Since Meta’s latest algorithm update, Andromeda, changed how your ads get delivered, brands now need 20 to 40 new ad variations a week to stay healthy.
That’s a 5–10x increase over last year, and it’s not just more expensive.
It’s almost impossible to produce the amount of content you need to scale your campaigns without it turning into a full time job.
UGC Is The Answer, But Scaling It Is the Trick
After $50 million in ad spend, user generated content-style ads are still Ezra’s #1 ad format in 2026. (We broke down why in our recent post on the #1 Shopify ad of 2026.)
So the question is not whether UGC is the content you need. It’s how do you get enough of it without hiring a giant creative operation in-house.
Ezra Firestone found an answer. And it’s a little backwards.
The Backwards Answer? TikTok Shop
Instead of paying influencers and content creators to make ads, Ezra uses TikTok Shop to get creators to make content for him.
On TikTok Shop, creators make videos in exchange for commission, so you do not pay upfront production costs. You get an asset you can reuse on Meta, AppLovin, Google, wherever you’re buying attention.
Ezra’s number one goal with this channel is not to sell products, it’s to get content made for free.
In fact, his ad agency runs TikTok Shop at breakeven or at a small loss on purpose, because the real value he gets happens outside TikTok Shop, and here’s the proof.
TikTok Shop Lifts Shopify & Amazon Sales By 18%
During a recent Shopify Webinar, Ezra explained that brands running TikTok Shop are seeing:
- 18% spillover lift to Shopify
- 18% spillover lift to Amazon
- Hundreds to thousands of videos per brand
- $0 production cost on the brand side
Yes, direct sales matter.
But the bigger win is what TikTok Shop creates outside the channel: more content, more testing opportunities, and more usable assets for the rest of your acquisition stack.
How To Get Started With TikTok Shop
1. Set up TikTok Shop
List your products natively in TikTok so users can buy without leaving the app.
2. Open your affiliate program
Creators can join your affiliate program and promote your products in exchange for commission.
You set the rate and only pay after the sale. But set a competitive rate, because these sales don’t require ad spend, and you’re getting content production for free.
3. Invite creators who match your avatars
Find creators whose audience and style line up with your buyer personas.
Different creators will naturally produce different hooks, tones, and angles. That variation is exactly what makes their videos feel authentic.
4. Repurpose the winning content everywhere else
The best TikTok Shop content usually looks like this:
- Unboxings
- Reviews
- Before-and-afters
- Daily routine integrations
- Face-to-camera problem/solution videos
In other words, the same style of content is already working on paid social. Once you have it, reuse it across Meta, AppLovin, Amazon, and beyond.
3 Examples of TikTok Shop Ads
Check out the following three examples of TikTok shop ads from Native, Comfrt Clothing, and Peet’s coffee.
1. Native
2. Comft Clothing:
3. Peet’s Coffee:
The Smarter Ad Strategy for 2026
The smartest part of this strategy is that it helps solve two problems at once:
- It gives you another acquisition channel
- It gives you a scalable source of ad creative to feed your other channels
Diversifying traffic channels matters more than ever in 2026. If your brand depends too heavily on one platform, one algorithm change can wreck your business overnight.
TikTok Shop is channel #3 in Ezra’s Top 5 Ad Channels for 2026, and it may be the most underestimated one.
If you want the full breakdown of all five acquisition channels Ezra is using in 2026, and how to start testing them, download the free playbook here.
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