What Actually Drives Sales, According to a TikTok Marketing Expert

If you’re starting the year with a group of executives calling for explosive growth in 2026, you’ll love this creator’s refresher: “Your brand doesn’t have to be loved by everyone. Even if you only capture 3% of the market, your brand can survive.”

While I know “Survival” is more of a disco anthem than a marketing objective, it makes a point: trying to appeal to everyone in 2026 isn’t working… and it doesn’t need to.

Developing strong marketing that resonates with a loyal group of fans is better than meringue your brand on a billboard in Times Square.

Gemma Woo

Integrated marketing and partnership strategies

• Fun Fact: Joining the founding team of an instant beauty brand, I never did with a group of friends from the creative industry. In just two years, completely bootstrapped and built from scratch, they scaled the brand to retailers like Urban Outfitters, Paxon, and Global Market, while reaching $1.5 million in total DTC and wholesale sales.
• Claim to Fame: Helped brands including Generic, Sero, TechTalkShop, and Crocs drive an average of 51% sales growth within six months through authentic audience connections and fully integrated marketing campaigns.

Lesson 1: Great marketing lives at the intersection of seeing the forest and examining the trees.

Wu approaches tech videos and fashion through the same lens.

“Coming from a designer background back in the day, I was a doer. Now, whenever I see something, (whether it be) marketing materials or clothingmy first reaction is: ‘How did they make it? What tools did they use? How did they cut it? What angle did they use?‘”

These questions have served him well in marketing. She is very detail-oriented, and cares as much about the practical execution of marketing as she does the high-level vision.

Here’s a lesson we can all lean into in 2026: Sure, slide decks and Zoom meetings are full of buzzwords. Omni-channel growth Have a time and place, but both leaders and ICs need to take responsibility for understanding the nitty-gritty that goes into marketing.

Once you’ve ironed out the big-picture vision, it’s worth taking some time to ask the second, third, and fourth-level questions that help create strong marketing content. Whether you’re leading a campaign or in the weeds, You should care as much about tone, copy, and visuals as you do about high-level messaging.

Lesson 2: Authentic community trumps follower count.

Audience size doesn’t matter as much as the audience interest does

During his time as marketing director at Tiktok Shop partner agency, Wu once generated 350k on veavenue ke 350k in an eight-hour live stream with creator Avery Mills (a 90 Day Fiancé Alum).

Mills has nearly 500 kilos of Tik Tok followers. Nothing to sneeze at, but worked with only half the audience size of another influencer. 1M+ followers – and generated $5K in just six hours.

Mills may have looked like a low-optimal investment on paper, but it received 70x more revenue than a high-profile creator.

Mills was tasked with selling perfume bundles… following a techie who never had the chance. It smells Fragrance in real life. Talk about a hard sell.

And yet she managed to sell 350k by appealing to her audience’s interests and making a genuine connection with them.

As Wu explains it: “She knew what her audience wanted. Not everybody loves vanilla — like I personally wouldn’t use it. But (Mills knew) her audience was crazy about it. She’s a good sales person.”

The lesson here is twofold: 1) trust small-scale creators who have engaged audiences instead of just chasing vanity metrics, and 2) once you hire that creator, let them lead the show. They know your audience better than you do.

Lesson 3: Got a Small Budget? Also flyers in Washington Square Park.

“I know what it’s like to work with a $1 million budget. You show with helicopters, cars, like it’s a fashion show. But when you don’t have that budget, there’s a lot of free tricks.”

Wu once asked people to put flyers around New York City, and told people about a free competition in Washington Square Park. People showed up, someone hosted a contest, and he got a lot of free stuff out of it.

If you’re not that into in-person marketing events, consider these low-budget digital marketing activities that are largely free:

• Newsletter (Ahmad, Ahmed)
• UGC campaigns
• Tectonic vids
• Guest appearances on industry podcasts

“For smaller brands, it’s more about generating buzz in your community. There are many things they can do that are free for marketing“