The complete guide to TikTok advertising (with ad 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 over 1,051 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 and 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, such as:

You can also join the waiting list to be the first to access TikTok Custom Audiences.

Who uses TikTok?

TikTok is a popular app available in over 154 countries and has over 1 billion active users worldwide, including both males (54.1%) and females (45.9%).

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.

Approximately one-third of TikTok’s user base has an average household income of $100K or higher. While this statistic may seem unusually high, given the platform’s younger target demographic, a closer examination reveals a different story.

In reality, this figure is primarily a reflection of the way household income is distributed in the U.S., rather than actual adoption rates. Interestingly, the platform’s greatest adoption rates are among users from households that earn less than $25K per year.

TikTok is also the most download 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, 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 has 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. 

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

A report released by App Annie revealed that “TikTok’s average monthly time spent per user grew faster than nearly every other app analyzed. This includes 70% in the U.S. and 80% in the U.K., surpassing Facebook” in 2020. 

This research, along with recent statistics, 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, the 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.

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.

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 allows leads to higher engagement rates, such as more likes, comments, and shares from these followers. And more engagement means higher brand awareness and conversions. 

Types of TikTok ads

There are five 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 it. 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. It effectively creates mass awareness and drives sales since the ads show up in front of the right audience. You can also create and add your custom logos to stay in the mind of viewers better and make them 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 videotape 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.

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

Even though this type of ad hasn’t been released to all users yet, here is everything you need to know about TikTok Collection Ads. 

It’s an ad format that 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.

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 on next.

2. On the next page displayed, fill in your email address and password, 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 is in 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 exactly to set up a TikTok ad campaign:

a.  Login 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 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. 

You can also join the waiting list to be the first to access TikTok Custom Audiences.

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 carry 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 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 engagements 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 set up lead nurturing workflows for your TikTok conversion ads to automatically send follow-up emails, SMS messages, or other communications to your leads. This helps you to build relationships with your leads and increase their likelihood of converting into customers.

You can also join the waiting list to be the first to access TikTok Conversions.

As an advertiser, it’s crucial for you to choose the right campaign objective that aligns with their 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, download a whitepaper, or take other actions that generate leads.

The difference between TikTok’s ad placements

TikTok placements of the ads are options thatenable 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:

1. In-Feed Ads: In-Feed Ads are 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.
2. TopView Ads: TopView Ads are 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.
3. Brand Takeover Ads: Brand Takeover Ads are also 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.
4. Branded Hashtag Challenges: Branded Hashtag Challenges are 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.
5. Branded Effects: Branded Effects are 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.

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

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 features 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 used in the ad must be appropriate for the target audience. Here are the different languages available on TikTok.:

1. Australia: English
2. Austria: German and English
3. Brazil: Portuguese
4. Belgium: Dutch, German, French, and English
5. Canada: English
6. China: Traditional Chinese and English
7. Denmark: Danish and English
8. Egypt: Arabic and English
9. Finland: Finnish, Swedish, and English
10. France: French and English
11. Germany: German and English
12. Hong Kong: Mandarin(Traditional Chinese), Cantonese, and English
13. Indonesia: Indonesian
14. Ireland: Irish and English
15. Israel: Hebrew and English
16. Italy: Italian and English
17. Japan: Japanese
18. Malaysia: Bahasa Melayu and English
19. Netherlands: Dutch and English
20. Norway: Norwegian and English
21. Philippines: Filipino (Tagalog) and English
22. Poland: Polish and English
23. Russia: Russian
24. Saudi Arabia: Arabic and English
25. Singapore: Bahasa Melayu, Chinese and English
26. South Korea: Korean
27. Spain: Spanish and English
28. Sweden: Swedish and English
29. Switzerland: German, French, Romansh, Italian, and English
30. Taiwan: Mandarin (Traditional Chinese)
31. Thailand: Thai
32. Turkey: Turkish and English
33. United Arab Emirates: Arabic and English
34. United Kingdom: English
35. United States: English
36. Vietnam: Vietnamese

Additionally, there are types of content that are restricted on TikTok, and you cannot advertise them, including:

1. Alcohol
2. Gambling and lotteries
3. Religion and culture
4. Protection of minors
5. Weight control/management

The following categories are also prohibited on TikTok:

1. Illegal services and activity
2. Drugs and drug paraphernalia
3. Weapons, ammunition, and explosives
4. Tobacco products and smoking
5. Political content
6. Military content
7. Discriminatory content
8. Adult sexual content
9. Copyright infringement
10.  Misleading claims
11.  Sensational and shocking content
12.  Data collection

As with any advertising platform, you’ll need to carefully review TikTok’s ad policy and guidelines to 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.

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.

When they fill out the form and click on the submit button, it displays a privacy notice. In addition, it states that TikTok is collecting users’ information for advertisers. Users are free to edit the information on the form or exit it. After that, you can download the leads manually or integrate them with your business CRM or Autoresponder.

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. 

The fields are pre-populated with the users’ profile info, allowing them to quickly and easily load and share their information with your business. In addition, TikTok lets you use custom and lookalike audiences to target profitable customers or use it to exclude some of the customers.

TikTok Lead Generation integrations

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 tool, such as Salesforce®, Google Sheets, Klaviyo, etc., and streamline data sync between your favorite tools.

TikTok Custom Audiences 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. 

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.

4. Gusher

Gushers, a candy brand, ran its very first TikTok ads, which generated an outstanding number of views; it was viewed almost 5 million times. 

5.   Ralph Lauren

Ralph Lauren, a famous fashion brand, created a Hashtag challenge plus offering on TikTok. The challenge – #WinningRL campaign featured Diana Silvers, an actress, model, and influencer. It was about challenging TikTok users to showcase a time they actually won a real-life challenge. This was done during the U.S. Open Tennis event. 

The selected users won an official Polo Ralph Lauren U.S. Open apparel. The challenge also allowed users to access the Ralph Lauren store on the TikTok platform to purchase products from the company directly. 

6. Smyth Jewelers

Smyth Jewelers is a century-old business that presented one of the best TikTok ads in terms of budget and optimizations. It used TikTok In-Feed ads, incorporating a simple horoscope-jewelry theme to them in order to drive traffic and reach new viewers to their TikTok profile. 

Smyth Jewelers’ ad generated an impressive 779K views by spending only $40 per day. The result was far more effective than most companies get when comparing budgets and impressions. Sometimes marketers have to just use what already has worked for their business instead of trying new things!  

7. James Allen

Omnichannel marketing is the only way to survive today’s high competition. So the best TikTok ads help you both your direct advertising campaigns and feed your other marketing channels. 

James Allen, another well-known jewelry brand, used a combination of standard auction campaigns and Spark Ads to improve upper-funnel optimization and its overall campaign performance. They also promoted these campaigns by including a unique coupon code. 

The results? Besides a notable boost in the brand’s number of impressions (12 million views, 175K likes), their TikTok ads helped drive 500 new newsletter sign-ups at a 78% lower CPA.

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.

In terms of audience, TikTok has a younger user base, with a majority of users aged 16-34, while Facebook has a broader age range. 

In terms of targeting options, both platforms offer a range of targeting options, including demographic, interest, and behavior-based targeting. However, Facebook has more advanced targeting capabilities, including retargeting and lookalike targeting.

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. However, both platforms offer unique advantages and can effectively reach different audiences.

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.

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 help 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.