The complete guide to TikTok advertising (with examples)

TikTok is a video-sharing social networking service that enables users to make short videos, usually fifteen seconds long, in different genres, such as dance and comedy. With 1,218 billion monthly active users, TikTok is the sixth-largest social media network worldwide.

Whether you want to sell more of your products or services or drive targeted traffic to your website, TikTok advertising campaigns can give you good returns on your ad spend. TikTok ads can help you reach a young, vibrant audience that loves great content.

TikTok launched its lead generation tool to help businesses generate more leads. Wondering how to run ads on TikTok? We have put together this complete guide to show you how to create ads on TikTok, make the most out of it, and boost your ROIs. 

In addition, we’ll talk about some of our popular TikTok integrations that you can try for free.

Who uses TikTok?

TikTok is a popular app available in over 160 countries and has over 1 billion active users worldwide, including both males (52%) and females (48%).

With its short-form videos, viral trends, and powerful algorithm, TikTok has captured the attention of a wide audience, particularly among younger generations. Its rapid growth and continued popularity suggest that TikTok is likely to remain a significant cultural force in the coming years. To make your videos stand out and have a greater impact, you can use various applications, such as Videoleap video editor.

TikTok is also the most downloaded non-gaming app worldwide, with users spending a daily average of 95 minutes on this platform.

All this information about TikTok users makes it an ideal focal point for marketers. But do all businesses benefit from advertising on TikTok?

Does TikTok have ads?

TikTok has various ads for businesses to reach their target audience, including In-feed ads, Brand takeover ads, Top view ads, Branded Hashtag ads, Spark ads, and Branded effect ads.  

When creating campaigns and ad groups on this platform, you have the option to set budgets for both. According to TikTok, a campaign can have several ad groups, and there are two types of budgets available: lifetime and daily. 

Are TikTok ads for all businesses?

TikTok is suitable for most businesses but not all. TikTok advertising is ideal for companies looking for large and engaged audiences. Here are some statistics to consider: In 2023, TikTok had an average engagement rate of 17.96%, and its users visit the app for an average of 1.5 hours per day. Considering all these numbers, TikTok is one of the best platforms for audience engagement.

The majority of TikTokers are below 30 years old. If you are targeting young audiences, you should be running ad campaigns on TikTok now. To streamline content creation for your campaigns, consider using Guidde, a generative AI platform that enables teams to create video documentation faster, helping you maintain a steady flow of engaging and relevant content.

Learn more about how to use TikTok for Small Businesses.

Why TikTok advertising?

1. TikTok is dominated by the Generation Z audience

We already established that most of the TikTok audience is the Generation Z audience (18 – 34 years old). As of 2023, this generation makes up 40% of the global consumer population, with a projected disposable income of over $360 billion. This significant demographic shift will substantially impact the business landscape, as companies will need to adapt their marketing and sales strategies to effectively reach and engage this younger generation of consumers.

2.   TikTok user’s engagement rate is high

TikTok takes the crown as the ultimate engagement powerhouse, boasting an impressive average engagement rate of 4.25%. Trailing behind, Instagram nabbed second place, but with a significantly lower average engagement rate of just 0.60%. 

This shows that TikTok users are engaged audiences. The more engaged an audience is, the better the advertising outcomes are for brands. 

3. TikTok advertising expands the reach of your video content

Video marketing is on the rise, and it will not slow down anytime soon. A study by Social Media Week revealed viewers claim they retain 95% of a message when obtained via video. Also, 93% of brands claim that they’ve landed a new customer because of a video on social media. 

With more videos and TikTok’s native video editing services, you can easily reach a broader target audience.

4. TikTok has different ad formats that encourage engagement

The platform offers different TikTok ad formats, such as in-feed ads, top-view ads, brand takeover ads, and branded hashtag challenges. These ad formats facilitate better engagement among users. For instance, in-feed ads enable users to like, comment, share, follow, and shoot videos within the same TikTok sound.

5. TikTok advertising can help reach an international audience

TikTok is available in 154 countries with 75 different languages. If your business operates internationally, TikTok advertising enables you to reach an audience in different international markets.

How effective is TikTok advertising?

Are TikTok ads truly effective? Simply put, yes. With a staggering one billion monthly users, TikTok offers an unrivaled chance for brands to captivate and interact with their audiences.

The impact on businesses is not only significant but also measurable. 92% of TikTok users are inspired to take action upon viewing a video, while 37% have made purchases based on their discoveries on the platform. While TikTok advertising excels in engaging users through its dynamic content, as an alternative a Demand Side Platform (DSP) offers a broader range of targeting options across multiple channels. This allows businesses to diversify their advertising strategy and reach audiences not only on TikTok but also through other platforms, potentially maximizing their overall ROI by combining the strengths of both approaches.

TikTok commissioned four separate Nielsen Media Mix Model Meta Analyses over the past two years, consistently revealing that TikTok has a remarkable impact on ROAS and sales efficiency in the CPG vertical (for example). According to these studies, Europe witnessed a staggering 64% higher paid media ROAS compared to all digital media analyzed in the models, along with almost tripled offline sales efficiency. Notably, other regions like the Middle East, US, and Southeast Asia saw similar increases.

According to Kantar LinkAI analysis, over 3,500 measured TikTok ads outperformed their own digital and TV benchmarks by 15-20% across various metrics. These metrics include Persuasion (how likely an ad influences brand predisposition), Brand Relevance (the value of communication points), and Enjoyment (the ad’s resonance and application). To put it simply, when viewers enjoy the ads, they become even more powerful and effective.

Why create a TikTok Ads account?

Every marketing effort on social media comes down to a simple conclusion: Gaining a follower fan base and brand exposure. These people eventually trust your brand as a go-to place to purchase the products you are offering. To do it independently, your company might have to spend months reaching a sufficient number of followers and gaining convertible tractions. Investing in a TikTok Ads account gives you access to many followers to reduce the time and increase your marketing efficiency. In order for your investment to justify itself and for you to have constant uninterrupted access to TikTok, use VPN for PC to unblock TikTok with VPN for free access and privacy.

With a VPN, you can also bypass geo-restrictions, allowing you to target specific audiences and expand your reach globally. Moreover, VPNs encrypt your internet connection, protecting your sensitive data from potential cyber threats while you navigate TikTok’s dynamic landscape. For reliable VPN services, consider reputable providers like Surfshark or ExpressVPN, known for their robust security features and fast, reliable connections.

Let’s go through the top advantages of investing in a TikTok ads account:

• It requires less time and effort to get followers: growing a fan base takes time which cuts off your marketing dollars in the long run. 
• It increases engagement: creating marketing campaigns that are highly optimized leads to higher engagement rates, such as more likes, comments, and shares. And more engagement means higher brand awareness and conversions. 

Types of TikTok ads

There are seven different TikTok ad formats for businesses to use, including:

1. TikTok In-Feed ads

TikTok In-feed ads are the video ads displayed inside the native news feed as users scroll through the “For You Page”. They blend well with the TikTok feed. This makes it easy for users to quickly scroll past them. With In-feed ads, users can like, comment, share, and interact with the TikTok advertising videos.

Here is a good example of a TikTok In-feed ad video from Maybelline.

The beauty brand created an in-feed ad with catchy music to increase its market share and brand recognition among the younger generation in Japan.

2. TikTok Brand Takeover ads

TikTok Brand Takeover ads pop up as soon as users open the TikTok app, take over the screen for a few seconds, and then change into an In-feed video ad. They also appear on the “For You Page” as still images, videos, or gifs with clickable links that lead to landing pages within TikTok. They effectively create mass awareness and drive sales since the ads show up in front of the right audience. You can also create and add your custom logos to stay top of mind and make viewers remember your brand.

A great example of a Brand Takeover ad is from Too Faced. They created a TikTok campaign to introduce one of their products – a cruelty-free lip gloss.

The ad generated 7.6 million impressions and 1.3 million clicks, delivering a staggering 18.38% clickthrough rate.

3. TikTok Top View ads

TikTok top view ads are similar to brand takeovers and aim to increase brand exposure. The difference is that Top view ads do not cover the screen as soon as users sign in. Instead, they occupy the first In-feed post after 3 seconds. After that, it shows up to 60 -seconds of full-screen video with auto-play and sound.

Below is an example of TikTok Top View ads from Balenciaga.

4. TikTok Branded Hashtag ads

The branded hashtag is another popular ad on TikTok. It involves encouraging users to record themselves performing something like a dance or doing something in line with the product and posting it with a defined hashtag. These ads appear at the top of the discovery page. When users click on the hashtags, it leads them to the landing pages on TikTok and a collection of other videos from the same hashtag challenge. TikTok hashtag challenges boost engagement and brand awareness. For maximising the ROI, use a TikTok scraper to gather top video data, including timestamps, views, shares, comments, and video count. Analyze this data to refine and tailor your hashtag ads.

Below is an example of TikTok’s branded hashtag ad from Mercedes Benz.

They started the #MBStarChallenge to encourage users to create their own Mercedes Benz logo. The hashtag helped to create brand awareness for Gen Z and millennials.

5. TikTok Branded Effects ads

TikTok branded effects allow businesses to design an ad with their own custom filter on the app. The ad can last up to 10 days at a time and is a great way to increase user engagement.

A good example of TikTok branded effect ads is from Colgate.

Colgate created a hashtag challenge #Colgatekiss, to produce an aesthetic for the brand in Thailand. They used a clickable branded effect with a ‘kissy face’ to complement the challenge.

6. TikTok Collection ads

This ad format allows users to find, discover, and browse products on their mobile devices in full-screen mode. Their peculiarity is that – when Collection Ads are published – you create an ad that will lead to an Instant Gallery Page. This serves as a curated, inspiring collection of your products that users can browse without ever leaving the app.

TikTok Collection Ads provide a quicker, more engaging ad experience that motivates consumers to act immediately.

Source: Tinuiti.com

Here’s an example by beauty brand E.L.F., which has made good use of TikTok Collection Ads. With the full screen, their products are at center stage, making it harder for cosmetic lovers to pass them up. TikTok Collection Ads make it easy for viewers to buy the products they see right on the spot.

7. TikTok Spark ads

TikTok Spark ads is a native ad format that lets advertisers tap into the power of authenticity by supercharging organic content. This ad format offers the same amazing user interactions as organic videos: users can comment, like, and share. They can also visit your brand’s profile by swiping left or clicking the handle name or profile picture. They can even follow your brand’s account by simply clicking the + icon on the profile picture.

With TikTok Spark ads, brands can experience unprecedented growth by building genuine connections with their community. How? By delivering top-notch native content that oozes authenticity. This is made possible thanks to Spark Ads’ unique combination of the reach and impact of TopView and In-Feed Ads with the engagement and functionality of organic content.

The difference between TikTok’s ad placements

TikTok placements of the ads are options that enable businesses to reach their target audience effectively. These placements vary in terms of where the ads will appear on the app and how users will interact with them. The main TikTok ad placements include:

• In-Feed Ads: Native video ads that appear in users’ For You feeds alongside organic content. These ads can be up to 60 seconds long and are skippable. Users can interact with the ads by liking, sharing, or commenting on them.
• TopView Ads: Full-screen video ads that appear as soon as a user opens the TikTok app. These ads are ideal for capturing users’ attention and generating brand awareness. TopView Ads can be up to 60 seconds long and are non-skippable.
• Brand Takeover Ads: Full-screen video ads that appear as soon as a user opens the TikTok app. However, these ads are interactive and can include buttons that encourage users to take specific actions, such as downloading an app or visiting a website. Brand Takeover Ads are available to one advertiser per day.
• Branded Hashtag Challenges: A unique ad format that encourages users to create and share user-generated content around a specific theme or challenge. These ads can include a branded hashtag, custom music, and effects. Branded Hashtag Challenges can help brands engage with users and increase their brand awareness.
• Branded Effects: Customized filters and effects that users can apply to their TikTok videos. These effects can include a brand’s logo or other branded elements, which can help to increase brand awareness and engagement.
• Collection Ads: A type of in-feed video ad that effortlessly guides your customers to an instant storefront within the app where they can explore your products without ever leaving the platform.
• Spark Ads: A native ad format that allows you to leverage the power of organic TikTok posts and their features. Boosting real TikTok account posts with TikTok Spark Ads guarantees that any views, comments, shares, likes, and follows gained during the promotion count towards your organic content.

Businesses can create engaging and effective ads that resonate with TikTok users by choosing the right ad placement and format.

How to run ads on TikTok

So how to run ads on TikTok? It is easier than you think. TikTok advertising platform, just like the Instagram Ad Manager, automates the ad creation process, which includes creating, delivering, and optimizing the ads. The first step is to install the TikTok pixel on your website.

How to set up a TikTok Ads account

To advertise on TikTok, you have to create a TikTok Ads account first. 

1. Sign up on TikTok Ads

2. Add your email address, where you’ll receive a verification code.
3. Click  Sign up.
4. On this new page, fill in the required information, like brand name, industry, country, etc.

5. Then click Register.

If you own a regular TikTok account already, use that account instead to sign up for the TikTok Ads account.

Learn how to install TikTok Pixel and imply better conversion tracking.

Setting up a TikTok campaign

Now, let’s go through the step-by-step process of creating a TikTok ad.

1. Go to the ad sign-up page and register your business. Provide the location of your business and select the right account type for your business, i.e. whether it is business or personal. Then click Next.

2. Fill out your email address and password, ensuring that your password is strong and secure to protect your account, and enter the verification code. Then click to agree to TikTok ad’s terms and conditions. That is all you need for now to start setting up your TikTok campaign.

Creating a TikTok ad

Creating a TikTok ad requires three stages. First, create a campaign, an ad group, and then the real ad.

1.  Setting up a campaign

The campaign level is the first step you need to follow to create your TikTok ads. Here, specify the campaign objectives, campaign name, and campaign budget. Your campaign objectives could be app installation, reach, conversions, video views, and traffic.

Here’s what you need to do to set up a TikTok ad campaign:

a.  Log in to your TikTok Ads Manager and find the Campaign at the top of the page and click on it.

b. It’s time to choose the objective of your campaign. This signifies the action you want people to take when they see your ads. Accordingly, you must choose the right objective in order to generate the desired result for your campaign. For instance, if your objective is to generate more traffic to your website, the right objective to choose will be Traffic.

You can also integrate your marketing system through LeadsBridge to make the most out of lead generation efforts on TikTok. Here are two of our most popular TikTok integrations:

All campaign objectives are categorized under three rubrics – awareness, consideration, and conversion, as shown above.

There is a limit to the campaigns you can create, which is 999 campaigns per TikTok account.

Now that we are done with the campaign level, the next step is the ad group.

2.  Creating an ad group

Under the ad group level, you specify the ad placements, audiences, target audiences, campaign budgets, optimization goals, schedule, and bids for your ad group. The first step to creating the ad group is selecting the placements.

a.   Select the ad placements

Ad placement is where your ad will appear on TikTok. You have the option to tell TikTok where to place your ads or allow TikTok to pick the best placement for you. Leaving the ad placement selection up to TikTok, or automatic ad placement, will help to optimize your ad delivery on different placements so that you can achieve your specified campaign objective.

As shown above, select automatic placement to allow TikTok to use its algorithm to place your ad in the right place, or you can choose the placement manually.

The blocklist (pangle) feature is available for advertisers in select countries and is used for blocking undesired ad placements. Read the block list article to learn more.

b.   Choose the desired creatives

The automated creative optimization feature will help you automatically create combinations of your creative assets to deliver only the best-performing combinations. For example, the ad creative assets for the campaign include images, explainer videos, and ad texts.

c.    TikTok Ads targeting

At this point, you need to choose the audience you want to target with your campaign. TikTok allows you to create both Custom Audience and Lookalike Audience. Using TikTok ads targeting, you can target your audience using their demographic and device options to help you narrow them down. This includes age, gender, interest, operating system, location, language, behavior, device price, and mobile carrier.

Custom audience targeting on TikTok allows you to target your audiences based on customer data files (a list saved in a CSV, TXT, or ZIP file) and previously engaged audiences. These are the users who have interacted with your ads, or who have seen your ads before (impressions), app activity (e.g., sign up, activate, purchase, etc), and website traffic actions (e.g., view content, button click, purchase, form submission, etc).

Similar to Facebook Custom Audiences, TikTok Custom Audiences allows you to target people who have engaged with your business. You can create a custom audience from different sources, such as website traffic, lead generation, app activity, engagement, and customer files.

The most interesting part is that you can integrate TikTok custom audiences with different tools through LeadsBridge to automate the entire data management process. 

d.   Set the budget and the schedule

In this section, you need to specify your budget for the ad. There are different options here, as shown below.

Now, it is time to set a budget for the ad. This can be a daily budget or a lifetime budget. The schedule specifies the start and end times for the ads. Choose a range of dates to run your ad, or choose to run it for as long as you want continuously. The day-parting option allows you to choose the specific time periods in a day, ranging from half an hour to 24 hours.

e.   Set up the bidding and optimization

This is the section where you choose your bidding process and optimization options and add third-party tracking links to help monitor the performance of your ad.

The first option here is the optimization goal. There are three types – conversion, click, and reach. First, choose the goal for your campaign, then configure the billing event option. The TikTok system automatically sets the billing event based on your selected optimization goal.

For example, if you select “reach” as your optimization goal, your ads will be billed as CPM (cost per mile). Here’s a link to more information on bidding methods on the TikTok ads manager.

Next comes smart optimization. This option allows you to choose how the system optimizes conversion events and carries out smart delivery. It is recommended that you activate the smart optimization option to help with your conversions. 

The bid strategy helps control your cost per result if you put it in the “standard bid” mode. This ensures that the average cost per result is within your bid during the delivery process.

The bidding option helps you set the amount you are ready to pay for a thousand impressions, per click, or per conversion. The TikTok system will deliver the ads as per your bid specification.

The delivery type is in two different formats – standard and accelerated. When you select the standard delivery, your ad budget will be spent evenly during the campaign. The “accelerate delivery” option will spend the budget quickly during the campaign. You can find more information on the delivery type here.

Now it is time for the exciting part; creating your ad.

3. Creating your ad

Ad creation on TikTok is easy. All you need to do is upload your images or videos and eye-catching design ads in minutes using the features available on the TikTok ad manager. You can create two types of ads on TikTok – image and video ads. TikTok has an ad limit of 20 ads per ad group.

Now, follow the steps below to create your TikTok ad.

a.  Start by entering the ad name in the specified column below. This will help you identify your ads.

b.  Choose the ad format. TikTok allows you to choose from the two options available – i.e., image or video. But currently, you can only create video ads on TikTok.

c.  Add your ad details by uploading your creative media. You can upload your media from your computer or use the media from your previous ads. You can also choose to create a new video.

To create a new video, select “use video template” or “smart video “. Select the video thumbnail that will serve as a cover photo for your video ad. You can upload a new one or choose from the images from your video.

Include the text and link that will be shown with your ad. This includes the display name, text, call to action, profile image, and the URL of the website you want to drive traffic to if traffic is your main campaign objective. When you are done, preview your ad on your device. This will show you how the video ad will look after publishing it.

d. Add relevant tracking links to your ad. 

TikTok allows you to add third-party tracking URLs and pixels to help you track your ad performance. Here is a list of Supported third-party measurements and TikTok pixels.

Click the “submit” button to complete the ad creation process when you are done. This will trigger the ad review process. Once your ad is approved, it will automatically go live.

Selecting TikTok’s objectives for your campaign

TikTok provides a range of campaign objectives to help advertisers achieve their marketing goals on the platform. These objectives are divided into three categories: Awareness, Consideration, and Conversion.

Awareness

The Awareness category includes the Reach objective, which serves video ads to the largest possible audience on TikTok. This objective is ideal for advertisers looking to increase brand awareness and expand their reach on the platform. Lead generation efforts fall under this category. Once you collect enough data at this stage, you’ll need to efficiently process them.

LeadsBridge automatically sends lead data generated from your TikTok Lead Ad campaigns to your CRM or marketing automation platform. This helps you to follow up with leads in a timely manner and improve your conversion rate.

Consideration

The Consideration category offers several objectives to help advertisers drive specific actions and engagement from users. The Traffic objective directs more users to a specific landing page, such as a campaign page or a section of the advertiser’s app. The App Installs objective is designed to encourage users to install the advertiser’s app on their mobile devices, while the Video Views objective helps to increase engagement with the advertiser’s video content.

Conversion

The Conversion category is focused on driving specific user actions on the advertiser’s website, such as page views or online sales. The Conversion objective helps advertisers to optimize their campaigns toward achieving these specific goals.

With LeadsBridge, you can connect your CRM or marketing platform with TikTok Conversions to track your segmented audiences and monitor conversions for a full-funnel measurement.

As an advertiser, it’s crucial for you to choose the right campaign objective that aligns with your business goals. The success of a TikTok ad campaign depends on selecting the appropriate objective and optimizing the ad campaign accordingly. 

TikTok campaign objectives vs. TikTok advertising objectives

TikTok’s advertising objectives and campaign objectives are both important components of a successful TikTok ad campaign. While the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, they have different meanings and functions.

In short, advertising objectives are the specific marketing goals that advertisers want to achieve, while campaign objectives are the broader settings and parameters of the TikTok ad campaign that help to achieve those goals. By aligning these two objectives and optimizing their campaigns accordingly, advertisers can maximize their impact on TikTok and achieve their desired results.

By selecting the right objective and targeting the right audience, you can maximize the impact of your campaigns and achieve real business results on TikTok. Here are some instances of TikTok advertising objectives:

1. Branding: This objective helps advertisers increase brand recognition and reach a wider audience on TikTok. By optimizing for brand awareness, advertisers can maximize the reach and impact of their campaigns.
2. Traffic: The traffic objective aims to drive more users to a specific landing page or website. Advertisers can use this objective to promote a new product, offer, or piece of content and drive traffic to their website.
3. App Installs: This objective is designed to drive more downloads and installs of a mobile app. For example, you can use this objective to encourage users to download your app directly from the TikTok app store.
4. Video Views: This objective is designed to maximize the number of views for a specific video ad. Advertisers can use this objective to increase the visibility of their brand and engage users with their video content.
5. Lead Generation: The lead generation objective is designed to help advertisers collect user information, such as email addresses or phone numbers, for follow-up marketing efforts. By optimizing for lead generation, advertisers can encourage users to sign up for a newsletter, send them a digital magazine, download a whitepaper, or take other actions that generate leads.

TikTok ad targeting

TikTok ad targeting dimensions refer to the various parameters or criteria that advertisers can use to target their ads to specific audiences on the TikTok platform. Here are some common TikTok ad targeting dimensions:

1. Demographics: This includes factors such as age, gender, location, language, education level, and income. Advertisers can choose to target specific demographics based on their campaign goals and the characteristics of their target audience.
2. Interests and behaviors: TikTok allows advertisers to target users based on their interests, hobbies, and behaviors. This can include interests in specific topics, activities, or industries, as well as behaviors such as previous interactions with ads or content on the platform.
3. Device and connection type: Advertisers can target users based on the type of device they are using (e.g., smartphone, tablet) and their connection type (e.g., Wi-Fi, mobile data).
4. Custom Audiences: TikTok enables advertisers to create custom audiences based on their own customer data, such as email lists or website visitors. This allows advertisers to target users who have already interacted with their brand in some way.
5. Lookalike Audiences: Advertisers can also create lookalike audiences based on the characteristics of their existing customers or audience segments. TikTok will then target users who share similar attributes with the advertiser’s existing audience.

Audience targeting is crucial when running TikTok ads for several reasons:

1. Relevance: By targeting specific audience segments, advertisers can ensure that their ads are relevant to the people who are most likely to be interested in their products or services. This increases the likelihood of engagement and conversions.
2. Cost-effectiveness: Targeting a specific audience reduces wastage by showing ads only to those users who are likely to be interested in the offer. This can result in a higher return on investment (ROI) for the advertising campaign.
3. Improved performance: Ads that are targeted to the right audience are more likely to resonate with users, leading to higher click-through rates (CTRs), conversion rates, and other key performance metrics.
4. Personalization: Audience targeting allows advertisers to tailor their messaging and creative content to specific audience segments, increasing the effectiveness of their ads and improving the overall user experience.

In summary, TikTok ad targeting is essential for maximizing the effectiveness and efficiency of TikTok campaigns by ensuring that ads are shown to the most relevant users who are most likely to engage with them and take the desired action.

How to optimize TikTok ads

Optimizing TikTok ads from a technical standpoint requires a thorough understanding of the TikTok ad platform and its capabilities. Here are some tips for optimizing TikTok ads from a technical perspective:

1. Choose the right ad format: TikTok offers several ad formats, each with its own technical requirements. Make sure you choose the right format for your ad and follow the technical guidelines for that format.
2. Optimize video quality: TikTok is a highly visual platform, so it’s important to optimize your video quality to ensure it looks great on the platform. This can include using high-quality cameras, optimizing lighting and sound, and ensuring the video meets the technical specifications for TikTok.
3. Use appropriate video length: TikTok has strict requirements for video length, so make sure your video meets these requirements. Shorter videos tend to perform better on the platform, so aim for videos that are no longer than 15-30 seconds.
4. Follow ad specifications: TikTok has strict technical requirements for ads, including video resolution, aspect ratio, and file size. Make sure your ads meet these requirements to avoid technical issues that could impact ad performance.
5. Test and optimize ad performance: To optimize TikTok ads from a technical standpoint, it’s important to continually test and optimize ad performance. This can include monitoring ad delivery, engagement, and conversion rates and making adjustments to improve ad performance.

TikTok ad policy

TikTok’s ad policy outlines the platform’s rules and guidelines for advertising on the app. The policy covers various aspects of advertising, including ad formats, targeting options, creative specifications, prohibited content, and community guidelines.

To ensure a safe and positive experience for all users, TikTok prohibits certain types of content from being promoted through ads, including misleading or fraudulent content, tobacco and e-cigarette products, firearms, and political ads. Additionally, the platform has guidelines around acceptable ad formats and creative elements, such as text to speech reader and interactive elements, to ensure that ads are engaging and appropriate for the TikTok community.

TikTok also offers a range of targeting options for advertisers, including demographic targeting, interest-based targeting, and geographic targeting. However, the platform has guidelines in place to prevent discriminatory or invasive targeting, such as excluding certain groups based on personal characteristics or using sensitive information to target users. Here are some of the important highlights of the TikTok ad policy for marketers.

Use the right ad format

TikTok requires that all advertisers ensure that landing pages are related to what they sell and that there should be no broken links. This aims to keep the ads on the platform consistent. It means all messaging and images must align together to prevent confusion. In addition, the language and content used in the ad must be appropriate for the target audience. You can view the complete TikTok content and language guidelines here and ensure that your ads comply with all relevant rules and regulations.

TikTok ad specs

The following are the video ad specifications for TikTok:

• Aspect ratio: 9:16, 1:1, or 16:9. TikTok recommends vertical videos with a 9:16 ratio as they perform best.
• Minimum resolution: 540 x 960 px or 640 x 640 px. TikTok recommends videos with a resolution of 720 px for top performance.
• File types: mp4, .mov, .mpeg, .3gp, or .avi
• Duration: 5-60 seconds. TikTok suggests keeping videos between 21-34 seconds for optimal results.
• Max file size: 500 MB
• Profile image: Square image with a size of less than 50 KB
• App name or brand name: 4-40 characters for apps and 2-20 characters for brands.
• Ad Description: 1-100 characters, without emojis.

And, here are the Spark ad specifications for TikTok:

• Aspect ratio: Any
• Minimum resolution: Any
• Duration: Any
• Max file size: Any
• Account mentions and emojis allowed
• Display name and text come from the original organic post.

Please note that character counts are based on Latin characters, and the allowed character count for Asian characters is generally half of the Latin character count. By adhering to these guidelines, advertisers can create high-quality video ads that are optimized for TikTok’s unique platform and audience.

TikTok ads best practices

TikTok ads best practices are time-tested methods to help advertisers create effective and engaging ads that resonate with the platform’s audience. Here are some of the best practices for creating TikTok ads:

1. Keep it short and sweet: TikTok is all about short-form videos, so keep your ads between 5-60 seconds. TikTok recommends keeping ads between 21-34 seconds for optimal results.
2. Get creative: TikTok’s audience values creativity and authenticity, so use visually appealing content and experiment with different ad formats to engage viewers. Looking for inspiration? Here are some of our top content ideas to use for your TikTok campaigns. 
3. Use music: Music is an integral part of the TikTok experience, and incorporating the trending music bits into your ads can help capture attention and create an emotional connection with viewers.
4. Optimize for sound-off: Many TikTok users watch videos with the sound off. Make sure to include captions, subtitles, or other visual cues to convey your message.
5. Use trending hashtags: You can find hashtags by going to the TikTok discovery page. Scroll through the page to find trending hashtags and sounds you can use. 
6. Use FOMO: FOMO – Fear of Missing Out is a brilliant marketing technique for your TikTok ads to generate engagement because of the time or product supply limits. Users will be afraid of missing out, and they will engage immediately.
7. Target the right audience: TikTok offers a range of targeting options, including demographic targeting, interest-based targeting, and geographic targeting. You’ll want to connect with the people who are genuinely interested in your content so that you can ensure that your ads reach the people most likely to be interested in your product or service.
8. Test and optimize: As with any advertising platform, it’s important to test different ad formats, targeting options, and creative elements to see what works best for your brand. TikTok offers a range of analytics tools to help you track performance and optimize your campaigns for maximum impact.
9. Work with TikTok influences: These users are like celebrities of the new age, so working with them is a win-win. They can help you create videos that promote your product/service on their channels.

By following these best practices, advertisers can create effective TikTok ads that resonate with the platform’s audience and drive results for their business. Additionally, have a look at the latest social media trends to see what people want to see.  

Creative Tips at TikTok Ads Creative Center

TikTok Ads Creative Center offers a great wealth of guidance and inspiration. This tool – also known as TikTok Ads library – is a free resource available to anyone with a TikTok Business Account.

It’s incredibly useful because it provides users with:

• The best practices on how to create the best-performing TikTok ads;
• Detailed insights on the latest TikTok trends across all industries.

With the TikTok Ads Creative Center, you can use the Trend Discovery page to see what other businesses in your industry are doing and then filter those examples down by campaign objective.

When examining the highest-performing ads on the TikTok Ads library, you can get a clear understanding of what works for others and then use this info to test and see what works best for you.

TikTok Lead Generation

TikTok recently launched its lead generation tool for businesses. Similar to Facebook Lead Ads, TikTok Lead Generation helps businesses share the details of their product or services with interested users. 

Brands can use the TikTok Lead Generation to reach and engage with their prospects and customers and collect their data directly on in-stream ads on TikTok. You have a higher chance of conversions if your profile has likes and a high number of views. You can initially get some views to build traffic and engagement.

This feature includes a pre-filled form containing the user’s name, email, phone, and other relevant information requested by the advertiser. This low-friction process also makes it easier for interested users to fill out and submit the form.

The lead generation form contains a customizable background image, which could represent your business brand explicitly or another relevant image. The next section is the profile image. And lastly, a section that contains the questions you would like to ask users, which can be customized to fit the information you need for your business.

TikTok Lead Generation is specifically created for mobile devices, enabling users to know more about your business and answer your questions on TikTok without being directed to a landing page. 

As an official TikTok partner, LeadsBridge provides integrations with TikTok Lead Generation that facilitate seamless and automated data management. With these automated data bridges, you can connect your TikTok lead ads with your favorite tools, such as Salesforce®, Google Sheets, Klaviyo, etc.

Another great feature is TikTok Custom Audiences, which was designed to perform as a TikTok targeting option. To put it in a few words, it allows you to reach people who have previously interacted with your content or know your brand outside of TikTok.

You can do this by using:

• TikTok interest targeting: the interest targeting list uses your audience’s personal interests and other brands and content they interact with. 
• TikTok behavioral targeting: it targets users based on their history of how they behave and engage with your brand.
• Retargeting TikTok: Retargeting people who have shown an interest in your content, ads, etc.
• Target audience of TikTok: it targets audiences based on demographics and characteristics.

You can upgrade your TikTok advertising through automation. Join the waiting list to be one of the first few users who get access to our TikTok Custom Audience integration.

TikTok advertising cost

There is no official advertising pricing on TikTok. However, Ad Age provided some insight into TikTok’s advertising cost. To ensure your ad delivery is continuous, you need to set a minimum budget for both types (lifetime and daily).

Wondering how much TikTok advertising costs? Read this article to find out. 

What is a good CPM for TikTok ads?

Cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM) is one of the most commonly used benchmarks for understanding the viability and efficiency of advertisements. Generally speaking, TikTok has one of the lowest CPM rates of all the social media platforms including Facebook.

On average, the CPM for TikTok ads is $9.50, and while this is a good CPM benchmark, the low number could also be indicative of a low click-through rate.

What is a good CTR for TikTok ads?

A click-through rate (CTR) measures the effectiveness of an ad campaign. The typical CTR on TikTok hovers around the social media industry average at 0.58%. 

The TikTok platform’s scroll-frst design has become a double-edged sword for advertisers with a higher rate of impressions and a lower rate of click-throughs comparatively. 

TikTok advertising revenue

TikTok has experienced remarkable growth in advertising revenue over the past few years. Here are some key statistics:

1. Revenue growth: In 2023, TikTok’s advertising revenue was projected to reach $18.04 billion, a 55% increase from the previous year​.
2. Future projections: TikTok’s advertising revenue is expected to continue growing, reaching $23.58 billion in 2024. The platform’s focus on social commerce and in-app shopping has significantly contributed to its revenue growth​.
3. Market share: By 2027, TikTok and its Chinese counterpart Douyin are forecasted to control 37% of the global video ad market, surpassing the combined share of YouTube and Meta.
4. User base: TikTok had over 1.5 billion monthly active users in 2023 and is expected to grow to 1.8 billion by the end of 2024, further driving its advertising potential​.

How to get ad revenue on TikTok

If you’re interested in how to get ad revenue on TikTok, you can follow these strategies:

1. Create authentic content: TikTok encourages brands to make ads that blend seamlessly with regular content. Authentic, engaging videos that resonate with the audience tend to perform better than traditional ads.
2. Leverage hashtags and trends: Participating in popular hashtags like #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt can increase engagement and visibility. Aligning content with trending topics helps attract more viewers.
3. Utilize TikTok Ads Manager: Use TikTok’s Ads Manager to create targeted ad campaigns. The platform offers various ad formats, like we mentioned above, which can be tailored to reach specific audiences.
4. Collaborate with influencers: Partnering with TikTok influencers can amplify your reach. Influencers with large followings can help promote products organically, leading to higher engagement rates​.
5. Focus on short-form content: TikTok is known for its short-form videos. Creating concise and visually appealing content that quickly captures attention can lead to better ad performance.

By leveraging TikTok’s unique platform features and understanding its audience dynamics, businesses can effectively tap into the growing potential of TikTok’s advertising ecosystem.

How to track TikTok campaigns

TikTok provides a robust dashboard on the ads manager where you can track the performance of your ads, ad spend, and the status of your ads. You can also view the status of your campaigns, ad groups, and ads that can be active or not delivered. 

Check the performance metrics such as gender, operating system, day-parting, etc., to regulate your campaigns. This gives a clear idea of your campaigns’  overall CPM, CPC (cost per click), CPA (cost per action), CTR (click-through rate), and other conversions.

Furthermore, TikTok provides report templates you can use to create custom reports from scratch. Advertisers can download your report or schedule it to be delivered at a specified time, daily, weekly, or monthly.

First, you need to check the campaign page for more information on the ad level. Then, the platform requires you to select the campaign, ad group, or ad tags, and click view data to view the performance data and audience analysis.

TikTok Advertising examples

1. Acome

Acome, an Indonesian smartphone accessory company, created an ad to promote mobile phone accessories using TikTok’s In-feed ads campaign to increase traffic to its marketplace during an annual online shopping holiday.

The campaign reached 480,000 clicks to the marketplace with a 34% 6-second view-through rate.

2. Kroger

Kroger, a grocery chain, created a hashtag challenge campaign (#transformurDorm) during the back-to-school shopping season.

It involved users posting pictures and videos showing their dorm room transformations. The ad generated over 3 million views, 252k likes, 1352 comments, and 1747 shares.

3. Guess

Guess, an innovative clothing business, wanted to increase its brand engagement and brand affinity among youth. They created a Hashtag challenge known as #InMyDenim. In practice, it was a challenge for users to show their fashion style in denim. The ad generated a 14.3% total engagement rate, a 12k+ increase in business account followers, and a 16.5% CTR takeover.

Check out a full list of TikTok ads examples now.

TikTok ads vs. Facebook ads

TikTok ads and Facebook ads are both popular advertising platforms that offer businesses a way to reach their target audience.

TikTok is a social media app focused on short-form video content, while Facebook is a broader social media platform that includes text, images, and videos. TikTok ads are highly visual and often incorporate music and effects to capture users’ attention, while Facebook ads can include a range of different ad formats, such as image, video, and carousel ads.

Ultimately, the choice between TikTok ads and Facebook ads will depend on the specific goals of your advertising campaign and the target audience you are trying to reach. To learn more about which platform suits your goals, check out our in-depth comparison of Facebook and TikTok.

TikTok ads vs. Instagram ads

Both platforms offer unique advantages and can be effective in reaching different groups of audiences. As mentioned previously, TikTok focuses on short-form video content, while Instagram is a visual-based platform that includes photos, videos, and Instagram Stories. TikTok ads are highly visual and often incorporate music and effects to capture users’ attention, while Instagram ads can include a range of different ad formats, such as image, video, carousel, and Instagram Stories ads.

In terms of audience, Instagram has a slightly older user base with a broader age range. TikTok also has a higher engagement rate comparatively. 

While both platforms offer targeting options, Instagram has more advanced targeting capabilities, including retargeting and lookalike targeting.

Snapchat ads vs. TikTok ads

Snapchat ads and TikTok ads are both popular choices for digital advertising, especially when targeting younger demographics. While they share some similarities, there are also key differences between the two platforms.

TikTok primarily offers in-feed video ads, while Snapchat offers various ad formats, including Snap Ads (full-screen vertical video ads), Story Ads (ads displayed within the Discover section), Filters and Lenses (augmented reality experiences), and Collection Ads (shoppable ads). These formats are designed to be highly engaging and interactive.

Snapchat has a slightly older user base compared to TikTok, with a significant portion of its users falling into the 18-24 and 25-34 age groups. The platform is particularly popular among younger millennials and Gen Z users.

Similarly to TikTok, Snapchat also offers robust targeting capabilities based on factors such as demographics (age, gender, location), interests, behaviors, device type, and more. Advertisers can also leverage Snapchat’s Custom Audiences feature to retarget users who have engaged with their content or visited their website.

In summary, while both Snapchat ads and TikTok ads offer engaging ad experiences and targeting capabilities, they cater to slightly different audience demographics and have distinct ad formats and features. Advertisers should consider their target audience, campaign objectives, and creative assets when choosing between Snapchat ads vs. TikTok ads for their advertising efforts.

TikTok vs. Pinterest ads

TikTok and Pinterest are both popular social media platforms, but they serve different purposes and attract distinct audiences.

TikTok is known for its entertainment-focused content, with users primarily seeking entertainment, inspiration, and creative expression while Pinterest is a platform where users actively search for inspiration and ideas across various categories such as home decor, fashion, recipes, DIY projects, and more. Users often use Pinterest for planning and decision-making, making it a valuable platform for product discovery and purchase inspiration.

TikTok has a predominantly young user base, with a significant portion of its users being teenagers and young adults. Pinterest has a broader user base that includes users across different age groups and demographics. While it still skews slightly female and toward older demographics compared to TikTok, Pinterest’s audience is diverse and engaged.

TikTok ads are designed to drive brand awareness, engagement, and conversion through visually captivating and entertaining video content. Pinterest ads are geared toward inspiring users and driving consideration and purchase intent.

In summary, while both TikTok and Pinterest offer advertising opportunities, they cater to different types of content consumption and user behaviors. Advertisers should consider their target audience, campaign objectives, and creative assets when deciding between TikTok vs. Pinterest ads.

Here are some helpful resources to help you learn more about Pinterest ads:

• The ultimate guide to Pinterest Lead Ads
• A Step by Step Guide to Pinterest Audience Targeting

Takeaways

TikTok is becoming the advertising platform for marketers for various reasons, such as its high engagement rate and large audience base_ among many. These attributes make TikTok a go-to platform for companies who want to target an international audience and the younger generations. 

Understanding the benefits and functions of TikTok advertising features helps you leverage its full potential. For example, knowing how TikTok’s lead generation feature works, you can effectively reach and engage with prospects and customers and collect their data directly on in-stream ads on the platform. 

This includes comprehending details that make a difference; the TikTok Lead Generation tool is also optimized for mobile devices, leading to decreased friction and enhanced conversion rates. However, generating a large number of leads on TikTok is only half of the process: you’ll need to manage these leads, score them, and reach out to them using timely nurturing campaigns. 

You’ll need to create an interconnected data management system to achieve that. With LeadsBridge’s seamless data bridges, you can integrate it with different CRMs and Autoresponders and run automated workflows around your TikTok advertising. 

Discover our TikTok Lead Generation integrations and join the TikTok Custom Audience waiting list to take full advantage of your TikTok advertising campaigns.