TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms in recent years, and businesses are taking notice. The platform offers unique advertising formats and targeting options that allow brands to reach a massive audience of users. In this post, we will explore everything you need to know about TikTok advertising, from ad formats to targeting options and more.

Understanding TikTok Advertising

TikTok advertising allows advertisers to create campaigns using unique formats and targeting options that help them access one of the largest social media audiences available. According to Hootsuite, TikTok's largest audience is in the United States, with over 120 million people using the platform. The percentage of the adult population TikTok ads can reach in countries outside of North America, especially in the Middle East and Asia, is also worth noting.

Understanding TikTok Ads: How They Work

TikTok ads and sponsored content appear between organic, user-generated content (UGC). When TikTok ads and sponsored videos appear, viewers are presented with the opportunity to click to learn more, which sends them to a landing page.

TikTok presents highly curated content based on user interests, thanks to advanced machine learning. TikTok videos range from a few seconds to a maximum of 60 seconds, and there is currently a trial for some users to create videos up to three minutes long.

Types of TikTok Ads

There are several types of TikTok ads that advertisers can choose from:

1. Native Videos on TikTok's Feed: These videos appear organically on a user's "For You Page" or FYP, which is the feed or stream of content users see.

2. Full-Screen Ads on TikTok's Launch: These ads appear when a user opens the app.

3. Hashtag Challenges on TikTok's Platform: These ads invite users to interact with your brand by creating relevant branded content.

4. Branded Augmented Reality Elements on TikTok's Content: This approach is less of an ad and more of a presence. Brand AR comes in the form of stickers and other branded components that users can integrate into their videos.

5. Collaborative Ads with Influencers or Users on TikTok's Platform: Also referred to as influencer ads, these collaborations with influencers or users expose your brand to new audiences by putting your brand in front of the influencer's followers.

Maximizing Your TikTok Advertising Results

TikTok does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to getting your advertisements in front of the right people. However, there are still things you can do to increase your return on investment (ROI) and return on ad spend (ROAS):

• Become familiar with trending content.

• Find a niche and segment your audiences to create personalized content.

• Use trending hashtags or create your own to start a trend and encourage others to participate.

• Keep an eye on your analytics to gauge the kinds of content and hashtags that perform best with your audience.

TikTok Advertising Costs

The ad type you choose is the biggest factor in how far you can stretch your budget. Ad objectives, bidding methods, audiences, and industry also play a role in how far your budget can take you. However, TikTok ads are still new, which means that TikTok can afford to charge a premium rate for them. For example, a Branded Hashtag Challenge may require up to $150,000 to get featured on TikTok's Discovery banner.

TikTok's main appeal is creating a huge impact, ideally going viral with either paid or organic content. In relation to platforms such as Facebook and Google, it’s clear that TikTok is more expensive. When deciding whether to advertise on TikTok, set clear goals, define your audience for this specific platform, don't skimp on the budget, pay close attention to trending videos and hashtags, and update your content accordingly—and often.

Tailoring Your TikTok Advertising Approach

TikTok is known for being an authentic, short-form, and engaging platform. Your ads need to connect in a split second with your target audience, but your strategy and personalization can’t end at the ad—it must continue to the landing page. If you don’t have a clear, consistent narrative, you’ll lose your audience right away.

To make sure that your landing pages are fully optimized and have the best chance of converting your TikTok traffic, consider using a landing page platform like Instapage. Instapage offers marketers the #1 landing page platform to skyrocket conversions while decreasing your cost-per-click for TikTok and all the rest of your advertising channels. With Instapage, you can create fully optimized landing pages that will help you achieve your TikTok advertising goals.

About Fifthweapon

At Fifthweapon, we help build scalable and measurable creative campaigns that sell. We use data to create, distribute, engage, and iterate our marketing strategies and paid advertising campaigns. We are platform agnostic and strategically work to connect our clients with their ideal clients on Google, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, LinkedIn, Snapchat, and more. Let us help you create a TikTok advertising campaign that will connect with your ideal audience and achieve your business goals. Contact us today to learn more.