Test with TikTok: Make the Most of Mega Sales Season

About Test with TikTok

Test With TikTok is an initiative to encourage experimentation amongst marketers. It helps advertisers in SEA achieve more with TikTok solutions and enhance performance of your marketing campaigns. We work with you to deliver returns on your investment, and prime audiences for your messaging on other platforms. We'll be offering tips and tricks for boosting your brand, driving sales, and growing your business on TikTok.

As e-commerce rises in Southeast Asia, Mega Sales win shoppers' hearts

Online sales in Southeast Asia have been growing exponentially in recent years, at the fastest rate globally. An eMarketer report estimated the region will hit 89.67 billion online sales in 2022, 140% more than pre-pandemic times in 2019.

Mega Sales are a cornerstone of online sales in the high-growth Southeast Asia region. These large-scale shopping events happen on set dates in the second half of the year, such as Singles Day and other double-date shopping festivals.

Although there are many sales windows competing for Southeast Asian shoppers' attention, consumers have not tired of Mega Sales at all. In fact, 9 in 10 of TikTok users say they look forward to the sales season every year. That means Mega Sales represent crucial shopping seasons for all businesses. It's a major opportunity, as brands leverage the uptick in shopping appetite to boost sales.

However, common challenges brands encounter during these sales events are how to connect with consumers effectively, how to stand out from the competition, and how to drive year-on-year growth.

To overcome these challenges, brands need to test out their campaign strategies and identify the most relevant marketing solutions, as well as the latest consumer trends. That way, brands will have a better shot at beating their competition during Mega Sales season.

Where TikTok fits in: Commerce, culture, and content

Consumers everywhere want ad experiences that are genuinely entertaining. That's especially true when it comes to commerce, as 1 in 3 consumers have said they want more entertaining shopping experiences. Clearly, there's a need for a new way for brands and consumers to interact. The answer lies at the intersection of entertainment and commerce, an opportunity called Shoppertainment.

Because 85% of TikTok users agree ads and content that are entertaining are more enjoyable, the Shoppertainment model has taken off on TikTok more than anywhere else.

- 4 in 10 users bought something during Mega Sales after watching ads on TikTok, higher than any other platform-

- Average spends are 44% higher among TikTok users during Mega Sales compared to non-TikTok users

- 89% of TikTok users said they will buy again even after the Mega Sales season.

TikTok, a driving force of entertainment, has now propelled itself to the forefront of commerce with Shoppertainment. This means TikTok enables brands to: 

Turn entertainment into commerce

Go from discovery to purchase in a flash, by making entertainment part of the shopping experience via TikTok solutions. Did you know 94% of TikTok users made a purchase during the 2021 Mega Sales season?

Be part of and even shape the culture  

Stay close to what's trending. Build personal connections with users by engaging and co-creating with TikTok communities. This approach is so effective, 2021 saw a 2.3x jump in shopping-related videos made compared to 2020.

Create content that sells 

It really is your time to shine. Own your Mega Sales moment with entertaining content that drives interest and sales. 81% of TikTok users said video content influenced their recent purchasing decisions.

Test out Shoppertainment strategies on TikTok for the best results

Now we know brands need to connect with consumers through entertainment, and that the best place to do so is on TikTok. The next step is to cultivate a testing mindset to optimize your campaign strategies.

Consumers' expectations are constantly hitting new heights. That means brands must continuously evolve their marketing strategies, to uncover new opportunities and so continue to deliver more effective campaigns and results.

Below, we're sharing examples of successful e-commerce campaigns from the past, with proven results. Using the lessons learnt from these campaigns will help you optimize your own strategy for your next Mega Sales event.

BARDI Smart Home

Objective

This Indonesia-based smart home appliances brand wanted to engage meaningfully with its target audience in real time, and drive sales.

Solution

BARDI set up a native TikTok shop, with Live Shopping Ads driving users to a Live Shopping livestream. The brand also used TikTok Creators to host some sessions within the 24-hour livestream for maximum entertainment.

Result

BARDI achieved a cost per effective view of less than USD$0.1 and drove over 370 products sold for the Mega Sales event.

PureGo

Objective

PureGo is a Philippines-based online grocery store and supermarket chain. With its Christmas campaign, PureGo wanted to drive consideration of its product range.

Solution

The brand utilized TikTok's Collection Ads format, which includes a fast-loading Instant Gallery Page where users can browse a curated gallery of product cards. With an exclusive promo call-to-action, users were then led to click through to PureGo's website, where they could make purchases or access more information on the products.

Result

PureGo achieved a US$0.07 cost per page view on the Instant Gallery Page. Of the users who entered a product landing page, more than 23% clicked on a call-to-action or product to get more information, and of those 76% clicked through to PureGo's website.

As part of the testing mindset, consider the learning phase

As part of developing marketing strategies that drive business success, marketers should think about how to exit the learning phase quickly and successfully. The learning phase is an experimental phase at the beginning of the ad delivery period when the system actively explores new customer profiles. This allows the system to discovering and optimizing towards a balance outcomes at an effective cost. The data harvested during this stage is vital for training the system, in order to optimize ad delivery and achieve the best-possible performance.

To optimize the learning phase, and exit quickly and successfully into the main campaign ad delivery period, consider the following:

1. Start your campaign a week before the official launch date. This provides buffer time for the learning phase to take place.

2. Consider increasing the target audience or the bid to speed up the learning process if an ad group is not delivering as expected. Each change in bid should not exceed 20-30%.

3. If an ad group has not exited the learning phase within a week, pause it and create another ad group, with new creatives and configurations.

4. Don't worry if you observe large fluctuations in CPA during the learning phase. This is expected. The algorithm is learning the best delivery model for its goal.

5. Avoid making frequent changes to your campaign once your ads exit the learning phase. Any drastic changes to the bid and/or budget may send the ad group back into the learning phase.

Achieve mega success with your next Mega Sales campaign!

Now is the time to make your next Mega Sales campaign bigger and better than ever with Entertainment on TikTok. The key to unlocking more revenue and driving mega success for this year's Mega Sales season is to embrace the full potential of a testing mindset. You'll never know what is the best approach tailored to your business until you have tested out your strategies, and proven which works the best with real-life results. Let's get testing!

Stay tuned for more updates and advice from Test with TikTok.

Read the previous Test with TikTok blogpost here.

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