TikTok expands Smart+ catalog ads to website and app campaigns

TikTok is adding new commerce tools to enable brands to drive online and offline sales. 

The company announced that its Smart+ catalog ads, previously limited to in-app promotions, now support website and app campaigns within a single campaign.

With this update, advertisers can upload their product catalog, integrate data connections, and let TikTok’s AI handle the ad placements. TikTok claims Smart+ automatically matches products with the right audience using shoppable formats like videos and images that display key details such as pricing and promotions.

TikTok’s new GMV Max features: Affiliate Creative for Ads and LIVE formats

TikTok is also expanding its GMV Max solution, which helps brands maximize gross merchandise value (GMV) through automated campaigns. The company launched the feature in the U.S. in October last year and expanded it to the UK earlier this year. 

Now, two new GMV features have been introduced:

Affiliate Creative for Ads 

TikTok Shop merchants can now automatically use their affiliate-generated content in GMV Max campaigns. Brands can repurpose influencer and affiliate videos as ads without additional effort. This means they don’t have to manually select or upload content; TikTok takes care of it.

LIVE formats for GMV Max 

TikTok is doubling down on LIVE shopping to attract more brands and sellers. The app is bringing GMV Max to livestreams, allowing brands to drive sales directly through live shopping events. The company says this update builds on the growing popularity of TikTok LIVE commerce in the U.S. 

TikTok Live shopping has been gaining serious momentum in the U.S. During Black Friday in December, TikTok reported that its live-stream sales hit over $100 million in the U.S. alone. Creators and sellers were all in, hosting more than 30,000 live shopping sessions that day.

TikTok extends search ads to the Shop tab

TikTok is investing in search advertising by expanding its Search Ads campaign to the Shop tab. According to the company, this update will help advertisers appear at key moments of discovery, consideration, and conversion.

With this expansion, users searching for products within the Shop tab will see more relevant ads.

Generative AI tools: TikTok Creative Symphony suite

TikTok is also promoting its AI-powered creative tools under TikTok Symphony Creative Studio, which it launched last year. 

The company says these tools allow advertisers to generate TikTok-style content in minutes. TikTok Symphony will offer a product-to-video tool to convert product details into TikTok-ready video ads. Brands can input their product info manually or import it from a URL.

It also allows Symphony Digital Avatars. These are AI-generated avatars of real people that can speak multiple languages. The platform says the tool adds a personalized touch to branded content.

Brand will also have access to TikTok’s video translation tool and script generator. They can translate voiceovers into multiple languages and use AI to create custom TikTok-style ad scripts to create content. They can also access daily auto-generated video options customized for each brand.

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