How Made By Mitchell Gradually Dominated TikTok Shop

Described as the “modern day QVC”, TikTok Shop epitomises social commerce in the digital age. Offering brands the chance to advertise goods by hosting TikTok Lives, link products within in-feed videos, and decorate the Product Showcase tab on their profiles, TikTok Shop bridges the gap between modern marketing and Gen Z and Millennials. 

Though its launch in 2021 got off to a rather shaky, unsure start, this refined commerce feature has since earned TikTok the title of the highest-grossing app of 2023, earning $2.7 billion in revenue, and become a haven for marketers looking to advertise to the 55% of users who make impulse purchases here. 

But to which exact brands do we owe all the TikTok Shop praise?

As far as TikTok Shop success stories go, Made By Mitchell sits proudly among the best. However, becoming a beauty behemoth wasn’t always on the cards for this independent makeup brand. Starting out life as a small business that catered to makeup artist kits, specifically, Mitchell witnessed the birth of his standout product, Blursh, in 2021. Recognising the exceptional potential of this game-changing product, Made By Mitchell took a giant leap over to TikTok Shop in 2022. 

And so the renowned Made By Mitchell marketing strategy began.

HOW DID MADE BY MITCHELL GAIN SUCH QUICK TRACTION ON TIKTOK SHOP?

From packing just 20 orders per month, on average, to generating over £2 million in one week, the brand’s progression over to TikTok has been nothing short of outstanding. 

But of all the brands available on TikTok Shop at the time of its launch, what was Made By Mitchell doing differently to its competitors to earn its cult status?

The Made By Mitchell marketing strategy certainly wasn’t born overnight. In fact, in a recent interview with Wunmi Bello, Mitchell himself confessed that advertising on TikTok was never even on the cards for the brand. Instead, the goal was to focus marketing efforts on Instagram, entirely. Given the brand’s immense success over the past two years, we can confidently say that everything happens for a reason. Sorry Instagram…

Quickly realising the potential TikTok Shop had to offer the beauty industry, Made By Mitchell set up shop and began leaning into the social landscape’s preference for short-form video, stating to Bello that “you’ve just got to roll with the times, especially when you have a business”. But creating short-form video content is no revolutionary act, so how did Made By Mitchell go on to sell millions of units on TikTok Shop in just one year?

By prioritising its community. 

@madebymitchell

memories ❤️‍? 2024 we will be back to be with you all ? #madebymitchell #blursh #mitchellmart #popup #smallbusiness #smallbusinesscheck #fyp #viral #shopping #haul

♬ original sound – madebymitchell

If you’re an avid follower of BeautyTok in the UK, you would’ve found it extremely difficult over the last two years not to stumble upon the brand’s content, or that associated with it. The Made By Mitchell community stands out loud and proud on TikTok, leveraging the brand’s fun colours, playful products, and diverse array of content to make its mark. From hosting daily TikTok Lives packing customer orders, to launching exclusive TikTok Shop deals accessible to all, the Made By Mitchell marketing strategy is all about “prioritising the consumer before they buy something, not just after”. 

At a time where social media strategies are primarily looked at as income-generating, Made By Mitchell sees them as a foundation on which to lay community building blocks, which, in time, will open up those all important purchase paths and encourage loyal customers. Where a lot of brands still seem to miss the mark is in believing that everything needs to be so transactional. Understanding that it doesn’t, is what sets Made By Mitchell apart. 

Offering potential customers all the perks a paying customer would typically receive drives that incentive to want to make a purchase and, more importantly, be part of such a giving community. After all, it’s embedded into our genetic makeup to want to give back once we’ve received something, and it’s this which leads Halliday to believe that the Made By Mitchell marketing strategy “is important, but doesn’t always have to be so complex”. 

So what elements of the Made By Mitchell marketing strategy have emerged triumphant over the last two years and become responsible for the brand’s show-stopping success?

Daily TikTok Lives

@madebymitchell

LETS DOUBLE UP THOSE ORDERS ????✨? #madebymitchell #blursh #mystery #double #packingorders #fyp #viral #haul #tiktokmademebuyit

♬ original sound – madebymitchell

The team at Made By Mitchell go Live on TikTok almost every single day to pack customer orders, often adding in extra products for free. Hundreds of community members flock to the Lives to see whether their order is being packed and what free goodies they could potentially receive. This incentivises customers to make purchases. 

Mystery Bags

@makeupfxleah

Replying to @?soph’nicolexx £15 for 6 items ??! #madebymitchell #mysterybag #tiktokmademebuyit

♬ original sound – Makeupfxleah

While the concept of mystery bags in the beauty industry is nothing new (think back to Jeffree Star’s mystery boxes before TikTok was even a thing), the Made By Mitchell mystery bags certainly are. 

Offering insane products at even more insane prices, the mystery bags reiterate the brand’s initial pledge to inclusion and accessibility by boasting fair price points for everyone. You might be thinking, but how does the brand make any money if it keeps giving products away below their retail price? But that’s the beauty of it. Made By Mitchell wasn’t built solely for financial gain, but rather to build a like-minded community of makeup enthusiasts and creators, with the accessible mystery bags serving as a community member’s initiation into the group. As you’ve guessed it, the money then follows.

Mitchell Mart

@tiarnaiddxn

Come to the @madebymitchell pop-up with me! ? Comment if you want a video on what i bought! #manchester #fyp #Manchesterarndale #madebymitchell #mmmitchell #blursh #mitchellmart #makeup #dripdrip #mcr

♬ Hey Lover – The Daughters Of Eve

Launched in 2023, Mitchell Mart took the brand on a tour of the UK, visiting several well-known H Beauty stores and renowned shopping centres, and attracting hordes of community members. Mitchell’s presence at each one not only offered fans of the brand an opportunity to meet the face behind their favourite products, but also solidified the Made By Mitchell marketing strategy that prioritises community and giving back. 

Regular community engagement

@madebymitchell

INSANE. JUST CRAZY ??? #madebymitchell #blursh #fyp #viral #meet #liverpool #tiktokmademebuyit

♬ original sound – madebymitchell

A lot of the Made By Mitchell TikTok Shop success is owed to the brand’s passionate community. To thank them, Mitchell himself heads to various locations across the UK to host meetups for product launches and, in turn, generates both UGC and organic exposure through the fans creating their own videos about their experiences on the day. 

WHAT DOES THE MADE BY MITCHELL MARKETING STRATEGY MEAN FOR BIG BRANDS?

While we praise the success of Made By Mitchell and other small businesses on TikTok Shop, do big brands risk falling behind as community commerce takes hold?

Big brands aren’t typically hardwired to build communities and relationships with their customers, the way Made By Mitchell has. These brands often lack agility, speed, and knowledge when it comes to getting stuck in with communities and driving native shopping opportunities. Similarly, in the first days of eCommerce, online sales dwarfed offline sales simply because the businesses weren’t set up to sell and fulfil in such large quantities. 

Until now, it’s always been difficult for big brands to understand the value of building and maintaining a community on socials and, with debate surrounding whether social media followers really equal customers, it is no longer sufficient to approach social channels in isolation. Community building across all platforms is the key to driving conversions. 

The Made By Mitchell marketing strategy works because of its priorities. Community first. With the rise of social commerce, every single interaction is an opportunity for a sale, ultimately making social media a powerful landscape where engagement, communication, and commerce converge. If big brands want to emulate this success, especially on TikTok, then they must understand that their approach must be more akin to a realm of digital experience, where relationships are built, brands and products are discovered, and sales are driven by communities. As a creator once said, “if you continue to underestimate the power of social communities, your days are numbered”. 

Our influencer marketing agency and social agency are located worldwide, with our agency network based in the USA, UK, UAE and China.

If you want to find industry insights, visit our influencer marketing and social media blogs.

@ Socially Powerful