TikTok is Changing the Game
Brands want to know – “Can TikTok increase sales?” and the answer is YES – And because the TikTok algorithm prioritizes content that entertains, in place of creators with big followings, the game has changed for brands like Kendra Scott who are partnering with their college ambassadors to create more authentic and relatable content that is aligned with things trending on TikTok.
Morning Brew recently published an article that shows how Kendra Scott tapped into its “GEMS” – college brand ambassadors – to participate in the viral #BamaRushTok and saw an 18% increase in sales YoY and 20% increase in foot traffic to their over 100 retail locations
Want to learn more about how Kendra Scott uses SocialLadder to drive sales?
The Main Reason Brands Use TikTok
- Partnering with the brand’s college ambassadors helped Kendra Scott increase social engagement, foot traffic to retail locations, and DTC / retail sales
- The campaign was completely organic with no paid spending behind any of the rush-themed TikToks
- The brand learned from the year before and strategically planned to get ahead of the trend by activating the messaging in-store, on social, and over email 2 months before the campaign began
- Kendra Scott noticed that college students were already wearing their jewelry in the rush TikTok posts in 2021 which is why they decided to participate – In 2022 they leaned into this authenticity rather than tell the Gems “do this” or “style like this” – Getting everyday people to genuinely rave about your brand is easier because they already like to talk about brands that they love
- Because the brand planned in advance to participate in the trend – videos organically received over a million views – this type of engagement is not seen on any other social channel over this short period of time
- The Gems not only acted as stylists for their friends & following, but they also helped the brand gain a better understanding of how to market the jewelry to college students
- The real key to success with TikTok is creating content with those trending sounds
- The brand was able to be part of the conversation with their customers which in turn helped them better understand customer needs and also helped the brand’s social team create more organic content by featuring ambassadors and their content on the owned social pages
