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Newsletter #4: You are using TikTok, right?
Rankster Team
July 28, 2022
Reading Time: 4 min 13 sec
Readabilty: Grade 4 (I think I peaked in 4th grade )
This week's TikTok Ad Spend: $1,145
Welcome to the 4th edition
The ONLY Amazon newsletter focussed on Tiktok.... and no, we can't dance.
In this edition:
I am as creative as a brick ....But TikTok Creative Centre is my cement.
Most Influencers have a dirty little secret.... And TikTok doesn't care.
TikTok is dominating..... One third of its users use it daily.
TikTok Ads to Amazon.... How long until a sales boost (my case study)
We spent $6,000 on Tiktok Ads.... How do the stats compare to Amazon PPC?
I am as creative as a brick
But TikTok Creative Centre is my cement
"What type of content should I create?"
is the 2nd question I get asked the most (first is at the bottom of this email).
But TikTok's Creative Centre is your answer.....
Could you create a better video, Scorsese?
I bet you could...... and that's how easy TikTok is.
Forget about quality.... push quantity
Actually... do you know what is interesting about this video?
The viewers only took action because the text answered all the possible pain points and explained how it works.
We all know the text is important but this is a good reminder.
(kinda like my wife reminding me that there are dirty dishes that need attention.... but what does she really mean? ........Women are so mysterious ).
Quick Tip: Your listing's bullet points should be the benefits that form the video text. As in the "Best Sleep in months because my newborn slept through the night thanks to this baby blanket"
Most Influencers have a dirty little secret
And TikTok doesn't care
So let's play a game....
Look at the following Amazon strategies:
Incentivized Reviews... lasted for 2 years until Amazon shut it down
Rebates..... 2-3 years until Amazon shut it down
99% Discounts still ranking... 2 years until Amazon shut it down
Do you see a pattern?
Amazon only takes action when it becomes a problem.
All large platforms only take action when the strategy is affecting the platform.
TikTok is no different.....
TikTok will soon force influencers to disclose the details.
But this is a problem....
Because Gen Z and most of the TikTok users HATE ads (think of ads as chores to Gen Z.... you have no chance of them completing anything ).
So once someone knows the video is an ad or sponsored post.... you can say farewell to them... they don't like brands that appear 'salesy".
And as the article says, we are currently in the "Wild West Phase" of TikTok (*tipping my cowboy hat in appreciation*).
So what I am trying to get at is this...
Soon influencers will be forced to disclose everything and once they do, expect engagement to drop and Ad costs to increase....
Cheap ads with high quality traffic....That's TikTok right now!
When are you going to take action?
TikTok is dominating....
One third of its users use it daily
With more than 1.5 hours per day spent on TikTok
There is a lot more info in that article....
Your customers are on TikTok... we recently ran a campaign for a family product and the best audience were Males in the 40's...... so much for TikTok being a young audience.
But I shared it purely to demonstrate that:
TikTok is too big too ignore.....
If you are NOT on TikTok right now, you are behind
Now that I got that out the way.... I can get off my soapbox (I am afraid of heights anyway
)
TikTok Ads to Amazon
How long until a sales boost (based on my case studies)
I DON'T KNOW NUTHIN' ABOUT NUTHIN' - Steve Simonson (which is a bold statement as he does more in a week than we do in our career).
But that couldn't be more true when it comes to selling on Amazon.
'Cos Amazon Experts are more common than Covid (too soon?)
Saying you are an Amazon expert is kinda like saying you are a crypto expert (how are feeling right now? You are an expert so your are up right now?....Right?.... why are you stressed?).
Question: But when running Ads to your Amazon listing, when can I expect a sales bump?
Answer:Great Question
But let's start with an easier one, like "Who built the pyramids?"
Over the past few months we have pushed over 500 TikTok ads pointing directly to the Amazon listings and/or storefront.
80% of the brands experienced a sales boost..... but the sales boost was Organic.
Only 2% of clicks ended up purchasing (tracked with Amazon Attribution).
We send a ton of traffic from TikTok to Amazon...
We have analyzed all of our campaigns and these 3 tips tell you everything you need to know:
No 2 campaigns follow the same path You are at the mercy of 2 algorithms (TikTok and Amazon)
What is your conversion rate? You will see a boost in traffic and the audience is already interested as they have seen it on TikTok. But if your page doesn't convert, then you are wasting your money Kinda like Kim Kardashian spending money on a wedding.....
Have you checked your PPC? A lot of TikTok users will find the product on Amazon BEFORE the video has finished. So make sure you are targeting your Branded Search terms ie. Focus your PPC on your brand name... that's how they find your products.
So stop trying to analyze the reports to see if TikTok is working...
It's too late for that...
Look at the image above.... over 1.1 million impressions.
That means 1.1 million people have seen the products we advertised ($0.0054c per view).
Stop asking "is TikTok for me? Is it a waste of money?"
Forget that and get on the platform for this one reason:
Amazon wants more external traffic and TikTok is at the top.
Amazon wants TikTok users
Give Amazon what they want
You will be rewarded
We spent $6,000 on Tiktok Ads....
How do the stats compare to PPC?
Here is the painful part about sending traffic to Amazon:
We cannot track the traffic effectively and Amazon Attribution can't be trusted.
Amazon will not allow us to "pixel" the traffic, which means we can never truly optimize the campaigns (that's the same as creating Amazon PPC campaigns with only AUTO and no manual targetting).
So how do the stats above compare to Amazon PPC?
Again, that is impossible to answer as it's a case by case basis. But in the data above, there were products from Beauty, Kitchenware, Toys, Baby, Games, Pets and Supplements.
So rather, view the data as an average and use this as a benchmark against your PPC.
When doing this, its important to know the difference between TikTok traffic and Amazon PPC:
For Amazon PPC, what is your average CPC VS the TikTok benchmarks above?
The data above is around 1.2 million impressions... meaning that 1.2 million people saw the TikTok video, with each impression costing a fraction of a cent. How many impressions do you have on Amazon?
Compare the Click-Through-Rate (CTR..... the percentage of people that took action after seeing the ad) against your PPC
I am not a PPC expert so I have no doubt there is a ton of metrics I haven't thought of.
Please reply and let me know how these metrics compare to your data.
That's it for now.
Personally, I spend a lot of time attempting to make this newsletter entertaining and if you are not entertained it means one of two things:
I am not entertaining in the slightest (please don't prove my wife right )
You feel jaded and frustrated with Amazon
So either, my wife is right or you are getting stressed over Amazon...
Here is my 2c....
Running an Amazon business is incredibly stressful (and I use to work at a school for youth offenders... got a scar above my eye to prove it )
BUT...
I am typing this right now whilst my 4-year-old is hitting me with her Elsa toy (F***ing Frozen)....
It is worth all the stress.... a year selling on Amazon is a decade in the 9-5 world.
And even if we all fail.... we have a skill set that everyone wants.
If we were in school together.... we would be the group of misfits that no one understands.
We are in this together
Thanks for reading.
- Paul
PS... The most commonly asked question I get asked is "Are my customers on TikTok?"..... Spoiler Alert: YES
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