TikTok has taken the world by storm and will have 834.3 million monthly users worldwide in 2023, according to Insider Intelligence’s forecast. Brands have quickly realized the app’s potential and are using it to market their products and services. In addition to the usual marketing tactics, TikTok advertising can help increase a brand’s impact on the app’s audience, which is vast and highly engaged.

TikTok advertising is different from advertising on other social media platforms. In this article, we will dive deep into the details of TikTok advertising and what types of ads you can use.

Who should use TikTok advertising?

A variety of brands advertise on TikTok, including Chipotle, Guess, and Fenty Beauty. These brands have products that fit naturally with TikTok’s video format.

TikTok allows advertisers to demonstrate their products in action and include a lot of information in a short video clip. This format may not work for B2B brands that sell complex services, but it’s ideal for B2C brands that want to create engaging content.

Types of TikTok ads

TikTok provides a range of options for advertising on the platform. Advertisers can choose what will be most effective in reaching their target audience and conveying their message. 

Here are the various types of ads you can run using the TikTok ads platform:

1. In-feed video ads – These ads appear in the native news feed of TikTok users on the “For You” page.
2. Brand takeover ads – This ad type allows you to take over the whole screen for a few seconds and dominate the conversation. It then turns into an in-feed video ad.
3. Spark ads – TikTok launched this ad type in 2021, allowing brands to sponsor popular organic content that relates to their products.
4. Image ads – Brands can place image ads in videos that appear via TikTok’s news feed apps: BuzzVideo, TopBuzz, and Babe.
5. Video ads – These ads are full-screen videos that last from 5 to 60 seconds and appear in a user’s “For You” feed.
6. Pangle ads – Pangle’s video platform integrates with TikTok to offer video, native, and banner ads. However, this feature is only available in specific countries.
7. Carousel ads – These ads include up to 10 images and appear in TikTok’s news feed apps.
8. Branded AR content – Ads can also appear as branded stickers, lenses, and other types of AR content that TikTok users can use in their videos.
9. Hashtag challenge – This ad type shows up in the “Discovery” section of the app and encourages user participation.
10. Sponsored influencer content – Advertisers can get their message across through sponsored content from an influential TikTok user.

Best practices for TikTok advertising

Now that you are familiar with the different types of TikTok ads, it’s time to learn about the best practices for advertising on TikTok:

1. Keep your videos short and snappy – The videos should be between 9 to 15 seconds long.
2. Make it visually appealing – Use eye-catching visuals, bright colours, and compelling content to grab the viewer’s attention.
3. Target your audience – Narrow down your target audience by choosing a location, gender, age group, interests, and people who have previously interacted with your content.
4. Use a strong call-to-action – Encourage users to engage with your brand by including a clear and concise call-to-action (CTA) in your ad.
5. Leverage user-generated content – Use user-generated content to increase engagement and build trust with your audience.
6. Test and optimise – Test different ad creatives, placements, and audiences to optimise your campaigns for better results.

Setting up ads on TikTok requires creating an account on the TikTok Ads Manager and installing the TikTok Pixel on your website to gather information about site events. Once your account is set up, you can create a new campaign and ad group, define audiences and placements for your ads, and customize your ad creative with different calls to action.

It’s essential to measure your ad performance to see how your campaign is paying off. TikTok provides native analytics that shows impressions, clicks, conversions, and more. You can even test and compare the performance of different ad creatives and placements to determine what works best for your brand.

TikTok in-feed video ads must follow formatting guidelines to display correctly and generate engagement. The platform operates on a bid model, with campaign-level budgets starting at a minimum of £40 per day and ad group-level budgets starting at £15 per day.

Recap:

TikTok advertising could be an excellent addition to your social media advertising strategy, particularly if you have a B2C brand that wants to share engaging content with a large audience. With various ad options and detailed analytics available, it’s worth considering TikTok as part of your advertising efforts.