The ultimate guide to TikTok advertising

What is TikTok?

TikTok is the world’s fastest growing social media platform where users can make short funny videos and share them with each other. Creativity is the most important part and everything from funny filters, graphics, music and many other features are used – and the popularity is undeniable. For many young people, TikTok has become its own subculture, which with its unique tone and internal humor has helped create the success that the app has achieved today.

Who uses TikTok?

The target group at TikTok consists primarily of the younger segment between 16-26 years, which is 41% of the total users. The distribution will probably change over time as more of the older target groups start using the platform. We have seen the same trend with Instagram and Facebook. TikTok is a growing media with a user base of 800 million and is the social media that has the highest engagement rate (data report, 2020).

Advertising on TikTok

Presence and marketing can be divided into two main methods like Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest: organic or paid. Which method that works best for your business depend on the brand and industry, but a combination of both is a good start.

There are three different ways to approach your marketing when choosing TikTok:

You create your own profile and upload relevant, entertaining and funny videos that support your brand
You can collaborate with influencers who already have a large following, in order to spread the content to a wider audience
You can pay to advertise on TikTok

Ad types and formats on TikTok

If you choose to advertise on TikTok, it is possible to choose between five different campaign types, each with its own unique benefits, depending on what your purpose for advertising is.

Brand Takeover
In-feed Ads
Hashtag Challenge
Branded Effects
Top Views

TikTok - Brand Takeover

Brand takeover is a type of campaign that pops up as soon as you open the app.This type of campaign, allows you to get in touch with the user through static or dynamic ads in full screen, which helps to create a strong visual display of your brand. You have the option to link to your company’s website, one of the existing TikTok videos or a Hashtag Challenge, which is part of a larger campaign strategy. However, you need to be aware that there is only 1 advertiser who can take over 1 category per day – making it possible to create a lot of attention.

A possibility for static and dynamic material
Format: Video with a typical duration between 3 and 5 seconds

TikTok - In Feed

This type of ad works the same way as, Instagram and Snapchat stories, where the ad pops up between the videos in your feed. The ad is viewed in full screen and the user has the option to skip the ad at any time – so make sure to create a dynamic video ad with eye-catching content.

Through the fullscreen experience, you can capture the full attention of the user
You can use both static and dynamic material: video, gif, image
Location: When opening the app
You will be visible in the “For You” feed with up to 60 seconds of video with autoplay and audio

TikTok - Hashtag Challenge

This format is without a doubt the one that creates the greatest engagement, where users get the opportunity to be creative and express themselves through a challenge. The purpose of this campaign type is to create brand awareness and engagement. The campaign type is based on a hashtag in one of your videos. You upload the video as an organic video on your TikTok profile. Here you encourage TikTok users to make their own video of the same challenge that you have shown in your video.Then you sponsor the video and target it to several selected target group in order to increase the reach, exposures and engagement with the hashtag.

Format: Video
Location: Explore page

TikTok - Branded Lens

This type of campaign are for those enthusiastic about creativity. It is possible, with the help of Augmented Reality, 2D and 3D, to create engaging and interactive brand filters that TikTok users can use in their own videos. TikTok offers video templates for those who want to advertise a campaign. It is an in-app-tool that offers various image and video templates that can be customized for different ads. There are over 300 free background music templates that can be used in your ad to make them more vivid.

TikTok - TopView

This ad type is the newest on TikTok and originates from the Brand Takeover ad, though with the same features as In-Feed advertising. A TopView ad shows your brand as soon as the user open TikTok, helping to reach and engage the audience in a visual way.

A video format that presents your brand on TikTok’s best location
Up to 60 seconds full screen and long format video with autoplay and audio

TikTok Pixel

In order to achieve success with advertising on TikTok, it is essential that you reach the right audience so you can optimize your bid prices and conversion goals. TikTok offers, like Facebook, the ability to integrate a Pixel code on your website, allowing you to track all events and the impact of your advertising.

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