Develop a content strategy to help your store stand out this Holiday Season

We don't need to tell you that December is the key shopping month for online stores but with increased sales opportunities comes greater competition for customers' attention. So how can you make sure you're reaching new audiences, letting customers discover the benefits of your products at this most important time? TikTok has put together a Holiday Guide to help you make the most of all the key shopping days over this period. And don't worry, whether you're just starting out on TikTok or an established trend setter, we're here to help you connect your message and product with the audiences that matter most. Oh and remember that as you're a PrestaShop merchant you have access to the TikTok For Business module which can help you get up and running with pixel, catalog sync and account creation in no time at all.

Your potential customers are on TikTok... And you should be too

We get it. We've heard all the jokes about our platform just being about dancing teenagers but if you're still making that assumption you've obviously not been on the app in a while. Our recent research has taught us two key things that can serve you and your store well:

1) TikTok's audience isn't just a duplication of what you see on other platforms. Spending time cultivating your presence on TikTok is time well spent. You can find unique users who aren't anywhere else. 

          

Source: AppAnnie April 2021, US audience

2) TikTok is a destination to discover product. A massive 39% of TikTok users say they discovered a product/brand on TikTok they didn't know about before and what's more 77% of TikTokers say

that TikTok is likely to inspire a gift idea this year.

Get creative to take advantage of the opportunity

Ok, we've given you the sales pitch on why TikTok deserves your attention. But how can you be part of this? Well now's the time to start cultivating your businesses presence on the platform - start by creating TikToks for your profile and then slowly build up to refining you content strategy. As a first step, download and install the TikTok module for PrestaShop. This free module enables simple account setup, pixel installation and catalog sync. From there, you can start thinking about getting your own content showcasing your products onto the platform.

3 weeks to go - Creative Planning

Creative is one of the most important movers when it comes to increasing performance and driving conversions on TikTok. But don't worry, you don't need big budgets to make effective creative. If you start planning this far out, developing strong creative is achievable. Here's where you should start:

Determine your goal(s) for the holiday season and build out your content pillars. Before you do anything, start by determining your business objectives this season and build a plan to support them with a cadence of marketing. Is your objective: awareness or conversion? Once you know that, start planning out the types of content you want to create.

Start planning your content: Are you shooting content for TikTok? We always emphasize a TikTok first approach with our mantra "Don't make ads, make TikToks". In paying attention to the native style of the platform you'll be able to match your content in perfectly.

Test & Learn: Post organically first to see what type of content resonates with your audience. If something performs well, consider using Spark Ads to amplify during the holidays.

2 weeks to go – Campaign setup

Develop your voice: Determine how you want to show up to your audience. What's the tone you want to set for the season? Is it festive, funny, reflective, and educational?

Build your base: Develop and test your brand's "pitch" and see how TikTokers react. You want them to discover your brand before big holiday moments, so you're top of mind as they start shopping. We recommend focusing on the Reach objective to build your audience. But remember: show, don't just tell.

Prep Your Creative: Take all the planning you did last week and create some TikToks. But even if you're stuck you can find inspiration at the TikTok For Business Inspiration Center.

1 week to go - Pre-Launch

Get your creative ready: Upload your ads to Ads Manager and place them into your ad sets.

Preview your creative: It's time to check how your ads look! The actual ads will be adjusted based on a user's device and network conditions so check out how your ad will look once it's published on your actual device. Check it out here.

Using 3rd party tracking?

Add any relevant 3rd party tracking URLs to your ads in Ads Manager to track your performance data.

So there you have it. A simple but effective outline of how to get your brand started on TikTok. Dip into the holiday guide for more details on how to get yourself noticed and remember to check out TikTok For Business module on PrestaShop to help you get started even faster.