How to Advertise on TikTok: The Ultimate Guide

If you’re looking for a new way to reach your target audience, you should consider advertising on TikTok. TikTok is a social media platform popular with young people and offers a great opportunity for businesses to reach new and broader audiences. 

In this blog post, we will discuss the basics of advertising on TikTok, including how to create an ad campaign and how to measure its success. We’ll also provide tips for creating effective ads that will engage your target audience and give some examples of top-performing TikTok campaigns. So if you’re ready to learn more about advertising on TikTok, keep reading!

A Complete Guide to TikTok Ads

two phones on blanket, one phone showing tiktok homescreen and one showing tiktok logo

TikTok is a social media platform where users can share short videos of themselves. The app is especially popular with teenagers and young adults. Businesses can use TikTok to reach a wider audience and grow their business. 

To advertise on TikTok, businesses can create short videos that promote their products or services. They can also use hashtags to reach a specific audience. By advertising on TikTok, companies can reach a large number of potential customers.

If you’re looking for ways to reach more potential customers, advertising on TikTok is a great option. With over 500 million active users, there’s a good chance that your target audience is using the app. And by creating short videos that promote your products or services, you can reach a large number of people in a short amount of time. So if you’re ready to start advertising on TikTok, follow our guide to TikTok ads, and you’ll be on your way to success.

The Algorithm

trending graphs chart

The TikTok algorithm is a mystery to many, but there are a few key factors that we know influence what videos are shown to users. Firstly, the algorithm looks at how long users spend watching a video and whether they interact with it – if they do, TikTok assumes they like it and will show it to more people. Secondly, the app pays attention to the number of views, shares and likes a video gets; if it’s popular, TikTok will give it a boost. Finally, freshness is key: new videos are more likely to be shown than old ones. This means that if you want your content to be seen by more people on TikTok, you need to create engaging videos that encourage people to watch and share.

Types of TikTok Ads

Screenshot ecamples of tiktok ads

There are a few different types of TikTok ads. There are In-Feed Native Ads, Brand Takeovers, and Branded Hashtag Challenges.

In-Feed Native Ads are essentially just regular posts from brands that show up on users’ ‘For You’ pages. These can be either video or image ads, and they can be up to 60 seconds long. To create a top-performing video ad on TikTok, first and foremost, it should tell a story. A good story will capture users’ attention and make them want to watch more. Secondly, it should be creative and use unique visuals and audio effects to stand out from the crowd. And lastly, it needs to be relatable and resonate with users on an emotional level.

Brand-takeover ads are one of the most effective ways to reach users on TikTok. They are full-screen, can be up to 60 seconds long, and appear when a user opens the app. Brands can use brand-takeover ads to drive awareness, interest, and even sales.

Branded Hashtag Challenges are probably the most creative type of TikTok ad. They encourage users to create their own content using a specific hashtag created by the brand. These challenges can help brands to increase their reach and engagement on TikTok. 

Branded hashtag challenges are a great way to get your brand out there on TikTok. They allow you to put your spin on a trending challenge and make it your own. Plus, they’re a great way to get people talking about your brand.

If you’re thinking about running a branded hashtag challenge ad on TikTok, here are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Make sure the challenge is relevant to your brand
  • Keep the challenge simple and easy to understand
  • Choose a catchy hashtag that’s easy to remember
  • Use creative visuals and engaging videos
  • Offer prizes or rewards for participants

How to Set Up a TikTok Ad Campaign

screenshot of tiktok ads manager
Image courtesy of Tiktok Business Help Center

TikTok offers a variety of advertising options to choose from, depending on your business goals. You can run in-feed native video ads, brand takeovers, or use TikTok’s hashtag challenges to get your product or service in front of millions of potential customers.

To set up a TikTok ad campaign, you’ll need to create an account and log into the Ads Manager. From there, you’ll be able to create your ad campaign and select your targeting options. Once you have created your campaign, you can start promoting your videos to the TikTok community.

Hashtag challenges are a great way to get started with TikTok advertising. By challenging users to create videos using a specific hashtag, you can quickly generate a lot of user-generated content that promotes your product or service.

To set up a hashtag challenge, you’ll need to create a unique hashtag for your campaign. Once you have your hashtag, you can start promoting it to your target audience. You can use TikTok’s in-app tools to help get your hashtag in front of potential customers, or you can run a brand takeover ad to promote your challenge to the entire TikTok community.

Once you have enough videos featuring your hashtag, you can start compiling them into a video montage that showcases the best submissions. This montage can be used as an ad or promoted on social media to generate even more interest in your challenge.

By running a successful TikTok ad campaign, you can quickly generate a lot of buzz for your product or service. By using creative marketing strategies like hashtag challenges, you can reach a broad audience and get them talking about your brand.

How to Track the Success of a Campaign

To set up tracking on TikTok Ads Manager, you’ll need to:

  1. Log into your Ads Manager account
  2. Click on the “Tools” tab at the top of the page
  3. Select “Conversion Tracking” from the drop-down menu
  4. Click on the “Create Conversion Tracking Pixel” button
  5. Enter a name for your pixel and choose a category (such as “Purchase”)
  6. Copy the pixel code and paste it into the code of your website or app

Once you’ve installed the pixel code, you can start tracking conversions and other metrics! To do this, simply:

  1. Create a new ad campaign in Ads Manager
  2. Select your goal from the drop-down menu
  3. Choose the pixel you want to track
  4. Set your bid amount
  5. And start your ad campaign!

You can view conversion data for your ad campaigns by going to the “Reporting” tab in Ads Manager. There, you’ll see a “Conversions” column that shows how many conversions each ad campaign has generated. You can also click on the “View Details” link to see more detailed information about your conversions, including which ads led to them.

When tracking the success of your TikTok ad campaign, you’ll want to keep an eye on your engagement rate. This is the number of people who see your ad and take action, such as liking, commenting, or sharing it. You can also track how often people view and complete your call-to-action (CTA), such as clicking through to your website or following you on TikTok.

Make sure you regularly check the Analytics tab in TikTok Ads Manager to keep up to date on your campaigns’ success and ensure the budget is being used efficiently. Here, you’ll be able to see all sorts of data about your ad campaign, including impressions, views, completion rate, and more. Once you have a good understanding of how your ad is performing, you can start making changes to improve your results.

For example, if you notice that your ad isn’t getting as many views as you’d like, you can try changing the creative or targeting a different audience. If your completion rate is low, make sure your CTA is clear and easy to follow. By making small tweaks like these, you can significantly improve the results of your TikTok ad campaign.

TikTok Advertising Best Practices

female recording video of male dancing on mobile

To give your ads the best chance at successfully converting customers, there are a few of our TikTok advertising best practices to keep in mind when creating them for TikTok. First, your ad should be creative and attention-grabbing. You only have a few seconds to capture users’ attention, so make sure your ad is visually appealing and catches their eye. 

Secondly, your ad should be relevant to the TikTok user base. Keep in mind that most users are younger Gen Zers who are interested in trends, music, and pop culture. Make sure your ad speaks to them and their interests. 

Lastly, make sure your ad has a call to action that is clear and concise. Tell users what you want them to do, whether you want them to download your app or visit your website.

Some Top Performing TikTok Ads Examples

screenshot of adidas tiktok page
Image courtesy of Adidas Tiktok page

Some of the most successful ad campaigns on TikTok include those from Chipotle, Guess, and Adidas. Chipotle’s “#boorito” campaign garnered over 16 million views and was hugely popular with users. Guess’ #InMyDenim campaign also did very well, receiving over 13 million views. Lastly, Adidas’ #AllDayIDreamAboutSports campaign was hugely successful, receiving over 11 million views. These three campaigns were extraordinarily creative and engaging, which is likely why they performed so well.

Let’s Talk About Your Tiktok Ads Budget

person depositing coin into piggy bank

If you’re thinking about running TikTok ads for your business, you might be wondering how much you should budget for them. After all, you want to ensure you get a good investment return (ROI).

The truth is, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. Your TikTok ad budget will depend on several factors, including your advertising goals, target audience, and more.

That said, we’ve put together a few tips to help you determine a realistic TikTok ad budget for your business. Check them out below!

When it comes to setting a budget for TikTok ads, the most important thing is to start small and scale up as needed. This will allow you to test different strategies and see what works best for your business without breaking the bank.

Once you have a good idea of what’s working, you can then start to increase your budget accordingly. Just remember to keep an eye on your ROI so that you’re not spending more than you’re making back.

Finally, don’t forget that TikTok offers many different ad formats, each with its own pricing model. So, be sure to factor this into your budget when determining how much you want to spend on TikTok ads.

Build the Best Strategy for Your Business

Are you looking to break into the TikTok market but unsure where to start? Or are you too busy to keep up with the constantly changing trends on the platform? Why not let us do the heavy lifting so you can focus on other areas of your business?

If you’re looking to get started with advertising on TikTok, or if you need help optimising your existing campaigns, First Page is here to help. We’re a full-service digital marketing agency specialising in social media marketing, and we’re experts at creating successful TikTok ads. So if you want to take your TikTok marketing to the next level, contact us today. We’ll be happy to chat with you about your goals and how we can help you achieve them.