TikTok has become one of the most powerful discovery engines in ecommerce.

For Shopify brands, the opportunity is obvious:

Creators influence buying decisions at scale.

But discovery isn’t the strategy.

The real question is where the transaction and the performance infrastructure should live.

Some brands sell directly through TikTok Shop.

Others use TikTok as a distribution layer while driving traffic back to their own store.

Both approaches can work.

The smarter choice depends on what you’re optimising for.

What TikTok Shop Does Well

TikTok Shop keeps the entire purchase journey inside the platform.

Customers can:

• Discover a product

• Add to cart

• Complete checkout

Without leaving TikTok.

This reduces friction and works especially well for:

• Impulse-driven purchases

• High-volume Live selling

• Trend-based products

• Flash sales and limited drops

If your priority is speed and in-app conversion, TikTok Shop can be powerful.

What Driving Traffic to Shopify Does Well

Instead of selling in-app, some brands treat TikTok as a distribution channel.

Creators:

• Share a unique tracking link

• Offer an audience-specific discount

• Drive traffic back to the brand’s Shopify store

In this model, the brand retains:

• Full ownership of customer data

• Control over checkout experience

• Flexible margin and commission structure

• Long-term retention capability

This approach is less about short-term friction reduction and more about long-term infrastructure control.

The Real Trade-Off

This isn’t about which tool is better.

It’s about what you’re building.

1. Customer Data

Are you building for retention and lifetime value?

If first-party data matters to your growth strategy, driving traffic to your own store gives you more control.

2. Margin & Commission Structure

Inside platform ecosystems, fee structures and payout logic are often predefined.

Driving traffic to Shopify allows you to:

• Set your own commission rates

• Control discount levels

• Protect contribution margin

• Automate performance-based payouts

This becomes increasingly important as you scale beyond one creator.

3. Long-Term Creator Strategy

Are you running one-off viral moments?

Or building a structured creator revenue engine that works across:

• TikTok

• Instagram

• YouTube

• Email

• Community

A platform-native strategy prioritises velocity.

A distribution-agnostic strategy prioritises resilience.

Where Linkable Fits

If you choose to drive traffic to Shopify, you need infrastructure.

That means:

• Unique tracking per creator

• Clean attribution

• Controlled discount logic

• Automated commission payouts

• Performance visibility beyond “views”

TikTok drives attention.
Linkable turns attention into measurable revenue.

Practical Applications: Using Linkable with TikTok

ikTok is one of the strongest distribution engines in ecommerce.

The key is structuring it properly.

Here’s how brands use Linkable to turn TikTok attention into measurable revenue.

Creator-Led Organic Videos

Creators publish product content as usual.

Instead of using shared discount codes, each creator:

• Generates a unique Linkable tracking link

• Adds it to their bio

• Shares a clear audience discount

This allows brands to:

• Track revenue per creator

• Compare performance cleanly

• Automate commission payouts

• Eliminate code leakage

TikTok drives discovery.
Linkable tracks the revenue.

High-Impact TikTok Lives

Lives are powerful conversion moments.

With Linkable, brands can structure them intentionally:

• Set a Live-specific discount

• Assign a unique tracking link

• Create urgency around a time-limited offer

After the Live, you don’t just have views.

You have:

• Revenue generated

• Conversion performance

• Commission owed

• Clear ROI

That’s the difference between content and commerce.

Scaling Multiple Creators

When activating multiple TikTok creators, complexity increases fast.

Linkable allows brands to:

• Assign individual tracking per creator

• Monitor conversion rates

• Adjust commission tiers

• Identify top performers

TikTok becomes a scalable acquisition channel — not a guessing game.

Organic → Paid Acceleration

Top-performing TikTok content can be amplified via paid ads.

Linkable continues to:

• Attribute sales to the correct creator

• Track campaign-level revenue

• Maintain structured payouts

This connects organic discovery with structured performance growth.

Why This Works

TikTok is built for attention.

Linkable is built for attribution, commission management, and margin control.

Together, they allow brands to:

• Maintain first-party data

• Protect contribution margin

• Scale creator partnerships intentionally

You don’t replace TikTok.

You build infrastructure around it.