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The “Domino Effect” phenomenon is familiar to many in theory. It is simply a chain reaction and the cumulative effect produced when one event sets off a chain of similar events. On TikTok, this phenomenon can be experienced in practice: it’s called #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt.

#TiktTokMadeMeBuyIt is a way for users to show off the recent purchases they’ve made because of the platform, interact with and learn from a passionate consumer community. It has reached over 330,500,000 views in the Middle East, Turkey, Pakistan and Africa and has resulted in putting products and brands on the map.

With the community at the center of the experience, brands appear to gain a lot when tailoring their content and commerce to the highly engaged TikTok audience. The rewards from happy customers can be unmeasurable, and even result in a domino effect - one success after the other.

As businesses gear up for the retail calendar’s most anticipated event, Black Friday, brands can learn from some of the success stories that have booked a spot on the #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hall-of-fame.

• One example is American Eagle, the brand that gave the audience easier access to its content, following initial interest, by boosting its posts and targeted ads. This ultimately led to landing on the #TikTokMadeMyBuyIt trend and selling out their leggings overnight.

• Among the TikTok’s authentic and real community, are some of the most genuine creators, who can act as natural advocates for your product and propel word-of-mouth on the platform. That is exactly what Garnier relied on, and eventually changed their packaging to include “As Seen on TikTok”.

• TikTok is a community driven platform. Users are constantly looking for validation and recommendations by other users that they trust, and brands have no better advocates than their customers. Sephora invited its customers to share their purchased products along with their genuine reaction to those which led the product to be sold out within an hour in 2 different markets using an upper-funnel solution (TopView - the first video that plays when a TikTok user opens the App).

• While digital commerce gives brands a wider reach, the audience can’t test products online, which is why it is up to brands to do it for them and give them the deep dive they deserve, which is exactly why so many of us are sitting with a sunset lamp at home. TikTok Community has the power to revive trends and products they never imagined would see the light of day again. In January, a TikTok user posted a video of herself wearing Gap’s classic logo hoodie in dark brown. Gap hadn't manufactured that style in more than a decade. People who had the hoodie stowed away in the back of their closets and started sharing videos. The hashtag "#gaphoodie" trended with more than 6.6 million views. To maximize on the momentum, Gap decided to continue the story by allowing the community to vote for the next winning color for the Gap Fall season. The brand tapped into the community to convert their joy of discovery into purchase. Gap understood that on TikTok, commerce that enables the community to participate - sells.