The 3 Ways Ecommerce Brands Can Smash TikTok Christmas Marketing

Christmas TikTok marketing is especially important if you’re an e-commerce brand. Here's how to win the hearts of Gen Z on TikTok.
Fanbytes | Gen Z Marketing | TikTok Christmas Marketing

In 30 seconds:

  • 97% of Gen Z use social media as their main source of shopping inspiration, and TikTok is their favourite. That means one thing…
  • TikTok Christmas marketing is *the* strategy you should use to capture Gen Z’s attention over the holiday period.
  • Ecommerce brands best capture younger audiences when they’re having fun. Here are our tips for how to do just that.


Christmas: it’s the most wonderful time of the year! Especially if you’re an e-commerce brand. Everyone’s buying Christmas gifts, outfits, decorations and treats. At peak purchase season, your brand will want to harness the whopping $140 billion buying power of Gen Z, who make up 40% of all consumers globally. 

So, where do you connect with Gen Z? The answer is TikTok, of course: it’s Gen Z’s favourite social media platform, with a 70% Gen Z audience. Importantly for brands, Gen Z aren’t just on TikTok to play. 87% of Gen Zers use social media for holiday shopping inspiration. It’s a huge opportunity to inspire and convert Christmas sales.

In this article, we take you through the top 3 ways e-commerce brands can smash their TikTok Christmas marketing strategy.

TikTok Christmas marketing for ecommerce brands

With Gen Z users opening TikTok 30 times a day and spending 89 minutes in-app, if you want to reach the eyeballs of Gen Z, Tikok is where you should concentrate your Christmas marketing efforts.

That said, because of the sheer amount of content these TikTok users consume, you need your Christmas TikTok marketing campaign to stand out. It’s got to be memorable, and it’s got to immediately grab TikTokers’ attention – after all, it’s all too easy to scroll to the next video.

Luckily, we have our thinking caps on – and we know how to nail your Christmas TikTok marketing.

@kyran

EXTREME CHRISTMAS Advert Calendar🎄😱 (December 1st) #christmas #foryou #foryoupage

♬ original sound - Kyran Nijjar

1. The Christmas countdown

One draw for users that’s unique to TikTok is its episodic content. We explain why this is a great way to make your TikTok go viral here.

TikTokers often post videos in parts, almost like a hyper-condensed TV show. Many hashtag challenges also focus on completing a trend or activity over several days. Top accounts use this clever tactic to keep their audiences returning over several days, in the same way you would tune into your favourite TV series. 

Episodic content is perfect for the pre-Christmas countdown. After all, we’re used to returning to our advent calendar each day to get our next chocolate instalment. It’s not a huge leap to create your own TikTok campaign advent calendar of daily content surprises.

As our CEO Tim says, capturing Gen Z is about leveraging pre-existing behaviours. TikTok instalments and Christmas countdowns are the perfect opportunity for this. 

A great example of this working well is our very own TikToker @Kyran’s Advent Calendar series, which has nabbed millions of video views and thousands of comments. 

E-commerce brands across beauty, fashion and wellness are already launching product-focused advent calendars. Why not tie in your content with the product in that day’s calendar? It’s a great way to educate Gen Z about your products (even better if your video is a tutorial) and inspire gift ideas

The best part? TikTok isn’t saturated with beauty and fashion brands the way Instagram is, so your content can really stand out.

@wiamxa

AD Can’t believe how easy it was to apply these lashes, the perfect Christmas Gift! Lashes: Fluttery Light #EylureLineandLash #Eylurelashes

♬ original sound - Brian Esperon

Fanbytes worked with TikTok influencers to promote their Line & Lash false eyelashes in the run up to Christmas

2. Leveraging paid ads & influencers

The key Christmas-time goal for e-commerce brands is driving sales – and TikTok is becoming increasingly optimised for this. TikTok has launched a biddable ads platform as well as a variety of ad formats (from topview to branded hashtag challenges) to purchase without leaving the app. We dig into how you can use these all year-round here

TikTok has also recently partnered with Shopify to offer more integrated shopping features on the platform. It means TikTok users can now purchase items directly from videos and retailer profiles. 

That’s great news for TikTok Christmas marketing, because it’s simplified the access routes for potential customers. And we know that the fewer steps consumers need to take, the more likely those video views will convert into sales.

The only problem: Gen Zers distrust obvious ads. The solution? Partner with people they trust. Gen Z follow influencers heavily and are 25% more likely to rely on their recommendations than previous generations. 

Influencer marketing is the most effective way to fast-track any campaign, since it boosts both reach and trust in your brand. A good strategy is to introduce your brand or product with influencers, who know the platform best and can therefore create the most engaging content. Then boost their branded posts through TikTok ads, effectively acting as ‘retargeting’. 

This two-step route to conversion creates the perfect environment for brands to increase sales. If you can integrate your shop on TikTok too, you’ll see an even better conversion rate.

The combined technique worked wonders for Superdry, who partnered with top influencers for their Christmas campaign last year. It achieved a total reach of 2.8 million people.

Another option is to work with an influencer to discuss your products via livestream – which has a conversion rate of 28%. Livestream more closely resembles online interaction with friends, which can help you stand out to customers who are overfaced with more traditional holiday marketing

Get in touch with us to start a conversation about how we can boost your Christmas sales with influencers!

3. Get into the Christmas giveaway spirit

Gen Z are hugely driven by deals, with 61% saying that coupons or discounts would encourage them to try a new brand. This is all the more true during the holiday shopping season, when everyone feels a little financially stretched. 

Competitions help brands grow: over 60% of social media users share contests with friends. They also boost brand sentiment, as Gen Z values participation with brands. 

 Kool-Aid aced their TikTok Christmas marketing with a giveaway. Their #OHYEAHChristmas contest saw them partner with rapper Lil Jon to create a Christmas-themed jingle, encouraging TikTok users to show off their holiday spirit. The winner received a $10,000 cash prize, and the hashtag generated nearly 2 billion views in the process.

To make your Christmas giveaway stand out, you don’t need to offer a huge prize. There are different values that Gen Z cares about – including exclusivity. A great idea is to take inspiration from HEINZ’ TikTok marketing campaign where participants in their hashtag challenge won a limited edition bottle of ketchup. At the time, the products were only available to these TikTokers

Make your Christmas TikTok challenge participants feel privileged – and celebrate their efforts. User-generated content improves trust and loyalty for ecommerce brands amongst Gen Z. Repost your challenge participants’ videos, and you’ll see consumer confidence (and your sales) rise. 

Another key factor in making a Christmas giveaway challenge that people love is ease of participation. Create a Christmassy filter and any video will easily look great. Mix a Christmas tune and you’ll foster even more fun (after all, TikTokers love dancing, and who doesn’t love Christmas music in the countdown to the big day?) The easier and more fun your challenge, the more people will take part.

Giveaways may sound like the opposite of sales. But the facts speak for themselves. Giveaways allow brands to access an average of 34% of their new customers – yup, real paying customers. 47% of TikTokers say that they have bought something they saw for the first time on TikTok. Get your products on the ‘For You’ pages of TikTokers and you’ll be surprised at how much your sales increase.


TikTok Christmas marketing for the win

There are huge opportunities for e-commerce brands to leverage TikTok for Christmas marketing – and developing a TikTok Christmas strategy isn’t as alien as you’d think. The key is understanding the platform, and what motivates Gen Z.  

Simple, right?

Well, maybe we think that because we’re the experts! It’s now time brands should be capitalising on TikTok for their marketing mix for Christmas. If you’d like to start a conversation about how we can help you, get in touch!


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