Your complete guide to making tiktok ads in 2025

Are TikTok ads really that important?

TikTok seems to have exploded and glowed to become one of the most downloaded apps in the world.

TikTok started life as a fairly successful video-sharing app - tagged as Dou yin in his home country China and TikTok in the rest of the world, however, in 2018, it bought the most popular app, Musical.ly, migrating all of its non-Chinese users to The new compact TikTok platform.

The company still runs Dou yin as a separate app in its home country, and it should come as no surprise that marketers are starting to see the platform's potential.

The complete guide for marketers to advertise on TikTok.

What is TikTok?
Who uses TikTok ads?
How can brands use TikTok ads?
User-Generated Content
traditional influencer marketing
Types of TikTok ads
Tips when advertising on TikTok
How to make an advertisement on TikTok

1- TikTok ads more than 800 million installs

Perhaps the most significant barrier to TikTok's marketing success is that most marketers (and business managers) over the age of 30 have never heard of the platform.

It's made the news a few times lately due to concerns about whether it is safe for youngsters.

This came to a head in early April when India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology requested that TikTok be removed from app stores After a high court in Madras stated that the app encourages pornography and other illegal content.

However, the ban did not last long and the court lifted the ban on April 22 After TikTok closely vetted its content, it removed more than 6 million videos that it believed violated our Terms of Use and Community Guidelines.

Aside from this concern, TikTok ads have grown exponentially over the past year The app was the most downloaded free iOS app during the first half of 2018 Also released on Google Play in October 2018.

Overall, TikTok was ranked 3rd in the world in November 2018.

TikTok had more than 1.1 billion installs as of March 2019 Users downloaded it more than 660 million times in 2018 alone With another 188 million downloads during the first quarter of 2019 More than 500 million people use Tik Tok globally every month.

India's short-term ban should be a real concern for TikTok management 43% of its global users come from India (remember, these numbers exclude Chinese users of Douyin).

This explains the great importance of TikTok in terms of marketing and advertising That is, he enjoys a large audience that made him sit in this position.

2- What is TikTok?

TikTok encourages its users to upload short videos most of the former Musical.ly users have uploaded their lip sync videos for the music videos.

The most talented, enthusiastic, and technically proficient members uploaded videos with original content And these are the people who became the influencers on the platform.

Most TikTok videos are up to 15 seconds long Although you can create and share 60-second Stories type videos.

Both TikTok and Musical.ly targeted the same audience - teens and teens.

So it's no surprise that TikTok also focuses on children aged 13-24.

One thing that has changed as the platform's popularity has grown is that there is now more variety in the types of videos people share No longer just music, up-and-coming comedians are taking advantage of their chores And skaters showcasing their skills, dancers, and fashion buffs And budding beauticians, and artisanal fans, all have the opportunity to share videos demonstrating their talents.

And now we see people sharing videos showing them using their favorite products.

Of course, not all TikTok users have the confidence, bandwidth, or skills to create videos Just like many YouTube viewers are hackers They are only looking for content that is exciting to consume, few TikTok users also take a more negative attitude towards using the app.

In fact, TikTok users don't need to follow anyone, they can simply open their app, and go to their Discover page.

And start playing videos that look like they're interesting or entertaining They can also search for videos on favorite topics using relevant hashtags.

Over time though, most TikTok users will like certain types of videos They will likely subscribe to channels that share their video genres regularly.

Every TikTok ads a profile page This highlights the videos they have uploaded.

3- Who uses TikTok ads?

There are a large number of users in the USA and India and in the form of Dou yin China (Dou yin reports 400 million users per month).

Dou yin has been operating in China since 2017, initially, more than 50% of its users were under the age of 24 It should be noted that those early users of Dou yin stayed with the platform with age Which means that the average lifespan of Douyin users has gradually risen crept upward As of February 2018, only 31.8% of Dou yin users were under 24 years old With 23.4% of users aged between 25-30 years and another 23.4% of users between the ages of 31 and 35.

4- How can brands use TikTok ads?

There are three main ways that brands can market on TikTok.

Create their own channel and upload related videos through their channel Working with influencers, to disseminate content to a wider audience.

Paying to Advertise on TikTok - It's the very early days of TikTok ads There is definitely no market yet like there is on YouTube However, TikTok may become more popular and established over time.

Many brands make a combination of running their own channels and working with influencers to spread content to a wider audience You can try some of the ideas listed below on your own channels Or you might suggest that your influencers create and share these types of content.

5- User-generated content

Again this is the type of marketing that brands can base their TikTok channel alternatively, work with influencers to encourage their followers to create User Generated Content (UGC) that supports the brand in some way.

If you can find a way to encourage your customers to share their videos with your products or interact with them in some way you will likely get a high rate of participation.

6- traditional influencer marketing

All the influencer marketing techniques that you see on other video platforms like YouTube, also work on Tik Tok if your product suits the audience of influencers, then your influencer campaign on TikTok should succeed.

In most cases it should be left to influencers to create the content - they know what their followers like.

As always the key to successful influencer marketing is setting the right goals Target a specific part of the purchasing path. Young TikTok broadcasters need to maintain the credibility of their followers for influencer marketing to succeed.

And almost every brand needs to do to encourage influencers to create videos that depict them wearing or using the sponsor's product.

This will only work if the influencer is the type of person who typically uses the product.

Another side effect of young TikTok customers is that they are much less interested in fast camera work and high video production values.

And you should trust your influencers enough to produce their videos their way Even if they seem amateurish to the marketer, TikTok users care about originality and fun, rather than the quality of your videos.

7- TikTok ads

TikTok has experimented with ads over the past year but it has not yet established any official revenue sharing system.

However, they are getting closer to the point where more people will be able to advertise on the platform They started running short ads in January 2019.

And they had created an ad trailer in late 2018 Which gives an indication of the types of ads that can eventually be made available to brands on Musical.ly Someone leaked the document to Digiday.

Possible ad types include:

Brand takeover
In-feed native video
Hashtag challenge
Snapchat-style 2D lens filters for photos.

We will explain it in detail

1- Brand takeover

Brand Takeover ads can appear in the form of still images, GIFs, or videos All linked to the brand's landing page or in-app hashtag challenge.

Brand stakes are exclusive to their categories, so only one brand per day can appear in that slot.

These ads are what the user will see in their feed before any user-generated content appears.

The success of this type of advertising can be measured by TikTok's measurement of clicks, impressions, and unique reach.

2 - Native Video ads

Native In-feed Video Ads on TikTok are video ads that should be between 9 and 15 seconds long And with a little time to make a statement Investing in video editing software will likely be more than necessary to deliver quality content to your audience.

Native video ads appear sandwiched between users' videos in the TikTok feed and can be scrolled or skipped.

These ads support various calls to action such as clicks and app downloads.

The native video ad metrics that TikTok can measure include impressions, clicks, video views, and video engagement.

3- Hashtag сhallenges

Whereas clicks and views are interactions in and of themselves Your business may be looking to increase engagement with your audience, and a Sponsored Hashtag Challenge may be your key.

Hashtags should not be new to your social media marketing strategy because they are a great way to attract new followers and you can even run giveaways like Instagram hash contests with them.

TikTok thrives almost entirely on challenges Where users create and recreate trends through music, acting, and tricks.

Using the Hashtag Challenge ad

Your brand can create a unique banner on the discovery page of TikTok to direct users to a specific challenge created by your team.

Challenge instructions and videos already created for this challenge will be on this page.

Brands can measure the success of a hashtag challenge by the number of banner views and clicks, and the number of user-generated videos.

The number of users who use your brand's music and more.

4 - Branded lenses

When a TikTok user creates a video, there are countless filters available at their disposal.

Similar to Snapchat's branded lenses TikTok's branded lens advertising option allows advertisers to design a filter to promote their brand or product.

These lenses can be started directly for up to 10 days at a time It encourages the user to create content with your brand on top.

8- tips for advertising on TikTok

Many users on Tik Tok make their short videos look easy while some may be photographed quickly and without thinking much Some of the most popular TikTok accounts may spend days or even weeks developing an idea, shooting and editing their videos for their audience.

Your ads must not be of low quality; They should be a great representation of your brand Which means your creative team may need to use project management tools to help manage your creativity.

Besides great editing skills, consider the following:

* Create relevant content

Half of the current TikTok users are under the age of 34 Tik Tok may not be the platform for creating elegant button ads.

Instead, it is important to engage your audience in the same way that content creators on TikTok do Through humor, visual effects, exciting music, and storytelling.

* Collaboration with influencers

Influencer marketing is still in the early stages of taking off, but showing a familiar and original face in your ad can grab the attention of viewers.

* Follow the leader

Algorithms on the platform can help you find some of the most popular paths users use in their videos.

9- How to make an advertisement on TikTok

First, are TikTok ads suitable for your business?

With more than 500 million active users worldwide, TikTok presents a huge opportunity for advertisers TikTok ads not only surpassed the popularity of Twitter and Snapchat but have become less saturated with ads than its older counterparts.

The visual app, which allows users to edit and share 15-second videos with built-in filters, effects, and music, has rocked the marketing world with its unprecedented power.

In early 2019, the app launched a beta version of displaying its ads Since then, big names like Grubhub, Nike, Fenty Beauty, and Apple Music have used TikTok ads to promote products in unique and visually appealing campaigns.

With advanced targeting and unique ad creation features, the TikTok ads platform is unlike many of its predecessors. When used effectively It can help you tap into the most profitable user group.

However, not every company is eligible to take advantage of TikTok's unique offer.

Before investing your time and effort into TikTok ads, here are two questions you need to ask yourself to determine if this ad platform is right for your business.

What is the target demographic for your business?

If younger people are the primary audience for your business, then TikTok ads may be a good investment for you; As 66% of TikTok users are under 30 years old (41% are between 16 and 24 years old) This is not the right platform for companies that cater to the elderly.

To visualize this, a large number of trending videos on TikTok are related to topics geared towards youth, such as school and homework.

However, it should be noted that while TikTok's current audience is mostly young people, social networks tend to be embraced by younger audiences first.

Then it left its mark on the ancient demographics So it can be helpful to learn more about the platform to stay ahead of the curve, even if TikTok isn't right for your business at this point.

Do you have the budget to advertise on TikTok?

While big companies like Nike, Disney, and Grubhub have quickly taken to advertising on TikTok to increase huge impressions, TikTok ads may be less expensive for small businesses.

Because ads on the platform are new and rare, they come with premium costs that start at an average of $10 per thousand impressions and can go up to $300,000 in total budget for larger campaigns.

Furthermore, TikTok campaigns require a minimum investment of USD 500 So it may not be a perfect fit for your business if you are looking for more affordable and predictable advertising options.

If you decide that TikTok ads are a valuable investment for your business, here's how to get started.

1- Create a TikTok ads account

To create your first ad campaign, visit the TikTok ads homepage and click the Create Ad button.

Since TikTok ads are still in beta, the process of setting up ads is not completely online yet When you click the button, a form will pop up asking for details to set up your account. After you submit this information, a representative will contact you to set up your TikTok ads account.

It may take up to 48 hours to receive your account Once you do that, the ad creation process is relatively easy.

2- Create a TikTok ads campaign

On the TikTok ads Dashboard, click on the Campaign tab at the top of the page and then click the Create button.

Next, choose a campaign objective, which is the primary objective of your ad You can choose from three options: traffic, conversions, and app installation.

To set your budget at the campaign level, select either the Daily Budget or Total Budget option under Settings Note that both the daily budget and the total budget must be at least $500.

3- Set TikTok ads placements, details, and targeting

The next step is to create an ad group for your campaign and choose your placements and targeting.

One of the most useful features of the TikTok ads Dashboard is that it allows you to select the platforms on which you want to display your ads And that doesn't just include TikTok It also includes its entire suite of apps like Vigo Video (India only), BuzzVideo, News Republic, and more.

There is also an option for automatic placements, where TikTok determines where your ad is performing best and places it there.

Once you choose your favorite spots Follow the instructions to enter all the necessary details to start showing your ad Including any related URLs, display names, images, and categories. You can also specify up to 20 keywords to describe your website or app Which will then be used to match your products with the right audience.

The Targeting section allows you to define the target audience for your ads Specify parameters for location, age, gender, languages, interests, devices, and more to attract the right audience for your ads.

If you have a specific group of people in mind to target on TikTok You can create a custom audience by uploading the IDs of existing TikTok users.

4- Control TikTok ads spend, duration, and goals

You are now ready to choose a budget, schedule, and goal for your TikTok ads.

In the Budget & Schedule section, set your ad group budget You can choose either a daily budget (how much you want to spend per day) or a total budget (the total amount you want to spend for the life of the schedule).

Note that there is a minimum daily budget of $50 and a total budget at the ad group level.

The minimum daily budget at the ad group level is set at $50 The current TikTok Ads help files now set the minimum daily budget at the ad group level at $20.

Also, choose the scheduled duration of your ads. Dayparting allows you to specify certain times of the day or week that your ad will be shown.

Select the Speed option Next set your budget speed, which determines how quickly your budget will be spent The Standard View option spreads your budget evenly across the duration of the campaign While the expedite option spends the budget as quickly as possible during the specified time.

- Set your own improvement goal

The optimization goal reflects the primary metric you hope to achieve with your campaign, you can choose to optimize your ad group for conversion or click or impressions, and your bids will be optimized based on the goal you set.

If you choose conversion as your goal, your ad will be shown to the people most likely to convert to your product or service.

To keep track of all actions that indicate a conversion (for example, app downloads or form submissions) Create conversion events by clicking Library and selecting Transformations.

From here, select whether you want to set up conversion tracking for app installs or certain elements of your landing page by pixel.

To create a conversion to install the application

Type a name for your conversion event, enter the link to your app in Google Play or the App Store, and select a tracking partner to start measuring conversions from your ad.

Conversion goals are priced using the OCPC (optimization cost-per-click) bidding method, which ensures that your ads are shown to users who are most likely to take your expected actions With OCPC, you bid on your expected single conversion cost Then you pay via CPC (Cost Per Click).

TikTok ads automatically adjust your bids according to your bid settings With your campaign cost plotting close to your target price.

If you select Click as an overarching target for your ad group You will be billed on a cost-per-click basis With optimizing your ad to increase as many clicks as possible.

If you set “Visibility” as your goal Your ad will be billed on a cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) basis, which indicates the price of a thousand impressions.

Turn on or off smart optimization TikTok advance An option called Smart Optimization, and if enabled, your bids will be constantly adjusted and improved to increase conversions.

If you choose Click or Impression as your goal, it is best to turn off Smart Optimization.

5- Create your ad using TikTok's Video Creation Kit

When it comes to designing creative assets for your ad The process is fairly straightforward TikTok ads can be horizontal, vertical, or square images and videos.

The best thing about the advertising platform is a tool called Video Creation Kit Which provides video and photo templates that you customize with your existing photos.

It also comes with more than 300 free background music options.

TikTok currently allows the following types of ads: Brand takeovers In-feed ads, hashtag challenges.

6- Optimize your TikTok ads

When creating a brand acquisition or in-app display ad Make sure to use high-resolution images because the advertising visuals will dominate the entire user screen and will be highly visible.

Focus on just one call to action (CTA) to get the most out of your redirect link.

To clarify if you ask users to download your app and access a voucher code through your website You may confuse some viewers by redirecting them to your app's download screen.

For the ad copy

Note that TikTok ads provide very little room to explain anything in words.

Ad descriptions are limited to 80 characters, so if you're selling a more complex product or service, incorporate words into your online ad design with the Video Creation Kit.

Since all ad descriptions appear at the bottom of the screen, be sure to place your main creative elements in the middle of the screen to avoid crowding.

As with most ad formats, it's best to experiment with a combination of targeting options and creative elements before narrowing your ad down to the most successful combinations of elements.

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