In hyper-competitive online store markets with escalating cost of acquiring customers and declining attention spans among consumers, it seemed as if our brand was perpetually within the pattern of Slow Growth. With world-class product and brand equity, we were nevertheless incapable of figuring out the mystery of performance marketing. We went radicalâwe brought on a TikTok marketing agency.In 90 days, sales grew 5X, three times greater engagement rate, and cost-per-acquisition reduced by more than anywhere else. Hereâs our genuine, unapologetic account: issues that we encountered, how our TikTok ads agency resolved them, and what solutions led to performanceâall the way down through TikTok Shop influencer marketing, Spark Ads, and conversion-driven creatives.
Our Scaling Experience with eCommerce using TikTok Marketing Agency
We had become accustomed to thinking of TikTok as an entertainment platform of Gen Z. Viral dances and lip-syncs never quite made sense organically with our high-quality, mid-priced home essentials brand.Even with all of LâOrĂ©al brandsmile-makers, of Youthforia and of faceless Amazon zealots, seemingly going viral at once on TikTok, we couldnât help but question the question of whether TikTok can be an effective growth generator for us.We did not have TikTok presence. We did not have UGC. We did not have strategic influencer use. And we certainly were not using Spark Ads nor listing on TikTok Shop.And what we did have were:A physical product with realizable, demonstrable use caseGood word of mouth and good retainageA stagnant yet expanding Shopify DTC store
So I accompanied an ad agency on TikTok that handled representation of rising eCommerce start-ups. And thatâs where things flipped.
The Beginning Point
Fast Steep Ad Costs and Growth Rate
Before TikTok, all of our ad spending went through Instagram and Facebook. Although they had previously successfully generated ROI, recent ads were underperforming. Our cost-per-click had shot up 34% in 6 months, and return on ad spend was less than 1.5x. Google ads had reach but did not have scale. We were pouring capital down the drain attempting to compete within cannibalized feeds.Our organic strategy only very subtly attracted traffic. With daily regular calendar of Instagram and plenty of article-rich blogs each month, conversions were sluggish. We were thinking long-term with SEOâbut we need results yesterday.
New TikTok Account
When we brought in the agency, we had:Sorry, no TikTok videoRegistration of no businessNo TikTok pixel installedZero experience with managing creators and ads on the platform
We were arriving with no experience, and that was good. The agency never had bad habits it had to shed offâthe sheet was pure white, and they were able to correctly set out the TikTok funnel on the very first day.
What the Agency Did
Our TikTok ad agency arrived with end-to-end strategy and execution play fine-tuned on TikTokâs commerce platform. Virality was not on the table whatsoeverâtheir sole obsession being profitable conversions. All the diff it made.That is what happened with 90-sprint.
1. Affiliate TikTok Shop Campaign through Affiliate Links
Top of those were benefiting from TikTok Shop influencer marketing.Since it would be expensive using macro influencers with high commissions, the agency made use of micro and mid-tier influencers with high reach already affiliated on TikTok Shopâs affiliate campaign.They controlled everything:Source and validate creators on TikTok Creator Marketplace and outside websitesNegotiating affiliate commissions (10â25%)Scripting and creative briefing such that creatives noted key selling pointsSeeding of product and video timeline sync
These creators made organic-like of all of their contents with product links of TikTok Shop attached with in-app-click-to-purchase within TikTok app.Up until the first 3 weeks, 15 creators had uploaded 37 videos. A home decor creator with 20K followers made 4 days of 2,500 sales with an excellent âTikTok made me buy itâ hook and powerful CTA.
2. Pay-per-Click Spark Ads Scaling Out of Organic
After identifying high-performing creator content, TikTok ads agency introduced Spark Adsâthe Spark Ad format of using creator videos as ads with original post integrity and reach.The company launched Spark Ads with accuracy:Targeted custom audiences: Those users whose visit on TikTok Shop page did not result in any buyLookalike Audiences: Reaching former buyers and high-potential web visitorsBroad targeting: Home ordering, lifestyle, and green lifestyle interests
There was always a direct URL of our TikTok Shop listing on every Spark Ad with clear concise CTA like âShop Nowâ or âTap to Try This Hack.âResponses were real-time. CTRs were 2.5 times greater than the earlier Facebook ads. CPMs were 40% lesser. Spark Ads provided creators with the best of all worlds: cred of creators + reach of ads.
3. Testing of Creative Hooks and CTA Optimization
A first-second TikTok hook is enough.Our agency invested the first fourteen days of experimentation with more than 25 creative versions with descending/different openings:âthis product did change my morning routine.ââYouâve had it all wrong since you were born.ââBelieve all the reviews until youâve tasted itâŠâ
They tried creator and in-house UGC in the below formats:Before-and-after revealsDay-of-use integrationViral audio mashupsRe-action-type voice
Each of the commercials were created in harsh TikTok-native format: 9â15 seconds at most, pay-off within a moment, native text onlays, product reveal within 3 seconds of watch, and harsh CTA.Most effective CTA? “Links in storeârun before itâs sold!” It broke.
4. Optimization of TikTok Shop Product Listing
Our ads and contents were made by the creative team, while the backend team made conversion-optimized product listing of our TikTok Shop. These were:Well-presenting product titles with keyword-searchablePhone-first product photographyBundle product optionsCountdown timers with time-limited offersCreating reviews and questions sectionsMarking with “Hot” and “Bestseller”
The company tried heatmaps as part of efforts at identifying higher-performing thumbnails and A/B tested on images, on prices, and on bundles.
Results at 90 Days
SpaceX 5X Revenue Multiples
Our direct-to-client sales were $31K at month 1 and more than $158K at month 3.TikTok Shop alone generated 64% of all the freshly created order numbers of customers.Average order value increased 18% through the use of bundle offers and timely promotion.The affiliate producers made over $20K in commission collectively, promoting more and more productions.Good news? Our recently registered users were smaller, more active, and more likely donors on TikTok duets and commenting on behalf.
3X Higher Engagement across All Platforms
Even TikTok did not stay immune. Since Spark Ads were employing creator handles, Our own profile grew exponentially. 90 days later:TikTok followers increased 0 to 23,000Instagram 41% higher reach (which is debatable because of cross-posting on TikTok)Signups were 2.4X greater as more registered after seeing us first on TikTokOur top 3 YouTube viral videos all exceeded 1M views and is still generating traffic.
Smaller CAC and Higher ROAS
Reduced CAC from $27 to $9.60 with TikTok campaigns.Paid and organic blended combined ROAS was 6.2x.TikTok was 3 times cheaper than Facebook Ads.
Case Study: TikTok Agency Agreement of Youthforia
One of the original inspirations for work at the agency was Youthforia, the beauty company that 0â1M+ grew entirely on TikTok Shop influencer marketing.Their TikTok advertising collaboration with an experienced TikTok advertising agency included:Strategical product seeding of 300+ microUGC scaling with Spark AdsSeep integrations with TikTok Shop ads
Their recently viral color-shifting blush video racked up more than 4M views and attracted through thousands of brand-new customersâmany through TikTokâs in-app buy pipeline.And the bottom line is that you donât need huge followers, only decent-enough content, decent-enough producers, and decent-enough agency execution.
Why An Ad Agency TikTok Partnership is A Game-Changer
If you’re already considering TikTok as an experiment, you’re already behind.TikTok is the most token-ready physical product social platform at least as far as TikTok Shop as well as affiliate-commerce development is involved. But itâs not cocktail party.Thatâs what our TikTok ads agency did that we would have never achieved by ourselves:Collaborations with creators generating real content at scaleExtensive test suites for discovering high-performing hooksPixel-wise data comparison and segmentation of audiencesUp-to-date monitoring of TikTok populars and popular musicSnappily integrated TikTok Shop support, từ ÄÄng listing product Äáșżn fine-tune
We re-envisioned the entire marketing funnel in 90 daysâthe agency sustained momentum.
If you’re either e-commerce business or direct-to-consumer brand and have not yet cracked TikTok with industry experts, it is high time.Wondered what the ultimate TikTok advertising agency is capable of delivering on behalf of your brand? Schedule A TikTok Growth Strategy Phone Call with The Short Media
FAQs
1. What does a TikTok marketing agency do?
A TikTok marketing agency specializes in TikTok marketing. A TikTok ad agency takes care of all of the steps of creator outreach, strategy, paid advertising, TikTok Shop setup, as well as reporting. Their area of expertise is TikTok-born commerce strategies that convert sales, not views.
2. Why is TikTok Shop influencer marketing effective?
Extremely effective. With native product affiliate links and native product commissions, creators become more inclined towards high converting content. The algo of TikTok higherlifts native product viral contents as well, with bias on smaller creators going viral.
3. How is an ads agency for TikTok different than an agency for all kinds of marketing?
A TikTok ad agency is all things specific ad types, trends, templates of content, and platform mechanics of TikTok. They understand the kind of content that converts and scaling with paid media.
4. Does TikTok favor already established businesses, or is it only for start-ups?
Both. TikTok is playing on the same playing field. Where most startups find entry through it, Fenty Beauty, Crocs, and CeraVe, as established brands, use TikTok as a means of keeping it culturally relevant and having entry points into fresh demos.
5. How soon can I realize ROI with TikTok marketing?
With proper creative and agency strategy, all brands have healthy 90â30 performance. However, TikTokâs algo penalizes intermittency and therefore month-over-month compounded ROI with daily upload consistency, playing with trends, and data-driven pruning.