TikTok might not be the first place that comes to mind when searching for cleaning products. However, the #cleantok hashtag does really well, thank you – as do #dogtok, #beautytok and others. Consumers are increasingly turning to social media to discover products and spend their money based on recommendations from famous influencers and others.
In the hashtag #booktok, for example, content creators share book reviews and recommendations. Data shows that users who promoted certain books using the hashtag were able to boost sales of the titles they featured. #booktok’s popularity has also inspired dedicated displays at major multinational book retailers, as well as changing the way cover designers and marketers are approaching new titles.
This summer, it even spurred the creation of a new publishing company for ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company.
However, it’s not just an influencer endorsement that drives buying instinct, experts say. A delicate psychological relationship with the face on the screen, as well as underlying TikTok mechanisms, help drive users to buy something they see in their feeds.
source credibility
“Video-based platforms like TikTok and Instagram have tremendously changed the way we consumers make our purchasing decisions,” says Valeria Penttinen, assistant professor of marketing at Northen Illinois University in the United States. Crucially, these platforms give users unprecedented exposure to products and services, while consuming large volumes of content in short periods of time.
There are some elements that induce users to embrace the endorsement of content creators. At the heart of this, experts say, is “source credibility.”
People are likely to be induced to buy the products that appear on the screen if they perceive the creator to be competent and trustworthy. Users try to see if a creator “fits a product or service” and see that as a symbol of authenticity, says Angeline Scheinbaum, associate professor of marketing at Clemson University’s Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business in South Carolina, in the USA.
Kate Lindsay, a journalist who covers internet culture, gives the example of a stay-at-home mother using a cleaning product. “They go as followers of like-minded people. When that person who looks like you says they’re a mom, they’re tired and this cleaning solution helps them get through the day… there’s a level of connection and trust that goes into that. you think, ‘you look like me and this is useful for you, so it will be useful for me’.”
A creator’s source credibility soars when their recommendation is organic – an unpaid endorsement. “Organic influencers are much more authentic… their motivation is to genuinely share a good or service that has brought joy or convenience to their lives,” says Scheinbaum. “They sincerely want to share this with others.”
This authenticity can be especially powerful in driving purchases in niche categories, as creators are often enthusiastic people who project specific expertise into areas that few claim. “With these micro-influencers, the consumer can feel more confident that they are buying from someone [que] uses that product… they have a bit more of an emotional relationship,” says Scheinbaum.
Video posts also tend to increase credibility with viewers more than static images or text. Penttinen says that video creates a specific environment of “personal disclosure” that appeals to users: even small elements like being able to see a creator’s face and hands or hearing the way they speak can make the user see them as more reliable. In fact, research has shown that YouTube influencers smear their reviews with personal information to make it seem more like a close friend or family member – and the more a viewer feels like they “know” the creator, the more they trust them.
Scheinbaum adds that posts with both verbal and action cues — especially demos in TikTok videos, which almost serve as 30- to 60-second micro-infomercials — can inspire “particularly effective persuasion.”
The parasocial effect
One of the elements that most motivate consumers to buy is the emotional connection with these creators.
This phenomenon, called a parasocial relationship, leads the audience to believe that they have a close association or even a friendship with a personality, when in fact the relationship is one-sided, as often the creator of the content may not even know that the viewer exists. These non-reciprocal relationships often manifest themselves on social media, particularly with influencers and celebrities, when many users are exposed to your content.
The phenomenon also plays a role in consumer behavior. “The parasocial relationships are so strong that people are driven to buy,” says Scheinbaum, both in terms of influencers promoting sponsored products and organic creators sharing their personal favorites.
Penttinen explains that as consumers begin to learn about a creator’s preferences and values and watch them divulge personal information, they begin to treat their recommendations the same way they would their own real-life friends. She adds that these parasocial relationships often drive users to make repeat purchases, especially on TikTok. The platform’s algorithm feeds users content from the same accounts frequently, and repeated exposure can contribute to the one-sided relationship.
She adds that parasocial relationships on TikTok can also generate fear of “missing something”, which encourages buying behavior:
“When you get closer and closer to these people, it fuels the fear of not capitalizing on that relationship, or of showing your devotion to that relationship,” says Valeria Penttinen.
perfectly packaged
Lindsay says TikTok has a kind of “spirit” associated with its product-centric content that users might find especially appealing.
“TikTok has this way of shopping as a game, in a way, because everything ends up almost being packaged as part of an aesthetic,” she says. “You’re not just buying a product, you’re buying something in pursuit of that broader lifestyle.” It can lead the user to want to be part of these trends or the call to action, which may include trying a product.
She adds that certain genres of TikTok content can be highly persuasive. Lindsay points to examples like “things you didn’t know you needed”, “the holy grail” or “things that saved my…”.
“There’s a bit of surprise and joy when you’re just scrolling and you see something you didn’t know you needed or didn’t know existed,” says Lindsay.
Crucially, she says, the intimate, short-form nature of TikTok videos makes recommendations feel more natural and opens up a way for users to trust creators. In contrast to Instagram influencers, the less polished the content, the more she believes consumers feel like they’re making their own buying decisions from recommendations – “unpacking in their own brain”.
careful buyer
However, consumers can often engage in these emotional purchases to their detriment, says Scheinbaum, who is also the author of The Dark Side of Social Media: A Consumer Psychology Perspective (The Dark Side of Social Media: A Consumer Psychology Perspective).
In some cases, the parasocial effect and subsequent intimacy that networks evoke can be so strong that users don’t stop to “detect” whether the endorsement is sponsored or not, she says.
Younger users or less experienced consumers in particular may not know the difference between an ad and an organic recommendation. Even heavy users in a hurry can be vulnerable, she says. The snappy nature of TikTok’s clips can also make paid ads harder to spot, Linsday believes.
What’s more, those emotional attachments that drive purchases can make people prone to overspending, says Penttinen. On TikTok, many of the products users talk about are not expensive, which can make the purchase seem less of a risk. That can be a problem, she adds, because what a creator might think is good for them isn’t necessarily good for the user — in the end, you might not like that novel you bought because it was being pumped on #booktok.
Consumers shouldn’t feel like they have to scrutinize every purchase they make on TikTok, but experts say it’s important to know why the platform can inspire users to spend money — especially before completing an order.
Article originally published here
