your posts.

Select a schedule to share content and follow it consistently. How often you post depends on your resources and your audience. TikTok recommends posting several times a day. However, if you’re a small business, you may not be able to produce that much content. When your resources are constrained, consistency is more important than volume. Ideally, you should post on a schedule that matches your audience preferences, as your analytics indicates. Experiment with different posting frequencies and track which schedule generates the highest audience engagement.

5. Engage with your audience

Audience engagement can mean the difference between just getting your videos watched and converting views into sales. One way to boost audience engagement for viral videos is by engaging your followers yourself.

A simple way to engage audiences is by liking and responding to comments. Another way to promote engagement is by sponsoring Branded Hashtag Challenges and soliciting user-generated content. You can increase the effectiveness of this strategy by featuring user-generated content on your feed and asking your followers to vote on the winning entry. This rewards audiences for engagement and invites further engagement.

Another way to reward audiences for engagement is by offering discounts and bonuses. For example, you can offer a free giveaway of one of your POD products to the winner of your BHC challenge. This provides a tangible motive for audiences to engage with your TikTok feed while adding a fun sense of engagement.

TikTok lets you connect with large niche audiences and gives you the tools to promote your POD products to them. You can create your own video content or invite your audience to submit user-generated content in response to challenges. Hashtags help users find your content while helping you find influencers who can help you promote your products. A variety of advertising tools let you feature your TikTok print on demand products in users’ feeds when they open their apps, when they look for trending hashtags, or when they use filters highlighting your brand. TikTok’s Small Business Resource Center provides training and tools to help you make the most of the platform’s sales capability.

For best results selling on TikTok, follow proven best practices. The most important guidelines include utilizing TikTok features to create engaging content, using strong calls to action, offering exclusive promotions, posting consistently, and engaging audiences. Adhering to these principles will help you make more sales on TikTok.

Your selling success also depends on the quality of your TikTok print on demand products. Gelato provides high-quality products such as men’s and women’s clothing, mugs, and tote bags you can sell on TikTok and other platforms. We empower local, on-demand production on a global scale through the world’s largest network for production on demand. 

Gelato produces personalized products in 32 countries, enabling creators and ecommerce sellers to scale their business and reach customers faster while reducing waste, costs, and carbon emissions. Faster, smarter and greener. Sign up for free to start creating custom print on demand products to sell on TikTok and your ecommerce site.

Print on demand (POD) on TikTok allows creators to design and sell custom products directly through the platform. By leveraging print on demand for TikTok, you can showcase your unique designs to a vast audience without holding inventory. TikTok's engaging format lets you create videos highlighting your products, attracting potential customers in real time. Integrating your POD service with TikTok enables seamless order processing and fulfillment, ensuring a smooth customer experience.

Utilizing TikTok to grow your print on demand business involves creating engaging content that showcases your products and resonates with your target audience. With TikTok print on demand, you can reach millions of potential customers through creative videos, influencer partnerships, and viral challenges. Start by producing high-quality videos demonstrating your products' unique features and benefits. Engage with your audience by responding to comments and participating in trends. Also, use TikTok’s advertising tools to target specific demographics, increasing your brand’s visibility.

TikTok can significantly drive traffic to your print on demand store. Through TikTok shop print on demand, you can create eye-catching videos that link directly to your online store, making it easy for viewers to purchase your products. TikTok’s algorithm promotes content that engages users and increases the likelihood that a larger audience will see your videos. Partnering with influencers can amplify your reach, attracting their followers to your store. You can effectively convert viewers into customers and boost your store’s traffic by using compelling calls to action and leveraging TikTok's interactive features.

Integrating TikTok with your business offers numerous benefits, including increased brand visibility, enhanced customer engagement, and streamlined sales processes. With TikTok integration, you can leverage the platform's vast user base to showcase your products through creative and engaging content. This integration allows for seamless order processing and real-time customer interactions, improving the shopping experience. TikTok's advanced analytics provide valuable insights into your audience’s behavior and preferences, helping you tailor your marketing strategies for better results.

Integrating TikTok with your ecommerce store is a straightforward process that can enhance your marketing and sales efforts. Begin using Tiktok API integration to connect your store’s backend with TikTok’s platform. This allows for seamless data exchange and automation. This integration enables you to run targeted ad campaigns, track conversions, and analyze customer behavior directly from TikTok. 

You can also utilize TikTok’s shopping features to create shoppable videos that link directly to your product pages. By using TikTok shopping partner integration, you can ensure that your store is optimized for TikTok’s unique user base.