TikTok Advertising: The Effective Guide in 2023  (2024)

TikTok, the popular video-sharing platform, has emerged as a hub for creative and engaging content. With its massive user base and unique features, TikTok offers a range of advertising options to captivate and connect with users, besides TikTok SEO. In this article, we will explore the various types of TikTok advertising and aspects related to them through the following sections:

• What are TikTok Ads?
• Types of advertising on TikTok
• How much do TikTok Ads cost?
• How to run Ads on TikTok?
• TikTok advertising best practices

What are TikTok Ads?

TikTok advertising is a form of advertising on the popular social media platform TikTok. It allows brands to reach a younger demographic and engage with users through various ad formats. TikTok ads can be an effective method for businesses to promote their products or services and connect with their target audience.

Advertising on TikTok offers several advantages to businesses, including:

• Assess a large and engaged audience: TikTok has over 1 billion active users worldwide. Moreover, its users have a high engagement rate. According to Cross River Therapy, the average TikTok user spends about 52 minutes per day on the platform
• Create engaging and creative video ads: Ads on TikTok are video-based, which gives you the opportunity to create exciting and creative ads that will capture users’ attention.

When discussing TikTok advertising, there are three tiers of organization:

• TikTok Ad: It refers to an individual advertisem*nt, typically a video that promotes a product, service, or a unique offer on TikTok.
• TikTok Ad group: It consists of a group of TikTok ads.
• TikTok campaign: It encompasses a collection of TikTok ad groups.

Types of Advertising on Tiktok

TikTok offers several ad formats for businesses to choose from. These include:

• In-Feed Ads
• TopView Ads
• Brand takeover Ads
• Branded effects
• Branded hashtag challenge
• Spark Ads

Each format has its own unique features and benefits, allowing brands to tailor their ads to their specific marketing goals. Let’s explore them now!

In-Feed Ads

In-feed Ads are a type of advertising format on TikTok that appear within a user’s For You feed as they scroll through the app. These ads are video-based and can last up to 60 seconds. In-feed ads autoplay within the user’s feed, providing a non-disruptive advertising experience They include various elements such as:

• Music and effects to make the video more engaging
• CTAs prompt the user to take a certain action

There are many advantages of using TikTok In Feed Ads, including:

• Camouflaged among organic content: Users are less likely to feel interrupted by an ad if it is presented in a way that is similar to the other content they are viewing.
• More popular and attractive: Users are more likely to engage with an ad that blends in with the organic content.
• Higher consideration of the brand: When users are exposed to a brand through advertising that is not disruptive, they are more likely to consider that brand when making a purchase decision.
• Potential to go viral: TikTok In Feed Ads have the potential to be shared widely, which can lead to growing brand visibility and reach.
• Effective for brand awareness campaigns: Original and engaging TikTok In Feed Ads can help brands to build recognition and awareness.

Brand Takeover Ads

Brand Takeover Ads are a highly impactful advertising format on TikTok that appears as the first thing a viewer sees when opening the app. These ads are full-screen and can be either a 3-second image or a 3-5-second video. They are designed to create mass awareness and capture the attention of users right from the start.

This type of TikTok advertising has some prominent benefits, such as:

• High reach and engagement: It has a 100% Share of Voice for the day they are featured, ensuring maximum visibility and attention.
• Link to internal and external landing pages: It may be linked to both internal and external landing pages, allowing brands to direct traffic to their desired destinations.

TopView Ads

TopView Ads are a type of TikTok advertising that is non-skippable and appears at the top of the For You feed. These ads are video-based and can last up to 60 seconds. Unlike Branded Takeover Ads, which immediately bombard users with an ad upon opening the app, TopView Ads seamlessly transition into the user’s For You feed.

TopView Ads help to:

• Grab more attention: TopView Ads are impossible to miss. This means that businesses have a captive audience for their message.
• Increase engagement rate: Businesses can also use interactive elements in their TopView Ads to encourage users to tap, swipe, or click.

Branded effects

Branded effects provide an interactive and immersive experience for TikTok users. Brands can create their own filters, stickers, and effects, allowing users to incorporate them into their videos.

Here are some of the benefits of using Branded effects ads on TikTok:

• Increased brand awareness and engagement: This type of TikTok advertising is a great way to reach a new audience and increase brand awareness. When users create and share videos using your branded effects, they are essentially promoting your brand to their followers.
• More authentic and creative content: Branded Effects ads allow you to create more authentic and creative content that resonates with your target audience. Instead of simply pushing a product or service, you can create fun and engaging experiences that people will want to share with their friends and family.
• Improved campaign performance: Branded Effects ads have been shown to outperform other types of TikTok ads in terms of click-through rate (CTR), view-through rate (VTR), and engagement rate.

Branded hashtag challenge

TikTok’s Branded Hashtag Challenge (HTC) is a type of TikTok advertising that allows businesses to create and sponsor challenges on the platform. Users can participate in challenges by creating and uploading videos incorporating the challenge’s hashtag.

Branded Hashtag Challenges can also help businesses to:

• Boost brand creativity: Branded Hashtag Challenges can encourage users to come up with new and creative ways to express themselves and engage with your brand.
• Increase brand awareness: When users participate in a Branded Hashtag Challenge, they create free advertising for the brand. Their videos will be seen by their followers, and if the challenge is popular, it will also be seen by other users interested in the hashtag.
• Rise engagement: Branded Hashtag Challenges are a great way to encourage users to interact with your brand. When users participate in a challenge, they are actively engaging with your brand and its products or services.

Spark Ads

Spark Ads on TikTok is a native ad format that allows brands to leverage organic TikTok posts and their features in their advertising campaigns. These ads enable brands to use their own TikTok account’s posts or organic posts made by other creators (with their authorization) as creatives.

Spark Ads provide several benefits for brands:

• Improving campaign performance.
• Resulting in higher click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates (CVR) compared to non-Spark Ads.
• Offering lower costs per thousand impressions (CPM) and lower costs per click (CPC) compared to other social advertising channels.

How Much Does TikTok Ads Cost?

TikTok advertising cost may vary depending on several factors such as ad format, targeting, competition, and more. However, here are some general insights into the question “How much is TikTok advertising”:

• Cost Per Mile (CPM): TikTok charges advertisers based on the number of views their ads receive per 1,000 impressions. The average CPM starts at $10 per 1,000 views, with a minimum campaign spending cap of $500.
• Minimum budget: TikTok requires a minimum budget to advertise on the platform. The minimum budget at the campaign level is $500, and at the ad group level, it is about $50.
• Branded Hashtag Challenge: If you want to start a branded hashtag challenge and have it featured on TikTok’s Discovery banner, it may cost up to $150,000 for six days.
• Influencer marketing: In the early days of TikTok advertising, brands had to rely on influencer marketing. It could cost brands $50,000 to $120,000 to take over a popular TikTok channel, and additional spending may be required to promote the challenge.

It’s important to note that these costs are approximate and can vary based on various factors. Additionally, TikTok advertising platform is evolving, and costs may change over time.

How to Run Ads on TikTok?

Here’s the step-by-step guide for you to run TikTok advertising campaigns:

Step 1: Create a TikTok business account

To create a TikTok business account, you can follow these steps:

• Create a new personal account by signing up with your email or logging in with your Google, Twitter, or Facebook account.
• Tap on your profile icon in the lower right corner of the screen, then tap on the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top right corner.
• In the menu, tap on Settings and Privacy.
• Under Settings and Privacy, tap on Account.
• Tap on Switch to Business Account
• Follow the instructions provided to finish the process

Remember to add your company profile picture and write a brief bio about your product and services in the Edit Profile section of the app to optimize your business account. We recommend reading the article TikTok Business Account vs Personal to know the difference between the two types of TikTok accounts.

Step 2: Create a new TikTok ads Campaign

To set up a campaign on TikTok ads, follow these steps:

• Log in:
  • Visit the TikTok Ads Manager website and log in using your TikTok for Business account.
  • Click on the Campaign button located at the top of the page.
  • Choose the Create button to begin creating your campaign
• Choose the right objective: Your advertising objective is what you want people to do when they see your ads, so selecting the right objective is important for the campaign. All objectives fall under three categories: awareness, consideration, and conversion.
• Set up a campaign name: Campaign names should be 512 characters
• Set a campaign-level minimum budget: When running a TikTok ads campaign, there are three budget choices available. These choices determine how you allocate your budget for your campaign. The three budget choices are as follows:
  • No limit: With this option, there is no limit to your campaign budget. You can allocate as much budget as you want to your TikTok ads campaign.
  • Lifetime budget: This option allows you to set a certain budget for the entire duration of your campaign. The budget will be spread out over the lifetime of the campaign, and TikTok will optimize the delivery of your ads within that budget.
  • Daily budget: With this option, you can set a daily budget for your campaign. TikTok will optimize the delivery of your ads on a daily basis, ensuring that your budget is evenly distributed throughout the campaign.

Step 3: Generate an Ad Group

To continue your TikTok advertising project, you need to create an ad group to define audiences, campaign budgets, and placements for your ads. At the ad group level, you can define:

• Placements: You need to choose where you want your ads to appear. It is recommended to select “Automatic Placements” to optimize ad delivery across all placements.
• Creative type: TikTok Ads supports various creative formats, such as images, videos, and carousel ads. So, please select the format that best suits your advertising goals and content.
• Target audience: TikTok Ads provides various targeting options to reach your desired audience. You can target based on demographics (age, gender, location), interests, behavior, and device type. Use these options to narrow down and define your target audience.
• Budget & schedule: You have to determine the daily or lifetime budget for your ad group, depending on your preference. You can also set a start and end date for your ad group’s campaign. Additionally, you can set a pacing option to evenly distribute your budget throughout the campaign duration or accelerate it.
• Bidding method & optimization: TikTok Ads offers different bidding options, including CPC (cost per click) and oCPC (optimized cost per click). Please select the bidding method that aligns with your objectives. You can also choose an optimization strategy, such as link clicks or conversions, to optimize your ad delivery.

Step 4: Submit your TikTok advertising

Once you have entered all the required information and uploaded your creative assets, review your ad to ensure everything is accurate and meets TikTok’s advertising guidelines. Make any necessary adjustments or edits to your ad if needed. When you are satisfied with your ad, submit it for review and approval by TikTok.

Tiktok Advertising Best Pratices

Do you think about how to run ads on TikTok effectively? We are here to offer you TikTok advertising as one of the best TikTok marketing strategies. These strategies can also be considered your eCommerce strategies best practices as they help you boost your sales.

#1 Prioritize TikTok for brand loyalty

When creating TikTok advertising, it’s important to consider what makes the platform unique. TikTok is all about creativity, authenticity, and community. To succeed, your TikTok ads need to fit seamlessly into the TikTok ecosystem.

Here are a few tips:

• Use popular TikTok trends and hashtags to reach a wider audience.
• Partner with TikTok creators to reach their engaged followers.
• Create ads that are authentic and relatable to your target audience.

#2 Utilize trends for storytelling

TikTok trends are a great way to create fresh and engaging content. When used strategically, trends can help you reach a wider audience and connect with your target audience on a deeper level.

To use trends effectively in your TikTok ads, here are a few tips:

• Identify trends that are relevant to your brand and target audience.
• Put your own spin on trends to make them unique to your brand.
• Use trends to tell a story or convey a message about your product or service.
• Explore Trends page, where you can witness the strategies employed by brands to accumulate billions of views by capitalizing on significant cultural events

#3 Apply production principles for enhanced creativity

While TikTok is a casual platform, it’s still important to produce high-quality ads that look and sound professional. Here are a few production principles to keep in mind:

• Shoot your videos vertically to fill the TikTok screen.
• Use good lighting and sound quality.
• Edit your videos to be concise and engaging.
• Add captions and subtitles to your videos to make them accessible to everyone.

#4 Capture viewers’ attention and motivate action through video structure

TikTok advertising offers short-form videos, so it’s important to structure your videos carefully to hook viewers and inspire action. Here’s a simple three-part structure that you can use on your TikTok ads:

• Hook: Grab viewers’ attention with a strong hook in the first few seconds of your ad. This could be a funny or surprising moment, a catchy song, or a relatable story.
• Body: Once you have viewers’ attention, use the body of your ad to introduce your brand and product or service. Highlight the benefits of your offering and why viewers should care.
• Call to action: Tell viewers what you want them to do next. This could be visiting your website, following you on TikTok, or signing up for your newsletter.

#5 Enhance impact with the perfect soundtrack

Music is a powerful tool that can be used to evoke emotions and create a lasting impression. It is a key factor for how to go viral on TikTok. When choosing music for your TikTok ads, you should:

• Use trending TikTok songs to reach a wider audience and connect with your target audience on a deeper level.
• Use music that is relevant to your brand and product or service.
• Avoid using copyrighted music, as this could get your ads banned.

TikTok Ads vs Ads on Other Platforms?

Before the appearance of TikTok advertising, Facebook ads, and Instagram ads were the two forms that dominated the social media advertising field. So, comparing these two forms, what is more outstanding and different about TikTok ads? Let’s explore with us!

TikTok ads vs. Facebook ads

TikTok ads and Facebook ads are both powerful platforms for reaching a large audience, but they have some key differences.

TikTok ads vs. Instagram ads

Similarly, TikTok and Instagram are two of the most popular social media platforms in the world, and both offer businesses the opportunity to reach a large audience with their advertising campaigns. However, there are some key differences between the two platforms that businesses should be aware of before deciding where to invest their advertising dollars.

TikTok Advertising: FAQs

Get Started with Tiktok Advertising Now!

Overall, in an effort to become a best-selling platform, TikTok offers TikTok advertising as a valuable opportunity for sellers to boost their brand’s visibility and engage with viewers. Let’s take advantage of TikTok Ads today to stay ahead of the competition.

Moreover, if you require a reliable tool to assist with multichannel selling, feel free to reach out to us for an introduction to LitCommerce. Additionally, make sure to stay updated with the latest information in the eCommerce world by following our blog and joining our Facebook community.