TikTok, whether you love it or hate it, you’ve heard of it by now. It’s the world’s most downloaded social media app for short-form videos and has successfully attracted an audience even past that of Gen Z and millennials, all while offering engaging, consumable content. Over 500 million people actively use the app globally and as of now, the app is available in 141 of 155 countries, which means a broad reach for brands and influencers alike.
It’s increasingly becoming a platform to help skyrocket a brand’s social media presence, and in turn, their profit. And it can all be done with only one viral video. So, you know you should advertise on TikTok, but how do you succeed? Should you mass-post? What format should you use? How long should my ad be? Is there a right song or a wrong hashtag? In this article, we will cover the best practices to be successful, not only by the benchmarks set by the platform but by the community itself.
So, what should I do?
In 2021, TikTok introduced some of the best creative practices and what each of their top-performing ads has in common. The most of which is using it’s own video creation tool. This can be used within the app itself and has a plethora of creative filters, trending sounds, and engaging options for call to actions, all right there at the tap of a finger. The use of the video creation tool can ease the creative process as well as help your business look native to the platform itself. This is a key component when creating ads for TikTok. But what are the other practices? We’re going to break down what exactly those are, what they mean, and how you can utilize these practices to exponentially grow your business. Here are some best practices marketers and content creators on TikTok need to follow:
Vertical Videos are a must. TikTok is an app that prioritizes vertical 16×9 videos, what does this mean for you? That you should do the same. When creating an ad for the platform, think natively. This means your video should be produced vertically while encompassing the full screen. “Video orientation matters as well. The vast majority of TikTok videos are shot in vertical format which means TikTok users aren’t expecting to have to rotate their screen to watch the next video on their For You Page. Videos shot in vertical format see a 40.1% lift in impressions compared to videos using a square or horizontal aspect ratio.” (TikTok Creative Best Practices)
Make the video lengths impactful, not long. Ultimately, the length of your TikToks should make sense for the message you’re trying to get across, but overall shorter videos perform better. It only takes a moment for a user to swipe away to consume the next video. Because of this, it’s important to have an engaging start to your video, while producing an effective call to action, rather quickly before your viewer can move on to the next viral video.
Don’t forget the music! If you’re unaware, TikTok actually originally was called Musically, an app kids used to make dance videos (sound familiar?) to different trending songs. While the name has changed, and there’s far more content on the platform now, some things never change – and that’s the importance of music in your videos. Including sound – a music track, voiceover, or just you talking to the camera – in your TikToks is more than a best practice; it’s a must-have for this sound-on environment. Adding audio of any kind causes a significant lift in impressions compared to videos without audio, and more than 93% of top-performing videos use audio.
High res videos?Yes please. Quality matters – don’t let grainy videos prevent your message from getting through. There are a plethora of videos that have gone viral on TikTok solely because of the quality the video was shot in. What does that tell you as far as ads go? Your message is more likely to be retained if the quality of the video is the best that it can be. “The overwhelming majority of top-performing TikToks, 83.2% to be specific, have a video resolution of 720p or higher. These videos see an average 5.4% lift in impressions.” (Best Practices)
What’s trending? Use it to your advantage. TikTok trends, whether it’s a trending sound, a dance, or a video concept, have historically been the reason businesses have gone viral using the platform. But how do you know what exactly is trending? Use the platform! Become your audience (if possible) and engage with the community that you’re trying to reach. Take Duolingo, for example. Their social media presence on TikTok alone has created an environment for their ads to be consumed in a way that never have before, all because they’ve taken to the trend of commenting on everything.
I know what to do, but how do I do it?
Well, that’s where experts come in. It’s important to have a marketing firm that will stand behind you, explain the trends, and create concepts that are unique to your brand and your message. To find this, look no further than 565 Media. We help clients achieve leaner growth, we are hands-on, agile & performance driven with a singular goal to grow revenues cost-effectively.
If your audience is primarily Gen Z and Millennials, TikTok is a great place to advertise. As the latest mobile-first platform that’s allowing businesses to reach a massive audience, its users are highly engaged. How engaged? According to Backlinko, the average TikTok user in the U.S. is on the social platform for more than 30 minutes a day. And with an average session time of more than 10 minutes, this is a prime opportunity for businesses to engage with a captive audience – and generate significant results.
Why is TikTok such a valuable platform for marketers?
Over 800 million people use TikTok every month, making it the world’s fastest growing social media platform. And about 70% of TikTok users are between the ages of 16 and 24. If that’s your target demographic, running advertising and influencer marketing campaigns on this social network are a no-brainer.
With an ads platform that’s still relatively young, much of the content is user-created and the costs are still lower compared to Facebook or Google ad buys. Businesses can take advantage of a lower barrier to entry – on both basic ad cost and video-production cost. On the flip side, you’ll need to get creative to get the most out of your ad spend.
Before diving in and setting up your first TikTok campaign, there are a few additional considerations to make. Any ad campaign is an investment, so make sure you’re going to get an ROI before you get started.
Here’s what you need to know before you start an advertising campaign on TikTok.
Is your product or service the right fit for TikTok Ads?
Not all brands are going to be the best fit here. Businesses that are highly visual – fashion, food, lifestyle and beauty brands, for example – usually perform better than B2B brands, which usually have sales content that is far more complicated or text-heavy.
But that doesn’t mean that B2B companies can’t win here. To succeed with TikTok, regardless of industry, you need to create a highly creative campaign that will appeal to users’ emotions and sense of humor. Tap into what they’re already interested in – like pets, food or tech.
Even industries that are typically viewed as ‘less-than-flashy’, like banking or insurance or enterprise software, have an opportunity to reframe their products and services in a way that’s fun and unexpected.
TikTok rewards creative content
TikTok is growing so fast because it’s doing something different from other social media platforms. It encourages people to express themselves in a more authentic, in-the-moment way. People who watch these videos are more inclined to share them with others, making TikTok the perfect tool for marketing your products and services.
The challenge is that TikTok is incredibly noisy, with hundreds of millions of videos being uploaded every day. To stand out, you need to find a way to make your ads creative and entertaining, so that they can grab people’s attention. Here are some ways you can do this:
● Defy expectations. What do consumers think they know about your industry? How can you present your business in a way that flips that on its head?
● Go niche. Don’t try to appeal to everyone – narrow down your audience and look for a specific niche of users you want to reach. For example, you might want to target only teenagers who live in a specific country or city. The ability to micro-target users can help you to find an audience that is much more receptive to your message and brand.
● Go off-topic. Don’t limit your creativity to topics within your particular industry. Have fun with memes, holidays, your teams’ interests. Show the faces behind the brand and connect with a new audience in a meaningful way – even if it’s silly.
Influencer/Brand Takeover collaborations
Influencers can help get the word out about your brand on TikTok and increase its visibility in the process. Be strategic with how you approach these influencers, though. Many of them have strict guidelines that they require their sponsors to follow. Be sure to read over these guidelines before contacting them with your proposal so that you can avoid any hiccups.
There can be huge benefits to pursuing these types of campaign collaborations. You’ll be introduced to their audience – but you’ll also earn ‘trust through association’. By aligning your brand with an influencer, they’re telling their audiences that your product or service is worth their time and money.
Influencer campaigns can fast track your brand awareness, but it’s smart to experiment with TikTok before diving into one. First, gain a clear idea of who your audience is, what content they’re already engaging with and who they trust.
Track Success with your TiKTok Ads Campaign
Know your campaign goals before getting started. Whether you want to increase brand awareness or drive new sales, tracking ad performance is an important piece of the puzzle. By regularly checking in with your metrics, you’ll know when something isn’t working and adjust accordingly.
Does video production quality matter?
This is one area of video campaigns that scare off a lot of would-be marketers. Historically, video production has been an expensive endeavor requiring the hiring of a full crew and hours invested in production and editing. Without deep pockets, it can be difficult – even impossible – for small businesses and start-ups to adopt video in their marketing efforts.
The good news is that money is no longer a barrier to entry. In fact, the more Hollywood-quality your ad is, the less likely it will be viewed as authentic. TikTok is about sharing your experiences in a fun and light-hearted way – and the vast majority of content is filmed on a smartphone.
That said, you don’t have to make a video yourself — there are social marketing agencies that specialize in creating TikTok ads.
Know your TikTok ad types
There are several different types of TikTok ads, each with their own pros and cons. For today, we’ll focus on three of the most popular for businesses – TikTok’s In-Feed Ads, Top View Ads and Spark Ads.
● In-Feed Ads Shown inside the user’s ‘For You’ page, In-Feed ads blend into the user’s existing feed. They’ll be seeing your ad while scrolling between videos from the accounts they already follow. In-feed ads are excellent for engagement, since users can interact, comment and share your ads with their followers.
● Top View Ads A Top View ad is a branded 60-second vertical video spot — similar to Snapchat’s Discovery format — that users see when they open the app. This type of ad will appear at the top of your audience’s For You feed to grab their attention right away, but it will only play sound if they tap on it.
● Spark Ads Spark Ads offer marketers the ability to use organic posts or a TikTok creator’s organic posts to drive greater brand awareness and engagement. This is an ideal choice if you already have a library of existing content. (Because this ad format relies on content that’s already created, it’s easier and faster to kick off a campaign.) Like other ad types, Spark Ads drive excellent engagement, allowing users to comment, share and like posts. With one tap, users can visit a brand’s profile, and marketers can include a CTA on their post to drive conversions.
Overall, the best way to make TikTok ads work for your business is to plan carefully and to create a clear strategy around your campaign. We believe that running a TikTok ad campaign can be useful for businesses in achieving their goals – if it’s applied correctly. From minding the ad format options, to providing high quality images and videos (and actually interacting with users), a little forethought, creativity, and intentionality can go a long way. And hopefully, if you decide TikTok is right for you, it can go even further.
TikTok debuted in the U.S. in 2017. By 2020, the social media platform had over 100 million users and an estimated 18% market share for all global Internet users under the age of 64.
With its user base on the rise, especially from younger audiences, as well as a high engagement content platform, TikTok is primed to be the premier social media destination for reaching Gen Z in 2021 and beyond.
Advertisers may be looking to get a jump start on the platform before the competition gets too crowded. Our social media performance marketing team at 565 Media is equipped to help. If you’re ready to get started with promoting your business or brand, here are some tips on how to get started with TikTok Ads.
Step 1: Create a TikTok Ads Account
For Businesses, use TikTok Ads Manager
If you are a business running your own TikTok Ads, the first place to start is to create a new Ad Account. On the sign up page, fill out your business’ information and click Sign Up.
From there, you’ll be asked to add basic information about your business, such as the country/region where your business is located, the time zone where your business is located, your business name and the currency that your business uses for billing. Once you have completed filling out this information, click Register.
Once you have an Ad Account up and running, you’ll still need to fill out some additional information about your business to complete the set up. TikTok requires more business information such as your company website, the industry that best represents your business, and your business location, including street address, state/province, and postal code. You can also choose to verify your business by uploading a government or officially issued number that you use to pay taxes in your country. This is optional, and allows you to use additional TikTok For Business services like the TikTok Creator Marketplace.
Once you have these basic business descriptions entered into the system, your TikTok Ad Manager account is up and running!
For Marketers, use TikTok Business Center
If you are an advertising agency or plan on managing multiple ad accounts through TikTok, it is important to create a TikTok Business Center account first. The Business Center acts as a hub for all of the various ads accounts that you will be managing, and from there you’ll be able to manage user permissions across the various accounts.
After setting up a TikTok Business Center account, navigate to Ad Accounts and select Create a New Ad Account to get started with a new TikTok Ads Manager Account within your Business Center.
Step 2: Setup Billing and Payments
Advertisers will have two options for payment in the TikTok Ads platform: Manual and Automatic.
Manual payment plans require payment up front and are typically referred to as “topping-up” or a “top-up”. This means that your business plans to deposit a lump sum into the ads account that your ad campaigns will then draw from while they run.
Automatic payment plans do not require payment up front and will automatically charge your credit card or bank account when one of two events occurs — Either when you reach your weekly billing date or when you reach a billing threshold amount, whichever comes first.
Step 3: Add Users to TikTok Business Center
After creating a new Ad Account and setting up billing preferences, you will need to wait a short period for the account to be approved. This process typically takes under 24 hours.
Once the ad account is approved, you will be able to add, remove or change user permissions for that ad account.
Please note that only users with Business Center admin privileges can invite new members to an ad account.
To Add New Users
1. Go to the User tab in the toolbar on the left and click Member
2. Select Invite Member
3. Enter the email address of the person that you would like to invite as a user. Then select the ad account that you would like them to have access to.
Step 4: Set up the TikTok Pixel
The TikTok Pixel allows advertisers to track goal conversions on a website. It is an essential tool for measuring the effectiveness of your TikTok Ads. It is also used for generating more advanced audience targeting options, so it should be considered a top priority if you plan on running retargeting campaigns or using audience exclusions to remove converters from your retargeting campaigns.
Before launching any campaigns, it is important to make sure that the Pixel is installed correctly. If you plan to use retargeting, make sure that the Pixel is installed for at least 30 days in advance. This ensures that the Pixel has enough time to collect traffic data on your website and match it to existing TikTok users for remarketing.
To Create a TikTok Pixel
Go to the Asset tab in the toolbar on the left and select Event.
Select Create a Pixel. Make sure to give it a unique name that will help you remember its purpose later, especially if you are managing multiple ad accounts.
Install the Pixel code. You can either select Manually Install Pixel Code or use a third-party plug-in. To manually install the pixel, you will need access to your website’s backend code to copy and paste a script into the header or footer or your page. Depending on the platform that your website runs on, there may be third party plug-ins or other options to automate this process.
To double check and troubleshoot the installation of your TikTok Pixel, use the TikTok Pixel Helper Chrome plugin.
TikTok Pixel allows for a few advanced matching options for targeting audiences. We recommend using the TikTok Pixel Dev Mode & Advanced Matching guide for more advanced setup options.
Step 5: Choose Your Placements and Audiences
There are many different options for creating target audiences in TikTok Ads. Advertisers can use general demographics like age, gender, or geographic area, plus some other standard targeting options such as interests and device types.
Note: Target audiences must be greater than the 1,000 user minimum. This helps to address privacy concerns. We recommend installing the TikTok Pixel up to 30 days in advance of any ad campaigns. That way, the pixel will have enough time to populate a retargeting list than exceeds the 1,000 user limit.
After you have created a target audience for your ad campaign, you can apply the targeting parameters to target specific platforms, News Feed Apps, Vigo, Helo, or Pangle, and TikTok.
Creating Lookalike Audiences
Similarly to the way Facebook Ads allows advertisers to create lookalike audiences, TikTok Ads gives marketing professionals the option to expand their target audience to users that the platform finds to be very similar to their core target audience.
To create a lookalike audience, find the Assets tab in the toolbar on the left and select Audiences. Select Create Audience, then Create a Lookalike Audience. From there you will need to specify the Source. TikTok Ads will find common attributes from your Source audience, such as demographics, location, operating system, interests, etc. and then target other users and groups that share similar attributes.
Step 6: Create an Ad
TikTok is a very visual medium. For best results, video creative is recommended. If you or your business don’t have access to video content, TikTok allows you to use images, which will be grouped into video content for you. For more information, refer to TikTok’s Video Ads Specifications guide.
Types of TikTok Ads Campaigns
There are many types of advertising and promotional campaigns you can run on TikTok. As experienced marketers on this platform, we will craft a customized mix of options based on your business goals and budget. Here are the different types of TikTok Ads Campaigns that are currently available on the platform.
Brand Takeover Brand takeovers can be video clips, gifs, or still images that can be linked to your brand page or a hashtag challenge in TikTok. You will take over a particular product or service category and gain the attention of your target audience for a day. Brand takeovers are great because there’s very little competition from other brands and each brand gets exclusive access to the screen for one day in the category. The ad will show up on the user’s feed before any other content.
Native Ads In-Feed native video ads are also very appealing and catch attention immediately. They can be anywhere between 6 and 15 seconds long, so there’s plenty of time to attract user attention. The ads appear between user videos, and people have the option to skip or scroll to the next option.
Hashtag Challenges A sponsored hashtag challenge can help you reach beyond a particular category or set of audience. It has a wider reach than in-feed ads or brand takeovers. You can attract new audiences, get user engagement, and encourage user-generated content. All of these options can help you reach a wide audience and get them interested in your brand. TikTok users love challenges and interactive content, which makes this a great advertising option.
Branded Lenses Branded lenses are also an interactive advertising option that engages users actively. Our marketers can create a brand-based filter or lens to promote your products or services. The filters remain live for around ten days and can generate a lot of engagement.
Best Practices for Video Ads
Center all important imagery in a vertical format.
Include clear, crisp, high-resolution media.
Keep video length between 9 and 15 seconds.
Include background music or sound.
Include captions so that viewers can understand the message even if they don’t watch the whole ad.
Include a clear call-to-action.
Step 7: Track Your Campaign Performance
So you’ve created an ad account, set up your audience targeting, created your ads and launched the campaigns…Now what?
You can now monitor your campaign performance in the ads dashboard.
The ads dashboard will provide you with daily performance data for your ads campaigns. Learn how each campaign, ad group and individual ad by adjusting the filters to segment by specific dimensions and metrics to get a better understanding of what’s working and what isn’t. For more information, use this TikTok Ads Metrics list for reference.
Step 8: Optimize Your Campaign
Once your ads campaigns have been running for a while, you’ll get a good understanding of which video creative resonates with your audience, which audiences are most receptive to advertising, and which messages are most effective. But to truly optimize your campaigns, constant testing is a necessity.
TikTok Ads Manager allows marketers to do Split Testing, also known as A/B testing. This is a method that can help advertisers compare and contrast different variables in the campaign setup to determine which strategies work the best.
For example, you can test two different sets of ad materials, provided that the remaining settings are the same, and see which performs better. You can also take two different audiences, given that all other advertising settings are the same, and compare which audience is more profitable.
Split testing lets you know which audience/ad material/optimization approach performs better using a clean test with mutually exclusive exposed groups. When split testing, groups A and B will be exposed to two different groups of users, which allows your experiment to be completed more scientifically.
Feeling Inspired?
Do you want to know more about our TikTok ads services at 565 Media? Have questions about social media marketing or digital strategy in general? Don’t hesitate to contact us or call (323) 902-7439. Our experts will come up with optimized ad campaigns tailored for your business.
If you’re looking to effectively and efficiently boost ROI with your marketing budget, 565 Media is your top choice. Simply connect with our on-demand team of full stack developers and start with a list of what problems you need solved. Our team specializes in developing customized, scaled marketing campaigns geared towards generating profitable leads and growing your business.
As a platform, TikTok thrives on digestible, engaging content. If it isn’t fun to watch or fun to join, then we would recommend finding other online marketing options. Whereas advertising on TikTok is a more performative, open type of engagement, old marketing techniques will come across as stale and stuffy. But if your business is willing to risk looking silly, the platform provides an excellent opportunity to target younger audiences on their terms.
In this article, we’ll highlight some of the best examples of what advertisers are doing on TikTok and how their engagement strategies tie in to the emotional cores of their services or products, making every post, repost and response an added reinforcement of the brand messaging.
“Quote from Matthew Ceran about TikTok Ads, their importance in the evolving online marketing landscape, and their future as an advertising and branding platform.”
Matthew Ceran, CEO 565 Media
TikTok Ads Case Studies
1. Guess Jeans
One of the original hashtag challenges on TikTok, Guess Jeans’ #InMyDenim campaign is still held up as a primary case study in TikTok Ads success stories.
#InMyDenim started a trend of users posting videos of themselves transforming from ratty clothing into fashionable denim outfits, (preferably Guess Jeans branded), reinforcing the idea that anyone can upgrade their fashion with denim products. Some posts were accompanied by thematically chosen tracks like Bebe Rexh’s “I’m a Mess”.
Using a combination of brand takeovers, sponsored influencers like prominent TikTok personalities @ourfire and @madisonwillow, the campaign lasted for about a week.
During the 6-day campaign period, #InMyDenim realized over 5,550 user-generated videos, 10.5 million video views, 14.3% engagement rate and over 12,000 additional followers for Guess’s Business Account on TikTok. The promotion resonated with consumers and considerably boosted brand affinity.
When looking for a broad audience, celebrity endorsements are a good start. But it’s important to make sure that the celebrity is a good fit for the brand and has a conceptual tie-in to the brand message.
Kool-Aid deserves a special shoutout for its ingenious tie-in with rapper Lil Jon. The brand launched a music video featuring the rapper and the Kool-Aid man, and following up with a hashtag challenge #OhYEAHChristmas. The challenge encouraged users to post videos of themselves (extremely) enjoying their Christmas celebration, with a $10,000 prize thrown in for incentive.
The campaign garnered over 10,000 videos from fans and became the brand’s first successful TikTok campaign.
With an eye on cornering the extreme sports content on TikTok, the Red Bull account provides a daily adrenaline rush for fans. The high-octane content has been reformatted for short, bite-sized clips, and targets specific niche sports communities with popular hashtags like #skydiving, #parkour, and #skimobile.
The profile has almost 5 million followers and continues to use the platform to expand the Red Bull brand past the energy drink product, and reinforce its extreme sports messaging.
4. Spikeball
Again, if you want your brand to be successful on TikTok, it’s best to lean into the aspects of your brand that make it fun. For a game like Spikeball, it comes naturally.
The profile uses the cute tagline “If volleyball and foursquare had a baby” and consistently posts slow-mo trick shots and incredible moves from players around the world. It’s a fantastic platform-specific strategy that on the surface, gives users that “wow” aspect that brings them to the platform. And as a secondary benefit, it helps establish Spikeball as a legitimate sport worthy of the attention.
The profile has almost 300,000 followers, over 5 million likes, and over 50 million views today!
Pharmaceutical advertising is always a tricky sell, especially to teens, and especially with strict FDA rules for advertising over-the-counter products. How do you promote the potential benefits of an OTC drug without running afoul? Take advantage of existing trends.
The #TooSickToBeSick challenge asked users to share their before-and-after looks as they got into Halloween costumes, as either the before or the after clips would tie into how you feel when you are sick. No medical claims. Just the feeling.
The campaign made headlines for generating over 984 million views in 2019. The hashtag is seeing a revitalization in the lead up to Halloween 2020 as well.
In 2020, the year of increasing need for creativity due to our collective indoor insolation, TikTok has become a popular destination for magic tricks, pranks and video illusions. As a video medium that prizes quick content and the expected, magic tricks especially fit the bill.
To capitalize on this trend for its upcoming film The House with a Clock in Its Walls, Universal Pictures launched a branded hashtag challenge called #FindYourMagic. This promotion encouraged users to post their own magic tricks and illusions, And the campaign provided branded music of ringing clocks to tie back into the theme of the upcoming movie.
More than 1.3 million likes and 19,000 pieces of user-generated content later, the campaign was a spectacular success.
Less Tok, More Guac. For brands that perhaps don’t have a flashy dance tie-in or extreme sports slow-motion shots, brand affinity and celebration is a good place to start. Chipotle’s Lid Flip Challenge was born.
Based on a real employee who had gone viral for their creative way of assembling burrito bowls, the Lid Flip Challenge gave users a fun, simple template for adding their own content. Think of the water bottle flip challenge from 2019 and give it a branded spin.
111,000 videos were submitted to the Challenge and it created a record-breaking digital sales day driving app downloads and delivery among the key Gen Z audience.
To promote the upcoming release of Benny Blanco’s remixed version of Graduation, Universal Records took advantage of a popular video trend currently popular on TikTok – The hand wipe.
Users would typically hold their hand up to the camera to obscure a video cut, revealing a change of clothing or setting after pulling their hands away. To capitalize on this trend and integrate the song’s theme, the campaign used the hashtag #schoolyears, where seniors would show their progression over the years of middle and high school.
The campaign clearly resonated with teens, as it generated 6 million views, almost 1 million hearts and over 81,000 user generated pieces of content. The song itself saw 4 months of sustained growth after its debut.
Do you want to know more about our TikTok ads services at 565 Media? Don’t hesitate to contact us or call (323) 902-7439. Our experts will come up with optimized ad campaigns tailored for your business.
If you’re looking to effectively and efficiently boost ROI with your marketing budget, 565 Media is your top choice. Simply connect with our on-demand team of full stack developers and start with a list of what problems you need solved. Our team specializes in developing customized, scaled marketing campaigns geared towards generating profitable leads and growing your business.
