Are you ready to take your dropshipping business to the next level in 2023? Look no further because we’ve got all the inside scoop on how to succeed with TikTok Dropshipping.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through the exciting world of TikTok Dropshipping and why it’s the best way to skyrocket your business this year. From the basics of what TikTok Dropshipping is to the most profitable marketing tactics, we’ve got you covered.
So, grab your favorite snack, sit back, and get ready to discover the secrets of TikTok Dropshipping success in 2023!
Table of Contents
What is TikTok Dropshipping?
TikTok Dropshipping is basically using TikTok, a popular social media platform, to promote and sell products through a dropshipping business. With dropshipping, you don’t need to keep inventory of the products you sell. Instead, when a customer places an order in your online store, the order is passed on to a supplier who then ships the product directly to the customer.
To get started with TikTok Dropshipping, you’ll need a Shopify store, which is a platform that helps you create an appealing online store. TikTok has partnered with Shopify, allowing Shopify merchants and TikTok users to collaborate and reach a wider audience.
This combination of dropshipping and TikTok’s large user base presents a great opportunity to sell popular products and expand your business globally.
Is TikTok dropshipping still profitable in 2023?
Despite the stiff competition, TikTok’s massive user base, engaging content format, and potential for viral reach continue to offer lucrative opportunities for dropshipping businesses.
Massive user base
With over 1.6 billion active users worldwide, TikTok has become the go-to social media platform for Gen Z and millennials. In the United States alone, more than 90% of Gen Z users have embraced the app, while a significant number of millennials and Gen X users have also hopped on the TikTok bandwagon.
By advertising your ecommerce store on TikTok, you can leverage this enormous audience and boost your brand’s visibility. This means more potential customers and greater opportunities for sales, making TikTok dropshipping a lucrative option for your business.
Viral content potential
TikTok’s algorithm loves exciting and captivating content, giving your dropshipping products a chance to become a viral sensation. When your products go viral, they attract a ton of attention and get shared by countless users, which means more people see them and are likely to buy them.
This increased visibility can lead to a surge in sales, making TikTok dropshipping a fantastic opportunity for your business.
New customer behavior
Since the pandemic, customers have become more comfortable with online shopping and are now even preferring it over traditional offline shopping. This shift in behavior means that there is a growing pool of potential customers actively seeking out products online.
By leveraging TikTok’s massive user base and creating engaging content, you can tap into this new customer behavior and attract those who are eager to discover and purchase products through the platform.
Now that we’ve seen why TikTok dropshipping can still be profitable in 2023, let’s dive into the 4 simple steps you can follow to kickstart your own successful dropshipping venture.
Step 1: Find the winning TikTok dropshipping product
Finding the winning product is the first and most important step when it comes to TikTok dropshipping. It sets the foundation for your success, as the right product has the potential to captivate your audience and drive sales.
Winning Product Criteria Benchmark
When venturing into TikTok and searching for a winning product, it’s crucial to understand the key characteristics you should be seeking. The criteria for identifying a successful dropshipping product on TikTok may differ slightly from other platforms.
Wow Factor
A winning product should possess a distinctive or captivating feature that captures viewers’ attention within the first three seconds. This initial impact is crucial in enticing users to pause their endless scrolling and engage with the video, eager to learn more about the product being showcased.
Price Markup Potential
To ensure profitability, the product should lend itself to a successful 3x markup, enabling it to be sold at a price ranging between 15 and 45 dollars. This pricing sweet spot allows for a reasonable margin while remaining appealing to potential customers.
Creatively Marketable
The platform’s short-form content lends itself well to various marketing strategies, such as user-generated content, testimonials, unboxing videos, and reviews. The product should seamlessly integrate into these formats, enabling creators to showcase its features and benefits in a visually captivating and engaging manner.
Broad Appeal
For long-term brand expansion and success, the product should possess a target audience without age or gender restrictions. This inclusivity ensures that the product can resonate with a wide range of individuals. It also allows for potential growth and customer acquisition over time.
Capitalize on Hashtag
On TikTok, hashtags are like magic spells that help creators reach more people, and they’re also handy for viewers to discover fresh content. So, when you’re on the lookout for trending products, hashtags become your secret weapon.
Here’s the trick: search for hashtags used by folks who are posting videos about the products they’ve purchased. To make it even more effective, focus on specific platforms mentioned in the hashtags.
For instance, try searching for hashtags like #TikTokmademebuyit, #Amazonhaul, or #AliExpressmust-haves. These hashtags will lead you to videos where people are showcasing products they bought from those platforms.
To narrow it down further, you can also target a specific niche or product category. For example, search for hashtags like #campinghacks, #kitcheninspo, or #homedecor. This way, you’ll come across videos related to those specific themes.
Now, all you need to do is scroll through the search results and keep an eye out for recent trending videos with high views and engagement. These videos indicate that the products featured in them are gaining popularity and catching people’s attention.
Search from TikTok Creative Center
Think of TikTok Creative Center as a cool tool that lets you explore top products from specific regions and categories. Plus, you can even access various metrics like CTR, CVR, CPA, … You can even narrow down further by choosing a specific industry from the “Product Categories” section.
Step 2: Find your supply source
The second step in dropshipping on TikTok is finding your supply source, which is a crucial aspect of optimizing and scaling your business. To find your dropshipping supplier, you should search for a reliable third-party provider. They can offer the products you want to sell and provide support for order processing and worldwide shipping.
Here are some of the best Shopify dropshipping apps you should check out:
- Sprocket – US & EU Dropshipping: Offers a system that syncs products, order tracking, and product information with your Shopify store.
- Syncee – Global Dropshipping: Updates the products and sync orders for all users.
- Spreadr App – Amazon importer: Links users to Amazon and allows them to offer items as an affiliate
- DSers ‑ AliExpress Dropshipping: Specialize in order placement speed.
- CJDropshipping: Lists and sources any products into your stores at a cheaper price compared to AliExpress.
Step 3: Create a online store
The final but most important step in dropshipping on TikTok is creating your online store, and one popular platform to achieve this is Shopify.
With Shopify, you can easily set up and customize your store, choose from a variety of attractive themes, and add your products.
By creating a professional and user-friendly online store, you can establish your brand and showcase your products. Additionally, it allows you to provide a smooth shopping experience for your customers.
Step 4: Promote products on TikTok
To make your dropshipping business shine on TikTok, you need to stand out amidst the fierce competition. Here are four effective methods to promote your business and grab the attention of users:
TikTok organic dropshipping
Create trendy videos
TikTok is all about trends, challenges, and viral content, and by creating videos that are on-trend and capture the attention of your target audience, you can effectively promote your products and generate buzz.
Keep an eye on the latest TikTok trends, popular challenges, and hashtags, and incorporate them into your videos. Be creative, engaging, and authentic in showcasing your products through storytelling, demonstrations, or user-generated content.
By aligning your videos with what’s trending on TikTok, you can increase your chances of reaching a wider audience. This, in turn, helps you gain more views, likes, and shares, ultimately driving traffic and sales to your dropshipping business.
Live streaming
Live streaming allows you to build relationships with your audience by interacting with them in real time, which helps to establish trust and rapport. It also provides an opportunity to showcase your products in an engaging way, giving viewers a chance to see them in action and ask questions. Additionally, TikTok’s algorithm favors live videos, increasing the chances of reaching a wider audience and generating more sales.
Here are 3 tips for you to make the most out of it:
- Plan your live streams in advance: Decide what you’re going to talk about, what products you’re going to show, and what questions you’re going to answer.
- Promote your live streams in advance: Let your followers know when you’re going live so they can tune in.
- Interact with your audience: Answer questions, respond to comments, and engage with your viewers.
Paid advertising on TikTok
To expand the reach of your content and maximize your sales, a little boost from paid promotion is essential. So, here’re 2 effective paid promotion tactics you can utilize to enhance your TikTok dropshipping business.
Influencers TikTok
TikTok influencers are individuals with a significant following on the platform. Leveraging their authority and reach, they can showcase your products to their followers and influence them to make purchases.
Here’s how it works:
- Find and connect with influencers: The first step is to search for a suitable TikTok influencer who aligns with your business and product. It’s essential to ensure they have a substantial following. You can refer to resources and tips for finding influencers, even though they may primarily focus on Instagram influencers.
- Influencer promotes your product: Once you’ve negotiated a price and provided the influencer with your product, they will create a video showcasing your product, whether through a review or demonstration. The objective is to encourage their followers to click the link and visit your website.
- Drive sales: If all goes well, the influencer’s followers will be impressed by your product, and some may even make purchases. In the end, you can assess the revenue and costs to determine if collaborating with the influencer was profitable.
Run TikTok ads
TikTok offers a powerful advertising platform that allows you to reach a vast audience and promote your products effectively. With TikTok’s massive user base and popularity among Gen Z and millennials, running ads gives your business the opportunity to increase brand visibility and attract potential customers.
However, running an effective TikTok ads campaign can be challenging, especially if you’re new to it. To make the process easier, you can utilize NestAds, a TikTok ads management software designed specifically for beginners.
With NestAds, you can launch successful ad campaigns with minimal effort. Additionally, NestAds provides powerful analytics tools tailored for e-commerce merchants, allowing you to track your sales, revenue, and best-selling products.
By leveraging TikTok ads through NestAds, you can maximize your reach, drive more traffic to your dropshipping store, and ultimately increase your sales and profits.
