Brave Commerce Podcast: Sandie Hawkins of TikTok on Revolutionizing Ecommerce Through Community

Learn the importance of authenticity and establishing creator partnerships in building a successful marketplace

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In this episode of Brave Commerce, Sandie Hawkins, general manager of U.S. ecommerce at TikTok, joins Rachel Tipograph and Sarah Hofstetter to discuss the power of including TikTok in your brand strategy.

Hawkins emphasizes that TikTok’s community commerce approach brings people together to discover products through a new version of word-of-mouth. She highlights that the commerce mindset is already present on the platform since the TikTok community is 1.5 times more likely to convert when compared to users on other platforms.

Hawkins also shares how TikTok constantly tests and learns from new approaches, such as affiliate marketing, to improve its commerce strategy. Additionally, she stresses the importance of authenticity and establishing creator partnerships in order to build successful communities on social media. 

So, what’s next for TikTok? Hawkins shares that although the platform is still in its testing phase, TikTok is focused on building a seamless U.S. marketplace where both community and creators are valued.

Key takeaways:

  • TikTok’s community approach drives ecommerce success.
  • Authenticity and creator partnerships are key to building successful communities on social media.
  • TikTok succeeds by offering a seamless one-stop commerce experience.