Tiago Ribeiro, known professionally as “Tito”, is considered one of the pioneers of the digital market in Latin America, with more than 20 years of experience leading global teams and projects. Throughout his career, he has held leadership positions such as Digital Director at VML Peru (WPP Group) and Innovation Director at Biederman McCann Paraguay. In Brazil, he has also collaborated as a freelancer with leading agencies including GUT São Paulo and AlmapBBDO.
With an international trajectory spanning cities such as London, Lisbon, Madrid, Amsterdam, Istanbul, Montevideo, Mexico City and Asunción, Tito has developed projects for major global brands including L’Oréal Paris, McDonald’s, Carrefour, Coca-Cola, AB InBev and Diesel.
Currently, he works as a strategic consultant in communication, content and digital innovation. He is also the creator of @DailyArtSP, a project focused on the contemporary art market and closely connected to emerging business opportunities.
Tito highlights that affiliate marketing and the rise of the creator economy within platforms such as TikTok Shop are reshaping the future of commerce.
“Social commerce is less about retail and more about digital happenings. It is no longer about what is being sold, but how the product becomes part of the ever-changing imagination of digital culture. Selling on TikTok is more than selling, it is about transforming a product into something that belongs to a community. Consumption is now performative, wrapped in content and designed to be shared before it is even used. The storefront has become the stage. The purchase has become the spectacle.”
Today, audiences do not simply watch content on TikTok, they buy, comment and create trends.
“Brands that still treat TikTok merely as a social network are losing more than sales, they are losing touch with culture itself. Being there is no longer innovation, it is survival. And if you still do not know where to begin, do not worry, I have outlined a few steps that may prevent your brand from becoming the awkward uncle at the barbecue trying too hard to appear young.”
Tito also points out that the arrival of TikTok Shop as an e-commerce platform will radically transform the industry, especially amid the rise of SGE (Search Generative Experience) and the ongoing changes within Google and SEO for e-commerce. According to him, brands will need to adapt by prioritising user experience, quality content and AI-driven strategies.
- Entertainment is the New Art of Selling
Think like a screenwriter, not a copywriter. Branded entertainment is what truly moves the needle for brands, culture and sales. The most successful brands understand that the product should play a supporting role within a compelling story, and that audiences only engage when they feel part of the narrative. Within TikTok Shop, this goes beyond creativity, it is strategy in its most contemporary form. Brands that want to sell must deliver entertainment. The product does not shout. It enters the scene like a plot twist, not a banner advert. - Culture + Community
At first, brands wanted attention. Then they wanted engagement. Now, they need belonging in order to sell. Building communities is not about gathering followers, it is about igniting conversations and bringing audiences closer. It is no longer enough to appear in the feed, brands need to exist within cultural imagination. And this is not achieved through adverts, but through storytelling. - Map Products with Viral Potential
Here, product and performance are directly linked to the narrative surrounding them. For the first time, the customer journey begins with a scroll and ends with a click, without leaving the timeline or the culture itself. Rather than focusing solely on “strong categories”, brands should identify products with stories worth telling, products that can naturally fit dynamic and collaborative formats such as routine videos, influencer challenges, live demonstrations and community-led content. A valuable recommendation is to develop products specifically designed for the platform. - Optimise Content Creation Through Data
Understand when your audience is most active and most likely to purchase. The platform provides valuable insights into peak engagement periods. Publish content and host live streams at the right moments, where impulse becomes conversion. - Refine Campaigns Through Ads Manager Reports
If you are using TikTok Ads, combine reach, engagement and ROI data from Ads Manager with Seller Centre metrics. This integration helps brands understand not only who watched the content, but who clicked and ultimately purchased. This is where branding meets performance. - Make Full Use of Symphony
Using artificial intelligence to create content does not mean abandoning human emotion, it means amplifying and scaling it. It represents the transition from handcrafted creation to large-scale creation with reach. This is already a reality, and there is no turning back. Use Symphony as though it were your closest creative partner. - Monitor Everything
Ultimately, success on TikTok Shop is almost an equation: content plus culture generates conversion. And to truly understand culture, brands must step outside their own bubble and monitor everything, from spontaneous conversations to affiliate-generated content, because only those who genuinely listen are able to understand the game.
