Gifts / Sports & Toys

Almost every day, the staff of Learning Express Birmingham (American toy store) select some toys from the shelves and put them on TikTok. For example, Kaitlyn always stands in front of the camera to shoot videos or conduct live broadcasts. Jessica is the planner behind the camera. She will come up with ideas and choose the right music to make toy videos stand out in the TikTok feeds of fans.

▌1. Learning Express Birmingham has over 1.3 million fans and 12.5 million likes

According to The Toy Book report, Learning Express Birmingham opened a TikTok account in October last year. There are currently more than 1.3 million fans on the platform, and the team’s video has received 12.5 million likes. Blue Ocean Yiguan.com learned that The Toy Book interviewed the owner, Melissa McCollum, to discuss the reasons for the popularity of TikTok toys, the popularity of fidget toys, and so on.

Melissa McCollum said that at the beginning, another Learning Express store sent emails to all stores, and they thought TikTok was a good way for the store to reach children. And Melissa McCollum's Learning Express store already has Facebook and Instagram accounts, these accounts are mainly for adults, mainly mothers. Since the beginning of the epidemic, online shopping demand for these accounts has surged, and people want to shop at home rather than in stores.

In the beginning, Melissa McCollum believed that TikTok was like other social media platforms. In the case that they did their best to cooperate with other social media platforms, Melissa McCollum didn't think TikTok could help them in the local area. But soon Melissa McCollum discovered that they were wrong.

TikTok is a great platform for toy stores because they can show children toy products and get feedback from them about what they like and what they want to see/buy in the store.

Melissa McCollum said that if the seller is considering opening a TikTok account for the store, then find someone trusted by the seller to record and publish the video. There are a lot of music and content on TikTok that are not suitable for children. In their opinion, handing over the account to a teenager is not a good way. Sellers need someone who can protect the store and brand and make sure that TikTok accounts are free of vulgar content.

In addition, if the seller does not get a lot of views at the beginning, don't give up and continue to publish the video. There is currently no way to know which video will spread like a virus or fail completely. Maybe which video will explode someday.

▌2. At present, TikTok popular fidgets, Sqiushmallows, arts and handicrafts, etc.

Melissa McCollum has made many different videos on TikTok, such as fidgets, Sqiushmallows, arts and crafts, etc.; they say these are currently the hottest trends. When the craze fades, they will turn to something else.

In fact, TikTok and social media have promoted the trend of fidget. The staff of Learning Express Birmingham often post about other toys and Sqiushmallows on TikTok, but now the fidget toy has the highest click rate.

For example, TikTok user Grace Mary Williams shared a video of how to make delicious desserts with Pop-its/fidget toys, and the video has been viewed 7.2 million times. In her video, she explained how she saw a similar dessert hack on TikTok, so she wanted to try it by herself.

She filled the bubble hole with M&M beans, then poured melted chocolate on it, and put it in the refrigerator to harden. Some TikTok users put skittles in small holes and melted starbursts on top. Others use maltose to fill the holes, and others use yogurt instead of strawberry chocolate.

Some people worry about quality because the quality of silicone molds for toys is different from that for food. However, there are also some websites that list Pop-its as "food grade silicone".

Lanhai Yiguan.com learned that Melissa McCollum believes that the most successful aspect of TikTok’s store account is to increase the visibility of Learning Express Birmingham store. Learning Express Birmingham has fans all over the world, among which fans in the United States account for the largest proportion. Melissa McCollum received calls from all over the world, as well as visitors from all over the world.

Recently their TikTok account surpassed 1 million followers, becoming the first Learning Express Birmingham store to reach 1 million. They made TikTok T-shirts to wear in the store, decorated with a bunch of balloons, and celebrated for a whole week. They also made some fan gifts to achieve their goals.