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The TL;DR:

• Let’s Chat D2C: How to use TikTok Shop with Shopify.

• What I’m Thinking about this Week: Creative ways to get in front of your ICP - using a podcast as a sales funnel.

• The D2Z Podcast: Navigating B2B Marketing Landscapes

• Upcoming Events: I’m in NYC 8/18-8/24 and Park City 8/25-8/28. Let me know if you’re in the area and want to connect!

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Let’s Chat D2C - How to use TikTok Shop with Shopify

Have you ever considered turning TikTok's massive audience into your next customer base? Well, with TikTok Shopping, you can do just that—and Shopify makes it super easy to get started.

Getting Started with TikTok Shopping

First things first, you'll need a TikTok for Business account. This is your gateway to all the awesome features TikTok offers for businesses. Once you’ve got that set up, register for TikTok Shop. Once approved, link your TikTok Shop account to your TikTok.

Then, head over to the Shopify App Store and grab the TikTok Sales Channel app. This app is the magic link between your Shopify store and TikTok, making it easy to manage everything from one place.

Syncing Your Products

Next, it's time to sync your products. After installing the TikTok app on Shopify, you can select which items you want to showcase in your TikTok Shop. It’s pretty straightforward—make sure your product details and pricing are spot-on because they’ll appear exactly as they are on your Shopify store.

Creating Content That Sells

Now, here’s where TikTok really shines: content creation. TikTok is all about creativity, so think about how you can showcase your products in a fun, engaging way. Whether it's a quick demo, a behind-the-scenes look, or a quirky video that aligns with a trending challenge, the goal is to make your content shoppable.

Leveraging TikTok’s Features

Once your products are live, don’t forget to use TikTok’s shopping features to their fullest. Consider hosting a live shopping event where you can interact with your audience in real-time while showcasing your products. It’s like your very own QVC show, but cooler and more interactive.

Running Ads for a Boost

If you want to take it up a notch, TikTok Ads are your friend. You can create targeted campaigns right from your Shopify dashboard. Ads on TikTok come in different flavors—like in-feed videos or collection ads—and they’re great for driving more eyes (and wallets) to your products.

Keep an Eye on the Numbers

Don’t forget to check your analytics! TikTok provides handy tools to see how your content and products perform. Are people watching your videos but not buying? Maybe it's time to tweak your approach or test different ad formats.

Continuous Optimization

Keep refining your TikTok Shop strategy based on what you learn from your analytics. Maybe you’ll find that certain types of content work better or that some products resonate more with TikTok’s audience. The key is to stay flexible and keep experimenting.

Engage with Your Audience

One thing that’s super important on TikTok is engagement. Don’t just post and ghost—respond to comments, join in on trends, and maybe even collaborate with influencers. The more you engage, the more likely you are to turn casual scrollers into loyal customers.

Scaling Your Success

As you get the hang of TikTok Shopping, think about scaling up. Maybe that means adding more products to your TikTok Shop, increasing your ad budget, or even exploring new markets. TikTok is global, so the sky’s the limit!

And there you have it! TikTok Shopping on Shopify isn’t just a trend—it’s a powerful way to reach a whole new audience and boost your sales. So, why not give it a shot? You might just find your next big success story on TikTok.

For more details, check out the full guide on Shopify’s blog here.

What I’m Thinking About This Week - Creative Ways to get in front of your ICP: Using a Podcast as a Sales Funnel

I’ve been podcasting for over 2 years with The D2Z Podcast and the DRINKS.com Podcast, so it was an easy decision to launch Career Hack, a podcast about early career development underneath one of SCALIS’ divisions, APEX.

Initially, we intended to drive engagement with our audience of 250K college-student subscribers and receive additional advertising dollars from our sponsors to unlock this new channel. While both of these things have happened, another unexpected benefit recently came to light.

To get guests on the show, we’re doing targeted outreach in Apollo to CPOs, Directors of People Operations, Senior Talent Acquisition Managers, etc., asking them to book a time to share their insights. Every single one of these contacts is also the exact person we want to be talking about within an organization that we are trying to get to use SCALIS.

Our response rate to this outreach to come on the podcast is 3x better than our standard direct sales outreach to use SCALIS. Once the guest comes on the show, naturally, the conversation of what we do comes up. Then, after each episode, I’ll send each guest a thank-you note and ask if they’re willing to demo SCALIS for 15 minutes in the next couple of weeks.

Almost every single guest has said yes!

Not only this, but pretty much every company that has been on the podcast is at a significantly larger scale and size than I would expect to be interested in our solution at this time, so it’s walked us into doors at giant companies that I truly do not think we would’ve been able to get into otherwise.

I’m starting to think about other ways we can generate awareness of our product that isn’t direct selling, but this is a great start for now!

This Week’s The D2Z Podcast

#116 – Crafting Memorable Experiences

🎧 Listen Now 🎧

In this week’s episode, I sat down with Nathan Yeung, Fractional CMO at Find Your Audience, a fractional marketing team that solves your marketing problems and drives pipeline growth. Specifically, we explored the following:

💰 In startups, agility facilitates rapid decision-making, whereas, in larger companies, extensive stakeholder management can impede swift marketing changes.

📲 The critical role of product marketers.

😎 The importance of focus—not just in terms of service offerings but also in choosing client segments and projects that allow operational scalability and specialization.

🚀 Building network effects within specific communities to foster organic growth and establish credibility.

Upcoming Events

I’m headed to NYC 8/18-8/24 and Park City 8/25-8/28. Let me know if you’re in the area and want to connect!