Top 5 Reasons to Showcase Your Christmas Candle Collection on TikTok

Paid campaigns on TikTok are a powerful tool for businesses looking to increase their visibility and sales in the digital market. We will explore the importance of advertising on TikTok for the candle industry in Latin America, we’ll show you how to open an ad account, and how to maximize your results  using  key advertising objectives. The Importance of Understanding TikTok Campaigns TikTok has experienced an explosive growth in Latin America, with over 100 million active users and an average daily usage time of 74 minutes. This platform offers a young and dynamic audience, ideal for capturing attention and boosting your candle sales, especially during the holiday season.

5 Reasons to Use TikTok

1. Massive Reach and Young Audience
2. Personalized Algorithm and Precise Targeting
3. Ability to Create Viral Content
4. In-App Shopping Integration: Hint 😉 This feature is not yet available in some Latin American countries, but it’s time to start looking in this direction. #TrendAlert
5. User-Generated Content and Authentic Engagement

Why Is It Important for the Latin American Candle Industry to Advertise on TikTok? It’s almost December, and you’re most likely preparing to launch new products or candle collections. Facebook and Instagram algorithms are becoming increasingly expensive, and during high-demand seasons like Christmas, Cyber Monday, Black Friday, or Buen Fin, bids become almost a luxury that only brands like Groupon, Amazon, or MercadoLibre can afford. That’s why at ALAFAVE, we’re considering an alternative for candle manufacturers this season. This does not mean canceling your 360 campaigns (which include different platforms) or stopping leveraging the networks where you have the most community. But if you’re thinking of doing something different or adding more visibility, TikTok is an excellent option.

Successful Brand Strategies on TikTok Several companies have achieved remarkable success on TikTok using creative and memorable strategies:

• Fenty Beauty: Uses challenges and collaborations with influencers to launch new products and makeup tutorials.
• Gymshark: Promotes products through fitness challenges and collaborations with sports influencers.
• Guess: The #InMyDenim campaign invited users to show their style before and after wearing Guess clothes, generating high engagement.

Maybe you’re wondering where to start. you should start by creating a TikTok account and, of course, we recommend creating some videos and publishing them. Subsequently, just like on Facebook with Facebook Ads Manager, TikTok has a platform for managing ads.

www.ads.tiktok.com

How to Open an Ad Account on TikTok

1. Sign Up for TikTok Ads: Visit ads.tiktok.com and click on “Create an Account”.
2. Complete the Information: Provide basic details about your business.
3. Set Up Your Account: Follow the instructions to set up your ad account.
4. Create Your First Ad: Use the tools and templates provided by the platform.

On TikTok, as on other platforms, there are different AD OBJECTIVES. You can define this with your marketing team or align it with your communication plan, but here are some recommendations. For example, consider having a “funnel” or marketing funnel. Outline phases of the campaign and align each of these phases with campaign objectives. It can also work by schedule.

The objectives available on TikTok include:

• Brand Awareness: Showcase the artisanal process of your candles and highlight their quality and variety of scents.
• Consideration: Launch a TikTok challenge where users show how they use your candles in their home decorations.
• Conversion: Include special discounts for purchases made through a specific link in the TikTok ad.

Based on this, you can outline that in the first phase of your campaign, you will only run brand awareness ads. As the name implies, this is about SHOWING. Showing your product and, in more common terms, enticing your audience (previously segmented) with your new Christmas collection.

Subsequently, you can move people through the funnel in consideration campaigns and finally, in the conversion phase.

Example: Brand Awareness Campaign for a New Christmas Candle Collection

Step-by-Step Guide:

1. Define the Campaign Objective: Select the “Brand Awareness” objective to increase the visibility of your new Christmas candle collection.
2. Create a TikTok Ads Account: Follow the steps mentioned earlier to register and set up your TikTok Ads account.
3. Set Up the Campaign
   • Campaign Name: “Christmas Candle Collection Awareness”
   • Budget: Set a daily or total budget for the campaign. TikTok allows you to choose schedules. A recommendation is to cross this with the sales data from your stores. For example, if weekends are when you sell the most, it might make sense to increase ads on Saturdays and Sundays.
4. Create an Ad Group
   • Ad Group Name: “Christmas Collection Launch”
   • Location: Select the Latin American countries where you want to advertise.
   • Targeting: Define the audience based on interests related to Christmas decoration, aromatic products, and lifestyle. (Below, we will share an example of targeting applied to our industry).
   • Budget and Schedule: Set a budget and the duration of the campaign.
5. Create the Ad
   • Ad Format: Video
   • Ad Content: Create an engaging video showcasing the new Christmas candle collection in various festive settings. Highlight unique features such as special scents and decorative designs.
   • Call to Action: Include a call to action that invites users to visit your website to learn more about the collection. Remember, we’ve always said, “social media is used to drive influenced traffic to our transaction venues.” In this case, the website is the easiest way to measure the campaign’s performance on TikTok. However, you can also direct this exercise to your physical stores and run brand awareness campaigns only.
6. Monitor and Optimize: Use TikTok Ads’ analytics tools to monitor your campaign’s performance and make adjustments as necessary to optimize results. As a suggestion, always repeat the best-performing content. Choose the 5 videos that had the most engagement and repeat them in subsequent campaigns.

How to Choose Your Targeting: Below we share a possible “buyer persona” based on the information TikTok has on users.

Buyer Persona

• Name: María López
• Age: 28 years
• Location: Mexico City
• Profession: Graphic Designer
• Interests: Interior decoration, wellness, artisanal products, and holidays.
• Behaviors: Active on social networks, especially on TikTok and Instagram. Participates in TikTok challenges and follows lifestyle and decoration influencers.

Strategies We’ve Been Using on Other Platforms and Can Replicate:

• Influencer Collaborations: Work with popular influencers who align with your brand’s aesthetics and values. Ask them to feature your Christmas candles in their videos.
• TikTok Challenge: Launch a TikTok challenge with a unique hashtag, such as #ChristmasCandles2024. Invite users to showcase their Christmas decorations using your candles and offer prizes for the best entries.

TikTok is an incredible platform for promoting and selling your Christmas candle collection. With its massive reach, precise targeting, and ability to generate viral content, you can significantly increase your brand’s recognition and sales during the holiday season. Don’t miss the opportunity to connect with your audience effectively and creatively.

We’ll soon be sending you a gift: a masterclass on how to create TikTok ads for your candle business! Stay tuned so you don’t miss out on this opportunity to maximize your success on the platform.

Written by: Claudia Duque Brain and Brands For ALAFAVE.org