VOA慢速英语2021--Tik Tok Becomes New Way to Advertise

 

Inside a candy store in New York City, a collection of items are grouped together. Besides being candy, these items have something else in common: They went viral on TikTok.

Take for example, a soft, fruit-flavored candy. Last year, a flood of TikTok videos showed people biting into the candy. So, store workers at It'Sugar urged the company to buy a lot more of the candy to sell.

It's a good thing they did.

The candy sold so well that It'Sugar decided¹ to make TikTok part of its overall² sales plan. The chain now has signs advertising³ the video app in its many stores. Goods from TikTok make up five percent to 10 percent of weekly sales.

Chris Lindstedt is the assistant vice⁴ president of merchandising at the nearly 100 stores of the It'Sugar chain. When talking to The Associated Press recently, he said those weekly sales numbers are crazy.

With 1 billion users⁵ worldwide, TikTok is an app best known for dancing videos. But it has also become amazingly good at selling things. The hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt has gotten more than 5 billion views on TikTok.

In the United States, national chains are setting⁶ up TikTok areas. Their goal is to get TikTok's mostly young users into stores.

At the bookstore Barnes & Noble, #BookTok signs advertise certain books. The book suggestions on TikTok have pushed some books up the bestseller list. Amazon has an area on its site called "Internet Famous." There, buyers can find products that are popular on TikTok.

It is hard to know what will becomes the next TikTok viral video. Also how TikTok decides who gets to see certain videos remains⁷ a mystery. Companies are often completely surprised when their product becomes popular.

Take for example, the Kate Spade⁸ company. Jenny Campbell is the chief marketing⁹ officer. She told the AP that earlier this year, she was confused. Why did searches for "heart" increase on the company's website?

The cause was a 60-second video on TikTok posted by 22-year-old Nathalie Covarrubias.

In the video, the young woman from Salinas, California, talked about how much she loved a pink, heart-shaped Kate Spade bag. Then, others did the same. Soon, the $300 heart-shaped purse sold out.

"I couldn't believe it," said Covarrubias, "because I wasn't trying to advertise the bag."

The Kate Spade Valentine's Day purse was supposed to be sold for a limited time only. But, because of TikTok, it is now sold throughout the year in different colors and materials.

Covarrubias was not paid to post the video. But the company sent her free items in exchange for posting another TikTok video when the purse was back in stores. That video was marked as an advertisement. Besides free stuff¹⁰, sometimes the companies pay TikTok creators to appear in advertisements. Or the company buys ads on TikTok.

Hana Ben-Shabat is the founder¹¹ of Gen Z Planet¹², an advisory¹³ company. It looks at the habits and behaviors of the generation born between the late 1990s and 2016.

She says that TikTok is a powerful purchasing tool for Gen Z because TikTok creators seem real. She compared this to Instagram, where the goal is to post the most perfect-looking image. Users trust the recommendations¹⁵ on TikTok, Ben-Shabat said: "This is a real person, telling me a real story."

TikTok, along with other tech companies like Snapchat, is preparing to challenge Facebook as a social-shopping powerhouse.

Shopping on social media sites is known as social commerce¹⁶. It is a $37-billion -a-year market in the United States. That mostly comes from Instagram and its parent company Facebook, reports the research firm eMarketer. By the end of 2025, that number is expected to more than double, to $80 billion.

Last month, TikTok began testing a way for sellers¹⁷ to set up a store within the app. This will allow users to buy products directly on the app.

TikTok has said that more is coming. It may operate more like Douyin, TikTok's sister app in China. Douyin permits users to find and buy products without leaving the app — just like you can on Facebook and Instagram.

TikTok's general manager is Sandie Hawkins. She works¹⁸ with companies to help them increase sales. Hawkins told the AP that over the past year we have seen "a new kind of shopping experience come to life that's been driven by the TikTok community,"

"We're excited to continue listening to our community," she said, building ways to help them find and buy "the products they love."

Words in This Story

candy -n. a sweet food made with sugar or chocolate

chain -n. a group of businesses that have the same name and sell the same products or services

merchandising -n. the activity of trying to sell goods or services by advertising them or displaying them attractively

purse -n. a usually leather or cloth bag used by women for carrying money and personal things

habit -n. a usual way of behaving : something that a person does often in a regular and repeated way

recommendation¹⁴ -n. the act of saying that someone or something is good and deserves¹⁹ to be chosen : a suggestion about what should be done

powerhouse -n. one or something having great power

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 overall   

n.工作服，工装裤；全面的，全体的

参考例句：

• The shop assistant was wearing a white overall.那店员穿着白色的工作服。
• How much will it cost overall?一共多少钱？

3 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 users   

用户，使用者( user的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The new software will prove a boon to Internet users. 这种新软件将会对互联网用户大有益处。
• Ramps should be provided for wheelchair users. 应该给轮椅使用者提供坡道。

6 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。

7 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

8 spade   

n.铁锨，铲子

参考例句：

• This spade is very handy.这把铁锹使起来挺顺手。
• He dug the ground with a spade.他用锹挖地。

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

10 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

11 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

12 planet   

n.行星

参考例句：

• Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun. 海王星是离太阳最远的行星。
• Rubbish, however, is only part of the problem of polluting our planet. 然而, 垃圾只是我们这个星球的污染问题的一个方面。

13 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

14 recommendation   

n.推荐（信）建议，优点，长处

参考例句：

• I wrote him a good recommendation.我为他写了一封很好的推荐信。
• This method deserves recommendation.这种做法值得提倡。

15 recommendations   

n.推荐( recommendation的名词复数 )；推荐信；正式建议；提议

参考例句：

• The board completely disregarded my recommendations. 董事会完全无视我的建议。
• Recommendations from two previous clients helped to establish her credibility. 两位以前的客户的推荐有助于确立她的诚信度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 commerce   

n.商业，贸易；社交

参考例句：

• Commerce binds the two countries together.贸易把这两国结合在一起。
• They drew up plans aimed at expanding commerce.他们拟定了发展商业的计划。

17 sellers   

n.卖者( seller的名词复数 )；卖方；销售者；销售商

参考例句：

• buyers and sellers transacting business 进行交易的买方和卖方
• All manner of hawkers and street sellers were plying their trade. 形形色色的沿街小贩都在做着自己的买卖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

19 deserves   

v.应受，应得，值得( deserve的第三人称单数 )；应受报答；应得报酬；应得赔偿

参考例句：

• A wilful fault has no excuse and deserves no pardon. 不能宽恕故意犯下的错误。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He is the only poet in this country that deserves the name. 他是这个国家唯一的一位名副其实的诗人。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》