Case Study: Over $4 million in sales... their TikTok strategy

You know what’s difficult….

Trying to find Amazon brands that are crushing it on TikTok….

The fact that it’s difficult to find these brands means 2 things:

1. The Amazon seller community has not cracked TikTok marketing yet

2. TikTok is a ‘blue ocean’, where you could be the next big whale 🐋

If you are as lazy as me…. skip to the end for the strategies I would copy use

In this case study, I want to look at COSRX

FYI: I am not affiliated with Cosrx… I am just a fan of their marketing campaign

Some details:

• They are a MASSIVE beauty brand

• Originated in Korea

• Almost $5 million in monthly revenue on Amazon (they are best sellers in the beauty category):

• The #cosrx hashtag has over 1.5 billion views…. yes, that’s a “b”

What they are doing well (my top 4):

They have a quiz to help you create your own skincare routine

• On their Linktree page they have a quiz 

• This redirects the user to their website

• They ask a few questions about your current skincare routine

• You have to submit your email address to get the results…. which includes a discount code (well played 👏)

They launched their own ‘reality’ show

@cosrx_troublelive

Six participants are here to share & improve their skin problems! A B&A Reality Show with real skin concerns l Trouble Live by COSRX Th... See more

• 6 participants live together in a house using the Cosrx products to improve their skin

• They just launched this and you can view it on their new TikTok channel

They have tons of content from influencers and even a Demo crew

@cosrx_official

1 of the best thing that happend to #COSRX was our #COSRXDermRD crew! 💞 We had the chance to talk to the best #skincare#creators 🥰🙌 #thankyou #fyp

• They constantly run outreach campaigns to get new content

• They understand Generation Z; hence, nothing is forced or ‘salesy’. I kinda want to use their products as I feel like I am missing out

They have their own in-house doctor (not sure if it’s a real doctor… but I was impressed)

• This was pretty smart 💡

• On their website and Linktree page you can discuss your skincare regime with a doctor

• It loads up a chat widget that resembles Facebook Messenger

What they could improve on:

Does their brand work for “Westerners”?

• When you browse their TikTok channel you immediately get the impression that this is not an American brand

• That’s absolutely fine…… but I got the feeling that their products would not work on my skin due to ethnic differences

• With the US being the biggest market, it felt as if they were not spending enough time making this brand appeal to Westerners

Linktree Page needs work

• The page sends you to all the right places, but it’s not very aesthetically pleasing

• It takes 5 min to make a Linktree page more appealing…. there is no excuse

No Amazon Attribution

• I constantly moan that Amazon Attribution doesn’t work for TikTok Ads…. but it does work on a squeeze page/landing page/Linktree page

• Imagine if $1 million in sales is from external traffic…. they are turning down $100K 😞

What you can do to copy study their TikTok marketing campaign:

This is the most important part

Because let’s face it….

Amazon sellers are masters at copying….. we find something that works and then double down on it.

We don’t have the marketing budget like Cosrx and we don’t have all enough staff….

BUT

We are Amazon sellers and will use specific strategies to make every purchase more valuable in terms of Amazon Ranking (this is why DTC sellers struggle on Amazon…. they don’t understand how to rank)

Please be advised, these strategies are straight up ‘black hat’, but you can mask it with some creative marketing.

So what aspects of Cosrx can we use:

1. Outreach

2023 is about content…. the more content you have the better.

But outreach campaigns are painful 😉…. is their a faster method? Can it be done in 20 min?

Yes it can 👊

This is how I would do it:

1. Use our TikTok Brief Builder to create the brief - 2 min

2. Create a campaign on the TikTok Creator Marketplace (TikTok’s own influencer database and don’t worry Scrooge, it’s free to use) - 5 min

3. Use the Invite Links feature and copy the link - 1 min 

4. Search for category on Instagram and DM them the invite link (most Instagram users have a TikTok profile… but DM’ing users on TikTok is painful) - 10 min

5. Let’s assume your product costs $20 and you are willing to pay $50 per video. Send them the following message (5 min):

   • Hey NAME

     Love your content about X 😉 

     We are holding our own Amazon competition…..

     Anyone that purchases our product and posts a video on TikTok will win $70 instantly and at the end of the month the best creators will get a $200 hamper.

     Simply search for [BRAND NAME] [KEYWORD] on Amazon and buy our product.

     Here is the link to our campaign [Insert invite link] (2 min)

Why this works:

• By including the TikTok Invite link it comes across as authentic and genuine. You are using the TikTok branding to your benefit. They know its not a scam

• In the message make sure to reference some content they created…. it shows that you took time to look at their profile before spamming them (it’s like dating… buy them a drink before you drop your pants 😉)

• This is against Amazon TOS as it’s a rebate AND it’s a Search-Find-Buy rebate (it’s against the rules…. but you can mask it behind some creative marketing)

• At the end of every month you will pick the best creators to win the big prize… I always forget to do this, but I have never had a single complaint (‘cos they think they never won 😉)

Mystery Discount Giveaway or Wrong coupon code error

Again, this is kinda against the rules… but I still do it.

Here is the overview:

1. Contact an influencer or create a new TikTok profile (I would not recommend your brand’s TikTok profile)

2. Create a video that demonstrates the product and says “We have 50 mystery coupon codes ranging from 5% - 99% off. Comment on this video and I will DM you one of the coupon codes”

3. When someone comments on the video, DM them with Search-Find-Buy instructions

   • In the DM say “Here is your coupon code XXXX but I don’t have the link for the product as it’s been very chaotic and tons of people are messaging me. Find it on Amazon by typing [BRAND NAME + KEYWORD].

     Let me know the value of the code and if you need another, just let me know 😉”

4. The ONLY way the user can know the value of the coupon code is to add the product to their cart and then use the coupon code (but they don’t have to buy).

5. If the user is not happy with the discount or maybe the code did not work, then we can send another.

Why this works:

• Because the user thinks they could get a MASSIVE discount, but in truth, the discount is only 5% - 10% OFF. Or maybe you purposely sent them the wrong code

• You gave them Search-Find-Buy instructions and if they do not purchase because the discount is too low or did not work, then give them a proper discount.

  • Amazon loves this behaviour as the user viewed your product, added to cart but never purchased, then they come back to Amazon and purchase. Amazon loves it when a buyer returns to Amazon to purchase 🚀 

• The more engagement a post gets the more reach it will have. Getting TikTok users to comment on the post will make drastically increase its reach.

Product Comparison through Comments

Do you like your competitors? Your brand is better than their’s right?

Use TOK_COMMENT to create a video that looks as if you are answering a comment.

Why this works:

• You are creating a video showing exactly why your brand is better than your competitor’s

• By answering a comment, it comes across as genuine and authentic

That’s about it 👊

Use these strategies but please be advised…. they can get you in trouble (but I always do it 🚀 )

Any questions at all, let us know