The 2nd International Conference on Education
Innovation and Social Science, July 2023
ISSN (Online): 2961-9602
THE ROLE OF CONTENT MARKETING ON TIKTOK IN
INCREASING SALES
Nadia Gisha1, Maya Malinda2
1,2Faculty of Business Management, Universitas Kristen Maranatha Bandung, Indonesia
[email protected] Keyword Abstract
TikTok, content marketing, paid
advertising This research explores the impact of content marketing strategies on TikTok
in increasing sales of the local brand "shayn". Two content marketing
techniques, creative content without using advertising and using
advertising, and their effectiveness are analyzed. These findings were
obtained through a quantitative research approach and descriptive
statistical analysis, the results show that leveraging creative content
without advertising on TikTok can effectively increase brand awareness and
generate sales, even with limited resources. This study emphasizes the
importance of creating relevant and interesting content tailored to specific
market segments. Active brand engagement on TikTok has also proven
important in increasing brand visibility and attracting potential customers.
This insight has valuable implications for brands looking to leverage TikTok
as a platform for content marketing and sales growth..
INTRODUCTION
TikTok, the popular mobile application first introduced in September 2016, has
revolutionized the way people engage with video content. With a strong user base consisting
mainly of Millennials and Gen Z, TikTok has become a significant platform for entertainment and
video sharing. Users can create and share videos, fostering a vibrant community centered around
user-generated content (Ni Luh Warini et al. 2020). Its growing popularity among millennials can
be attributed to its ability to fulfill their social interaction needs and provide a platform for self-
expression (Abraham Mikhael 2019).This aligns with the current trend of utilizing social media
platforms as avenues for personal expression and connecting with peers. TikTok's popularity as
a social media platform has skyrocketed, surpassing downloads of other popular applications like
Instagram, YouTube, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger (Wijaya and Mashud 2020). This
extraordinary success highlights the platform's appeal, which has managed to attract global
attention in a relatively short time. Consequently, businesses have recognized the potential of
TikTok as a powerful content marketing platform.
Content marketing has become an essential strategy for companies to promote their products
and increase sales. TikTok offers a variety of digital marketing features, such as content
marketing strategies and paid advertising, which allow companies to reach a wider audience and
boost product sales. Brands must understand the importance of creating creative and attractive
content that captures the attention of users and generates interest in their products on this
platform (Teresa Guarda et al. 2021). To optimize the use of TikTok as part of their marketing
strategy, businesses can rely on unique and creative content and take advantage of the features
available on the platform. For example, creating videos relevant to trending topics or
participating in hashtag challenges can increase visibility and engagement. Marketers can also
use analytics tools to track engagement and measure campaign effectiveness (Dave Evans and
Jake McKee 2010).
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The influence of TikTok on consumer purchase intentions has been extensively studied, and
the findings indicate that TikTok can be an effective platform for digital advertising and
marketing campaigns (Meliawati, Gerald, and Akhmad Edhy Aruman 2023). However, successful
marketing on TikTok requires precision and creativity in content creation to shape customer
value and engagement (Yana Respati Dewi 2021). Businesses must develop engaging, high-
quality content that resonates with their target audience to drive customer interest and
ultimately increase sales. By leveraging the unique features of the TikTok platform, businesses
can engage with a younger audience and reach new customers (Melissa Barker et al. 2012).
TikTok's algorithm and user interface offer opportunities for marketers to create engaging
content that resonates with their target audience. Strategies such as hashtag challenges, branding
effects, and in-feed video ads can be utilized to build brand awareness, generate leads, and drive
sales (Chaffey and Ellis-Chadwick 2015). Measuring campaign effectiveness on TikTok can be
challenging but crucial. Marketers should use relevant metrics such as views, likes, and new
followers as indicators of success (Melissa Barker et al. 2012). Additionally, product quality and
aligning content with the platform's
TikTok has great potential for digital marketing, as described in the journal "Digital Marketing
Strategy: An Integrated Approach to Online Marketing" (Simon Kingsnorth 2016). Through
various advertising options such as in-feed ads, hashtag campaigns and video promotions,
businesses can effectively showcase their products or services to active and engaged users on
TikTok. Especially popular among the younger generation, TikTok is becoming a valuable
platform for businesses to reach their target audience. In a study involving 50 respondents, it was
discovered that TikTok advertising videos are creative and easy to understand, helping users find
relevant advertisements. This is in line with previous research by (Yang, Zhao, and Ma 2019)
which emphasized the uniqueness of TikTok ads that contribute to the rapid spread of videos. In
addition, this research shows that many respondents (46 out of 50) use TikTok for entertainment,
which further underscores its potential as a strategic platform for product promotion. Trust in
TikTok ads is also evident, with respondents agreeing (50 out of 50) that they can find ads that
suit their needs and wants, while 45 respondents trust ads on the platform. Furthermore, 46
respondents strongly believe that they can rely on product information and user comments on
TikTok. Although many previous studies were conducted in China, TikTok's home country, these
findings show that entertainment applications such as TikTok can be a strategic place to promote
products (Yu Han 2020).
Using TikTok has several drawbacks that need to be considered. First, the majority of TikTok
users are teenagers with an age range of 16 to 24 years, so this platform is not appropriate for
reaching an adult audience that is the target market for certain businesses. Second, TikTok still
doesn't provide features that make it easy to convert from brand awareness to sales, because
there's no direct way to link product links to sales sites. The TikTok algorithm also requires
adjustments to suit different business marketing needs. Finally, there are concerns that TikTok's
popularity is only a temporary trend and may not have the long-term staying power of some other
apps(Ayyub Hamdanu Budi Nurmana.M.S S.Sn. 2023). In addition, the use of TikTok also has
problems in terms of performance analytics which are difficult to track because the analysis
system is only available for 28 days, so it is important to make regular records over a longer
period of time(Rizky Ayu 2022). In addition, the existence of clickbait methods and intrusive
advertisements in the free version of TikTok can also affect the user experience and reduce trust.
In addition, TikTok's privacy policy and terms of use are not always clear to users, and users are
often exposed to third-party advertisements and promotional content that is irrelevant to the
app. All of these drawbacks need to be considered carefully before deciding to use TikTok as a
medium for business promotion(Anggi 2023).
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ISSN (Online): 2961-9602
AWARENESS SALES
CREATIVE
BRAND
CONTENT
ADS
Figure 1 Content Marketing
In the table In the content marketing strategy on TikTok, a brand can follow several steps to
increase awareness and achieve increased sales. First, brands can create creative content that is
interesting and relevant to the brand's target audience. Creative and unique content will make
the brand get the attention of more TikTok users by leveraging the use of hashtags according to
the target audience and popular back sound to increase content exposure. Apart from that, brands
can also use the ad features provided by TikTok. Through advertisements that are set according
to the brand's target audience, brands can reach a more specific audience and increase the
chances of achieving the desired sales goals. By combining creative content and advertising
strategies, brands can get maximum results in their content marketing efforts on the TikTok
platform. In this research, we will answer the question of whether content marketing techniques
can help brands that are new to using the TikTok platform to increase sales. The proposed
approach is to create marketing content that uses ads and without ads, by utilizing hashtags and
back sound that are popular among the segmentation targeted by the brand. We will test whether
this content marketing technique is effective in increasing sales of the ready-to-wear fashion
brand "shayn", which has just started using the TikTok platform. In this effort, we will create
interesting and relevant content, hoping to attract the interest and engagement of TikTok users,
and drive sales growth for "shayn".
METHOD
This study uses a quantitative research approach to descriptive analysis according to
(Sugiyono 2017) statistics are used to analyze data by describing or describing the data that has
been collected as it is without intending to make general conclusions or generalizations. This is
to get an in-depth understanding of the role of content marketing on TikTok in increasing sales.
The research approach used in this research is a case study. We chose the "shayn" brand that has
recently used TikTok as a content marketing platform, and its impact on sales. This research was
conducted for a month, from 5 May 2023 to 8 June 2023 for creative content. while for advertising
use from 15 June 2023 to 21 June 2023. This research was conducted online by monitoring
content marketing activities on TikTok. The instrument uses observation to observe and record
content posted on TikTok and user interactions that lead to sales. Data collection uses direct
observation of posted content and user interaction on TikTok as seen from sales. The data
obtained will be organized, analyzed and interpreted to gain an in-depth understanding of the
role of content marketing on TikTok in increasing sales
RESULTS
This study aims to investigate how content marketing can affect sales through the TikTok
platform, with a focus on the local brand “shayn”. The data collected in this study uses two
different content marketing techniques. First, content marketing is carried out using creative
content in the form of inspiration styling videos, using yellow baskets without using
advertisements and how about using advertising marketing. The data collected through this
strategy will be analyzed qualitatively to answer research questions regarding the role of content
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Innovation and Social Science, July 2023
ISSN (Online): 2961-9602
marketing on TikTok in increasing sales. Data analysis will involve grouping, classification, and
data simplification techniques to provide answers that are relevant to the research topic.
Table 1. Results from the use of creative content
Date Video views Profile views Likes Comments Shares
2023-05-07 0 0 0 0 0
2023-05-08 134776 1786 10945 66 135
2023-05-09 108943 1290 7903 28 113
2023-05-10 195861 2273 13822 59 219
2023-05-11 141648 1989 14335 103 246
2023-05-12 93519 1112 10323 48 168
2023-05-13 87247 1096 10008 35 130
2023-05-14 89311 957 7904 58 106
2023-05-15 65531 649 5941 17 80
2023-05-16 46247 518 4669 24 68
2023-05-17 40856 450 4034 22 67
2023-05-18 40694 447 3813 14 73
2023-05-19 30283 316 2766 19 40
2023-05-20 22424 222 2047 17 29
2023-05-21 26552 263 2836 10 47
2023-05-22 28964 300 3411 16 38
2023-05-23 21702 216 2495 13 29
2023-05-24 19774 172 2156 10 23
2023-05-25 16572 164 1580 2 17
2023-05-26 19190 401 1716 5 32
2023-05-27 19230 296 1833 11 38
2023-05-28 18727 236 1637 4 31
2023-05-29 21144 242 1749 16 23
2023-05-30 22074 230 1906 10 29
2023-05-31 108295 1417 15811 133 139
2023-06-01 31250 401 3169 22 53
2023-06-02 94591 1339 10196 63 163
2023-06-03 62352 758 6805 33 78
2023-06-04 56828 705 6020 29 86
2023-06-05 59673 702 6829 27 90
2023-06-06 39899 495 4803 33 80
2023-06-07 29879 354 3403 25 84
2023-06-08 26308 324 2977 14 69
Table 2. Source: seller-id.tiktok.com
The table shows the level of awareness achieved of “shayn” brand after utilizing the marketing
strategy on TikTok. From the table above, it can be seen that before utilizing TikTok, there was
no level of awareness of the “shayn” brand. However, after using TikTok as a marketing platform
with a creative content strategy, relevant visuals, and the use of the right hashtags and back sound
of “shayn” level of brand awareness has increased very significantly. “shayn” has managed to
achieve a very high level of awareness for a brand that is new to the platform, TikTok helps them
effectively introduce their brand to their intended audience.
Table 2. Sales from creative content
Owned media
Time Revenue (Rp) Product Views Product Reach Unit Sales
revenue (Rp)
05-07-2023 0 0 0 0 0
05-08-2023 0 20 1 0 0
05-09-2023 0 24 0 0 0
05-10-2023 0 80 1 0 0
05-11-2023 0 18 0 0 0
05-12-2023 0 59 2 0 0
05-13-2023 0 3305 369 0 0
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05-14-2023 0 1344 170 0 0
05-15-2023 0 423 26 0 0
05-16-2023 0 315 24 0 0
05-17-2023 0 216 6 0 0
05-18-2023 0 237 30 0 0
05-19-2023 310060 198 9 1 310060
05-20-2023 0 199 5 0 0
05-21-2023 0 219 7 0 0
05-22-2023 0 126 6 0 0
05-23-2023 0 182 15 0 0
05-24-2023 0 170 10 0 0
05-25-2023 0 657 123 0 0
05-26-2023 0 490 68 0 0
05-27-2023 0 349 49 0 0
05-28-2023 306620 1773 149 1 306620
05-29-2023 0 1605 88 0 0
05-30-2023 0 1743 101 0 0
05-31-2023 0 1425 91 0 0
06-01-2023 299119 2204 136 1 299119
06-02-2023 0 1644 90 0 0
06-03-2023 0 1832 103 0 0
06-04-2023 0 1590 96 0 0
06-05-2023 0 1117 75 0 0
06-06-2023 0 1257 68 0 0
06-07-2023 0 1232 79 0 0
06-08-2023 0 1145 78 0 0
This brand has just used the TikTok platform as a strategy in its content marketing. see the
results of using content marketing without having to pay a fee starting on 05-07-2023. above are
the results to prove the important role of creative content in content marketing, whether it can
generate sales on a new account. The results found show that the use of creative content that uses
yellow baskets can generate sales, even in minimal amounts. This is understandable because the
brand is still in the stage of building awareness of its existence. It can also be seen that the number
of product views obtained is very significant when the content is created according to market
segmentation and can be related to the wishes of the buyer, thus giving the expected impression
when using products from the “shayn” brand.
Table 1. Creative content with paid advertising
Amount Video Product Product Link Initiated Potential Unit
Time
Spent/Day (Rp) Views Purchases Clicks Checkouts Value (Rp) Sales
6-15-2023 Rp 107,000 2745 0 53 0 Rp 0 0
6-16-2023 Rp 107,000 3056 0 79 2 Rp 573,860 0
6-17-2023 Rp 107,000 2504 0 74 0 Rp 0 0
6-18-2023 Rp 107,000 3684 0 64 2 Rp 489.860 0
6-19-2023 Rp 107,000 2938 0 55 3 Rp 776.790 0
6-20-2023 Rp 107,000 3629 0 86 0 Rp 0 0
6-21-2023 Rp 107,000 3984 0 24 0 Rp 0 0
Source: TikTok Apps (Promote Tools)
It can be concluded that the use of the "Promote" feature on the TikTok application (not the
TikTok Dashboard) only provides potential value or potential buyers who have put the product
in the basket. Ads spread to thousands of users and provide awareness where users view
advertised products through uploaded creative content. However, of the 435 users who clicked
on the product link, only 1.6% actually put the product in their cart, which is 7 users.
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The 2nd International Conference on Education
Innovation and Social Science, July 2023
ISSN (Online): 2961-9602
The test results show that content marketing using creative content without advertising is
more effective than using paid advertising because creative content is proven to be able to
increase sales without having to spend a budget. This discovery has important implications for
brands in developing marketing strategies on TikTok by leveraging content marketing without
using advertising to increase sales. However, this research has limited time and funds for
advertising. In this study, the findings show the importance of creating content that is relevant to
market segments and meets market segment expectations when using products offered in short
duration content. We also found that brands need active engagement in every post so that TikTok
users in this segment are aware of the brand's existence.
DISCUSSION
This study aims to investigate the impact of content marketing through the TikTok platform
on increasing sales of the local brand "shayn". Two content marketing techniques were used in
this study: content marketing with creative content and advertising marketing. The collected data
were analyzed qualitatively to answer the research questions. The results show that using
creative content without ads on TikTok is effective in increasing sales, even if it's in minimal
amounts. Content that is relevant and in accordance with market segmentation affects the level
of brand awareness. This marketing strategy has important implications for increasing sales and
requires active involvement of brands in every post on TikTok. This demonstrates from journal
"Creativity of Social Media Marketing as a Digital Marketing Communication Strategy in
Indonesia" by (Xaviera Wardhani 2022) creative content can attract consumers and prospective
customers, ultimately enhancing brand awareness and sales. Every brand must possess creativity
in planning the concept of their content, implementing brand community-building programs, and
delivering messages through content that engages the rational, emotional, and moral aspects.
Each brand's creativity has its own uniqueness that can create a sustainable impression on
consumers, thus the value of creativity can help improve a brand's competitiveness in executing
communication strategies
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, this research explored the impact of content marketing strategies on TikTok in
increasing sales for the local brand "shayn". The study found that leveraging creative content
without using advertising on TikTok can effectively increase brand awareness and generate sales,
even with limited resources. It emphasized the importance of creating relevant and interesting
content tailored to specific market segments. Active brand engagement on TikTok was also
identified as crucial in increasing brand visibility and attracting potential customers. The findings
highlight the potential of TikTok as a platform for content marketing and sales growth, offering
opportunities for businesses to reach a younger audience and drive customer interest. However,
it is important to consider the limitations of TikTok, such as its predominantly teenage user base
and challenges in tracking performance analytics. Overall, this research provides valuable
insights for brands looking to utilize TikTok as a strategic platform for content marketing and
sales expansion
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
This research was supported by the Magister Management program at Maranatha Christian
University in facilitating the financing and development of this journal. In addition, I would also
like to thank the anonymous reviewers and editors whose constructive feedback and valuable
suggestions have greatly improved the quality of this article.
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