Never-before-seen TikTok stats from leaked sales presentations show how it's trying to lure advertisers to the platform

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok
  • TikTok is building ad formats to get people to shop from the app, according to ad buyers and recent pitch decks.
  • A TikTok spokeswoman confirmed the platform was testing shopping ad products.
  • TikTok also said its US advertising business had grown more than 500% in the past year.
  • See more stories on Insider's business page.

E-commerce has skyrocketed during the pandemic, and TikTok wants in on the action.

The Chinese video app is making a bigger play for advertiser budgets with new ad formats designed to get people to shop on the platform, according to ad buyers and recent TikTok pitch decks shared with buyers. The move comes as online shopping surges in popularity and becomes an increasingly bigger priority for advertisers.

The new ad formats — which are in testing and expected to be rolled out in the first half of 2021 — let brands show their products, retarget people with products they've shown interest in, and highlight sales and promotions. The new formats include: 

  • Collection Ads, where brands can combine their product catalogs and branded videos to lead people to product landing pages. 
  • Dynamic Product Ads, which automatically retarget people with products according to their online behaviors.
  • Promo Tiles, which allow advertisers to add customizable sales and promotions to their in-feed ads.
  • Showcase Tiles, which let creators promote products in their videos with a link to them in tiles below for users to purchase. 

A TikTok spokeswoman confirmed the platform was testing e-commerce ads without confirming the formats above or commenting on the decks. The move comes on the heels of TikTok running shoppable livestreaming tests with Walmart and a partnership it announced with e-commerce platform Shopify last year, which allows Shopify merchants to run TikTok marketing campaigns from the Shopify dashboard.

"TikTok is at a tipping point," Jon Severson, the vice president and director of paid social at Mediahub, said. "It's no longer just a novelty for brands to maybe try but is trying to become something that can drive incremental returns and business outcomes."

The app's usage has grown during the pandemic as people turned to its short-form videos for entertainment. While it mainly makes money through advertising, TikTok has been integrating shopping into the app to appeal to its millennial and Gen Z audience. Its competitors Snapchat and Instagram already have e-commerce ads. 

Sandie Hawkins, the US general manager of global business solutions at TikTok, said the app was becoming a place where people discover new products through the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, and brands like Eos going viral and seeing increases in awareness and sales.

Overall, TikTok's US advertising business grew more than 500% in the past year, Hawkins said, without providing specifics. TikTok's US ad revenues were expected to hit $500 million in 2020, The Information reported.

TikTok is also going on a charm offensive with ad agencies, offering media credits to test out the new formats if they spend at least $5,000 over a two-week period, a media executive at a holding company said.

It's also broadening the base of advertisers it's pursuing and offering them perks like credit, newsletters, and alpha and beta testing, said Penney Soon, the senior director of social media at the Omnicom agency Hearts & Science.

TikTok has struck deals with the ad companies WPP and IPG Mediabrands that give them early access to new ad products and connect brands to creators on the platform, respectively.

In the pitch decks, TikTok presents itself as a place where "discovery drives purchase behavior." The slides tout its audience and how much time it spends on the platform, and details how brands have used it to grow awareness and sales. 

Here's how TikTok is pitching itself to advertisers and retailers.

TikTok is pitching itself as a place that drives people to buy products.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

The decks tout its audience: more than 100 million monthly active users in the US and 732 million globally.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

The company says 17% of its audience is ages 13 to 17, while 42% is 18 to 24.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

It also says brands can reach new audiences on TikTok that are not on other platforms. For example, 92% of TikTok's users are not on LinkedIn, according to the company.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

TikTok says users spend an average of 89 minutes on the app and open it an average of 19 times a day.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

TikTok, citing the Global Web Index 2020, says its users interested in shopping are 7% more likely to promote a brand than users on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

The hashtag #TikTokReviews has been used more than 3.5 billion times.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

TikTok cites a study showing its users are more likely to trust what online reviews say about products or services than other platforms' users.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

TikTok says 47% of its users say they have "bought something seen on TikTok."

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

TikTok also says it inspires more impulse buying than any other platform.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

The company says this is true for product-focused content like unboxings, deals, and promos.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

That's the same for content like do-it-yourself and hack videos, as well as point-of-view and behind-the-scenes posts from employees at various places, the company says.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

People make these product- and experience-focused videos for big-box retailers and fashion retailers.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

TikTok says 45% of users will buy a product or service for the experience of being part of the community built around it.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

TikTok says ads can forge deep connections between brands and people.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

The company cites the example of Ocean Spray, which went viral after a man posted a video of himself skateboarding while drinking cranberry juice and lip-syncing to Fleetwood Mac.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

Ocean Spray's CEO jumped on the bandwagon — and the brand gave a truck to the TikTok star Nathan Apodaca, who made the video.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

TikTok also cites Aerie, whose high-waisted leggings were sold out after Hannah Schlenker posted a review.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

The post led to more than 700,000 searches for the product on the Aerie website and an increase of 200,000% in Google searches, according to TikTok.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

The decks encapsulate the various ad formats on TikTok and the key performance indicators they help brands drive.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

TikTok promotes a partnership with Shopify that launched in September.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

The company is testing e-commerce ad formats including Collection Ads ad Dynamic Product Ads, according to media buyers.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok

The new formats also include Promo Tiles and Showcase Tiles, which are expected to roll out in the first half of 2021.

TikTok pitch deck
TikTok's pitch deck. TikTok
TikTok E-Commerce Marketing