How to Use Tiktok to Promote Your Print on Demand Products

TikTok has become an app that sets the tone for social sentiment and erases the age gap between generations. Short, colorful videos up to 15 seconds, complemented by all sorts of effects and popular background music, go viral on the net. Simultaneously, audience engagement rates are exceptionally high: according to Influencer Marketing Hub research, the platform significantly exceeds other social networks. By February 2021, the number of active users reached 1.1 billion, of which the audience of generation Z and millennials is the largest and stands at 32.5% and 29.5%, respectively. An application is a phenomenon because different age groups of users are interested in it: from 30 to 39 years old, it is 16.4%, 40-49 - 13.9%, and over 50 - 7.1%.

The app is excellent for people retaining, as a session usually lasts about 52 minutes a day. Many print on demand sites have already used this data and gained popularity on the platform. After all, to get closer to the top, keep up with your competitors as possible. How to promote business on TikTok while maintaining brand identity - we'll discuss further.

Table of contents

Authentic style that attracts

Posting regular updates to inform

Using Tiktok Live

Direct and instant communication with potential customers

Conclusion

Authentic style that attracts

In 2014, a study published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology tried to decipher the concept of authenticity. They identified the main characteristics of a brand that users perceive as authentic:

1. Sequence. Loyalty to principles and ideas despite everything.
2. Credibility. The brand inspires confidence in consumers.
3. Honesty. It's based on caring for clients and responsibility for the products or services supplied.
4. Maintaining customer identity. The brand motivates its supporters to stay true to themselves.

In general, an authentic brand is self-sufficient and doesn't copy others. It expresses the highest quality, manifested in the ability to be sincere with the audience and with oneself while being comparable to a person who carries a mission of values.

Proper marketing and authenticity are inseparable. According to Macintosh marketer Guy Kawasaki, the title of Chief Product Evangelist only works when it can change the world. That is the value of the views involved in higher goals and noble deeds.

When it comes to marketing, it's essential to adhere to the 4ps: product, price, place, and promotion to predict the benefits of brand development and withstand the test of time.

Product

Aspect refers to any item designed to meet the target customer's needs. The dropshipping and print on demand business offers a wide product variety from clothing to household items. Having a clear product understanding, its specificity in the market, and the value it brings, you can easily find a response from the audience. If you're a beginner, focus on niche products that don't have an implemented advertising strategy. So, find similar companies, see what tricks they used to attract attention, how professionally advertising is implemented, and pay attention to the demographic audience composition and channel indicators. To better understand your product, answer the following questions:

• What is your potential customer pain? Could your product satisfy their needs?
• What features make the product distinctive and personalized?
• How can it be used?
• How will the customers experience it?

Price

It's easier to understand the readiness to spend on the specific product purchase when identifying the target audience. If the product is overpriced or underpriced, any of these directions can damage the brand. There are key questions you'd answer before determining monetary value:

• What is the item value to the consumer?
• How competitive is your price?
• Is there a set price for a print on demand product?

How To Price Print-On-Demand Products

Place

This aspect implies providing access to goods with maximum ease of use. A vivid example of location-based entrepreneurship is 15 years old Aaron, who created the authentic Melk Clothing brand. He made designs focused on the image of milk packaging. Without using promo influencers, he pushed his items on his own and collected hundreds of thousands of views using TikTok. To determine the place, give answers to the questions:

• Which places do potential customers choose for shopping?
• What gadgets do they use?
• Where do consumers prefer to buy similar products?
• What social networks do the prospects and competitors utilize?

Promotion

Today, TikTok is an attractive cultural force. It's much easier to promote your brand on TikTok than on Instagram or Facebook. That is because popular video concepts are a byproduct of the current tendencies. For instance, dancing, changing fashionable looks, fitness with famous tracks provide many views. 

Posting regular updates to inform

The best practice in print on demand products promotion on TikTok is to keep the content up to date. Until now, there is no specific time most suitable for publication. Some marketers believe that the best results are given by posting messages between 10 and 18 hours. But such a time is not a universal guarantee for all companies. You’d do your research on the optimal period when audience engagement is at its maximum.

All success on this platform comes down to creating immersive content, so people are more likely to interact with your videos. As a result, TikTok algorithms will offer your channel to a larger number of viewers. Before you create anything, analyze the exciting topics to your target audience. In any case, the social network allows you to communicate with prospects directly. You can find out about their needs simply by asking about them. We advise you to track forums or sites like Quora and use autofill in Google searches to find answers for perfect keywords. 

Whatever your brand’s USP is, there is an opportunity for development on this platform. But it all depends on the algorithms. Let's consider them in detail.

1. Exposure depends on the performance of the video, not the interaction with your profile.
2. A strong indicator for algorithms is informativeness: rewinds, average session duration, comments, likes.
3. Local targeting plays a key role.
4. The brand hashtags and sounds influence promotion.

Using Tiktok Live

The Live feature was launched in 2019 so that TikTok users can chat with their followers in real-time using comments. If the TikTok target audience of your POD company is millennials and representatives of generation Z, then an unrivaled coverage and promotion at this demographic level bode for you. Also, Virtual Gifts can monetize your channel.

The TikTok platform blocked this option for beginners, but you can connect it by fulfilling several requirements. One of them provides for at least 1000 subscribers. It seems that this milestone is quite tricky to overcome, given the platform algorithms. However, to achieve success, we advise you to adhere to the following principles:

• Create disruptive content
• Invest in TikTok paid promotion
• Collaborate with influencers in print on demand business

When setting up a broadcast, pay attention to hashtags: choose the ones used by your competitors and famous influencers, apply popular ones in your niche (the Discovery tab on the main page). Use the TikTokHashtags.com tool to make your search easier.

You can also test ideas for TikTok live-streaming in practice:

• Busting myths about the POD industry, product, or your brand
• Showing manufacturing backstage
• Products demonstration
• Ask-me-anything (AMA) session
• Interviews with influencers using your items
• Interactive games encouraging monetization or subscription

When you start your broadcast, present its value to your audience. Add a call to action in the middle of the video.

Direct and instant communication with potential customers

Instant communication is what users who come to your channel crave. At the same time, they have a Direct Message (DM), that is, something important. Accordingly, instant connections arise with an instant audience when these two aspects are connected, leading to instant action. And all this is needed to be constantly in the public eye.

To leverage the power of DM to build brand awareness, get creative:

• Make a subscription applying geotagging (geotagged location/private message geotag) and niche hashtags. In doing so, you'll induce interest in your brand and increase the coverage. Personalization will help you find regular customers and introduce you to new ones!
• Forge partnerships with influencers or print on demand leaders.
• Increase customer loyalty by sending them personalized messages, promotional codes, holiday cards, and small gifts.
• Offer a limited discount to your top subscribers or set up corporate giveaways. That will facilitate the involvement but also the invitation of new potential clients.

Always follow the “good boss” principle when reaching out to people; that is, start with a compliment. Also, be as friendly and pleasant as possible - this way, you're more likely to get feedback.

Conclusion

TikTok is not just a place for fun. The platform has serious business potential. So, to promote and grow your online store with print on demand products, you need a clear knowledge of your target audience. In this case, more authentic and generation-focused marketing will increase conversions and engagement. You should know how promotion works on TikTok to take the leading position in personalized themed products. And we hope we made it clear for you. So, do not hesitate to try something new and good luck!