Small businesses have been hit hard by the pandemic and those who have not been at the forefront and digitized their business have fallen behind. The challenge for many has been – resources and a limited budget for marketing activities. TikTok announced in a press release on May 20, 2021, that they will launch a support package for small businesses in three markets: Ireland, Sweden and Austria. The support package includes access to TikTok Ads Manager, SMB Knowledge Hub and access to a partnership between Shopify and TikTok.
The purpose is to be able to open up opportunities within local small and medium-sized companies so that they can discover and reach new target groups. In the Swedish market, TikTok has expanded their resources in marketing, advertising and media to be able to support several brands in developing the digital presence and increase awareness of TikTok in the Nordic region after the opening of TikTok’s first office in Stockholm in March 2021. The goal is to be able to support small businesses to connect with new customers in an affordable and meaningful way throughout Europe and next in line after this launch are the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Shimona Mehta, Managing Director, Shopify EMEA, says:
“The past year has been one of immense change for retailers, who have had to be agile in a rapidly evolving retail landscape. Today, the way that entrepreneurs start, run, and grow businesses has permanently altered. Brands are also having to compete like never before to get the attention of buyers. The goal is for businesses to make it easier for buyers to discover their brands. With this new TikTok partnership, Shopify merchants in Ireland, Sweden and Austria can connect and build relationships with customers in a way that can help drive long-term sales growth.”
Get started with TikTok SMB Hub
TikTok SMB Hub includes everything from successful campaigns to solid creative tips and inspiration as well as guidance in the tools that will help companies of all sizes to become active on the platform on a large scale. TikTok has also produced a Small Business Guide that contains tools, strategies and inspiration to help small businesses get started and develop their business.
Go viral with TikTok Ads Manager
TikTok Ads Manager is designed to help small and large businesses to get started on the platform and make their marketing “100% TikTok”. Small and medium-sized businesses will have the opportunity to use TikTok Ads Manager to, together with thousands of small businesses in Europe, go viral, reach committed target groups and increase their revenue through TikTok. The powerful platform makes it easy for entrepreneurs to create and manage their own TikTok campaigns.
Partnership with Shopify
TikTok and Shopify collaborate to help entrepreneurs create and run ad campaigns directly targeted through TikTok’s engaging community. Through the partnership, companies can create purchasable video ads for the flow directly in Shopify and easily distribute them to TikTok. The partnership will help companies of all sizes absorb new ideas, trends and insights.
TikTok has already partnered with a number of innovative companies in Ireland, Sweden and Austria to help them reach a new audience. NinePine, based in Stockholm is one of the companies that is already using the partnership to gain access to new customers and grow its business:
NinePine
A Swedish athleisure label that works for a combination of movement, physical activity and mindfulness that can improve people’s quality of life regardless of whether the person goes to Yoga, gyms, runs crossfit, triathlon, running or hiking in the woods.
Kousha Torabi, co-founder, Ninepine:
“TikTok’s partnership with Shopify presents a completely different ball game for our marketing. As a rapidly scaling businesses, we’re constantly looking to acquire customers, and through the partnership we are able to access a host of new customers we couldn’t have reached otherwise. We are using the partnership to accurately measure and optimise our spending and targeting on TikTok to acquire new customers. TikTok and Shopify have already helped us grow beyond Sweden into other European markets. We recognise the value of TikTok to our marketing mix so much that we will be working with a content creator specifically to help us produce content for the platform.”
TikTok is a great place for small businesses to build relationships with like-minded companies. Across Europe, there is a diverse group of 100 million people with an audience for each individual business. TikTok has seen brands create real contacts with society by embracing the creativity that makes the platform unique. Brands can use hashtags such as #smallbusinesscheck (9.2 billion views) and #smallbusinessowner (2.2 billion views) to share their history and journey with other small business owners and to build a community with an ecosystem of support. This includes everything from packing orders, behind-the-scenes guidance to business consulting and motivating each other during tough times that allow entrepreneurs to interact with each other and potential customers at TikTok.
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