Social media is infiltrating almost every industry, but recently, it has taken over one less obvious – the world of merch and promotional products. Today, merch is making its way onto social platforms through multiple avenues, creating an unexpected intersection between merch and technology. Let’s look at a few of these unexpected factors.
While promotional products have long been available on many platforms, TikTok Shop is exciting because it has given sellers across industries an easier avenue to a far younger demographic and audience. Even better, TikTok Shop naturally weaves products into the content users are already consuming day to day. From the latest swag from Gen Z’s favorite influencers to sports merch, TikTok users are being targeted in unprecedented ways.
Political merch is another popular category on TikTok Shop – thousands of different sellers are now selling political party apparel directly. A good chunk of this merch stems from social media trends and content, which has now influenced some of the most popular Trump and Harris merch. From bright green “Kamala is brat” tanks to Trump’s mugshot tees, social content is now more integrated with politics through this branded apparel.
Another interesting layer of this upward trend of merch on social media is that swag is becoming another consistent stream of income for influencers, meaning more and more creators are churning out merch frequently to make even more money from their following. Just a few years ago, influencer merch drops were few and far between, reserved for influencers with massive followings and a true brand identity. Now, it seems like anyone can come out with their own merchandise, with creators with as little as 50k followers launching collections.
Some brands have also been getting in on the influencer merch craze to increase brand awareness on social media further. Gut health soda brand Poppi’s neon sweat sets are just one example of this. By creating stand-out swag and sending it to all kinds of creators, they got free brand promotion that comes off as more authentic than a traditional ad. Consumers became so obsessed with these exclusive sweat sets that Poppi even launched a collection available for purchase. This merch collection not only served as a wearable advertisement for anyone who purchased but also as an additional revenue stream for the brand.
Because of this wearable advertisement aspect, in particular, brands need to ensure that they are offering both content and products that resonate with their target customer when journeying into the world of branded apparel. When done poorly, this merch can potentially have a negative impact from both a financial and marketing perspective.
Looking ahead, we know that social media and technology’s role in the rising popularity of custom promotional products will continue to evolve as quickly as social media trends do. Whether it’s a new platform or a new type of merch altogether, the relationship between social media and swag is ever-changing.
