Media Monday

TikTok Shop: A Game-Changer for E-Commerce

By: Rich Sweet, Media Specialist, Sports & Entertainment

It’s been just over a year since TikTok launched TikTok Shop in the US, revolutionizing how brands sell products in the app. With over 1 billion global users, including 170 million in the US, and high levels of engagement, TikTok presents a significant opportunity for businesses to connect with a vast audience.

TikTok Shop offers a seamless in-app shopping experience, allowing users to browse and make purchases without leaving the platform. The setup process is straightforward, featuring easy integration with various e-commerce platforms, and sellers can tag products in their videos for direct purchasing.

The platform incentivizes users with discounts and free shipping, covering these costs itself. TikTok also provides paid advertising options that enable businesses to reach targeted audiences based on behaviors and interests. Additionally, its affiliate program encourages content creators and influencers to promote products, greatly enhancing visibility.

After a year in the US market, TikTok Shop has proven to be a valuable tool for brands looking to engage their audiences and innovate in the e-commerce landscape. In 2023, over 33 million people shopped on TikTok, a number expected to rise to 40.7 million by year-end, surpassing earlier projections. This growth reflects the broader trend of rising social commerce, with TikTok Shop’s buyer base projected to increase by over 350% through 2027. In comparison, Instagram buyers are expected to grow by 145%, and Facebook's buyer base will expand by 122%. 

This trend underscores a significant opportunity for advertisers aiming to leverage TikTok to promote their products and attract a younger demographic.

Introducing Instagram Teen Accounts: Built-In Protections for Teens, Peace of Mind for Parents

By: Ana Paola Mendoza Martinez, Media Coordinator

On Sept 17, 2024, Meta announced a new “Instagram Teen Accounts” update in order to make teens' experience more protected and ensure their parents a safer online experience. 

The new update will include:

• A new feature where teens can choose the content and topics they want in Explore and get recommendations. 
• “Default private accounts” where teens have to accept new followers and those who don’t follow them can’t see their content or be able to interact with them.
• Strict messaging settings where teens can only be messaged by their followers and who they follow. 
• Content will be restricted in Explore and Reels to avoid “sensitive content” being shown to teens
• Teens will only be tagged by individuals they follow and “Hidden Words”, the anti bullying feature, will restrict offensive DM requests and comments
• New time limit reminders will show up to remind teens to leave app after an hour each day 
• A new sleep mode will come to effect between 10pm and 7am, to mute notifications and send automatic replies in DMs

These new safeguarding features will be automatic and parents will be able to deny or approve requests on the app based on their own criteria. There will also be additional updates for parents wanting to be even more involved as well as enforcement of age verification. 

These changes will start taking place “within 60 days in the US, Canada, and Australia”. They will be enforced in Europe later in the year and by January they will start taking place in the rest of the world. Not only are these efforts being taken on Instagram, but it's an effort Meta is trying to enforce on their other platforms as well.

Spotify Beta Launch: Custom Audiences / Lookalikes

By: Sara Rose Hernandez, Media Planner

Spotify continues to deliver exciting updates to Spotify Ads Manager as promised in 2024. The latest Beta features include Custom and Lookalike Audiences, enabling advertisers to target users based on either email or device ID, with options for both targeting and exclusion.

Campaigns must meet the following criteria in order to qualify:

• Campaigns need to launch after November 4th, 2024
• Campaigns must have a minimum budget of $30K
• Campaigns must run for at least one week and end before close of business in 2024
• Campaigns must have a minimum of 100K email/device ID data units to ensure an appropriate reach
• Targeting cannot include fan bases or interests, but all other targeting is allowed
• All data must be hashed (hashing services can be provided if needed)

As we move into the latter half of the year, we anticipate additional updates, such as significantly expanded interest targeting and the introduction of Gen AI for audio ad creation. For more information, please reach out to your Planner.