The fast-changing nature of today’s digital environment means there will always be new platforms vying for people’s attention. One new platform that took the world by storm was TikTok. This app was the world’s most downloaded app in 2020 and has since become a key medium that facilitates interactions between brands and consumers.
But why is advertising on TikTok so important?
Importance of Advertising on TikTok
The majority of TikTok users fall in the valuable advertising demographic of between 18 and 24 years old. The relative youth of this demographic means they do not yet have established brand loyalty, and therefore this makes them a valuable target market for brands.
TikTok is also available in over 150 countries so this will give you the option to advertise to a wide audience, which you can narrow if required.
TikTok users also spend an average of 46 minutes per day on the app. This is more than some of the established social media players so businesses can trust that users will be exposed to a significant amount of ads during sessions on the app.
Now we know why advertising on TikTok is valuable for so many businesses, but what steps are involved in setting up an account on the platform?
1. Create a TikTok Ads Account
If you haven’t got one already, you will need to create a TikTok Ads account. Once you create an account your information will be reviewed and then once approved, you will be able to start creating ads.
2. Start a Tik Tok Ad Campaign
Now that you have set up your account, you can start up a campaign. The campaign dashboard will allow you to set broad objectives such as crafting your campaign to drive:
- Traffic
- Conversions
- App installs.
3. Choose an Ad Type
TikTok offers a variety of ad types that offer different ways of connecting with your audience.
- In-feed ads: These are the most common types of ads and they appear as videos when scrolling through the feed on TikTok.
- Brand takeover ads: these appear as full-screen ads that are shown to users upon opening the app. Because of their prominence, these ads require significant expenditure.
- Branded hashtag challenges: These ads show users videos displaying a customised hashtag for your brand. If done right, these ads can create viral moments for your brand, but because of this the ads also come with significant costs.
- Influencer marketing: this advertising involves a brand partnering with a content creator to produce branded content. This is an excellent way for brands to connect with creators who have audiences and interests that overlap with your brand.
4. Create a New Ad Group
Creating an ad group allows you to define the positioning, targeting, schedule, and bidding type for your campaign.
i) Placement
Placement allows you to choose where you would like your ads to appear. The most common selection is automatic placements where TikTok will decide where to show your ad to get the best results. Ads can be shown on TikTok’s network of apps that their parent company owns.
ii) Targeting
The targeting section of TikTok’s ad platform allows you to identify the audience that you would like to see your ads. You can input specific locations you would like to target as well as demographics, devices, interests and behaviours.
iii) Budget and Schedule
You can then input the daily or lifetime budget for your campaign. This tool will give you control over the spending associated with each campaign so you can keep to a strict budget. Typical TikTok ads start at around $10 CPM.
TikTok also allows you to choose when your ads are displayed. This is important because it allows you to schedule your ads around a time-sensitive campaign your business may be running.
iv) Bidding and Optimisation
This section allows you to select an optimisation goal for your campaign, which will determine how you are billed. The optimisation goals available are click, reach, and conversion.
- Click: billed as CPC
- Reach: billed as CPM
- Conversion: billed as CPM.
You also have the option of controlling your bidding strategy. A ‘standard’ strategy involves your advertising budget being evenly spent across your campaign. The ‘accelerate’ strategy will see your ad budget spent as quickly as possible during your campaign.
v) Monitor Campaign Performance
Finally, once you have approved your campaign the next step is to review its performance. TikTok’s advertising platform provides users with a variety of metrics to ensure that you have the full picture of your campaign’s performance.
