With a maximum of 50 million views per video, foldable straws are popular on TikTok

Collapsible straws are all the rage on TikTok

According to a report from Sensor Tower, TikTok was the most downloaded app in the world in the first quarter of 2022.

The report shows that the total number of global app downloads in the first quarter reached 36.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 1.4%. Among them, TikTok's downloads exceeded 175 million times, ranking first; Instagram and Facebook ranked second and third, with downloads exceeding 160 million times and 150 million times respectively.

Since last year, TikTok has topped many charts. As a global popular application, TikTok is an important channel for many sellers to increase product exposure.

Brands like Yizhi Home Furnishing, Perfect Diary, and Huaxizi all advertise on TikTok. Under the influence of internet celebrity layallure, a video about smart desk lamps from Yizhi Home Furnishing received more than 360,000 likes.

At present, there are still many products that have "gone viral" with the help of TikTok, such as a foldable milk tea straw.

In March, a blogger posted a series of videos about foldable milk tea straws on TikTok, which received good playback results. In just one month, two of his videos were viewed over 10 million times, one was viewed over 1 million times, and six were viewed over 100,000 times.

Among them, the most popular video has been played 49.4 million times. Not only that, its number of likes and comments is also not inferior, with more than 4 million likes and more than 3,500 comments.

The protagonist in the video , the milk tea straw, is a foldable food-grade silicone hidden inside a keychain accessory in the shape of a milk tea. When using it, the user opens the keychain accessory, unfolds and squeezes the silicone inside, and a straw will appear. With the help of the pointed tip inside the accessory, the user can insert the straw into milk tea and other drinks.

In the video comment area, many people left their reasons for liking it. The editor sorted it out and found two main reasons: one is the cute shape; the other is environmental protection and recyclability.

Regarding cuteness, one user commented that this can be included in the shopping list of "10 items I would buy because they are cute". Like this Boba straw, in addition to its cute shape, it is also multifunctional - it can be used as a keychain or a straw.

It is undeniable that the function and quality of the product itself are the key to ensuring "going viral". At the same time, interesting and creative designs can be a plus for products, as they can deepen consumers' first impression of the product and thus promote purchases.

In recent years, many brands have been improving the appreciation of their products while controlling quality, such as BeDing Co., Ltd. BeDing Co., Ltd.'s toaster has attracted a wave of fans with its "high appearance". Some buyers said on BeDing's Amazon product page that the toaster has an outstanding appearance.

Regarding environmental protection, many users also mentioned one point. One user who received nearly 300 likes wrote: If this helps reduce waste, why not support it?

I mentioned before that many people are now paying attention to the topic of "sustainability". According to a survey by Simon-Kucher Consulting, 85% of consumers worldwide are becoming more environmentally friendly when purchasing; 60% of consumers regard sustainability as an important purchasing criterion; and one-third of consumers are willing to pay a higher price for sustainable products.

In terms of marketing promotion, the blogger uses the more common 10-second short video format, and the content is mainly divided into three categories: unboxing videos, straw usage examples, and straw usage scenarios. Among them, the video on how to use the straw is the most popular, with both the number of views and the number of likes far exceeding other videos. Many users asked for purchase links in the comment section of such videos.

In terms of label settings, in addition to common labels such as brand names and #tiktokmademebuyit, the blogger also set labels such as "sustainable" and "milk tea" based on the characteristics of straws . Popular labels are equivalent to TikTok's content navigator. Judging from the environmental comments mentioned above, the "sustainable" label seems to have played a certain role.

Of course, everything the blogger does is largely for traffic diversion. The blogger's personal page shows the URL of an independent website. According to data from Similarweb, the independent website had nearly 80,000 visits in March, an increase of 20,000 from the previous month. At the same time, its global ranking began to rise from March.

TikTok launches new advertising plan

The huge traffic pool is one of the reasons why TikTok attracts many sellers to come and make layouts. TikTok also takes this opportunity to strengthen its advertising business, which increases more exposure opportunities for sellers.

Recently, TikTok is planning a new advertising plan - TikTok Pulse. According to the official introduction, the service allows advertisers to place ads next to the top 4% of popular videos on TikTok. Advertisers can choose from 12 categories of content, including beauty, fashion, cooking, games, etc. TikTok also stated that there will be special tools to ensure that TikTok Pulse ads match the surrounding video content.

In addition to these, TikTok has not disclosed too many details at present, such as advertising pricing, how long you have to browse before the ad appears, etc.

According to foreign media reports, TikTok intends to launch the advertising program to US advertisers in June this year. At the time of release, only advertisers invited to join the program can access TikTok Pulse. However, a TikTok spokesperson said that the program will be launched to more advertisers in the next few months and will be available to more markets in the fall.

It is important to note that this is the first advertising revenue sharing plan explored by TikTok. The revenue sharing between TikTok and the creators is 50-50.

This is somewhat similar to YouTube's Partner Program, which allows creators to earn advertising revenue by showing various types of ads on their channels.

Foreign media commented that advertising programs such as the Partner Program and TikTok Pulse have certain benefits for both creators and advertisers. For creators, these programs can bring in revenue, which will stimulate their creative enthusiasm and attract more traffic. For advertisers, this allows them to reach more attractive creators, thereby further increasing product exposure.

While strengthening its advertising business, TikTok is also gradually advancing the e-commerce closed loop. At the beginning of 2021, TikTok launched small stores in Indonesia and the United Kingdom; in September of the same year, it launched TikTok Shopping, mainly targeting the US market; in April this year, TikTok launched e-commerce business in Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines.

In order to attract more businesses, TikTok has recently launched a number of incentive policies.

In May, TikTok launched the latest incentive policy for British cross-border merchants. TikTok said that after completing the "Newbie Guide" task, new accounts can receive a 3.2% commission-free incentive for all orders for 90 days, and only charge a 1.8% payment fee.

In 2020, TikTok's e-commerce model was still at the stage of directing traffic to others. From 2021, TikTok's e-commerce business began to move towards a closed loop. TikTok has made frequent new moves, and sellers can pay more attention to TikTok's dynamics to adjust their sales layout.

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