Why TikTok And Reels are the Future of Etsy Business Promotion

It’s no secret that video is taking over and has been for a long time. People connect with videos more than they do with pictures because videos are, well, more “real.” However, learning how to record and edit quality videos is daunting and has kept a lot of handmade sellers from producing videos for their audience.

This is where Musical.ly and the legacy that stemmed from it come into play. By eliminating all of the disadvantages that came with YouTube marketing and adding all of the advantages that came with apps like Instagram and Snapchat, we now have an easier and quicker way to share short, relevant videos with our audience.

The Unique Advantage of Short-Form Video Marketing

As a handmade seller, being able to market yourself and your products is crucial to success. We’ve discussed this topic many times before in our magazine, but despite understanding the importance of effective marketing, it can still be difficult to find ways to market that suit your schedule and style. 

From posting ‘how it’s made’ videos to personal stories and daily life vlogs, being able to communicate to your audience in a minute or less each day is a great way to promote yourself and your brand without boring your target audience or bombarding them. 

According to a recent study by Microsoft Corp., the average adult attention span for marketing purposes is precisely eight seconds. This means that being able to grab a viewer’s attention for a ten-minute YouTube video or wordy blog is highly unlikely. Instead, by sticking to short-form, engaging content, you can keep your customers on the hook for longer and attract new ones.

This doesn’t even account for the sheer amount of viewers on both Reels and TikTok that are already there and looking for interesting people to follow. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, TikTok not only has 689 million daily users in the United States but also the highest social media engagement rates per post in the world. 

Similarly, because Reels is part of Instagram, you can expect to have the 1.074 billion Instagram users at your reach when posting Reels content. Furthermore, according to information provided by Billion Dollar Boy, “When calculated in the standard way for Instagram (likes and comments over followers), Reels see an average engagement rate of 2.7%, vs 2.2% for main feed videos.” This makes its efficacy for marketing even as an addition to your current posting practices very high. 

TikTok and Reels Success Stories 

One of the first success stories you might find when looking on the TikTok business page is the Slate & Tell story. As an independent jewelry store started by an artist, finding a devoted following on any social media platform can be difficult. However, as TikTok reveals, “By leveraging TikTok For Business’s easy-to-use Smart Video Creative tool and optimizing campaigns to events, they created fun and engaging videos that reached 4M TikTok users and resulted in 1,000 sales, helping them achieve their goal of 2X return-on-ad-spend within just 6 months.”

Similarly, although Chipotle may not be a part of the handmade industry, Chipotle’s #GuacDance challenge holds the title of highest-performing branded challenge in TikTok history to date. The restaurant sold over 802,000 sides of guac as a result—the most in its history. As NCR puts it, “The popular platform has an impressive 52.1 percent engagement rate and saw $78 million in in-app purchases during global lockdowns alone, signaling high buyer intent within the platform.

Also, according to SportsPro Media, “Instagram Reels has gotten NBA franchises 22% higher engagement than the average engagements they’ve had from standard Instagram posts or Instagram Stories.”

The 5 Principles of Effective TikTok and Reels Marketing Campaigns