Did you know you can run advertising campaigns on TikTok? We’ll explain what you can advertise, the available ad formats, and the targeting options.
For those who still think TikTok is a social network only for young people, it’s worth noting that it’s a platform where users share short videos on all kinds of topics and can add visual effects like filters, animated backgrounds, or sound effects. However, it’s the fastest-growing social network in recent years, probably in digital history, with people of all ages using it daily.
A brief history and key data
TikTok originated as a Chinese app called Douyin, launched in 2016. A year later, it launched internationally under the name TikTok. By mid-2018, it was available worldwide after merging with another popular Chinese social network, Musical.ly, which specialized in easy creation and live streaming of music videos. Many Musical.ly influencers (musers) migrated to the new app thanks to the smooth integration of their old accounts, and TikTok began gaining fame.
I personally remember seeing ad campaigns with videos from these musers in other apps. That same year, comedian Jimmy Fallon mentioned TikTok on his show, and the app’s popularity skyrocketed. By the end of 2021, TikTok had become the fifth most-used social network worldwide, with over 1 billion daily users. COVID-19 lockdowns also encouraged younger users to create content from home.
In Spain, TikTok has the following stats:
- Almost 9 million active users.
- 41% of users are aged 16 to 25.
- Average daily connection time is 43 minutes, with 7 sessions per day.
Reasons to advertise on TikTok
All social networks eventually get saturated, so many brands choose newer platforms. Engagement rates are usually higher, and if integrated correctly, user acceptance is greater. Naturally, you need to advertise content that fits the platform and the right formats.
While ad creation has become simpler and more user-friendly, TikTok offers multiple targeting options, almost as advanced as Meta or Twitter.
What content should you create? Spending a couple of hours scrolling through the app will give you an idea: funny videos, challenges, and educational yet entertaining content. If you already create reels and stories for Instagram, part of the work is done, as the formats are very similar—but don’t just repost them. The era of adapting TV content for YouTube ads is long gone, and TikTok is no different. You need fresh, bold content.
For agencies like Dos Setenta, we manage multiple accounts through the Business Center, allowing management of multiple advertisers at once. You can also collaborate with other BCs using the Partners feature.
Advertising on TikTok: platform breakdown
You can create campaigns with different objectives:
Advertising costs on TikTok
The minimum budget for new advertisers is €50/day (each ad group must have at least €20/day). TikTok can optimize your budget across ad groups to focus on those with the best conversions. You can also set up A/B tests, crucial for any campaign, and use a measurement pixel with simple integrations for Shopify or Prestashop, among other e-commerce platforms.
You can promote your website, TikTok instant pages (which allow tracking without a pixel but won’t drive web traffic), or a mobile app. Besides TikTok, you can select ad placements within TikTok’s network: the platform itself, viral news feed apps (currently BuzzVideo and Babe, only available in Japan and Indonesia, so we recommend disabling them), and Pangle, a mobile advertising platform within apps.
Targeting options
TikTok offers a wide range of targeting options (you can also choose automatic targeting based on your content, ad goal, or past campaigns):
- Demographics: age ranges from 13 to 55+ and gender (M/F).
- Geolocation: country, state/province/city, and app language.
- Interest categories, divided into general interest or purchase intent: apps, hobbies, pets, travel, health, etc.
- User interactions: full video views, likes, comments, shares. Combinable options; can define the category of videos interacted with.
- Followers or viewers of specific category profiles.
- Users who interacted with specific hashtags.
- Custom and lookalike audiences.
- Device: operating system and version, mobile model, connection type, carrier, and device price range.
You can also create custom audiences to exclude them.
Campaigns can be scheduled for specific days and times, with start and end dates.
Bidding can be set according to your campaign goal: clicks, conversions, conversion value. Payment models can be CPM or CPC.
How to create TikTok ads
The ad creation process is very easy, as TikTok provides tools similar to those available from a personal account: effects, interactive stickers, music, smart text, etc.
Advertisers must provide video content or create it directly on the platform from images and clips—voilà! You don’t even need a TikTok account to advertise, though we recommend having one.
Currently, advertisers have 2 ad types to choose from: Single Video or Collection Ad, which allows displaying multiple products interactively. Creating ads is simple and fun, but we recommend making your own content first, then enhancing it with effects.
Finally, third-party tracking can be added to measure impressions and clicks.
Do you think your brand fits the TikTok audience? If so, don’t hesitate to try it. If you need help creating and optimizing campaigns, you can contact us here.
