While exciting for TikTok shoppers, this is a huge announcement for brands and advertisers. And although it’s not completely groundbreaking, as Amazon has similar partnerships with Meta and Snapchat already live and one in the works with Pinterest, giving advertisers access to TikTok’s audience - who typically skews younger and is incredibly engaged - is a win for both platforms.
Amazon’s reach is expanding across nearly all social media platforms, and TikTok is leveraging this partnership to gain more traction in the e-commerce and social shopping space. Will it be a win-win? Our guess is it will, but only time will tell.
How it Works
When scrolling through their For You page, TikTok users will see Amazon product recommendations, and are able to seamlessly make purchases in the app by linking their TikTok and Amazon account through Amazon API integration. Once the accounts are linked, the integration shows real-time pricing, Prime eligibility, delivery estimates and product details.
For brands, the collaboration is powered by their product catalog, offering TikTok users tailored product recommendations on the For You page and multiple placements. TikTok shared benefits for advertisers, including:
- Find new customers and drive conversions: Reach new customers and re-engage previous visitors with dynamic, interest-driven product discovery.
- Unleash Amazon's catalog's power: Unlock the potential of your product catalog with scalable creative solutions, catalog-exclusive features and seamless checkout experiences
- Drive year-round sales: Boost product sales during all of your seasonal promotions and evergreen campaigns, leveraging engaging videos and the carousel format.
- Maximize discoverability: Boost product discovery and conversions with shoppers through innovative formats and placements
With legal troubles looming, how users will react to the security aspect of linking their Amazon and TikTok accounts remains to be seen. TikTok seems to be leaning on the security and brand recognition Amazon offers, and touts their custom integration, which leverages a standard OAuth flow to establish the account link. Users can disconnect from either side.
Our POV
While this news makes headlines, advertisers opting in won’t have much - or any - control over their ads or placements for now. As this partnership grows and iterates in the future, advertisers may see new features or have more options.
Code3 Social Strategists note that this is an important first step in both companies acknowledging that the other has their own strengths in the buyer journey. To date, they have just iterated off one another and both have gained market share in search volume and preference against Google. For example, Amazon has leaned more into influencer marketing and short form shoppable video, which TikTok is known for. On the flip side, TikTok launched TikTok Shop to combat Amazon’s marketplace. Rather than squaring off on one another, (although there is sure to continue to be plenty of that!) TikTok and Amazon have seemingly partnered to combine forces. Google, take note.
What Should Brands Do Now?
Similar to when Amazon advertises products in Google Search, brands and advertisers don’t have a choice on whether or not to participate. Since there is not much advertisers can have control over (yet), brands should go back to basics and review your paid and organic presence on both TikTok and Amazon are following best practices, have compelling content and are in good shape. Learn more about your best customers on both platforms and take special consideration to better understand points of intersection. This will ensure you’re able to curate the best experience and update content and creative for both your Amazon and TikTok customers.