You Saw It on TikTok, Now You’re Paying on WhatsApp: What Ghanaian Businesses Get Wrong Online (opinion)

Written by: Regina Woollams

Ghanaian businesses have mastered the art of getting attention online. The bigger challenge is turning that attention into actual sales.

Walk through Spintex, East Legon or Makola today and you will see business owners filming almost everything they sell. A boutique owner showcases the latest shoes from Dubai. A food vendor captures a plate of steaming jollof. A car dealer records a quick tour of a newly imported vehicle.

Social media has become one of Ghana’s busiest marketplaces. TikTok and Instagram attract customers, while WhatsApp has become an important channel for completing the sale. Yet many businesses are still struggling to connect these stages.

They are getting the views. They are getting the likes. They are even getting comments. But the money is often not following.

When I first started helping businesses run advertisements and create social media content, I spent hours searching for the perfect settings. I thought the right audience, caption or targeting option was the secret to making a post go viral or generating sales.

I soon realised that these things only go so far. The real advantage comes from understanding how people actually make buying decisions.

The customer is not thinking about your algorithm or engagement rate. They want to know whether they like the product, whether they can afford it and whether they can trust the seller. Most importantly, they want to know how easily they can get it.

That is where many businesses are losing potential customers.

Consider a familiar situation. You are scrolling through TikTok late at night and see a pair of shoes you like. The video catches your attention, so you visit the seller’s profile to check the price.

Instead, you see two words:

“DM for price.”

Now a simple purchase requires several steps. You have to send a message, wait for a response and confirm the price. You may then need to ask about your size, payment and delivery.

If the seller responds hours later, the moment may already be gone. The customer could have found another seller offering something similar.

There is nothing wrong with using direct messages to sell. In Ghana, WhatsApp and social messaging have become powerful tools for businesses. Customers appreciate the ability to speak directly with a seller.

The problem is unnecessary friction.

If the price can be displayed, display it. If delivery is available, explain how it works. If payment is through Mobile Money, make the process clear. Every unnecessary step gives the customer another reason to abandon the purchase.

The relationship between social media and WhatsApp is one of the most important developments in Ghana’s online marketplace.

A customer might discover a product on TikTok, visit the seller’s page and take a screenshot. They then send it to the business on WhatsApp and ask about the price. From there, the conversation can move quickly to availability, payment and delivery.

This is why businesses should stop thinking about their social media platforms separately. The customer sees one business, not a collection of different apps.

TikTok may create awareness. Instagram may build interest. WhatsApp may complete the transaction. If the journey between these platforms is confusing, the business can lose the customer before the sale is completed.

The important question is therefore not only “How many people saw my post?” It is also “What happened after they saw it?”

Getting someone interested in a product is only half the job. The next challenge is convincing them that the business is worth trusting.

Online shoppers cannot always touch the product or visit the store before paying. They may also be cautious about scams, poor-quality products or unreliable delivery.

This makes trust an important part of the selling process.

Clear product information helps. So do genuine photographs, customer reviews and visible business details. A professional WhatsApp profile and prompt responses can also make a significant difference.

These details answer a simple question in the customer’s mind:

“Can I trust you with my money?”

Businesses that understand this will realise that they are not only selling a product. They are also selling confidence.

Likes are easy to celebrate because they are visible. Sales are different. They require businesses to look beyond the surface of their social media performance.

A video with 100,000 views sounds impressive. But how many people visited the profile? How many asked about the product? How many received the price? How many eventually bought?

Those numbers tell a more useful story.

Businesses should think about social media as a journey:

Discovery → Interest → Trust → Conversation → Payment → Delivery → Repeat Purchase.

Each stage presents an opportunity to either gain or lose a customer.

If people watch but do not visit your page, your content may need a stronger call to action. If they visit but do not enquire, your offer may not be clear. If they enquire but do not buy, the problem could be price, trust, responsiveness or the buying process.

The numbers can help you identify where the journey is breaking down.

Every business wants a viral video. There is nothing wrong with that. The problem starts when views become the main measure of success.

TikTok, Instagram and Facebook can give businesses enormous reach. But the platforms do not pay your bills simply because your video performs well. Your business needs to turn that attention into action.

That means moving beyond “Look at me!” and asking, “What does the customer need from me next?”

Show the product. Explain its value. Make the buying process clear. Answer the questions customers are likely to have. Give them a reason to trust you and make it easy for them to take the next step.

Ghana’s digital marketplace is becoming more competitive every day. The businesses that succeed will not necessarily be those with the biggest following or the most viral videos.

They will be the ones that understand what happens after someone stops scrolling.

Because getting attention is only the beginning.

The real marketing starts when the customer says, “I want this.”