Beginner's Guide: How to Run TikTok Ads

If you want to reach a large share of a young audience, TikTok is likely your go-to platform. It’s an addicting social media site, filled with short video that you can scroll through, and it was so successful that most social media platforms have created their own version of this scrollable video feed. (See: Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and even LinkedIn’s new video feed.) 

With TikTok Ads, businesses can pay to promote content, increase visibility, and drive user actions like purchases or visits.

In this post, we’ll cover everything you need to know to get started with TikTok Ads, including who should use them, costs, and the ad creation process.

Why use TikTok Ads?

TikTok has grown rapidly, now boasting over one billion monthly active users globally, with 150 million in the U.S. alone. Users are highly engaged, spending about an hour daily on the app (though we all know it's possible to spend much more time on it).

For advertisers, this is an opportunity to connect with a highly engaged audience, especially if your target aligns with TikTok’s demographics.

TikTok's audience skews younger, with the majority between 18-34, but it also attracts younger teens aged 13-18. If reaching this demographic is your goal, TikTok advertising is worth exploring.

How much do TikTok Ads cost?

Initially, TikTok’s promotional platform was expensive, with costs ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 for branded takeovers and hashtag challenges. However, TikTok’s self-service ads are now much more affordable, making the platform accessible for small and medium businesses.

We’ll focus on these self-service ads, similar to those on other social media platforms.

Two main factors influence TikTok ad costs: the amount you pay for specific actions (like clicks) and your overall budget.

Cost for specific actions

Like most other similar platforms, the exact costs of TikTok Ads vary based on a number of factors, including:

• The audience you’re targeting and how in-demand they are
• Overall marketplace competition (e.g., costs might rise during holidays)
• The ad type and objective (clicks, views, etc.)

According to Business of Apps, benchmarks for TikTok ad costs are:

• Cost per thousand impressions (CPM): $3.20 - $10 
• Cost per click (CPC): $0.25 - $4

While a different study from Influencer Marketing data found:

• CPM: Starts at $10. 
• CPC: $1.

Minimum spend requirements

You can control your total budget for a TikTok ad campaign, but there are minimums:

• $500 per campaign.
• $50 daily at the campaign level and $20 daily at the ad group level

Ok, let's make this make sense. Ad accounts are broken down into three levels: Campaign, ad groups, and ads. Campaigns allow you to make high-level decisions, such as choosing an objective. Each campaign can have multiple ad groups, which allow you to set decisions like budget and audience targeting. You can create multiple individual ads in each ad group, which are the actual creatives that users see.

So, if you create a single campaign with three different ad groups, you must pay:

• A minimum of $500 in campaign lifetime costs
• $20 daily for each ad group (x3), which is $60 total and covers the $50 campaign daily ad spend requirement

TikTok Ad formats and placements

TikTok ad formats determine how your ads will appear when displayed, and placements determine where your ad will appear. There's one big distinction in ad types that you should know about before diving into specific formats: Spark ads vs non-spark ads.

Spark Ads vs Non-Spark Ads

What are Spark Ads? Spark Ads allow you to promote your organic posts or organic posts created by other accounts, including influencer-created content and user-generated content (UGC) — with authorization of course. This is similar to sponsored posts on Facebook or Instagram — you can pay to boost visibility on existing organic content.

There's a few reasons Spark Ads are useful:

• They look more like regular posts: Since the promoted posts were originally organic, they blend in with your audience's (for-you page) FYP experience, especially if you're using UGC. This can help you build your brand image and increase trust with you audience.
• They impact total TikTok ROI: Unlike an in-feed ad, where users can only click-through to a landing page, Spark Ads allow users to navigate to the poster's profile where they can follow and view more content. If you choose to boost one of your own posts, it will help build your account reach and engagement numbers in a way that in-feed ads can't.
• They simplify ad creative: You don't need to create Spark Ads from scratch — just select the content you want to use and promote it! Plus, you can use organic post features that otherwise aren't available on ads, like Duet, Stitch, and Stickers are all available.
• They make collabs easy: Spark Ads allow you to seamlessly connect with influencers and creators who are already brand evangelists. You simply send them an authorization code to use their video as sponsored content — easy as pie!

On the other hand, Non-Spark Ads are regular in-feed ads. You can use non-Spark formats to create new, original content to work specifically as paid ads. These are ideal if you want to want more control over campaign parameters, like audience, placement, etc. 

In short, if creators regularly post UGC about your brand, or your brand already has successful organic content, Spark Ads are probably a good investment. If you don't already have a strong organic presence on the platform — either via your brand account or creators' UGC — Non-Spark ads are a better way to dive into TikTok advertising.

You can get a feel for the difference between these major ad types when you visit TikTok's Top Ads Library. It's full of top-performing examples of each — filter by "Ad format" to see Spark Ads or Non-Spark Ads.

Now let's dive into the more specific format options available to advertisers on TikTok.

In-feed videos  

These videos show up in a user’s feed, and include the following ad formats:

• TopView ads: Ads appear full-screen and sound-on immediately when users open the TikTok app. After three seconds, the ad returns to a native in-feed ad format. This is prime real estate!
• TopFeed ads: Ads will appear in the first in-feed ad spot on a user's feed. This type of ad is available for reach and frequency campaigns.
• Standard feed ads: This is the standard in-feed ad placement. The format applies certain restrictions and requirements to your ad creative, depending on how you've purchased ad space — either via TikTok Auction ads (bidding) and TikTok Reservation Ads (booking ad placement through an agency).
• Branded missions ads: Connects brands with TikTok creators to develop video content based on your brief. Think of this as TikTok facilitating your influencer marketing.
• Spark Ads: Allow you to promote existing organic content created by you or other users.
• TikTok Pulse suite: This format uses a scoring system called The Pulse Score to place your ad after the platform’s top trending content or content from premium publishers. There's a few different offerings under this format, like maximizing reach, building brand association with a particular category or genre, or appearing after big-name publishers like Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Conde Nast

In-feed interactive ads 

These ads appear in a user’s feed and can be played, commented on, clicked, and scrolled through. Your two options are:

• Playable ads: This format allows users to interact with your ad by tapping or swiping. It's often used to preview an app, like a mobile game, to increase app downloads.
• Carousel ads: You can upload up to 35 images, which display in a carousel format, often with added music to maintain engagement.

Messaging ads

This is a new ad format that’s still currently in testing. When users interact with an ad, they’ll be taken to a messaging app instead of being sent to an off-app landing page. Direct Messaging will take users to your TikTok messaging in-app, while Instant Message options will send users to other third-party messaging apps, including Messenger or Whatsapp.   

Source: TikTok

Industry-specific formats

There are two different format options available for industry-specific uses:

• TikTok Commerce: A program of advertising tools that brands can use to sell products in TikTok videos, live streams, and on the product showcase tab (via their profile).
• Showtimes: A native experience meant for movie studio advertisers to encourage showtime lookups. 

TikTok Ad placements

You can also choose where your ads appear:

• TikTok’s platform: Ads appear in users’ feeds, including search results if selected (you can also create a Search Ads campaign based on your audiences' search keywords)
• Global App Bundle: Ads appear in other ByteDance (TikTok's parent company) apps (CapCut and Fizzo)
• Pangle: A premium global publisher network (available in select regions)

Most advertisers focus on TikTok placements for higher engagement, but third-party sites may offer wider reach and lower costs.

If you’re worried about what websites your ad could appear on, you can take advantage of brand safety features for additional control. 

How to run TikTok Ads

TikTok’s self-service platform holds your hand you through the ad creation process, but there are some manual choices that you’ll need to make. Let’s go through each part of campaign, ad group, and ad creation. 

1. Create your campaign

At the campaign level, your focus is on choosing your objective, which determines what actions you optimize for and what you’ll pay for. For example, a Traffic objective often charges for clicks, while a Reach objective charges for impressions.

Objective options include:

• Reach
• Traffic
• Video views
• Community interactions (follows, profile visits, etc.)
• App promotion
• Lead generation
• Website conversions
• Product sales

2. Create Your Ad Group

At the ad group level level, you’ll define settings like targeting and bidding.

Steps to follow:

1. Name your ad group: Name your ad group, ideally using descriptive and systematic tags like “Holiday Promotion _ Stocking Stuffers 1” to help you easily manage your campaigns later.
   
   
2. Choose the optimization location: Choose where you want to direct traffic, with options including your website or your mobile app. 
   
3. Choose your placements: Choose to select your placements manually, or select the automation placement option, which is perfectly sufficient. You can also set advanced settings for your campaigns, including comment visibility, sharing options, download access, and brand safety measures.
   
4. Set your audience targeting options: TikTok offers excellent targeting options, including location, demographics, income, devices, interests, and behaviors, plus retargeting and lookalike audiences. The reach meter on the right will help you refine your targeting criteria.
   
5. Manage your budget: A daily budget will keep your campaigns running as long as your credit card is working and there’s no end date. A lifetime budget will determine how much your campaign can spend before it’s done, though there is no guarantee over budget pacing.
   
6. Manage your schedule: Set your start time and an optional end time. You can also enable "dayparting," which shows your ad only on certain days of week and/or times of the day. In general, it’s not recommended to use dayparting unless there’s a specific strategy involved. 
7. Customize bidding strategies: New users of TikTok ads might choose to leave this section alone, but you can change your optimization goal and set an optional cost cap per click or target CPA.
   

3. Create Your Ads

This final step involves building the actual creative your audience will see.

Here’s what you need to do:

1. Enable or disable “Identity” features, which uses TikTok to deliver Spark Ads to increase brand awareness
2. Choose the ad format — single video or carousel image
3. Upload your video or images
4. Write ad copy to show up at the bottom of the ad (100-character limit)
5. Select a call-to-action (CTA) button.
6. Add interactive options (like countdown stickers) if using video
7. St the destination URL, i.e. where your ad sends users
8. Set up optional events tracking for your campaign, which requires set up of tracking pixels. 

Once your ad is ready, preview it and submit for approval.

Best Practices to Get Results with TikTok Ads

1. Prioritize authenticity

Low-production, mobile-shot videos perform well on TikTok. Focus on creating content that feels real and authentic, but don't ignore good lighting and clear sound.

2. Consider ad performance holistically

When reviewing your campaign performance, look at multiple metrics, not just one.

A campaign with high video views but low clicks could still be successful if the goal was awareness. Similarly, you may have a particular campaign with an unusually high cost-per-click, but look at your site analytics — those clicks also may be more likely to generate high-value leads or sales. 

Keep an eye on how ads contribute to larger objectives, like lead generation or sales.

3. Think of copy as a soundbite

You only get 100 characters for TikTok ad text, so use it strategically. Think of it like a soundbite — something that grabs attention, creates excitement, or explains the video’s context without being wordy.

4. Use relevant interactive elements

Engagement-focused features can help you attract attention and drive more results on your TikTok Ads. Popular options include display cards, countdown stickers, and gift card codes. You can either select these from your library or create new ones when setting up your campaign.

Currently, these interactive elements are available only for single video ads, not for carousel ads.

5. Address audience pain points head-on

Want to grab a user’s attention and motivate them to act? Address their pain point directly and let them know how you can resolve it.

For example, instead of saying, "We’ll service your air conditioning annually to keep it clean," which may just sound like an extra expense, a more effective approach would be: "Air conditioners are costly to replace, but annual maintenance can extend their lifespan by up to five years." This clearly highlights the value.

Make sure to address the pain point within the first 3–6 seconds of the video. As you explain how your product solves their problem, highlight specific features that demonstrate your solution.

6. Be cautious with bidding restrictions

You can set manual bid caps or target costs for your ad group, but be careful. While this can help keep costs down, it may also limit your reach.

TikTok, like many platforms, uses a variable bid system. This means you might pay more for a click from one user, and less for a click from a different users. The platform ideally aims to balance high-cost and low-cost clicks to maximize results within your budget.

If you do set bid caps, know that it may reduce the quality of placements and overall performance. Only set caps if necessary, and keep in mind it could limit your ad’s effectiveness.

7. Participate in social media trends

Want to really get results on a platform like TikTok? Blend it to stand out, using current hot trends to generate engagement and clicks. 

There may be new songs or dances that are currently sweeping the platform, for example, or general social media trends like ASMR videos. In the ad below, a company created an ASMR video ad that showed how easy it was to unbox and install their product. It was a smart way to market their platform on a trend-focused platform like TikTok. 

Final Thoughts

TikTok’s massive reach and engagement potential make it a powerful platform, especially for brands targeting younger audiences. While experimenting with TikTok Ads, remember to A/B test elements like video length and ad copy to find what works best.

Not ready to advertise on TikTok? Keep honing in on your organic TikTok content strategy. With the help of a social media scheduling tool like Loomly, you can plan and schedule out your TikTok content in advance to keep your brand active and your followers engaged. 

Frequently asked questions about TikTok Ads

How do I get to the Ads Manager on TikTok?

You can access the TikTok Ads Manager to review your campaigns and create new ads here.

Are TikTok ads worth it?

The answer to this question is different for every business. If you have the budget for TikTok Ads and are trying to reach a younger audience, we think it’s always worth testing. Some businesses, like B2B products or brands targeting older demographics, however, may not benefit as much from this ad platform.

My TikTok Ad account was suspended… what now?

If you log in and find your account suspended, you can appeal the decision through TikTok’s customer support department. You’ll see an option that says “Appeal” alongside the suspension notice, which will open a new page and take you through the process. 

If your account isn't suspended but you're seeing drastically decreased views, you might be shadowbanned. Here's how to get unshadowbanned on TikTok.