Shopping Instagram Ads

Up until recently, Instagram had been performing better in terms of shop-ability, perhaps due to age and time on the scene and I think this is due to the aspirational and aesthetic content that it harnesses. It has always lent itself better to the shopping experience as it mimics the e-commerce experience better, and the main way people use Instagram is its static, very polished aspirational shots.

The Rise of TikTok Shop

However this is slowly changing with the increased popularity of TikTok shop and its unique approach to captivating a consumerist audience. In offering shop-able ads, product showcases and creator partnerships, it is reinventing how brands connect with their audience in encouraging a native checkout, resulting in higher conversion rates and ROAS (return on ad spend). As TikTok’s focus is on personalisation, it also increases the chances that your content is being placed in front of the right audience.

Primary TikTok Shopper

It is likely that the primary TikTok shopper is Gen Z who are more likely to buy into the hype around a certain product and make impulsive purchasing decisions aligned with a ‘TikTok made me buy it’ way of thinking. Whether TikTok shop is suitable for a brand will depend on the accessibility of the product and whether it can lean into the hype cycle, especially with younger audiences that have more limited disposable income.

Consumers using TikTok as a Search Engine

Google search is becoming less prominent among the younger generation when researching brands and products as they turn to other platforms to find this information. For example, with #styleinspo or product #’s being one of the most popular and some of the most trending hashtags on TikTok. We can see this is a popular method that these audiences are using to find more information about a possible product purchase or to even be exposed to products that they may want to purchase. Looking up sizes, the way products fit and work, this peer to peer evaluation and feedback breeds an element of trust that gets lost in Google search. With the saturation of Google Ads and endless paid promotional content it’s hard to know what recommendations are actually authentic and audiences begin to question the level of trust that they have in that. Whereas on the other hand, and with the TikTok algorithm, aligning your feed with content ‘for you’ and based on content you like based on similar content by creators that you associate yourself with, really allows content to be filtered out and increases a more trusted recommendation and its accessibility to find it.

User-generated Content

More personal verticals and User Generated Content – the information on these platforms has been produced by people that align better with yourself so you feel that you have a better recommendation- search is so saturated on Google and is hard to determine what’s been paid to be put on the ranking.

Searching Via Visuals

The new generations are visual and lean towards trends and aesthetic videos. We relate to visual content more as it provides increased trust in what the product will look like beyond promotional content. By using product or location tags to see authentic content from people who have visited or used the relevant brand, product or service, helps today’s consumer determine whether it is what they are looking for.

In Summary

In terms of shopability creators are keen to take their content to the next level and with affiliate links – action from their post to shop, both consumers and influencers can benefit while promoting a brand.

Emerging deeper into the latter half of 2024 and into 2025, it will be interesting to see the progression as the platforms and creators continue to mature.