How to Create Effective TikTok Ads for Your Business in the US

By Cepy 8/08/2023 Post a Comment

TikTok is one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, with over a billion users and millions of creators. It is also a powerful marketing tool for businesses of all sizes, especially in the US, where TikTok has over 100 million monthly active users. But how can you create effective TikTok ads that entertain, connect and drive results for your brand?

In this article, we will guide you through the basics of TikTok advertising, the different types of ads you can use, the best practices and tips to optimize your campaigns, and some examples of successful TikTok ads from US brands. Let's get started!

What are TikTok ads?

TikTok ads are promoted content (usually full-screen videos) that a brand or creator pays to show to a specified target audience. Ads on TikTok are a form of social media marketing, and they usually aim to spread awareness about the advertiser or sell a particular product or service.

TikTok offers a variety of ad formats and solutions to suit different business goals and budgets. You can create your own ads using the TikTok Ads Manager, or work with TikTok Marketing Partners or TikTok Creators to enhance your campaigns.

The benefits of TikTok ads

Why should you consider advertising on TikTok? Here are some of the benefits of TikTok ads for your business:

You can reach a large and engaged audience. TikTok has over a billion users worldwide, and over 100 million in the US alone. These users spend an average of 52 minutes per day on the app, watching and creating content. By advertising on TikTok, you can tap into this massive and active user base and showcase your brand to potential customers.
You can join a creative and authentic community. TikTok is known for its diverse and vibrant content, where users express themselves through music, comedy, challenges, trends, and more. By advertising on TikTok, you can become a part of this community and create ads that resonate with your target audience. You can also leverage the power of user-generated content (UGC) and influencer marketing to boost your brand awareness and credibility.
You can drive results with immersive and interactive formats. TikTok ads are designed to captivate users with sound-on, full-screen vertical video formats that blend seamlessly with organic content. You can also add interactive elements to your ads, such as stickers, filters, hashtags, calls-to-action (CTAs), and more. These features can help you increase engagement, conversions, and retention for your campaigns.

The types of TikTok ads

TikTok offers several types of ads for advertisers to choose from, depending on their objectives, budgets, and preferences. Here are some of the most common types of TikTok ads:

In-Feed Ads: These are video ads that appear in the For You page (FYP), which is the main feed where users discover new content on TikTok. In-feed ads can be up to 60 seconds long, and they support features such as sound, voiceover, music, text, stickers, filters, CTAs, and more. In-feed ads are ideal for driving traffic to your website or app, generating leads, or increasing conversions.
TopView Ads: These are video ads that appear as the first thing users see when they open the app. TopView ads can be up to 60 seconds long, and they support features such as sound, voiceover, music, text, stickers, filters, CTAs, and more. TopView ads are ideal for maximizing reach, awareness, and recall for your brand.
Branded Hashtag Challenge: These are sponsored hashtags that invite users to participate in a themed challenge by creating their own videos using the hashtag. Branded hashtag challenges appear on the Discover page (the search page where users explore new content on TikTok) and have their own landing page with the brand's logo, banner image, description, rules, and featured videos. Branded hashtag challenges are ideal for generating UGC, increasing engagement, and building brand affinity.
Branded Effect: These are custom effects that users can apply to their videos to enhance their creativity and interaction with your brand. Branded effects include stickers, filters, lenses, transitions, and more. Branded effects appear in the effects tray (the menu where users select effects for their videos) and have a branded icon. Branded effects are ideal for boosting brand awareness, recall, and preference.
Spark Ads: These are video ads that boost existing organic or creator-made videos to maximize their impact for your brand. Spark ads can be your own videos, videos made by creators you collaborate with, or videos that mention your brand organically. Spark ads appear in the FYP and support features such as sound, voiceover, music, text, stickers, filters, CTAs, and more. Spark ads are ideal for amplifying UGC, influencer marketing, and word-of-mouth.
Promote: This is a self-serve tool that allows you to amplify your own organic content on TikTok with a simple click. Promote helps you reach more users who are interested in your content, and drive them to your profile, website, or app. Promote is ideal for small businesses or creators who want to grow their audience and exposure on TikTok.

How to create TikTok ads

Now that you know the benefits and types of TikTok ads, how can you create your own? Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Set up your TikTok Ads account

The first step is to set up your TikTok Ads account, which is the platform where you can create and manage your campaigns. To do this, you need to visit [TikTok for Business](https://www.tiktok.com/business/en-US) and click on Create an Ad. You will then need to fill in some basic information about your business, such as your name, email, phone number, industry, and country. You will also need to choose a currency for your account.

Once you submit your information, you will receive an email confirmation from TikTok. You will then need to verify your email address and set a password for your account. After that, you will be able to access the TikTok Ads Manager dashboard, where you can start creating your campaigns.

Step 2: Choose your campaign objective

The next step is to choose your campaign objective, which is the goal you want to achieve with your TikTok ads. Your campaign objective will determine how your ads are optimized and measured. TikTok offers three main categories of campaign objectives:

Awareness: These objectives are designed to increase the exposure and recognition of your brand among your target audience. The available awareness objectives are Reach and Brand Awareness.
Consideration: These objectives are designed to encourage users to interact with your brand and consider your products or services. The available consideration objectives are Traffic, App Install, Video Views, Lead Generation, and Engagement.
Conversion: These objectives are designed to drive users to take a specific action that leads to a sale or a customer relationship. The available conversion objectives are Conversions and Catalog Sales.

To choose your campaign objective, you need to click on the Campaign tab in the TikTok Ads Manager dashboard and click on Create. You will then see a list of objectives to choose from. You should select the one that best aligns with your business goal.

Step 3: Set your campaign budget

The next step is to set your campaign budget, which is the amount of money you want to spend on your TikTok ads. You can choose between two types of campaign budgets:

Daily Budget: This is the maximum amount of money you want to spend on your campaign per day. Your campaign will stop delivering once you reach your daily budget limit.
Lifetime Budget: This is the maximum amount of money you want to spend on your campaign for its entire duration. Your campaign will stop delivering once you reach your lifetime budget limit or the end date of your campaign.

To set your campaign budget, you need to enter the amount in the Budget & Schedule section of the campaign creation page. You can also choose whether you want to run your campaign continuously or set a start and end date.

Step 4: Create your ad group

The next step is to create your ad group, which is a subset of your campaign that contains one or more ads that share the same settings and targeting options. You can create multiple ad groups within a campaign to test different strategies and optimize your performance.

To create your ad group, you need to click on the Ad Group tab in the TikTok Ads Manager dashboard and click on Create. You will then need to configure the following settings for your ad group:

Placement: This is where you want your ads to appear on TikTok and its partner apps. You can choose between Automatic Placement (which lets TikTok decide where to show your ads based on performance) or Select Placement (which lets you choose specific apps where you want yourads to appear).
Promotion Type: This is the type of content you want to promote with your ads. You can choose between Website (which drives users to your website or landing page), App (which drives users to download or use your app), or Hashtag Challenge (which drives users to participate in your branded hashtag challenge).
Bid Strategy: This is how you want to pay for your ads based on your campaign objective. You can choose between Lowest Cost (which lets TikTok optimize your bids to get the lowest cost per result), Cost Cap (which lets you set a maximum cost per result that you are willing to pay), or Target Cost (which lets you set an average cost per result that you want to maintain).
Budget & Schedule: This is the amount of money you want to spend on your ad group and the duration of your ad group. You can choose between Daily Budget or Lifetime Budget, and set a start and end date for your ad group.
Audience: This is the group of users you want to target with your ads based on their demographics, interests, behaviors, and more. You can choose between Custom Audience (which lets you upload your own list of users or create a lookalike audience based on your existing customers), Core Audience (which lets you select from TikTok's predefined audience segments), or Automated Creative Optimization (which lets TikTok automatically generate and test different combinations of creative elements and audience segments).
Optimization Goal & Event: This is the action you want users to take after seeing your ads and the event you want to track and optimize for. You can choose from different optimization goals and events depending on your campaign objective, such as Impressions, Clicks, Video Views, Conversions, App Installs, Leads, and more.
Delivery Type: This is how you want your ads to be delivered to your target audience. You can choose between Standard Delivery (which delivers your ads evenly throughout the day) or Accelerated Delivery (which delivers your ads as quickly as possible until you reach your budget limit).

Step 5: Create your ad creative

The final step is to create your ad creative, which is the actual content that users will see on TikTok and its partner apps. You can create your ad creative using the TikTok Video Creation Kit, which is a tool that lets you create videos using templates, music, stickers, filters, and more. You can also upload your own videos or images that you have created elsewhere.

To create your ad creative, you need to click on the Ad tab in the TikTok Ads Manager dashboard and click on Create. You will then need to configure the following settings for your ad creative:

Ad Name: This is the name of your ad that will help you identify it in the TikTok Ads Manager dashboard.
Ad Format: This is the type of ad format you want to use for your ad. You can choose from different ad formats depending on your placement and promotion type, such as In-Feed Video, TopView Video, Branded Hashtag Challenge Banner, Branded Effect Icon, Spark Video, Promote Video, and more.
Creative Type: This is the type of creative content you want to use for your ad. You can choose between Video (which lets you create or upload a video for your ad) or Image (which lets you upload an image for your ad).
Video/Image: This is where you can create or upload your video or image for your ad. You can use the TikTok Video Creation Kit to create a video using templates, music, stickers, filters, and more. You can also upload your own video or image that meets the specifications for each ad format.
Display Name: This is the name of your brand or account that will appear above your ad.
Profile Image: This is the image of your brand or account that will appear next to your display name.
Text: This is the text that will appear below your ad. You can write up to 80 characters to describe your offer or CTA.
CTA Button: This is the button that will appear below your text. You can choose from different CTA buttons depending on your campaign objective, such as Learn More, Shop Now, Download Now, Join Now, and more.
Landing Page URL: This is the URL of the website or app where you want users to go after clicking on your ad. You can also use a tracking URL to measure the performance of your ad.

A detailed table breakdown related to TikTok ads

Ad Format	Description	Placement	Promotion Type	Specifications
In-Feed Video	A sound-on, vertical video ad that appears in the FYP.	TikTok, News Republic, BuzzVideo, TopBuzz, Babe, Pangle.	Website, App, Hashtag Challenge.	Video length: 5-60 seconds. Video resolution: ≥720*1280 pixels. Video aspect ratio: 9:16, 1:1, or 16:9. Video file size: ≤500 MB. Video file format: .mp4 or .mov. Image file size: ≤50 KB. Image file format: .jpg or .png.
TopView Video	A sound-on, vertical video ad that appears as the first thing users see when they open the app.	TikTok.	Website, App.	Video length: 5-60 seconds. Video resolution: ≥720*1280 pixels. Video aspect ratio: 9:16. Video file size: ≤500 MB. Video file format: .mp4 or .mov. Image file size: ≤50 KB. Image file format: .jpg or .png.
Branded Hashtag Challenge Banner	A sponsored hashtag that invites users to participate in a themed challenge by creating their own videos using the hashtag.	TikTok.	Hashtag Challenge.	Banner image size: ≤150 KB. Banner image format: .jpg or .png. Banner image aspect ratio: 3:2. Banner image resolution: ≥1200800 pixels. Landing page image size: ≤150 KB. Landing page image format: .jpg or .png. Landing page image aspect ratio: 9:16. Landing page image resolution: ≥7201280 pixels.
Branded Effect Icon	A custom effect that users can apply to their videos to enhance their creativity and interaction with your brand.	TikTok.	Website, App, Hashtag Challenge.	Effect icon size: ≤50 KB. Effect icon format: .jpg or .png. Effect icon aspect ratio: 1:1. Effect icon resolution: ≥1024*1024 pixels.
Spark Video	A video ad that boosts existing organic or creator-made videos to maximize their impact for your brand.	TikTok, News Republic, BuzzVideo, TopBuzz, Babe, Pangle.	Website, App, Hashtag Challenge.	The same specifications as In-Feed Video.
Promote Video	A self-serve tool that allows you to amplify your own organic content on TikTok with a simple click.	TikTok.	Profile, Website, App.	The same specifications as In-Feed Video.

FAQ about TikTok ads

How much do TikTok ads cost?

The cost of TikTok ads depends on several factors, such as your campaign objective, bid strategy, budget, targeting, and ad performance. TikTok ads start at $10 per CPM (cost per 1000 views). However, the actual cost may vary depending on the demand and supply of your target audience and the quality and relevance of your ads.

How can I measure the performance of my TikTok ads?

You can measure the performance of your TikTok ads using the TikTok Ads Manager dashboard, which provides you with various metrics and reports to track and optimize your campaigns. Some of the metrics you can monitor include impressions, clicks, video views, conversions, cost per result, reach, frequency, and more. You can also use third-party tracking tools or TikTok Marketing Partners to measure your ad performance.

How can I optimize my TikTok ads?

You can optimize your TikTok ads by following some best practices and tips, such as:

Define your target audience and use relevant keywords, interests, behaviors, and demographics to reach them.
Choose the right ad format and solution for your campaign objective and budget.
Create engaging and authentic video content that showcases your brand personality and value proposition.
Use catchy music, voiceover, text, stickers, filters, and CTAs to enhance your ad creative.
Test different ad variations and use the Automated Creative Optimization feature to find the best-performing combinations.
Analyze your ad performance and use the insights to adjust your strategy and improve your results.

What are some examples of successful TikTok ads from US brands?

There are many examples of successful TikTok ads from US brands that have achieved impressive results with their campaigns. Here are some of them:

Chipotle: The fast-food chain launched a branded hashtag challenge called #ChipotleLidFlip, which encouraged users to flip the lid of their burrito bowl using a fork. The challenge generated over 230 million views and increased digital sales by 10%.
Gymshark: The fitness apparel brand collaborated with popular creators to promote its products and drive traffic to its website. The campaign generated over 20 million views and increased website visits by 40%.
e.l.f. Cosmetics: The beauty brand created a catchy original song called "Eyes Lips Face" and invited users to create their own videos using the song and the hashtag #EyesLipsFace. The campaign generated over 5 billion views and increased brand awareness by 10%.
Kroger: The grocery retailer launched a branded hashtag challenge called #TransformUrDorm, which invited users to show how they transformed their dorm rooms with products from Kroger. The challenge generated over 477 million views and increased sales by 7%.
NFL: The sports league partnered with TikTok to create exclusive content and engage with fans. The campaign generated over 1 billion views and increased followers by 30%.

Conclusion

TikTok is a powerful platform for advertising your business in the US. By creating effective TikTok ads that entertain, connect, and drive results for your brand, you can reach a large and engaged audience, join a creative and authentic community, and drive results with immersive and interactive formats.

If you want to learn more about how to create effective TikTok ads for your business in the US, check out our other articles on [TikTok for Business](https://www.tiktok.com/business/en-US).

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