YT YouTube2Text

YouTube2Text → Transcripts → TikTok Shop Secrets From An Ex-TikTok Insider

TikTok Shop Secrets From An Ex-TikTok Insider — Transcript

by JoinBrands for Brands · 7,751 words · 1,095 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

Open in transcriber Summarize with AI Download SRT/VTT

Full transcript

0:00I think it's best when [music] brands
0:01are able to come to the table with being
0:02able to send at least 500 samples in the
0:04first month. There has to be something
0:05with the algorithm about having more
0:07than five videos on your page for the
0:09same brand and being able to convert
0:10[music] on that sixth or seventh video
0:12before you compete for a customer on the
0:13platform. You have to compete for that
0:15affiliate attention to make the short
0:16video or make the content that will then
0:18generate the sales. Bloom's one of those
0:20brands that needs to [music] be studied
0:21for Tik Tok shop. greens make up like 1
0:23to 2% of their sales overall and
0:25everything's going through like energy
0:27drinks, creatine supplements, and like a
0:29what? Clear protein drink that they also
0:31have. [music] The cold start can be 6
0:32months for a long period of time until
0:34you're doing like $60,000 in a month.
0:36They really understand that this is a
0:38marketing channel that is not going to
0:40necessarily be one that is [music]
0:42profitable for quite some time. One of
0:44my mentors said, "Building the plane as
0:45we fly."
0:47What's going on everybody? It's Dan back
0:49here with Join Brands and we are rocking
0:51and rolling with another episode of the
0:52Join Brands podcast and I am very
0:54excited to be joined today by Sam Nathan
0:57from Neutra Harmony. Sam, what's going
0:58on, brother? How you doing?
0:59>> Doing well, Dan. How are you doing?
1:01Thanks for having me today.
1:02>> Awesome, man. Happy Monday, bright and
1:03early. So, for those who don't know, Sam
1:05and I actually used to work together at
1:07Tik Tok. I've been trying to have folks
1:09from TikTok on the podcast for a long
1:11time now, but as you know, there's, you
1:13know, HR, there's PR, there's a lot of
1:14hoops you got to jump through to get
1:15approved. But you are now over at Neutra
1:18Harmony. So would love to hear a little
1:19bit more about about this transition.
1:22Obviously congrats on the new role, the
1:23new move. Yeah, man. Talk to me about
1:24what you've been up to.
1:25>> Now before we jump into today's
1:27conversation, a quick word about Join
1:29Brands. If you're looking to scale
1:30creator content for your brand, that is
1:32exactly what Join Brands was built for.
1:34We connect you with trained, vetted
1:36creators who follow your brief, create
1:38the content, host it, and deliver it on
1:40time. Whether you need 10 videos or
1:4210,000 videos, no endless outreach, no
1:45chasing creators around, no messy
1:46spreadsheets, everything from creator
1:48sourcing and communication to approvals,
1:51payments, analytics, all happening in
1:54one place. And best of all is you own
1:56the content. So you can use it across
1:58Tik Tok, Meta, YouTube, Amazon, your
2:01website, email campaigns, and so much
2:04more. So if you're ready to scale your
2:06creator program, check out
2:07joinbrands.com. Now, let's get into
2:09today's conversation. Yeah, I decided to
2:11make the jump brand side. So over to
2:12Neutra Harmony, which is a supplement
2:14company. We do pretty well on Amazon so
2:16far. So my role is really tasked to
2:18stand up their Tik Tok shop, help grow
2:20the brand in the US and and build a
2:22better social commerce presence for them
2:24overall. Early in my career, I've had an
2:26interest in growing brands. And so being
2:27platform side for quite some time with
2:29Tik Tok as well as Amazon really led me
2:32to have that interest in being brand
2:34side and whatnot. So just good
2:36opportunity. He finally made the leap
2:37after working at Tik Tok for 2 and a
2:39half years.
2:40>> 2 and a half years at Tik Tok, that's
2:41like that's like 10 years in in the real
2:43world.
2:43>> Yeah, it's definitely a long time. You
2:44know, you see a lot of changes when
2:46you're on the platform. And I think, you
2:47know, being an early adopter into the
2:49health and supplement team, being an
2:51early hire, prolonged career there. I
2:53got to see a lot of growth, see a lot of
2:54cool things happening.
2:55>> I know the Tik Tok space is one of, if
2:57not the probably fastest growing,
2:59fastest evolving space in in social
3:02commerce. spending two and a half years
3:03there. I mean, one of the biggest things
3:04you like you see the platform change on
3:06on almost a day-to-day basis. So,
3:08looking back at what Tik Tok shop was
3:10like day one, week one when you first
3:12started there versus what it's like now,
3:14like what are the biggest differences
3:15that you've noticed? Like what are the
3:16biggest changes that you've seen?
3:18>> Yeah, I think I think the brands, you
3:20know, the brands that you see on the
3:22platform now is probably one of the
3:23biggest changes. When you started at Tik
3:25Tok, Tik Tok shop even started and and
3:27whatnot, you saw a lot of skepticism,
3:29right? If you look back to what was that
3:31like 2024, 2023, 2024 time frame, you
3:35had a lot of looming, a lot of unknown
3:38for Tik Tok as a platform, right? Like
3:40Trump wanted to ban it, then Biden tried
3:42to carry it out and then Trump was
3:43reelected and you know then actually did
3:46did put that ban in place and then once
3:48Tik Tok was able to come back to the
3:50platform, you started to see a shift in
3:52what people thought about the platform
3:53and the presence overall and the the
3:56brands that joined. But pre-ban era, you
3:58know, even though it was only 24 hours,
4:00a lot of the times when you're talking
4:01to big brands and big retailers who were
4:04interested in the platform but not ready
4:06to commit, they looked at that as like
4:08the uncertainty. And then once that kind
4:10of situation dissolved, you start to see
4:12a lot more big brand names and really
4:14really, you know, high power retailers
4:16like Ulta and I heard start to join the
4:18platform, which I think is probably one
4:20of the biggest shifts overall. So it was
4:23early days were really grindy and really
4:25gritty brands down a lot of like Tik Tok
4:27shop brands so to speak that are still
4:29legacies on the platform. Once we
4:31overcame that that like political
4:33situation it started to see a shift
4:35there.
4:35>> Yeah, absolutely. I think once the air
4:36finally cleared on that on that whole
4:38ban thing like I feel it was just a huge
4:40wave of all these big big legacy brands
4:42coming where it was like one day after
4:44the other it's like oh Samsung's on Tik
4:46Tok shop under armor is on Tik Tok shop
4:47Ulta is on Tik Tok shop and the more and
4:49more of those big legacy brands that
4:51comes on that just really solidifies the
4:53the legitimacy of the platform I think
4:55especially for a lot of those folks that
4:57were a little a little skeptical but
4:58dude I remember like when I first
5:00started it was like 2023 so I think I
5:02was there a little bit before you got to
5:03the team and the way the Tik Tok shop
5:05was viewed back then was like just a
5:06step above Teeu. Like we had a couple of
5:08like kind of middle tier like somewhat
5:11well-known brands that were on but not
5:13really a whole lot of data to really to
5:15really make them into a case study. You
5:16mentioned like a couple of big brands,
5:18Ulta, IH Herb. Now I was on the health
5:19team. You were one of if not the top AM
5:22there and you managed a lot of these big
5:24brands. I would love to hear a little
5:25bit more about kind of these
5:26relationships that you built with some
5:28of these brands. How you establish those
5:30relationships? Like what kind of
5:31questions do brands have when they're
5:33when they're growing Tik Tok shop? Yeah,
5:35totally. Yeah, there was a moment in
5:36time where I managed Goalie Nutrition,
5:38which ended up being one of the top
5:39shops on TikTok for quite some time, but
5:41all the health account managers have all
5:43had their moment in the sun with with
5:45one of their brands going viral. And
5:46that's when that happens, that's a
5:47really cool feeling. So, the health team
5:49and the supplement team over there, they
5:51they do a great job of finding those
5:52products and making them go viral. That
5:54just, you know, is very grateful to have
5:55my moment in the sun. Yeah. Most of them
5:57want to know how to be profitable on the
5:59platform right away, which is always an
6:00interesting topic of conversation. Don't
6:02we all?
6:02>> Yeah. Right. I think you could do your
6:04own full podcast just about that
6:05conversation. But a lot of times there's
6:07questions around like org structure and
6:08what's going to work best for a company
6:11to have the most success and how do we
6:13build a team to scale and then there's a
6:15lot of a lot more questions surrounding
6:16like affiliates and what is the best
6:18practice and how do you attract the
6:20affiliates and that's that's really you
6:21know the most difficult part of this
6:23game because before you compete for a
6:24customer on the platform you have to
6:26compete for that affiliate attention to
6:27make the short video or make the content
6:29that will then generate the sale. So a
6:31lot of the questions that we ask are
6:32like are you prepared for affiliate
6:34management outreach? How many samples
6:37can you send a week or a month as well?
6:39We do a little temp check there and I
6:41think it's best when brands are able to
6:42come to the table with being able to
6:43send at least 500 samples in the first
6:45month and have a team ready for
6:47affiliate management and have a budget
6:49set aside for retainer creators. cuz as
6:52I'm learning in Neutra Harmony, I'm
6:54seeing that buying your videos is really
6:55what's going to be the most impactful on
6:57the platform versus the sample sending
6:59and the outreach messages. They ask
7:01about like the legitimacy of the
7:02platform. Still, there's a lot of
7:04questions surrounding like lab testing
7:05and like do we have accreditations on
7:07PDP displays for cleaning products, non
7:10GMO products, stuff like that as well.
7:12So, a lot of times it's the questions
7:14that we have for the brands are really
7:15focused around like their preparedness
7:16for the platform and how much money are
7:18they willing to invest as well. Okay,
7:20got it. I know obviously live is a big
7:22thing that's been kind of like a huge
7:24talking point of Tik Tok for probably
7:26seems like I like like two years now. Is
7:28that something that you saw a lot of
7:29brands kind of go in or what was your
7:31experience with live and and your
7:32clients that you worked with?
7:34>> Yeah, live has a funny life cycle at Tik
7:35Tok shop because over in Asia where Tik
7:38Tok shop initially started. I think like
7:40the platform for live selling is like
7:42it's like 80% of the GMV for and and
7:45here it's like 20%. So, it's like
7:47flip-flopped live. When I started, Tik
7:49Tok shop was being pushed somewhat
7:50heavily onto sellers and and encouraged
7:52for brands to do and what have you. And
7:54then it went away for quite some time
7:56and and the focus was to just grow your
7:57short video and and work on the
7:59platform. And then live came back for a
8:01second time. And the second time that it
8:03came back, they actually had us like us
8:05account managers taking a crash course
8:07on Live and how to use Live Studio, go
8:09live ourselves, use, you know, live
8:12manager, write a script, what hooks are
8:13going to work, what openers aren't going
8:15to work. So that was actually a really
8:16fun ed educational course that Tik Tok
8:19put together to provide us to educate
8:21our clients. We were tasked with like
8:22going to our clients as well and like
8:24hosting a live stream with them which
8:25was really good bonding and like a good
8:27way to like get to know your brands a
8:28little bit better in a more fun and
8:30personal manner. And then live got
8:32deprioritized again when new leadership
8:34kind of came in. We saw that that the
8:35initiative and the investment wasn't
8:37working as well for the American market.
8:38So that was the third time. And now
8:40recently live has actually been put back
8:41into play. And I think that's the much
8:43in part shout out to like the
8:44collectibles team and the collectibles
8:46division as well as like the fashion
8:47teams and luxury fashion that you know
8:49are really growing live stream and
8:51they're seeing really good success
8:52there. So much so that they've like
8:53implemented that auction feature now
8:55which is really heavily used and focused
8:57on with brands of all different natures.
8:59So anything from fashion to even like
9:01supplement brands are trying to auction
9:03their products. And so I think that's
9:04going to make things a little bit
9:06better. I think live is a really good
9:08tool if you can master it as a customer
9:10education piece as well as like a
9:11customer service piece too. Like if
9:13people are chatting that they have an
9:15issue and they need customer service
9:16help, that could be a very beneficial
9:18and quick way to resolve some customer
9:20service needs and and create a better
9:21customer shopping experience. And then
9:23with the auction, it gifies everything
9:25at this point. And like I don't know
9:27about you, but I've bought some stuff
9:28from like the fashion sellers like some
9:30Supreme Wear and everything that I, you
9:32know, is considered vintage. But it's a
9:34good deal cuz it's on a live auction and
9:36people aren't interested in it. I'm
9:37like, I I love that t-shirt. So, you can
9:39get some really cool things now. I think
9:41Live will be an evergoing tool that'll
9:43definitely be necessary to use. It
9:45really helps with seller margin when
9:46affiliate costs are just rising and
9:48whatnot. So, um, you know, more brands
9:50are definitely going to be leaning into
9:52Live and we'll see what the American
9:53consumer thinks of it.
9:55>> Yeah, absolutely. I'm I'm glad you
9:56mentioned is how how affiliate costs are
9:58rising and how, you know, affiliates are
9:59wanting, you know, these upfront
10:01payments and, you know, higher
10:02commissions. So, as it becomes more and
10:04more competitive just in the overall
10:06landscape for both the brand and the
10:08creator side as a brand, like how can
10:10you go about building your your creator
10:13team?
10:13>> Mhm.
10:14>> Cuz I feel like back then it's like,
10:15okay, like you know, here's a free
10:16product, here's 15% commission, and you
10:18know, it was kind of easy, but now it's
10:20becoming increasingly more difficult
10:22like you said, you know, creators
10:23creators want more. They're demanding
10:24more. There's obviously more brands for
10:26them to pick from. So, what are some
10:27tips that you would offer to brands when
10:29it comes to building up their creator
10:31base? Yeah, I mean have a community like
10:33build some sort of channel, a Discord, a
10:35WhatsApp group, a Facebook group. It
10:37doesn't matter where where you build it.
10:39Build it where the affiliates are though
10:40and have a way where you can like
10:42communicate with them in a bulk manner
10:44or share what what is working for you
10:46and share what's working for the brand
10:48and like what products are trending and
10:50going towards a viral a viral sensation
10:52right now and and really, you know, find
10:54a path forward to communicate with them
10:56efficiently and effectively and be
10:57available for them for whatever
10:59situations they need. And then the
11:01creator challenges are a dime a dozen at
11:03this point. The incentive volume
11:04challenges are a dime a dozen as well.
11:06First and foremost, like find a way to
11:08stand out. Think outside of the box.
11:10Figure out what the target demographic
11:11is. And then make that target
11:12demographic for your customer base for
11:14your affiliate base as well. So then you
11:16have that community that's going in the
11:17right direction. I think it's really
11:19important that when it times to launch
11:21come to launch new products or bring
11:22products to market or branding or
11:24situations like that, you know, they're
11:25your sales team and boots on the ground
11:27for you. So they're, you know, they may
11:29have ideas of what's going to work. So
11:30treat them as employees and watch what
11:32gets rewarded for that. When it comes to
11:34like building a team, having a good
11:35affiliate manager, somebody who's
11:36responsive with their messages, somebody
11:38that's sympathetic with what the
11:39creators are talking about and has a lot
11:42of patience, I think is is very vital,
11:44too, because you're going to be pulled
11:45in many different directions and ask
11:46many different things from these
11:48affiliates at at different times. So
11:50managing tasks and being able to stay
11:51patient, I think, is is really relevant.
11:53>> No, absolutely. Yeah. I think making
11:55yourself stand out as a brand is
11:57becoming a lot harder on Tik Tok. From
11:59your experience from not only the
12:01sellers that you that you worked with
12:03personally, but just what you saw in the
12:04space, do you see Tik Tok shop as more
12:07product focused, more price focused,
12:09more strategy focused? A lot of products
12:11that you see like goalie for instance, I
12:12feel like they were kind of like the
12:13first to really make vitamin gummies
12:15like a big thing. So that was kind of
12:16like a first to the market. So that was
12:18more of like a product focus. But then
12:19you see, you know, some brands that are
12:21just kind of like general commodity
12:23products stuff that you can get
12:24anywhere, but they've just found a way
12:25to position themselves, whether that be
12:27through offering like some crazy pricing
12:29or they've got these crazy bundles or
12:30flash sales or just the way that they
12:32work with creators like their briefs.
12:34So, I feel like there's a lot of
12:35different ways there. It's not
12:36necessarily like a one-sizefits-all like
12:38you have to have a oneofone unique
12:40product to succeed. Like we've seen case
12:42studies all across the board is there's
12:44different ways that you can stand out on
12:45on Tik Tok. What do you think is the
12:47most effective way to stand? Yeah, I
12:48think form factor is a really fun way to
12:51go about standing out and I do think
12:52that that is very beneficial. So, you
12:54made a good point with goalie, right?
12:56they were an early adopter on the
12:57platform. And I think when you have
12:59brands that are early adopters of the
13:00platform, which are now our legacy
13:02brands, like they're always going to be
13:03kind of around that top position. Like
13:05you look at like goalie or the micro
13:07ingredients and even micro ingredients
13:09had an interesting form factor because
13:10everything was so small in the
13:11supplement like it was packed with fish
13:13oils were really small and like normally
13:16fish oils are like very big pills and
13:17whatnot. Even vitamin D's always been
13:19pretty small. But I think the point
13:20being is form factor, right? I think
13:22form factor is is one that kind of gets
13:24overlooked in the world today. That's
13:26something I've been really focusing on
13:27is like what's the next form factor. So
13:29we saw gummies, you saw the creatine
13:31gummies, you see the electrolytes, you
13:32see the hydration sticks and like the
13:34powders and the you know in a single
13:36serving pack. You we're probably going
13:38to see protein move that way as well.
13:40We're starting to see like single
13:41serving creatine stick pack. So that's
13:43one form factor. Then you have like the
13:44dissolvables or the chews that you just
13:47you just chew. So, I think form factor
13:49is like pretty interesting and I say
13:50that because Tik Tok being a content
13:52driven platform, how you can make that
13:54content and how you can show that in a
13:56fun different way with different form
13:57factors can really help with your hooks,
14:00your openers, and help you stand out a
14:02little bit. Obviously, price is going to
14:03be the most important one, but we always
14:06encourage brands to be at an everyday
14:08low price and be equal or lower than
14:10Amazon on Tik Tok shop. Then with the
14:13platform coupons and discounts, whatever
14:14happens happen there. So I think price
14:16is always going to be the a sensitive
14:18subject as well or something you know
14:19that should be focused on with your
14:21brand. So I think those two things are
14:23always going to move the needle but then
14:25it does always help to have like
14:26exclusive bundles and exclusive
14:27opportunities or flavors on Tik Tok shop
14:29just to keep the customer on Tik Tok
14:31shop which I think you know a lot of
14:33brands are now trying to do or they're
14:35trying to like look at that halo effect
14:36and and so you're seeing brands kind of
14:38split. Some are growing towards
14:40profitability and having like unique
14:42products and individual offerings. And
14:43then some are going towards like their
14:45halo effect and just worrying about like
14:47leveraging Tik Tok shop as like a
14:49marketing platform. And then I think a
14:50third thing that most people underlook
14:52is kind of branding at packaging or
14:54collaborations. You know, if you look at
14:55like Bum Energy or Bloom, they're always
14:58doing some sort of new iteration of a
15:00flavor and new iteration of packaging
15:02and and on their cans and their
15:04displays. or you have Bum energy who
15:06just did like a collaboration with Ella
15:07Langley like the biggest country star
15:09right now and launched it first on Tik
15:11Tok shop and it absolutely blew up and
15:13went mad overnight right so I think
15:15those three things right it's like
15:16innovative products with the
15:17collaboration it's form factor and then
15:20it's pricing those things I think are
15:22like what allow you to win the most on
15:23on Tik Tok
15:24>> dude have you tried those langly
15:27>> I'm actually not an energy drinker guy I
15:29operate you know kind of at a higher
15:32baseline than most people with like
15:34anxiety and stuff and so I'm super
15:35sensitive to caffeine and everything so
15:38I've stayed away. What about you?
15:39>> I got a case just yesterday and dude.
15:41>> Are they good?
15:42>> Yeah.
15:43>> Okay.
15:44>> Those two brands that you mentioned, Bum
15:46and Bum Energy and and Bloom are just
15:48I've got way I got way too much of that
15:50stuff. Well, also Bloom is like right
15:51here in Austin. Like it's like very like
15:53anytime there's like a local pop event
15:54or whatever, they've got like some sort
15:56of like activation. They got like this
15:57big like Hummer truck that they're all
15:59driving around town and giving out free
16:01samples and freebies. So that's that's
16:02really cool to see. I think Bloom's one
16:04of those brands that like needs to be
16:06studied for Tik Tok shop, you know. I
16:08think Tik Tok kind of I don't want to
16:10say like revitalized them because I
16:11don't I don't know the full story and I
16:12never really worked with the Bloom team
16:14or managed Bloom, but they started as a
16:16greens powder and now they're greens
16:18make up like 1 to 2% of their sales
16:20overall and everything's going through
16:22like energy drinks, creatine
16:23supplements, and like a what clear
16:25protein drink that they also have. And
16:27then to see their shift, I think you
16:29asked me what's been the biggest change
16:30over two years. Honestly, seeing some of
16:32these brands and the way that they can
16:33pivot, Bloom included, is is been a big
16:36shift too. And I think like really cool.
16:38Bloom also does a great job with their
16:40like affiliate management. If you look
16:41at that community, they have a really
16:43good community. They have several
16:44different coaches. I know that they've
16:46tried to do like creator education
16:48courses as well, like 13week intensive
16:50courses. and they they really prioritize
16:52their affiliates and and they recognize
16:55the success that they have because of
16:57them and so you know they're they're a
16:58brand that needs to be studied for Tik
17:00Tok shop now that they're one like the
17:02largest on the platform and everything.
17:04>> We do a lot of work with Balloon.
17:05They're their whole their whole team is
17:06is absolutely awesome to work with. I
17:08think the really cool thing about them
17:09too is how you mentioned they started
17:11off as mostly like a greens company and
17:13they transition and now they're known
17:15for their canned drinks and I feel like
17:17the general kind of like direction that
17:19brands want to move is the opposite cuz
17:21obviously when you're working with like
17:22canned drinks it's like it's big, it's
17:24bulky, it's expensive to ship. There's a
17:25lot more that goes into it. Higher
17:27likelihood of you know stuff getting
17:28damaged, you know, cans get broken and I
17:30feel like a lot of brands are trying to
17:31get like smaller and smaller. Like
17:32that's why we're seeing this transition
17:33to like electrolytes and powders and
17:36energy gels and even like I've seen
17:38little those um like dissolvable tongue
17:40strips. I've been seeing a lot of those
17:41brands pop up like brands are like
17:43they're trying to get smaller and
17:44smaller and more compact whereas Bloom
17:46kind of went the opposite direction of
17:47like hey let's you know you know let's
17:49get into big bulky cases of heavy ass
17:51drinks and it's it's been crazy. It's
17:53been really cool to see. So yeah,
17:54they're definitely on that kind of like
17:56upper tier of like hey if you want to
17:58learn how to do Tik Tok chop just like
18:00study Bloom day in day out. Yeah. Yeah.
18:02They they did really good. I mean, they
18:04also have fun marketable products and
18:06it's easy to come up with new flavors
18:07when you're in the drink space as well.
18:09So, I think that they have like an
18:10advantage there.
18:11>> I think like what you mentioned earlier
18:14too is like having like a Tik Tok shop
18:16exclusive launch to kind of keep that
18:17traffic on TikTok cuz you heard this all
18:19the time. Every time Amazon increases
18:21prices, you know, increases everything,
18:23you know, Amazon just keeps squeezing
18:24these sellers more and more and more.
18:26So, that was a big conversation for a
18:27while. It's like, hey, like that that
18:28halo effect is great. Like, we'll take
18:30that all day long. like how can we get
18:31more sales to stay here on TikTok? And I
18:33remember there was one I'm not sure if
18:35this is this is your account or someone
18:36else's, but Bucked Up when they launched
18:38those clear like clear protein drinks.
18:41They launched those exclusively on Tik
18:42Tok and that went bananas for a couple
18:45days.
18:45>> Yeah. Yeah. Bucked Up was an interesting
18:47one. Managed them for for a little bit,
18:49but then, you know, passed them over and
18:51they're they're great now. The buy in
18:53that they get the platform with
18:54launching new flavors and and seeing
18:56great great success is is awesome to
18:58see. They were one of the first brands
19:00that like saw halo effect and like had a
19:02true halo with their products. What's
19:04really interesting to me is when you're
19:05walking like the grocery aisles or
19:07you're seeing like these energy drinks
19:08and you're like, I worked with that
19:10brand or oh, I I know those guys. And
19:11then I I feel like inclined to buy their
19:14products now. And they're all really
19:15good products of course, too, which is
19:17which is great. But I think that's like
19:18being in the space of like brand
19:20management, you pay more attention to
19:22like what's on the shelves and where
19:23their placement is, too, because it the
19:25halo effect has a ripple there, too. You
19:27know, that's the beauty of Tik Tok shop
19:29is it's like it's not a search based
19:31app. Like when you're scrolling Tik Tok,
19:33it's really just for like enjoyment,
19:35right? So all the products that people
19:36buy is just based on like product
19:38discovery or it being in their face and
19:40whatnot enough times. And so then when
19:42you're in the grocery store and you see
19:44that Tik Tok, it it it does something to
19:46your brain. It's like, "Oh, I watched a
19:47video for that. Like maybe I should try
19:48this product now that it's like right in
19:50front of my face." And you don't have to
19:51wait for shipping to try it. So, I I
19:54would really love to see like how Tik
19:56Tok shop has helped DTOC sales as well
19:59for certain brands just to see like if
20:01you're getting enough video out there
20:02and you're in retail, do you see that
20:04spike in in volume too and volume in
20:06sales?
20:07>> Dude, re retail has been a big
20:08conversation actually with a lot of
20:10these Tik Tok brands that we work with.
20:11I feel like in in the early days of Tik
20:13Tok, like if you didn't have Tik Tok, if
20:15you weren't really like a Tik Tok user,
20:17you didn't really know who a lot of
20:18these brands were. Like to people like
20:19us, like those are like household
20:21household names. We see them all the
20:22time scrolling, but now retail stores
20:24have seen the value that, you know, a
20:26viral video on Tik Tok can bring. So,
20:28like you said, like we've been seeing
20:29more and more of these of of these Tik
20:31Tok brands coming in retail source. You
20:32see them be like, "Oh, and that's like
20:34the typical like what's that hashtag?"
20:35Like hashtag like I saw this on TikTok
20:37or whatever. And a lot of these brands
20:39getting into retail sources becoming a
20:41really big priority for them and and
20:43join brands. One of the biggest kind of
20:45like campaign requests that we've been
20:46getting is like, hey, how can we drive
20:49creators into retail stores? We've got
20:51brands that are launching in in Walmart,
20:53in Target, in you know, HB, Albertson's,
20:55Kroger, wherever like these retail or
20:57whether they're national or or regional.
20:59And yeah, I think I think that's been
21:01that's been a really cool push.
21:02>> Yeah, 100%.
21:03>> And yeah, I mean, that's something that
21:04we're able to do is like we can kind of
21:05like pinpoint and find creators that are
21:07in certain areas because when when
21:08brands are going into the these retail
21:10stores, that first, you know, week, two
21:12weeks, 30 days, you have to potentially
21:13prove to these retail stores like, hey,
21:14like how well can we how well can we
21:16move products? And so being able to just
21:18flood them with this sea of creators and
21:20and getting content out of it too. I
21:22think that's been a really cool shift
21:23that we've been seeing probably over the
21:24last like just like six months or so
21:26that just started happening kind of
21:27recently.
21:27>> Yeah. No, I think that I think that is
21:29really cool. I mean if you look at like
21:30micro ingredients, you know, they're now
21:32in retail stores and they started as
21:33like one of the very first brands on Tik
21:35Tok shop. In fact, they were a brand
21:36before I was even at Tik Tok and so or O
21:39Positive, you know, they they were in
21:41Target before us, but now they're in
21:42Costco. Obviously, El Positive did their
21:44own thing, but you know, Tik Tok shop
21:46with their popularity growing as well. I
21:48think that's something really cool and
21:49could be attributed to some of the
21:51success as well. So, yeah, it it's it's
21:53interesting. I mean, pretty soon you'll
21:55see like probably see like Rosevelts or
21:57Top Lux Nutrition in retail stores as
21:59well. And so, yeah, rooting for all the
22:01brands to get into retail cuz that once
22:02you're in retail drives a lot of like
22:04brand legitimacy for a consumer at the
22:06end of the day. And once you get that
22:08nationwide distribution as well, like
22:09that's when I think, you know, you've
22:11like truly made it for for a brand on
22:13TikTok, you know.
22:14>> Yeah. And then once you've got that
22:15nationwide, you know, recognition, then,
22:18you know, for these brands that are that
22:19that are wanting an exit, I mean, you
22:21talked about this, I think, you know, a
22:22couple episodes ago, you saw Grun's like
22:241.2 billion after like a year and a
22:26half, which is if you told someone 10
22:28years ago like, "Hey, there's gonna be
22:30this brand that's going to sell for $1.2
22:31billion after a year and a half." You're
22:32like, "That's that's freaking crazy.
22:33There's no way that can happen." So, I
22:35feel like what Tik Tok chop also does is
22:37just like it's such an accelerant for
22:39how fast these brands can like not only
22:41like get out of a cold start, but really
22:43like get up and running, go viral,
22:45become known, get into retail stores,
22:47you know, get some insane valuation all
22:50in in such a short period of time. So, I
22:52think like and and that that's kind of
22:54like the new bar. And now there's going
22:55to be some brand that's probably going
22:56to sell for $1.2 billion after 12 months
22:59instead of 18 months. interesting to see
23:01like how how fast these brands can
23:03really accelerate moving forward just
23:04given all these kinds of resources and
23:05all these tools that that Tik Tok can
23:07offer.
23:08>> Yeah, I mean it's super interesting
23:09because you you speak about cold start
23:11but I I think like cold start on Tik Tok
23:13shop can actually be so hard to break
23:15through. when you ask me what do we talk
23:17to brands about a lot and one thing I
23:18overlooked is cold start because you're
23:21competing for that affiliate before
23:22you're competing for that for that
23:23customer and it's so hard to find those
23:26affiliates and and a lot of these brands
23:28like the cold start can be 6 months you
23:30know for a long period of time until
23:31you're doing like $60,000 in a month
23:33which I think you know once you're doing
23:35that you're kind of out of that cold
23:36start phase you're like a T3 seller
23:38around that time if you're doing like
23:3965k so I think that's like a fair
23:41benchmark or fair value that's where
23:44brands like or if agencies like Join
23:46Brands and other agency partners as well
23:48can really come into play and like
23:49purchase those videos and help you get
23:51through that full start period pretty
23:52quickly. But I'm curious to see like
23:54what like what are you seeing on your
23:55side with like affiliates and and being
23:57on the on join brands like what what
23:59types of shifts have you seen with
24:01affiliates over like the last year year
24:02and a half for yourself? I would say
24:04something that I've been seeing a lot
24:06with affiliates and like I've talked on
24:07the podcast with a couple of like top
24:09top creators that we work with and one
24:12of the things that we're seeing is
24:13creators are looking for like those
24:15retainers or those long-term
24:17partnerships. I know like traditional
24:18traditional Tik Tok shop it's like hey
24:20request a sample get the sample make a
24:22video does do well great if not okay
24:24whatever you know move on to the next
24:25one. Um, but I think creators are
24:27wanting to be a lot more strategic now
24:29with the brands that they partner with.
24:30And they're not thinking of like, oh,
24:32how can we partner together for one
24:34video, two videos, three videos.
24:36Creators are thinking like, hey, how can
24:37we make 20 videos a month together?
24:39Creators like they're looking for more
24:41consistent kind of predictable income
24:43when it comes to those retainers or
24:45those multi-o campaigns. And then the
24:47more and more a creator makes content
24:49for a brand or even a specific product
24:51for a brand, you kind of get more
24:53familiar with the brand's image, kind of
24:55what they're looking for, expectations,
24:57how they want to be positioned. So as
24:59you as you get more and more experience
25:01in making content for a brand as a
25:03creator, it kind of becomes easier
25:05because like you said, creators, they're
25:06looking for partnerships. They're
25:07looking for brands that, you know,
25:08communicate with them that you want to
25:09feel like you're kind of like part of
25:10the brand, part of their business. I
25:12think that's definitely something that
25:13we've been seeing from the from the
25:14creator side is they're wanting those
25:16more more long-term partnerships rather
25:18than just these quick little, you know,
25:19one-off videos in exchange for a sample.
25:21Yeah, I think that's great to be honest
25:23with you because I think you're starting
25:24to see like one thing I'm really focused
25:26on is creator attention and how can I
25:28get 20 30 videos from you and so to know
25:31creators are on the same wavelength is
25:32is really reassuring because I think
25:34that has to be something with the
25:35algorithm about like having more than
25:37like five videos on your page for the
25:38same brand and like being able to
25:40convert on that like sixth or seventh
25:41video. And so I like the first few
25:43videos is like consideration ads to to
25:46their network and then that like fourth,
25:47fifth, sixth video is really where they
25:49convert on the sale. So yeah, really
25:51great to see. And you know, most of the
25:52retainer packages we're purchasing as
25:54well are 20 30 video packages at a time
25:57or trying to get like 5 to 10 videos for
25:59an affordable number as well. But the
26:01more the better.
26:02>> Yeah. And I think as a creator, the more
26:03and more you post about a brand, the
26:04more authentic it sounds as a viewer, if
26:07I'm, you know, following the creator and
26:08I see, you know, they're making a video
26:09for like like a hat or can I know like
26:11whatever it is, those first couple
26:13videos, like you said, it's more like
26:14consideration think like, okay,
26:15whatever. There's like, you know, this
26:16glitch like an ad or whatever. But once
26:18you start seeing they're like, "Okay,
26:20they've posted about this brand, you
26:21know, 50 times just this month." Like,
26:23"This is clearly a brand that they're
26:24invested in, you know, something that
26:25they truly believe in, like they
26:26wouldn't be promoting it." If it was
26:28just like a, you know, quick, you know,
26:29product swap, money grab, whatever it
26:31is. So, I think it also helps build up
26:33that that credibility, which I know like
26:35as viewers, that's something that
26:37viewers and, you know, customers really
26:38look for as well. I mean, I I think it's
26:40really a win-win all around like for the
26:42like for the brand side. It generally
26:43lowers your cost per video.
26:45>> Yeah. you'll get a lot more content out
26:47of one sample. I would say that's going
26:48to be like the biggest push. Yeah.
26:50>> Over the next like year or so is like
26:52from a brand size like how can we get
26:53the most amount of content per creator
26:56and yeah like whe like whether that be a
26:57retainer, whether that be like you like
26:59like with join brands like you can offer
27:01creators performance bonuses for posting
27:03like a certain number of videos. So you
27:05can hire a creator for a campaign and
27:06say like hey you know you can all if you
27:08want to go ahead you can post if you
27:09make six videos for us you know we'll
27:11give you some sort of lump sum bonus. So
27:12that's kind of a little a little extra
27:14incentive. Yeah.
27:16>> Or just pay them an extra, you know, xx
27:18x amount of dollars per per additional
27:20video. So, there's a lot of different
27:21there's a lot of different avenues that
27:22we're kind of exploring that are working
27:23really well.
27:24>> Yeah.
27:24>> Yeah. That that's been that's been one
27:26of at least one of our big priorities
27:27here at Join Brands.
27:28>> I think so too for us on our side. And
27:31then finding the creators as well who
27:32are bringing in the majority of the GMV
27:35for yours and and forming those
27:36relationships with them and and treating
27:38them like our own is like the next step
27:40there.
27:41>> Absolutely. So, I'm sure during your
27:42time at Tik Tok, I'm sure there were a
27:44lot of opportunities that came up from
27:45like brands, agencies,
27:47>> you know, people wanting to poach you.
27:48Obviously, Tik Tok is a is a really, you
27:50know, look looks great on a resume,
27:52really valuable skill that every brand
27:54wants to work with. So, what was it
27:55about Neutra Harmony that drew you to
27:56work with them?
27:57>> Yeah, I think it's it's their
27:58understanding of the platforms. When I
28:00talk to leadership and management about
28:02Tik Tok shop for for the brand, they
28:04really understand that this is a
28:06marketing channel that is not going to
28:08necessarily be one that is profitable
28:11for for quite some time. And you know
28:13the basis of what they have built out
28:14and what they want to build out a
28:16best-in-class affiliate community
28:18sampling is not an issue for us. You
28:20know, the product mix is is pretty good
28:22and and we're doing some further product
28:24developments and and whatnot. So yeah,
28:26you know, it felt like a good fit. I
28:27really got along with the leadership
28:29quite well over here and their
28:30understanding in the way that they look
28:32at Tik Tok shop and how it can help the
28:34Amazon business and move into a retail
28:36partnership and distribution a little
28:37bit further. It just it just made sense
28:39for us and for me to to make that shift
28:42and I loved the time working at Tik Tok,
28:44but following my own dreams and chasing
28:46my own career goals is always a
28:47priority.
28:48>> Yeah, man. Absolutely. I think even this
28:50at a at a really exciting time of the
28:51year too. Obviously, we got Q4 knocking
28:53on the door right around the corner and
28:54you know, obviously that means Black
28:56Friday, Cyber Monday, which is very calm
28:58and very peaceful and not stressful at
29:00all in the social commerce space. Yeah,
29:01we just kick back and relax and don't do
29:03anything.
29:03>> No, it's it's no big deal. It's not bad.
29:05>> Yeah, man. How's that been coming in
29:06during this time of the year? Is is it
29:08just kind of like you're just like
29:09getting thrown right into the fire? Like
29:10are you have a Black Friday, Cyber
29:12Monday in place or are you kind of
29:14helping helping quarterback or what is
29:15the what is the Q4 plan looking like for
29:17you guys? You guys got some exciting
29:18stuff going on? Yeah. So, we have Q4
29:20planning coming up in a couple weeks
29:22here actually. So, the whole team will
29:23meet together down in Miami where the
29:25where the offices are located for the
29:27company and we'll really get a flush job
29:29done in there. But coming in has been
29:31interesting. You know, it's only week
29:32two for me. Today being that start of
29:34the week two. And so, uh, week one was
29:36kind of thrown in the fire trying to get
29:38my bearings. I really found myself
29:39focused a lot on like the affiliates and
29:41like what are we doing right now? who
29:42are the affiliates like and and like
29:45understanding like the different tap
29:46agencies that we're working with
29:47yourself and join brands and getting
29:50organized. So, you know, continuing to
29:51do more of that this week. Have a couple
29:53exciting ideas in mind. Launched a
29:56couple different um new affiliate
29:57challenges. So, if you're an affiliate
29:59listening to this, you know, shameless
30:00plug, you can win up to $5,000 if you
30:03make videos from us from the I think
30:05it's September 14th to October 14th. So,
30:08getting ready for by Friday, Cyber
30:09Monday, you know, immediately. also
30:11tried to get in contact with some like
30:12top Tik Tok shop affiliates. So, be on
30:14the lookout for those partnerships and
30:16yeah, some really exciting things
30:18definitely thrown into the fire right
30:19away as as I would be expected and
30:21learning as we go. And someone one of my
30:23mentors said building the plane as we
30:24fly.
30:25>> Absolutely, man. I feel like that I feel
30:26that's the that's the whole Tik Tok shop
30:27space in general is just building the
30:28plane while we fly. That's you know,
30:30>> I've been doing things but hey, you
30:31know, it's it's gotten us this far. So,
30:32I'd say, you know, it it works works
30:34pretty well.
30:35>> Yeah. I mean, it's working pretty well
30:36and it's it's really cool to be building
30:38something. I think it's it's another
30:40reason why I moved over to brand side
30:42was to build this out, but it's it's
30:43also the original reason why I moved
30:45over to Tik Tok shop was to build was to
30:47build Tik Tok shop. It's chaotic, but
30:49when you look back and in two years and
30:51we're going to have WBRs and SOPs in
30:53place and you know be a welloiled
30:55machine. So just along for the ride.
30:57>> Absolutely, man. Love it. Awesome. Cool
30:59man. Well, I know we're a little over
31:01time here. So, what's going dude? Really
31:03appreciate you hopping on here. It was
31:04great chatting with you. Great catching
31:05up with you. Yeah, man. We'll we'll be
31:07in touch for sure. I know we got big
31:08things. things. I know Neutra Harmony is
31:09going to go absolutely crazy in 2027, so
31:12>> excited to see it. Excited to, you know,
31:13be part of the ride and we'll see where
31:15it goes from there. But man, how have an
31:16awesome rest of your day and we'll we'll
31:18chat real soon. All right.
31:19>> Awesome. Thanks, Dan. Talk to you soon.
31:20Awesome,
31:20>> man. Take it easy.

About this transcript

This page contains the full transcript of TikTok Shop Secrets From An Ex-TikTok Insider by JoinBrands for Brands, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 7,751 words across 1,095 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

What you can do with it

Use the transcript to take notes, quote the speaker, build a study guide, generate a summary with ChatGPT or Claude via the YouTube Summary tool, or export it as a timed subtitle file with YouTube to SRT. You can also re-open it in the transcriber to translate the transcript into 100+ languages.

Free YouTube transcript tool

YouTube2Text is a free YouTube transcript generator — no signup, no daily limit. Paste any YouTube link and get the full transcript instantly, with timestamps, click-to-jump, translation to 100+ languages, AI prompts for ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, and exports to TXT, SRT, VTT, or Markdown.