Debating Communities and Networks XIV

TikTok: A Powerful Platform to build nieche eCommerce Communities

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Nicholas M

ABSTRACT

TikTok has fast become a global sensation with over 1 billion active monthly users worldwide. The platform is known for its wide range of engaging and relatable short form videos ranging from dancing to comedy to how to DIY guides and life hacks. On average, TikTok users spend more than 25 hours engaging with content on the app monthly. This 1.5 times more time spent on the app than TikTok’s closest competitor, Facebook (Wallaroo Media, 2023). The TikTok app has proven to be a powerful tool in eCommerce for millennial entrepreneurs who are able to build a following and promote products and services through their account to their community and provide niche marketing solutions to brands.

 

KEYWORDS

TikTok, Social Media, Entrepreneurs, Business, Influencers, Community, eCommerce

 

INTRODUCTION

Since its inception in 2016, over the past seven years TikTok has cemented itself as one of the fastest growing social media platforms in the world with more than 1 billion active monthly users; 11% of the world’s population (Iqbal, 2023). Social Media as a whole is an ever growing phenomenon in which a record amount of users continue to use daily. The growth in social media apps such as TikTok boosts the online eCommerce industry by providing a means of direct niche advertising to consumers.

 

Influencers on social media platforms, especially TikTok, have an enormous impact on influencing millennial online purchasing behaviours and trends as millennial’s spend the most amount of time on the platform and are able to connect with the relatable content (Miller, 2022).  

 

 

BODY

 

ABOUT TIKTOK

TikTok is unique as it allows for users to post quick, short form videos, up to a maximum 3 minutes, with the majority of videos voluntarily being a maximum of 45 seconds in length. This quick style format allows for viewers to quickly consume content and forces creators to create content that grabs viewers attention as quickly as possible. Based on users interactions and watch time behaviour with videos, the TikTok algorithm will learn what content the user likes and will then promote videos that are more relevant to that particular viewer (Newberry, 2023). Say for example, if a user watches a bunch of clothing videos in full length, and a DIY home renovation video for 3 seconds, the algorithm will push more apparel related content onto that particular user.

 

 

ABOUT E-COMMERCE

Ecommerce businesses continues to grow year on year as traditional brick and mortar stores start to transition to hybrid models where they sell items in store and online. More than 13% of sales in the retail space come from ecommerce, a number that continues to grow year on year (Renouard, 2023). It is not uncommon though for businesses to start an online only store with no physical address and have 100% of its sales come from online. Services like Shopify make it very easy for millennials to start up and create an online store with little experience, by offering all in one ecommerce solutions. Shopify’s initial setup guides users through a quick setup guide asking users a number of questions relating to their store. From there, within a matter of minutes, users can have a fully functioning website ready to sell their products to anyone anywhere in the world.

 

 

GETTING SEEN

TikToks algorithm is designed to promote content that it thinks is most relevant and engaging for the viewer. This means that creators that create engaging and relatable content have a higher chance of reaching a broader audience. This also makes it easier for creators on the platform to reach their niche audience, as their content is usually promoted to accounts with similar interests. You can take advantage of TikTok’s algorithm by having the right approach, and releasing topical content at the right time. Hashtags are another way in which creators can promote their content and reach their audience. Viewers can search for tags relating to a specific category and then be shown content relating to that category. For example, if a viewer searched for apparel, they would expect to be shown apparel related content.

 

 

BUILDING A NICHE COMMUNITY ON TIKTOK

An example of a millennial entrepreneur who has leveraged TikTok to build a niche community is Emily Lucin, the founder of Napoleon Wear. Emily launched her TikTok account in 2018. At the time she had a full time job and enjoyed creating clothing on the side (Lucin, 2023). Emily documented her journey on how she creates her pieces, her business struggles and successes through TikTok videos. She also regularly posts feel good content showing her giving away pieces from her store to some lucky customers, as well as videos of her occasionally packing orders and behind the scenes footage of how she runs her hustle. Through this unique behind the scenes lens, Emily has gained a following of well over 300k with almost 14 million likes across all of her content, just on TikTok alone. This large following has allowed Emily to quit her fulltime job and turn her side hustle into her main hustle and turn Emily into an influencer of sorts. Emily’s niche TikTok community can be narrowed down to young girls (16 to 30 year olds) who like wearing trendy bright coloured apparel. Emily has leveraged the power of TikTok to build a niche community of her own and promote her creations.

 

 

SUBTLE PROMOTION OF PRODUCTS & GROWING THE COMMUNITY

Although Emily’s business is mainly selling apparel items, she is creative in the way that she promotes her creations on TikTok. Not every video on her account is apparel or business related, instead she posts relatable content about her daily life and subtly incorporates her apparel by solely wearing it in videos and not making reference to it at all. For example, Emily has posted videos about her creating her wedding invitations, whilst wearing her line of apparel. This opens up her TikTok community to a larger network than what she would normally gain traction from, namely people who are getting married. It is then not uncommon for viewers to comment asking where she got the outfit from, which she is then able to direct them to her online store. Emily has also capitalised on capturing the bride to be market by creating a bridal line of apparel items which she is able to market through her own bridal journey content.

 

‘OVERNIGHT SUCCESS’

 TikTok is such a powerful platform that it has allowed millennial entrepreneurs to increase their small business sales dramatically. In 2021, Dasha (16 years old at the time) from Enchanted Scrunch opened her own small business (Derkach, 2021). At the time of opening her business she created unique scrunchie designs and promoted them on Instagram. It wasn’t until a few months later that she started posting videos of her creations on TikTok. Her first video got over 15 thousand views which converted to 10 orders on the first day of posting. Dasha continued making videos on TikTok and building a community of her own on the app. Her TikTok account has since grown to over 300 thousand followers and accounts for around 90% of her overall sales. She now regularly receives over 500 orders per week and has turned her unique scrunchie brand into a six figure business (Shopify, 2022). Since she has created a community of over 300 thousand, Dasha is now able to expand her businesses’ offering into other accessories and retarget to her TikTok community.

 

 

COLLABORATIONS HELP TO GROW THE COMMUNITY

Millennial creators on TikTok are always looking for ways to increase exposure and to build a bigger community. One way that they are able to do this is through collaborations with other creators on the platform as well as brands. Khaby Lame is the second most followed personality on TikTok collecting a little over 150 million followers. Lame’s demographic is quite diverse although the majority of his following are millennials. The 23 year old social media personality from Italy is known for his ironic videos where he mocks unnecessarily complex ‘life hack’ videos (Popbuzz, 2022). In January of this year Hugo Boss collaborated with Lame as a means of advertising to millennials through his TikTok community (Hashem, 2022). The collaboration between the two has Lame designing his own apparel collection that is being manufactured and released by Boss. While the statistics from the collaboration are kept confidential, it is undoubtable that Hugo Boss has been able to capitalise and raise their own brand awareness through Lame’s TikTok community.

 

TikTok has become so powerful over recent years, that Forbes claims that the app has begun replacing mainstream forms of media, like the television and news outlets (Karra, 2022). The app has become a one stop shop and a go to place for all things news and entertainment. What makes TikTok different from other social media platforms is the fact that most of the content is unscripted and in fact, the content that is scripted and more professional, generally perform worse. There is something so personal about content created using a phone rather than a high end camera.

 

STRONG IMPACT ON YOUTH

Millennials spend the most amount of time using TikTok. They are consumed by the app on average for more than 25 hours per week where they can be easily influenced by the content that they consume (Iqbal, 2023). More than 70% of consumers trust the opinions and advertising that comes from influencers (May, 2022). In fact, around 50% of millennials have made purchasing decisions based on the recommendations of an influencer. There is even a trending hashtag among TikTokers #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt (with over 7 billion views to date) where people post videos and reviews on items that they have purchased through influencer recommendations on TikTok. This proves how powerful and important of a platform TikTok is in growing a successful business in 2023. When consumers make purchasing decisions through the content that they see on the app, they feel as though they are part of that community of people.  

 

CONCLUSION

It is undoubtable that with over 1 billion active users, TikTok has become a global sensation worldwide. The platform has proven to be a very powerful tool that millennial entrepreneurs are able to build and grow an online community on that they, alongside brands are able to capitalise on and sell products to. TikTok has opened up many new opportunities for businesses and entrepreneurs and will continue to be a valuable tool that millennials are able to use for eCommerce marketing.

 

 

 

References

(2023). TikTok Statistics – Everything You Need to Know [Mar 2023 Update]. In Wallaroo Media. Wallaroo Media. https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/

 

Iqbal, Mansoor. (2023). TikTok Revenue and Usage Statistics (2023). In Business of Apps. Business of Apps. https://www.businessofapps.com/data/tik-tok-statistics/

 

Newberry, Christina. (2023). 2023 TikTok Algorithm Explained + Tips to Go Viral. In Hootsuite. Hootsuite. https://blog.hootsuite.com/tiktok-algorithm/

 

Lucin, Em (2023). OUR STORY. In Napoleon Wear. Napoleon Wear. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://napoleonwear.com/pages/our-story

 

Miller, Chase. (2022). Social Media Influencers’ Impact on Youth | The Good & Bad of Social. In Young Entertainment. Young Entertainment. https://youngentertainmentmag.com/social-media-influencers-impact-youth/

 

Derkach, Dasha (2021). About Us. In Enchanted Scrunch. Enchanted Scrunch. https://enchantedscrunch.com/pages/about-us

 

Shopify (2022). TikTok Success Stories: 9 Small Businesses That Went Viral. In Shopify. Shopify. https://www.shopify.com/au/blog/tiktok-success-stories

 

PopBuzz (2022). Khaby Lame: 14 facts about the TikTok star you really need to know. In PopBuzz. PopBuzz. https://www.popbuzz.com/internet/tiktok/khaby-lame/

 

Hashem, Hawra. (2022). TikTok Influencer Collabs That Will Blow Your Mind. In Kubbco. Kubbco. https://www.kubbco.com/tiktok-influencer/

 

Karra, Srikar. (2022). Council Post: How Businesses Can Utilize The Power Of TikTok. In Forbes. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/06/15/how-businesses-can-utilize-the-power-of-tiktok/

 

Renouard, Jacqueline. (2023). Retail Statistics: Brick & Mortar Stores vs Ecommerce. In Website Builder Expert. Website Builder Expert. https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/building-online-stores/retail-statistics/

 

May, Rachel. (2022). Video killed the Instagram star? The rise of TikTok influencers for brands. In Audiense. Audiense. https://resources.audiense.com/blog/video-killed-the-instagram-star-the-rise-of-tiktok-influencers-for-brands

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12 responses to “TikTok: A Powerful Platform to build nieche eCommerce Communities”

  1. A.Assonne Avatar
    A.Assonne

    Hello Nicholas,

    Your paper was a very interesting read. Although I don’t really use the app Tiktok that much (I have to admit that I do have it installed on my mobile phone though haha) but I still don’t consider myself an avid user of the application. I don’t follow anyone and I don’t have any followers, I don’t even have a profile picture. However, I do check from time time and briefly, some random videos that just appear on the feed. I know for a fact and as you mentioned based on the research that you conducted, THERE ARE quite a lot of TikTok users out there in the present times. Yet, despite the fact that I personally don’t use the app that much, I could still relate and understand many of the points that you brought up in your paper. Maybe it’s because we are all millenials and we somehow understand how such social platforms work? Everything is being done online nowadays specially when it comes to marketing (digital marketing) and one can easily market himself/herself or a product/service that he/she is offering.

    Regards,
    Avinash

    1. Nicholas.Mamone Avatar
      Nicholas.Mamone

      Hey Avinash,

      Thank you for taking the time to read through and for sharing your thoughts. Whether we like it or not social media has become a part of our lives. As you mentioned, digital marketing and advertising is an integral part of any growing business. TikTok has proven to be an effective platform for brands to easily reach their target audience.

      You mentioned that you have TikTok installed but don’t consider yourself an avid user of the app. I am curious to know how many times a week you may log onto the app and how long that you spend during each session? I find myself going on a rabbit hole when I go onto the app, and sometimes find it hard to focus on working because of how quickly we consume content on the app. Do you think that social media has made it easier or harder for individuals and businesses to promote themselves online?

  2. N.Chong4 Avatar
    N.Chong4

    Hi Nicholas,

    I enjoyed reading your paper as not only am I active on TikTok, I also have a following of over 13 thousand with 700k likes accumulated and am running a small e-commerce business using social media platforms.

    I agree with your argument that TikTok can be a powerful tool to build an e-commerce business once you have established a niche and a community. Your points about converting followers into sales remind me of the phrase “attention is the new currency”, brought up by multiple millionaire entrepreneurs. I believe that with the ever-growing amount of content and information on TikTok in today’s digital age, businesses and marketers must find ways to compete for people’s limited attention spans as these viewers can potentially become a part of a brand’s community or loyal followers of a brand, which then they will want to support the business through purchasing.

    While reading your paper, I have a couple of questions to ask:

    1. Why do you think e-commerce is more for millennials and not Gen Z? As you only mentioned millennials. A couple of articles from my research state that there are more Gen Z on the platform than Millennials, with 60% of TikTok’s audience consisting of Gen Z (TikTok Statistics updated in March 2023, link: https://wallaroomedia.com/blog/social-media/tiktok-statistics/#:~:text=Gen%20Z%20%E2%80%93%2060%25%20of%20TikTok,Gen%20Zers%20are%20trendsetters). I have also seen many anecdotal experiences of Gen Zs (aged between 16-25) building a multiple-figure business as a side hustle, and some even while studying at university through building their community online. Some TikTokers include @oliviapercoco and @katherinesaras

    2. Do you think there are more e-commerce businesses stemming from influencers who want to get rich quickly and achieve “overnight success” as you mentioned, thus, use their communities as a way to achieve that goal, or individuals who genuinely want to start a business, hence start building their community as a process?

    3. Do you think these millennials or Gen Z are lacking the discipline to get rich as many are quitting their 9-5?

    4. I like how you used examples like Emily Lucin’s success story to demonstrate your point that having a narrow niche is essential in the community-building process. Have you researched why Emily creates behind-the-scenes content for her wedding and what marketing strategies she used to advertise her bridal line of apparel in converting her followings of 300k into sales?

    I am looking forward to your response!

    Best,

    Natalie

    1. Nicholas.Mamone Avatar
      Nicholas.Mamone

      Hey Natalie,

      Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my paper.

      While it is true that there are more Gen Z on the platform, my paper dialed into Millennials as the examples that I gave about the business owners were Millennial entrepreneurs. I don’t think that eCommerce is more for millennials and not Gen-Z, I just wanted to focus in on Millennials. I also think that Millennials have more of a disposable income to make impulse purchases online too!

      I think that there is defiantly a mixture of both people on the platform with the mentality of get rich quick as you put it but also people who are willing to put in the effort and seem like they are an overnight success, but are really the product of years of hard work! I think those who are primarily motivated by making money get caught out early on. It is important to be authentic on the platform.

      I don’t necessarily think that they are lacking discipline, I genuinely think that millennials and Gen Z’ers are more entrepreneurial and open to taking risks than the previous generations have been. While they may be lacking the understanding of how much effort is required to operate a business, they are still willing to try and give it a go!

      I haven’t done too much research into that particular case as there is not a plethora of information on Emily, my assumption is that she is using her wedding to create more content for her TikTok account. The algorithm allegedly favours accounts that post regularly and I feel as though this may be a way in which Emily is able to create more interesting and relatable content.

      You mentioned that you have your own TikTok account with a decent following and engagement yourself! I am interested to know what type of content that you have been posting? Would you be willing to share your videos for me to have a look at? Did you find some pieces of content worked better than others or do you think that it is luck of the draw on going viral? Would you also sell ‘ad space’ on your TikTok account and promote other businesses products in return for say a free product of money?

      Thanks again Natalie!

  3. Michelle.Sayer Avatar
    Michelle.Sayer

    Hello Nicholas,

    Thanks for the read which is interesting to me. I am drawn to TikTok on many levels; I’ve dipped my toes in but have not officially taken it up, so far at least. Do you think the exponential growth is largely due to the eCommerce element? I am also intrigued by the algorithm which measures an individual’s watch time and wonder if your research has shown whether other social media platforms focus on the same thing or just note what is being watched regardless of the time factor.

    Regards to you,

    Michelle Sayer

    1. Nicholas.Mamone Avatar
      Nicholas.Mamone

      Hey Michelle,

      Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to my article, I’m glad that you found it interesting!

      TikTok’s growth can be attributed to several factors, not just the eCommerce element of it. The short, relatable and highly engaging content on TikTok is at the forefront of it’s exponential growth, which has helped it to gain popularity, alongside it’s clever algorithm that serves users with content that is most relatable to them.

      Regarding watch time, through my research TikTok’s algorithm does place watch time as a significant indicator of user engagement and interest in a particular video. Through my research, other social platforms also take note of user watch time, but I am not sure to what extent that they use it. Facebook, for instance, takes metrics such as likes, comments and shares into consideration when determining if content is engaging or not.

      I am interested to know from you Michelle, what specifically draws you to TikTok? Have you started to make content of your own – if so has it been for a business or personal? Is there a particular piece of content that you find that the algorithm keeps throwing onto your feed? For me I find that I can’t seem to get rid of TV shows with Temple run split screened off my feed!!

  4. Aryan.Mohanty Avatar
    Aryan.Mohanty

    Hi Nicholas,

    Very interesting paper. Very enjoyable and gave me a good insight into a niche I’m in.

    The fact that you found so many examples and backed it data and relevance to the age group you’re talking about is awesome. I also really like the layout of your paper making it digestible and easy to understand for people who have no idea about the E-commerce industry in general.

    My questions to you is:

    Is there a pattern you noticed about how successful e-commerce entrepreneurs/ businesses balanced the 2 different types of content: Giving value through tips and ideas and just promoting business?

    Do you think this rapid growth that e-com brand owners had over Tiktok is sustainable or replicatable on other platforms?

    Do you believe that everyone with an E-comm business must develop some sort of influencer type social personality on these apps to reach that rapid growth the people you’ve mentioned have achieved?

    Thanks,
    Aryan

    1. Nicholas.Mamone Avatar
      Nicholas.Mamone

      Hey Aryan,

      Thank you for taking the time to read through my paper and for your questions.

      I have noticed that TikTok seems to promote accounts that are active regularly and are posting consistently. Through my research I have found that the accounts that have a lot of videos will most likely have videos that go viral – obviously there are also exceptions to that where new accounts can have content go viral instantly. By posting general tips and other off topic content, it allows for the creator to create more content and upload more videos to meet the algorithm’s expectations!

      I personally don’t think that the growth seen on TikTok is sustainable for newcomer’s as there are a lot of new businesses flooding the platform trying to replicate the success that other companies have had on the platform. I think that there is still and always will definitely be potential for business growth on TikTok but not at the rapid pace that other businesses have experienced. I also definitely think that it can be replicated on other social platforms, namely Instagram! I feel like social media in general has become one big business advertisement.

      I think it definitely helps businesses become more relatable when they have a social media personality although I don’t think it is 100% necessary, depending on what type of business they are running. One page that does this well is Ryan Air, they make memes and content that makes fun of themself – https://www.tiktok.com/@ryanair . For an airline, I don’t think it is necessary but it helps to poke fun at their flaws. For the beauty industry tho, I 100% think that it is essential to have a personality as they are selling a product that they want to see being worn and if they vibe with your personality it would also help them to sell the product.

      Are you a user of TikTok yourself? After having a read through my paper does it in any way change the way that you consume content on the platform (ie. are you more aware that you are being subtly advertised to when you are watching videos)?

      Thanks again Aryan!

  5. Micca Zhang Avatar
    Micca Zhang

    Hi Nicholas,

    Thanks to your article, I have a broader understanding of TikTok’s sales community.

    Since more and more millennials are joining in on social media virtual platforms to promote and sell, do you think that the fact that millennial people are putting their choice of employment platforms on TikTok or other social media is affecting the hiring rate of physical stores as well as physical companies?
    For example, millennials are reluctant to go to real-life jobs anymore, and most are using social media to build marketing communities.

    Looking forward to your response.

    Micca

    1. Nicholas.Mamone Avatar
      Nicholas.Mamone

      Hi Micca,

      Thank you for taking the time to read and reply to my article. I to some degree do think that social media has effected the hiring rate of brick and mortar stores although I think that the upcoming generation are more open to taking risks and are more entrepreneurial than previous generations have been. I think that it is great that they are going out there and trying to make something of themselves.

      Do you think that there are any downsides to relying heavily on social media as a form of employment? I personally don’t see it as a sustainable source of income!

      1. Micca Zhang Avatar
        Micca Zhang

        Hi Nicholas,

        Thank you for reply！If millennials rely heavily on social media for employment, it may appear that the social media marketing market is saturated, there will have many kinds of products, customers will spend more time comparing products. And it will lead to a lower threshold for social media employment, anyone can open social media sales channels at will, and the quality of products cannot be guaranteed. I agree with you too! Relying on social media for employment isn’t fit for every millennial, but the phenomenon and approach is innovative！

        1. Nicholas.Mamone Avatar
          Nicholas.Mamone

          Hey Micca,

          I agree! I have personally purchased from an online store and was scammed – they took my money and days later shut down the website completely so you can’t guarantee the quality nor the authenticity of some stores. I think that it will be an interesting couple of years to say the least as we watch the social media phenomenon unfold.

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