TikTok Advertising: The Comprehensive Beginner’s Guide

TikTok is one of the largest social media platforms nowadays and, thus, the perfect tool to use if you want to achieve bigger visibility for your brand. With clever TikTok advertising, you will be able to reach a young audience, draw traffic and recognition to your brand or website and even make money on TikTok.

In this article, you will learn:

1. Who’s the target audience for TikTok advertising
2. Types of TikTok ads
3. A detailed guide for using TikTok ads

Tiktok’s Target Audience

As we said, TikTok is one of the biggest social media platforms, with over a billion people using it every single day, and this number is only growing.

Most users on TikTok are people aged 10 to 19, closely followed by those between 20 and 29. The smallest group of TikTok users are people over 50. 

It’s also important to say that most users are female (about 57%), with about 43% of male users.

In terms of geos, most TikTok users come from the USA, followed by Indonesia and Brazil. 

And as for time of use, know that an average user spends over an hour on the platform daily.

But why are we telling you all of this? 

Well, a good marketer has to be a good psychologist, and all this information is extremely valuable when you’re about to start advertising on TikTok.

If you want your ads to target the right audience, you’d be safer employing a TikTok ad manager who will know exactly what to do with all the demographic numbers.

Types of TikTok ads

Another thing you need to know about if you want your advertising on TikTok to be successful is the types of TikTok ads out there.

There are 5 types of ads:

#1 In-feed ads

In-feed ads are most common, and they appear every now and again while you scroll through your FYP.

Since they look almost like any other video, it’s easy to scroll past and overlook them.

However, if you use colors, sounds, effects and all the rest that TikTok offers to your advantage, you can create an in-feed ad that will make a viewer stop and actually watch it.

#2 Top view ads

These ads aim to increase the exposure of a certain brand, and they will show at the top of your TikTok dashboard as soon as you open the app.

They can be up to 1 minute long and take up the whole TikTok dashboard screen.

According to a TikTok-commissioned study, the Top View ad type is a favorite among users.

#3 Branded Effects

Branded effects are ads created by the brand in the form of a sticker or a filter and can last up to 10 days. 

This is a really fun and interactive way to incorporate ads into your promotional campaign. If you create something fun that users will enjoy using and reusing, you can significantly increase your brand’s visibility!

#4 Brand Takeover Ads

Brand takeover ads are very similar to top view ads. 

They appear on your TikTok dashboard screen as soon as you open the app, but they can be still images or even GIFs with clickable links that lead to the target address.

These are shorter than top view ads and are only 3 to 5 seconds long.

However, TikTok advertising costs for brand takeover ads are extremely high, and they are limited to 1 ad per day per user, so consult with your TikTok ad manager for the best optimization and usage of these ads.

#5 Branded hashtag ads

Again, similar to branded effects, branded TikTok hashtags are a fun and interactive way to raise people’s awareness to your brand.

If you create a challenge that is fun enough with a catchy hashtag that people will use a lot, you’re already winning the advertising on TikTok.

Step-by-step guide for using TikTok advertising

Running ads on TikTok may sound like a complicated process, but we’re here to explain it all step by step so that you can focus on the creative part.

1. Create the ads account

The first step is to create the ads account. 

Simply add your email address, get the verification email and fill in the information like brand name, industry, currency, etc.

2. Install TikTok Pixel

The TikTok Pixel will help you track your ads and how they perform, giving you valuable information for later – for example, where you can improve.

3. Create the campaign

This part has 3 steps:

• Set up the campaign

Here, you will have to set up the objective, the campaign name and the budget.

The objective is what you expect people to do when they see your ad (click on it, like, share, etc.)

Tou can create up to 999 campaigns, but that should be more than enough if you use them smartly.

• Create ad group

This is where you will choose the ad placement, target audience, schedule, etc. 

You can choose these settings yourself or let TikTok do that automatically for you. 

• Create ad

Use the TikTok ad manager to upload your ad design.

You can choose between image and video ads, with a limit of 20 per group.

Best practices for TikTok advertising 

Now that you know the what and the how, let’s look at the best practices for TikTok advertising.

1. Be original and consistent

Copying someone else is never good, so use your creativity to create an ad that will make you stand out.

However, being silly or having an ad that doesn’t match your brand will bring you no good, so be consistent with your brand’s voice, use your logo and create ads that represent your brand in the right light.

2. Partner with influencers

Finding an influencer with a large following base who shares the ideas and views of your brand and partnering with them is always a good thing for your campaign.

If you find the right person with whom you have a mutual language, you can both benefit from the cooperation.

3. Use trending hashtags/sounds

It might sound counter-intuitive to say you should be original but use trending hashtags and sounds.

Well, TikTok likes both originality and popular things, but people are more inclined towards familiar things. 

So if you find a catchy tune or a popular hashtag, people will find you more easily, and you will be more recognizable.

Wrap Up

Even though TikTok advertising costs are far from low, using them smartly, you will draw awareness to your brand and products and reach new audiences.

With 5 different types of TikTok ads, you can mix and match and create a campaign that works for you and will make this venture profitable.