How To Make TikTok Ads That Drive Engagement & Boost Brand Reach

Do not index

Creating a marketing strategy for TikTok can feel overwhelming when you're starting. There's much to navigate, from organic TikTok marketing to TikTok ads. As daunting as it may seem, breaking it down into smaller, manageable steps makes tackling it easier. This article will help you with one of those steps: how to make TikTok ads. TikTok ads will help you reach your target audience, stand out, and boost your sales. Creating compelling video ads that effectively engage customers, increase conversions, and build brand loyalty is crucial. This article will help you achieve that goal with tiktok ecommerce strategy.

Shophunter's Shopify Sales Tracker helps you quickly uncover the information you need to create targeted TikTok ads that boost your store's sales.

What Are TikTok Ads & Why Use Them?

TikTok ads are paid promotional content that appears in users' feeds, seamlessly integrating with the app's short-form video format. These ads can take different forms, such as:

In-feed videos

Branded hashtag challenges

Sponsored effects

Brands advertising on TikTok can reach their target audiences by targeting specific:

Demographics

Interests

Behaviors

TikTok ads allow your business to engage with the platform's massive and growing user base and drive:

Brand awareness

Engagement

Sales

Who Benefits from TikTok Ads?

Your brand can benefit from TikTok advertising if you sell products or services that appeal to a younger, trend-conscious audience. Thanks to its shopping features, TikTok is a valuable platform for e-commerce brands that turn browsers into buyers. More than 8.4 million videos are posted under the hashtag #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt.

Who Can Advertise on TikTok?

To advertise on TikTok, you must first create a TikTok Ads Manager account. The platform requires that advertisers adhere to the app's advertising policies and community guidelines. TikTok advertising is available in dozens of countries and regions worldwide. However, there are some geographic limitations and restrictions.

For example, TikTok is banned in India due to government regulations, so businesses cannot advertise on the platform in that country. Some countries have specific rules or restrictions on products or services that can be advertised on social media platforms like TikTok.

Global Advertising Regulations

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has strict guidelines for advertising health-related products, such as prescription drugs and medical devices. Advertisers must ensure their content complies with these regulations.

In the United Kingdom, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) regulates advertising age-restricted products, such as alcohol and gambling. Brands must target their ads appropriately and include necessary disclaimers.

The European Union has strict data privacy laws, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which advertisers must comply with when targeting users in EU countries.

What are the Benefits of Advertising on TikTok?

Large, Engaged User Base

TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms, with more than 1.5 billion monthly active users worldwide as of April 2024. According to other TikTok statistics, the app's user base is highly engaged, spending an average of 52 minutes daily on the platform. This level of engagement allows brands to reach a vast and attentive audience. TikTok's user demographics skew toward younger generations, making it an ideal platform for brands targeting millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha.

Creative, Interactive Ad Formats

The TikTok ads platform offers a range of creative and interactive ad formats, including video shopping ads that allow ecommerce companies to showcase their products in action. Branded hashtag challenges encourage user participation, can help brands create viral content, and can increase brand awareness.

Precise Targeting Options

TikTok's targeting capabilities allow you to reach your precise desired audience. The platform's ad targeting dimensions include:

Demographics

Interests

Behaviors

Device types and more

You can create custom audiences based on user engagement with similar content or hashtags. For example, if you're an e-commerce brand selling eco-friendly beauty products, you could use TikTok ads to target users engaged with content related to:

Sustainable living

Clean beauty

Self-care

Detailed Analytics and Reporting

TikTok's flexible budgeting options make its ad platform accessible to businesses of all sizes. You can set daily or lifetime budgets for your TikTok ad groups and choose between various bidding strategies based on your campaign goals. Plus, TikTok provides detailed analytics and reporting, allowing you to track and measure the performance of your TikTok campaigns in real time. This level of transparency and measurability helps you optimize your campaigns for the best ROAS.

What Types of TikTok Ads Can Brands Use?

As you gain experience with the platform and better learn how to use TikTok advertising for your brand goals, you can experiment with these ad formats:

In-Feed Ads

In-feed ads appear seamlessly within a user's content feed and resemble native TikTok videos. These advertisements, either video ads or carousel ads, can be up to 60 seconds long and include a call-to-action button that directs users to a landing page or app store. In-feed ads are ideal as they blend naturally with the user experience and can be targeted to specific audiences for:

Driving engagement

Website traffic

Conversions

TopView Ads

TopView ads are a premium placement option that guarantees your ad will be the first video users see when they open the TikTok app. TopView begins with a three-second video takeover, then transitions to an interactive in-feed video experience offering various engagement options like:

Commenting

Sharing

Visiting the brand's profile

This format is designed to maximize brand exposure and recall. TopView ads are ideal for:

Launching new products

Promoting special events

Creating a solid first impression with a broad audience.

TopView ads come at a higher cost than other ad formats.

Branded Hashtag Challenges

Branded Hashtag Challenge ads allow brands to create custom hashtags encouraging user participation and user-generated content (UGC). When users click on the sponsored hashtag, they are directed to a landing page featuring the brand's videos and UGC created by the TikTok community. You'll see the best results when you partner with creators who can join your Branded Hashtag Challenge and encourage their audience to do the same. This ad format:

Drives engagement

Fosters community interaction

Increases brand awareness through viral challenges and trend

Branded Effects

Branded Effects ads let brands create custom filters, lenses, and stickers that users can incorporate into their TikTok videos. These ads can be promoted through other ad formats, such as in-feed ads or Branded Hashtag Challenge ads, to boost visibility and encourage engagement.

For instance, a cosmetics brand could create a branded effects ad that uses augmented reality to allow users to virtually try on different lipstick shades and share their favorite looks. By providing users with creative tools to express themselves, brands can tap into the platform's participatory nature and build stronger connections.

Spark Ads

Spark ads allow brands to amplify existing organic content from their TikTok account or from other users who have permission to promote their videos. By boosting top-performing content, brands can leverage UGC's authenticity and social proof while maintaining control over their advertising messaging and targeting.

For example, a fitness micro-influencer might post a viral workout video showcasing a brand's yoga pants. The company might secure rights to promote the video as a Spark ad, expanding its reach to a broader, targeted audience. Spark ads are displayed as in-feed ads and can drive traffic to a brand's TikTok profile, website, or app store.

This ad format is particularly effective for brands that showcase:

Real user experiences

Build trust

Drive conversions

Ecommerce Ads

TikTok ecommerce ads are designed to help brands drive product discovery and sales directly within the TikTok platform. There are several types of ecommerce ads available:

Video Shopping Ads

Video Shopping Ads feature products in action, enabling users to explore and buy products with just a few taps:

Product tags

Descriptions

Pricing information

Video Shopping Ads with TikTok Shop

Video Shopping Ads with TikTok Shop integrate with TikTok's native ecommerce platform, enabling brands to create immersive and shoppable video experiences with:

Product catalogs

Customer reviews

Streamlined checkout

LIVE Shopping Ads

LIVE shopping ads are real-time, interactive live streams that allow brands in real-time to showcase:

Products

Answer questions

Engage with viewers

TikTok Ad Specs

TikTok Ads Manager supports both image and video ad formats for various placements, including:

TikTok in-feed ads

CapCut

Fizzo

Global App Bundle

Here are the details:

Video Ads Specifications

The video ad specifications vary slightly depending on the placement. Still, they require:

A video creative

Ad display image

Brand or app name

Ad description

A call-to-action (CTA) button

The critical specifications for TikTok video ads are:

Aspect ratio:

9:16
1:1
16:9

Video resolution minimum of:

540 pixels x 960 pixels
640 pixels x 640 pixels
960 pixels x 540 pixels

File type:

.mp4
.mov
.mpeg
.3gp
.avi

Video duration: 5-60 seconds (9-15 seconds suggested)

Bitrate: ≥516 kbps

File size: Within 500 MB

Image Ads Specifications

The image ad specifications vary slightly depending on the placement but generally require an:

Image creative

Brand or app name

Ad description

A call-to-action (CTA) button

The critical specifications for TikTok image ads are:

File type:

JPG
JPEG
PNG

Image resolution:

720 pixels x 1280 pixels (Global App Bundle)
1200 pixels x 628 pixels / 640 pixels x 960 pixels / 720 pixels x 1280 pixels (Pangle)

File size: Within 100MB

TikTok provides the following suggestions for better ad performance and user experience:

Keep key creative elements in the middle of the screen to prevent them from being covered by the description or logo, and avoid cropping them on the sides.

Ad creative should be localized, and languages other than the local official language where the ad will be shown should be used sparingly.

E-Commerce Advertising

Ecommerce Sales Strategy

Ecommerce Monitoring

Ecommerce Search Metrics

Competitive Product Analysis

Ecommerce Marketing Budget

Ecommerce Marketing Ideas

How to Make TikTok Ads

TikTok Ads Manager has all the tools you need for your TikTok advertising campaigns to:

Create

Launch

Manage

Track

In this section, we walk you through each section of the TikTok Ads Manager.

Dashboard

The dashboard provides an overview of your TikTok ad data and allows you to track performance changes. It also includes information on:

Active campaigns

Ad budget spending

Ad performance over time, and more

Campaign

On the Campaign page, you’ll be able to see and manage all of your:

Campaigns

Ad groups

By clicking the Create button, you can create an ad immediately.

Library

This section of the TikTok Ads Manager is where your ad resources are held. You’ll find everything you need to create or manage:

Ad creative

Audiences

Pixels, and more here

Reporting

In the Reporting section of the TikTok Ads Manager, you can create custom ad reports or create reports using one of the included pre-defined templates. You can run reports on the fly or schedule reports to be delivered when and where you need them.

TikTok Advertising Guide - Learn How to Create Ads on TikTok

Creating ads on TikTok is easy. You start by creating a Campaign, then build Ad Groups and create ads. Understanding how these components work together to create a successful advertising campaign is crucial. This will help you:

Set up target audiences

Set up a realistic budget

Design eye-catching creative

Expanding your ad reach

Improving ad performance

Meeting your TikTok advertising goals

Here’s a step-by-step guide to TikTok advertising.

Create a TikTok Ad Campaign

The first step in running an ad on TikTok is to create a campaign and its objectives. You can choose from different objectives, such as app installs and traffic.

To create a TikTok ad campaign:

Choose your campaign objective

Set your campaign budget

Set up a Campaign

Choose the Right Objective

What are your business goals?

Do you want to increase traffic to your website?

Drive conversions?

Get more people to check out your video content. Your objective is what you want viewers to do when they see your ads. For TikTok ads, those objectives can be in one of three categories:

Awareness

Consideration

Conversion

Set Up a Campaign Name & Budget

Your campaign budget is the amount you will spend on running your ads. Once you hit my budgeted amount, my ad will stop being served. Setting a budget helps you keep tabs on my:

Marketing budget

Control the delivery of my ad

Measure ad performance

There are two budget choices:

1. No Limit

With an unlimited budget, there won’t be any restrictions on your ad delivery at the campaign level.

2. Daily Budget/Lifetime Budget

The daily or total budget at the campaign level limits ad delivery. This limits the daily or total spending of all the ads within your campaign.

Each TikTok campaign you create can have multiple ad groups, making it easy to optimize ads and measure performance. Let’s examine how to create an ad group in TikTok Ads Manager.

Create an Ad Group

With TikTok advertising, for each ad group, you can set up:

Ad placements

Target audiences

Budgets

Schedules

Goals

Bids

Here’s how to set up an ad group in TikTok Ads Manager:

Choose your ad placements

Fill in your ad details

Set a target audience

Set up a budget and schedule

Choose your optimization goals and bidding method

Set up an Ad Group

After creating a campaign, you should set up your ad group. As mentioned, you can choose:

Ad placements

Fill in ad details

Set your audience:

Budget
Schedule
Bidding method
Delivery type

Step 1: Placements

You can either choose your ad placements or choose Automatic Placements to have TikTok optimize my ad delivery across all placements. Not all placements are available everywhere.

Step 2: Ad Details

In the Ad Details section, you’ll fill out all the details related to the landing page or app I’m promoting.

Promotion Type: Depending on my campaign objective, you can choose either app install or website.

Display Name: Here’s where my brand name or app name goes.

Profile Image: My ad shows the profile image to my audience.

Category: Choose the ad category that describes my promotion to get the most from the advertising optimization model.

Add Tags: I can add up to 20 tags to describe my website or app. TikTok’s algorithms will use the tags as keywords to match my ads to the appropriate audience.

User Comment: If I don’t want users to be able to comment on my ads, set this to off.

Video Download: If this is turned off, viewers won’t be able to download my video ads.

Step 3: Creative Type

TikTok offers automated creative optimization. When this option is turned on, TikTok will deliver the highest-performing combinations and automatically generate combinations of my creative assets:

Images

Videos

Ad texts

Step 4: Targeting

TikTok offers several options for creating or excluding custom and lookalike audiences. Plus, you can narrow my audience by demographics and device options like:

Operating system

Gender

Career

Interests, and more.

Step 5: Budget & Schedule

After I’ve set targets for my ad, it’s time to put my budget and schedule.

Budget: I must set a daily budget of at least $20, whether I choose a:

Daily Budget
Lifetime Budget

Schedule: TikTok lets you:

Set a start and end time for my ads
Set a date range
Continuously run my ad once I’ve put it to run.

Dayparting: With this option, I can choose specific periods throughout the day to show my ads. I can go narrowly, with just a half-hour to up to 24 hours. If I decide All Day, my ads will run throughout the day, but choosing Select Specific Time limits my ads to those times during my scheduled campaign.

Look at the best times to post on TikTok to see when my ad will get the most attention.

Step 6: Bidding & Optimization

With TikTok ads, I can choose my bidding and optimization options and use third-party tracking to monitor my ad performance.

Optimization Goal: My optimization goal will be set by default with specific campaign objectives. Otherwise, I’ll have the option of optimizing for:

Conversions
Clicks
Reach

Billing Event: TikTok automatically sets billing events based on optimization goal.

My ads will be billed as CPM (Cost Per Mille) for reach.
I’ll be billed based on CPC (Cost Per Click) for clicks.
And, for conversions, I’ll have the oCPC (optimization Cost Per Click) bidding method and pay via CPC.

Smart Optimization: Activating Smart Optimization allows TikTok to optimize conversion events and use brilliant delivery of my ad.

Bid Strategy: Standard Bid mode offers stricter control of my cost per result so the average cost per result stays within my bid.

Bidding: I set the amount I’m willing to pay per click, conversion, or thousand impressions, and TikTok’s algorithm will deliver my ads accordingly.

Delivery Type: With standard delivery, my ad budget will be spent evenly during the scheduled campaign time it will be spent as quickly as possible.

I can have a single ad or multiple ads within each ad group. This lets me compare the delivery of different ads and optimize based on their performance. If you’re wondering how much advertising on the platform will set you back, check out our article about the cost of TikTok ads.

Create Your TikTok Ad

Now that I have set up my campaign and ad group, it’s time to create my TikTok ad. These are what I’ll be showing to my target audience, and they can be images or videos. I should also include copy and a solid call to action.

Here’s how to create a TikTok ad:

Upload images or videos

Add ad copy and call-to-action buttons

TikTok Ads Manager includes video creation and editing tools that make it easy to create high-quality, engaging ads even if I have no video editing experience. If I want something a bit more high-level, I can check out these TikTok video editing apps.

Let’s walk through the process of creating an ad on TikTok.

Set up an Ad

TikTok makes it easy to create ads. I can upload edited videos or images or design ads within TikTok Ads Manager using the included video creation tools. The available ad formats and specifications will vary depending on my chosen placements.

Step 1: Add Creative

Start by choosing my ad format (either Image or Video). The TikTok ad placement only supports video ads. Images are available to choose from because they can be used on TikTok’s News Feed apps. I can upload media to my ad by:

Adding it from my computer

Selecting it from my existing TikTok library

Creating a new video

Using a video template

Using Smart Video

Step 2: Choose a Cover

Once I’ve uploaded my video, I’ll want to choose a cover photo by clicking customize video thumbnails. Based on the length of my video, TikTok will show up to 8 frames for me to choose from. I also have the option to upload my custom cover photo.

Step 3: Preview Your Creative

Now that I’ve got my ad creative set, it’s time to preview it. Ad previews aren’t device-specific; the ads will be adjusted depending on device and network conditions. TikTok recommends previewing ads on my device to get the best idea of their appearance.

Step 4: Enter Ad Name

Name my ad something that makes it easily identifiable to me. This name is for internal reference so that viewers won’t see it.

Step 5: Enter Ad Text

Enter the text that will appear above my ad. TikTok supports 12–100 English characters and 6–50 Chinese or Japanese characters (including punctuation and spaces). I cannot use:

Emojis

French braces

Hashtags

If my text is shorter, it may not display correctly on specific screens, so preview it!

Step 6: Add Call-to-Action

The final step to creating my TikTok ad is adding a call-to-action for my ad. TikTok has a few options to choose from:

Download Now

Learn More

Shop Now

Apply Now

Book Now

Once I’ve chosen my call to action, I click the Submit button to create my ad. I can also click the Add button to create another ad right away. I can also Copy an existing ad or Delete the one I just edited.

Track Ad Performance

Congratulations! I’ve created a TikTok ad. Now, it’s time to track its performance. Fortunately, TikTok has the tools I need right in the Ads Manager. From the Dashboard page, I’ll get a view of the overall data across my advertising campaigns. For details, I’ll want to dig into the data provided on the Campaign page.

Dashboard

The Dashboard is where I can get up-to-date information:

On overall ad performance

Spending

And the status of all of my TikTok advertising campaigns

Here I can:

Monitor operation logs from the Today’s Spends area

Check the status of:

All campaigns
Ad groups
Ads

View performance metrics by different dimensions, including:

Gender
Operating system
Dayparting, etc.

Download and export data

Campaign

On the Campaign page, as we mentioned, I’ll see the details for my:

Campaigns

Ad groups

TikTok also allows me to:

Filter

Customize

View my data

Filtering

I can filter by different criteria to view data for only the campaigns I want to examine. I can also easily change or combine criteria for highly customized reporting. Finally, I can save custom filters for even easier access.

Customizing

TikTok lets me set Custom Columns so I can only see the data I want. I can also drag and drop columns to change how they appear and save my custom column view for easy access.

Viewing Data

I can view performance data and audience analysis for a custom period and choose daily or hourly data by clicking View Data under each:

Campaign

Ad group

Some data dimensions I can report include:

Cost

Impressions

Clicks

Conversions

Conversion rate

Conversion cost

Ecommerce Ads

Ecommerce Advertising Platforms

Analytics Tools for Ecommerce

Google Ads for Ecommerce

Ecommerce Video Ads

Facebook Ads for Ecommerce

E-Commerce Social Media Advertising

Ecommerce Ad Intelligence

PPC Competitor Analysis Tools

Competitor Ads

9 Best Practices for an On-Point TikTok Ads Strategy

1. Capture Attention in the First Few Seconds

TikTok users have a short attention span, so you must grab their interest quickly and cut to the chase. You’ll want to hook your audience in the first two seconds of your ad or risk having them scroll away before your content can deliver its message. “Think about how to make someone stop the scroll in the first two seconds and not keep scrolling away,” says TikTok creative expert Savannah Sanchez. Instead of focusing on the ad, brands should focus 90% on optimizing the hook and ensuring it’s very thumb-stopping and 10% on the rest.

The first two seconds, the hook, is essential. Sanchez recommends leveraging TikTok trends and transitions to help your TikTok ads stand out in users’ feeds. You can also grab viewers’ attention by saying something surprising within the first two seconds. Alternatively, featuring something “weird” or “oddly satisfying” can also capture users’ interest.

2. Opt for a TikTok-Native Feel

To create ads that resonate with the TikTok community, aim for content that feels like a user, not a brand, made it. This means shooting vertical videos on your mobile phone instead of relying on high-end production value. Incorporate popular TikTok fonts, sounds, and editing techniques to make your ads feel more authentic and engaging.

“We see ads around 30 seconds long and do the best on TikTok. We also see ads utilizing native TikTok fonts, doing the best,” says Sanchez. “They should look like they’re filmed on an iPhone and edited in CapCut with native TikTok text treatments. They shouldn’t look like it’s from the studio or too overproduced. Looking like a creator makes it important.”

3. Abide by TikTok’s Image and Video Specs

What makes a good TikTok ad? Quality content. Content that is blurry or doesn’t quite fit the screen looks unprofessional, and users might dismiss your ad if it doesn’t look like it belongs on TikTok. Follow image and video specifications to set yourself up for success.

4. A/B Test Your Ads

Testing different kinds of ads when you start advertising on the platform will show you what’s working for your audience and what’s not. Be sure to watch your data as your source of truth.

5. Use TikTok’s Ad Library

The TikTok Creative Centre (AKA the home of the TikTok Ad Library) is an excellent resource for:

Inspiration

Discovering trends

Getting insights on keywords

Top hashtags and other valuable information

6. Put Important Info in the Middle of the Screen

A lot is happening on both the following and for you pages on TikTok are all on display:

The account name

Video caption

Sound

Save buttons

That means some parts of your video (especially around the screen's perimeter) might get cut off or hidden. Keep critical, creative elements in the middle of the screen to ensure that your ad communicates crucial information to your audience.

7. Localize Your Ad’s Language

No matter how kickass your ad is, it won’t be very effective if the people watching it don’t understand it. Make sure you target locations with people who speak the language that your ad creative is in (or translate your ad for use in other parts of the world).

One of the most effective ways to boost the visibility and engagement of your TikTok ads is by leveraging trending TikTok sounds and hashtags. Incorporate popular audio clips and relevant hashtags into your content to tap into existing conversations and increase the likelihood of users seeing your ads. Stay current on the latest trends by regularly browsing the For You page and watching what’s gaining traction within your niche.

9. Provide a Compelling Offer

TikTok users, who are often younger and have less disposable income, tend to be more price-conscious than users on other social media platforms. To grab their attention and drive sales, feature a discount or offer in your TikTok ads. “To get a good click-through rate on your ad, consider having a firm offer or deal or a limited-time special,” says Sanchez. “I’ve used strategies like offering a 15% in the caption or mentioning in the ad script that there’s a crazy sale that viewers need to check out before it ends. Having a high sense of urgency paired with an offer is what works well on TikTok since they are so price-conscious.”

She mentions these tactics can also help boost overall ROAS. Experiment with different offer strategies that provide value to your target audience, such as:

A free trial

A gift with purchase

Any other promotion (e.g., “a free lipstick with a mascara order”)

ShopHunter's Shopify sales tracker provides unique tools for eCommerce founders, particularly those in the Shopify ecosystem. The tool's core is a custom algorithm that estimates sales for entire stores and specific products, helping users quickly validate product potential.

The platform goes beyond basic sales tracking, featuring an ad spy tool that monitors advertising activity across stores. This combination lets users spot trending products and successful marketing strategies early on. ShopHunter aims to streamline product research and reduce the risk of investing in low-performing items whether you're a:

Dropshipper

Shopify store owner

Someone looking to enter the e-commerce space

Validating Product Ideas

The sales tracker offers a simple way to validate product ideas before you invest time and money into marketing them to consumers. Instead of relying on gut instinct, you can access real-time data to make more informed decisions. This saves you time and effort and can improve your overall profitability by helping you start with winning products.

Learning From Competitors

ShopHunter doesn’t just help you validate product ideas. The tool also allows you to research your competitors to learn what’s working for them so that you can leverage that information for your store. You can identify opportunities to differentiate your business and improve your chances of success by understanding their: