TikTok: Your Brand's Home for the Holidays

The winter holidays* are a busy time of year for both consumers and marketers alike—and that's particularly true on TikTok.

As we recently discovered from research done with Material, the relationship between brands and the TikTok audience doesn't end at the point of purchase,¹ and the winter holidays are no exception. The TikTok community plans earlier, celebrates more, and keeps sharing and shopping even after the season ends, creating unparalleled opportunity for brands to expand on the holiday cheer.

Commerce is key, but TikTok shoppers are looking for more than just deals.

The TikTok community is full of holiday enthusiasts. According to our research, 82% of users report feeling positively about the holidays, and they are 20% more likely to plan or celebrate, and 40% more likely to continue engaging after the holidays compared to users of traditional social media platforms.

Commerce is key, but TikTok shoppers are looking for more than just deals.

The TikTok community is full of holiday enthusiasts. According to our research, 82% of users report feeling positively about the holidays, and they are 20% more likely to plan or celebrate, and 40% more likely to continue engaging after the holidays compared to users of traditional social media platforms.

We know the TikTok community has a special relationship with brands on the platform.¹ When it comes to the holidays in the US, our users are 1.2x more likely than users of traditional platforms to shop online or in-store, to impulse shop, or to engage in shopping right on the platform. And in Canada? Those on TikTok are especially likely to shop online and to impulse shop. That means your brand can and should explore multiple avenues to meet them ahead of the holiday season. And that's good because they're planning to get most of their shopping done about a month in advance.

And while the TikTok community is certainly looking for promotions and deals to help fill their gift lists (and perhaps to treat themselves in the process), the holidays on TikTok are all about inspiration. When they come to TikTok, they want inspiration for what to wear, how to decorate, where to travel, what to cook, and more! That means there are tons of creative ways to influence, inspire, and connect with your target audience—particularly in Canada, where TikTokers are more likely to buy for partners, friends, family, pets, and colleagues as compared to non-users.

In fact, when audiences engage with key TikTok features around the holidays, it leads to major results for brands. Those who engage with LIVE, creator, and trending content are more likely to co-create (by 1.4-1.8x), to participate in brand challenges (by 1.5-2.1x), and to click on ads to learn more (by 1.5-1.7x). Our friend@ghosthoneyhas some suggestions about letting your brand personality shine on TikTok to reach your buying audience.

And remember, the holiday isn't over just because the date has passed—on TikTok, our community continues to discuss the holiday with family and friends (31%), purchase something related to the holiday (29%), or even get a head start on next year's shopping (21%). Make sure your brand is celebrating all of the community's favorite moments between Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day (and put a particular focus on the latter in Canada, where TikTokers are far more likely to celebrate than those who don't use the platform).

To be one of our community's reasons for the season... 

• Drive relevant reach with TopView for your biggest holiday moments and create sustained brand awareness with Reach & Frequency (and book both soon to get ahead of the holidays!)

• Complement a strong In-Feed Video (IFV) strategy with Spark Ads and LIVE Shopping to engage users throughout planning, celebrating, and after the holidays.

• Integrate action-driving features such as "Shop Now" CTAs and gift code stickers to help your audience find something for everyone on their lists.

• Go beyond promotions and deals to build brand love by inspiring the TikTok community with DIYs, outfit ideas, behind-the-scenes footage of your brand's holiday prep, and more.

All data is sourced from TikTok Marketing Science US Holiday Research 2022, conducted by Material unless otherwise specified.

(1) TikTok Marketing Science US Path-to-Purchase Part 2 Research 2022, conducted by Material. *In this study, winter holidays included Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, New Year's, and Valentine's Day, as well as shopping moments (Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday).

For detailed information about TikTok's branded content toggle and our policies regarding what can be posted as branded content on TikTok, please refer to our Branded Content Policy here.