Seller-Creator IM overview

With seller-creator IM, sellers are able to communicate directly with creators in the TikTok Shop Affiliate center — with this feature, you no longer have to rely on email or WhatsApp for communication. Using seller-creator IM creates a more seamless communication flow that increases collaboration between sellers and creators. You can organize your messages in various folders for your Inbox (messages, unread, unreplied, starred, and archived), filter messages based on creator criteria, and star or archive conversations.

Benefits of seller-creator IM

Seller-creator IM offers a variety of benefits. You can easily connect with creators and track progress of your collaborations, and having a direct channel of communication increases trust by allowing sellers to provide more context when sending invitations or targeted plans.

How to use seller-creator IM

Step 1: How to access IM

• Entrance 1: In the Affiliate Center, click on Creator messages top navigation bar.

• Entrance 2: Send IMs to creators directly within Find creators in Affiliate Center.

• Entrance 3: Send IMs to creators directly within their detailed profile view.

• Entrance 4: Share a specific product via an IM within the targeted collaboration page.

• Entrance 5: Send IMs to creators by clicking on the speech bubble icon on the Sample Request page.

Step 2: Messaging creators

• The number of messages you can send to creators is limited based on your Affiliate GMV in the last 30 days as shown in the table below. Please note this creator outreach weekly limits combines target collaboration and IMs.

• You can always check how many chat initiations you have remaining in that week and which types of creators you're allowed to contact. Note that you can only message a creator up to five times, after which you must wait for the creator to reply before you can send them another message.

Step 3: Bulk messaging

• If you would like to bulk message creators, refer to step 10 in the Manage Creators guide.

Step 4: Managing your inbox

• When you enter the Instant Messaging page, you'll see your Inbox navigation bar on the left, where you can click into your folders: Messages, Unread, Unreplied, Starred, and Archived.

• You can Filter messages based on the creator follower amount, the creator Main category label, and the creator sales GMV.

• You can Star or Archive conversations by pressing the ellipses button and then pressing the Star or Archive button. These conversations will appear in the Starred and Archived folders.

• To unstar a creator, press the ellipses button and then press Unstar.

Step 5: Sending creators products (open collaborations) and target collaborations

• Press the button shown below to show or hide the right-side panel that allows you to view the creator's Profile, view the Products you can send a creator, and view your Target collaborations. On the creator's profile, you can see their followers, revenue, video views, and livestream watch unique viewers.

• To send a creator an open collaboration product, navigate to the Products tab and search for the relevant product. Then, click on the product you want to send to the creator.

• To send the creator a target collaboration, press the Target collaboration tab, search for the relevant plan, and click Send.

• You can manage sample requests here as well. When a creator sends a sample request, you will see a Sample card as shown below. You can choose to Approve or Reject the sample.

Step 6: Blocking creators

• Seller can block creators by clicking on the three dots as shown below.

• Once a seller blocks a creator, the creator will no longer be able to send messages to the seller. Creators will be prompted in the IM session that they have been blocked with the following message: "You cannot send messages to seller now as you are blocked by them."

• Once a creator is blocked, a seller can also unblock a creator as shown below. Blocked creators will show a blocked icon next to their name.

FAQ

1. Why can I no longer access Instant Messaging?
   1. If you've shut down your TikTok Shop or your account has been deactivated due to violations, then you will no longer have access to TikTok Shop Instant Messaging.