• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, August 23, 2024

Loss of confidence in the return on ad spend of Google Ads and paid search keeps Catherine Hoffman Seaton, vice president of marketing at Windsor Stores, coming back to the TikTok platform.

Seaton told attendees at the MediaPost Data & Programmatic Insider Summit that her confidence is slipping when it comes to calculating ROAS in Google Ads and paid search, compared with TikTok. The transition to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) has been very difficult.

“I have way less confidence on the ROAS I’m getting on Google Ads in shopping and paid search than I do on TikTok.”

On TikTok the company each Monday pulls data through the entire funnel, from its own content to TikTok Shop on everything from reach and impressions for live shows, to entry rates for the number of people viewing is products.

“The ad side runs on ROAS and you’re literally serving ads and impressions, and consumers are checking out on TikTok,” she said. “I’m running that at the same ROAS as paid search on Google.”

Windsor Stores, which sells women’s apparel, has been using TikTok Shop for about six months. The company has nearly 350 stores in U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada, but it now has an affiliate program supported by about 1,000 on the platform. Influencers and affiliates create content in which Windsor can boost on the platform as part of its strategy.

TikTok owns the email address of consumers who buy through the platform, so to pull them over to Windsor Stores, Seaton ensures that an insert with an offer such as a discount goes into each package shipped.

“That way I’m capturing the customer,” she said.

Seaton believes marketers and advertisers need all types of platforms. “I go to Amazon when I know what I want and I want it right then.” She spends several hours on TikTok browsing videos and content similar to what someone might do on Google Search and YouTube or Microsoft Bing.

“There’s a difference between push and pull marketing,” she said. “On TikTok I can push it out to her. She doesn’t know she needs it yet.”