TikTok ads – the quick & comprehensive guide to basics

In this article, we explore various aspects of TikTok advertising, empowering you to effectively leverage this social platform for your business growth.
Reading Time: 3 minutes

August 30, 2023

TikTok doesn’t just offer entertainment; it also provides a powerful avenue for businesses to showcase their products or services through TikTok ads. In this following post, Verde will explore into various aspects of TikTok advertising, empowering you to effectively leverage this social platform for your business growth.

TikTok Ad Formats

TikTok offers several ad formats that cater to different marketing objectives. These include:

In-Feed Ads: These ads appear in users’ main feeds (FYP aka For You Page) as they scroll through the app. They usually last up to 60 seconds and are skippable after a few seconds. These ads allow you to drive traffic to your website or promote an app.

Branded Hashtag Challenges: A powerful way to engage the TikTok community. Brands create challenges around a specific hashtag, encouraging users to create and share content related to the challenge theme.

TopView Ads: These are full-screen video ads that appear when users open the app. They have a high visibility factor and can significantly boost brand awareness.

Branded Effects: Utilise branded effects like stickers, filters, and special effects to create an immersive experience that ties your brand to user-generated content.

TikTok Ad Reporting

TikTok provides detailed ad reporting to help you measure the success of your campaigns. Metrics to focus on include impressions, clicks, click-through rates, engagement rates, and conversion rates. These insights are incredibly valuable for refining your strategies and optimising your ads for better results.

Using TikTok’s reporting dashboard, you can understand what works well and what doesn’t from your ads, allowing you to utilise those insights to feed back into not just your TikTok ad strategy but overall marketing strategy too.

TikTok Ad Structure

When setting up your TikTok ad campaigns, it’s crucial to structure them effectively:

Campaign: This is your overarching objective, such as brand awareness, traffic, or conversions.

Ad Groups: Within each campaign, you’ll have multiple ad groups. These allow you to target specific audiences and allocate budgets accordingly.

Ads: These are the actual creative pieces you’ll be promoting. Tailor them to suit your ad group’s audience and objectives.

TikTok Tracking Pixels:

Tracking pixels are essential for understanding user behavior and campaign performance. TikTok’s tracking pixels enable you to measure conversions, optimise for specific actions, and retarget users who have interacted with your ads.

Setting Up TikTok Tracking Pixels: How To Guide

Access Events Manager: Go to your TikTok Ads Manager and access the Events Manager section.

Create a Pixel: Set up a new pixel and customize the events you want to track, such as website visits, purchases, or sign-ups.

Install Pixel Code: Copy the pixel code provided and add it to your website’s header.

Verify Installation: After adding the code, verify its installation to ensure accurate tracking.

Split Testing Ads on TikTok

Split testing, or A/B testing, is a strategy that involves running different versions of your ads to determine which performs best. This allows you to optimise your campaigns based on real data rather than assumptions.

When conducting split testing ads on TikTok, it will serve 50% of your audience one type of ad and 50% another type of ad. This can be changed based on various factors (for example serving users within a specific location a different ad). The platform will then report on the findings and show which ad of the two worked best.

Automated Creative Optimisation (ACO) on TikTok

TikTok’s ACO feature automatically tests multiple ad variations and allocates budget to the best-performing ones. This streamlines the optimisation process, saving you time and improving campaign outcomes.

TikTok recommends that you upload atleast 10 pieces of media for your TikTok ads to allow it’s ACO feature to really work and utilise various different pieces of media to form different ads.

It must be noted that whilst TikTok ACO is in play, different pieces of media or specific ads can’t be paused or turned off. The reason for this is to allow TikTok’s algorithm a full understanding of what media and media combinations work best for your ads, allowing enough data to report back to you on.

Custom Audiences on TikTok

TikTok allows you to create custom audiences based on various criteria, such as website visitors, app users, or engagement with your content. This precision targeting ensures your ads are reaching the most relevant users.

In conclusion, TikTok ads provide an exciting opportunity for businesses to connect with a massive and engaged audience. By understanding and utilizing TikTok’s ad formats, reporting tools, ad structure, tracking pixels, split testing, automated creative optimisation, and custom audience targeting, you can best position your business for success through paid social. Stay creative, data-driven, and adaptable to make the most of TikTok’s advertising potential.

For more information or to see how Verde can support you on your TikTok ads, drop us a message on: [email protected].

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