Alexis Kestler
I‘m excited to help guide you through the immense potential of TikTok advertising in 2023. With over 1 billion monthly users now, TikTok has become a top network for brands aiming to reach younger audiences in a genuine, viral way.
In this comprehensive article, I‘ll leverage my expertise as an industry-leading TikTok ads strategist to explore:
- The value TikTok ads offer brands
- A step-by-step system to launch your first ad campaigns
- Descriptions of highly effective TikTok ad formats
- Tips to create engaging video content
- Measuring performance and optimizing for success
So if you‘re looking to tap into new Gen Z and Millennial customers, drive conversions through viral videos, or keep up with the latest digital formats, this is the perfect guide for you!
Why Every Brand Should Consider TikTok Ads
Here are a few compelling stats that showcase TikTok‘s immense advertising potential:
- Over 1 Billion Monthly Active Users – predominantly Gen Z & younger millennials
- Average of 52 Minutes Per Day spent per user
- Projected Ad Spend Increase of 720% by 2024 [Forbes]
For brands aiming to reach these demographics where they are already hyper-engaged, TikTok provides:
- Massive potential audience reach in both scale and time spent
- A creatively-optimized platform to drive awareness and buzz through viral videos and effects
- Precision ad targeting to connect with interested shoppers ready to discover or purchase
- Metrics and tools to continuously track performance and optimize
In my experience managing 7-8 figure TikTok campaigns, I‘ve seen how these factors combine to provide extremely effective audience targeting and returns on ad spend.
Now let me guide you through getting set up step-by-step:
Step-by-Step: How To Launch Your First TikTok Ad Campaign
1. Create Your TikTok Business Account
Getting started is simple by creating a free TikTok business account. This unlocks additional analytics, advertising options, and customization tools for brands.
To set up your account:
- Go to ads.tiktok.com and click Create Account
- Enter your contact information to sign up
- Select your business category and verticals
- Agree to TikTok‘s Terms of Service
Once your account is approved (usually within 1 business day), you‘ll gain access to TikTok‘s robust ads platform to set up and manage campaigns.
2. Launch Your First Ad Campaign
Within TikTok Ads Manager, launching a campaign only takes a few steps:
- Click Campaigns then Create Campaign
- Name your campaign
- Set your daily budget and duration
- Select your campaign objective (conversions, traffic, etc)
- Enable conversion tracking
- Target your audience demographics and interests
- Customize your placements – For You Feed, Hashtag Challenge etc
- Connect an ad format – video, image etc
- Submit for review then launch!
I recommend starting with a small daily budget while testing campaign variations to determine what resonates best with your goals.
Now let‘s explore some of the most popular and effective ad formats brands leverage within their TikTok approach…
Top TikTok Ad Formats Breakdown
While TikTok offers advertisers several ad formats, these tend to drive the strongest results:
In-Feed Video Ads
TikTok in-feed video ads appear seamlessly placed within a user‘s For You page and video feed, just like any other content they engage with.
In-feed ads grab attention with vertical, full-screen placements and the flexibility for 5-60 second video content. They can include calls-to-action to drive:
- Website visits
- App installs
- Online conversions like ecommerce purchases
- Video views
In 2021, in-feed video ads accounted for over 90% of paid ad spend on TikTok, pointing to strong performance.
Brand Takeovers
Brand takeovers display full-screen video ads for 3-5 seconds when users first launch TikTok each day. This immediately captures attention in a prominent placement.
Brand takeovers then direct interested viewers to tap and opt-in to view extended video content or other destination pages.
Hashtag Challenges
Hashtag challenges encourage participation and engagement by prompting users to create their own TikTok videos through branded campaign tags and themes.
Brands launch unique hashtags for users to incorporate when generating related content – demonstrating product usage, participating in a themed dance, showing brand love, etc.
By clicking on or searching these hashtag challenges, viewers open immersive brand experiences and landings pages.
Hashtag ad challenges extend over days or weeks, building continual exposure through user generated content.
Now that you‘re familiar with top TikTok formats, let‘s explore how to optimize your video ads for success.
Tips For Creating Compelling TikTok Video Ads
While TikTok offers uniquely flexible and vertical video ad spaces, crafting compelling creative is still key.
Show Personality
TikTok users respond best to genuine content that feels more real and relatable. Show the human side of your brand through humor and behind-the-scenes moments.
Leverage Music, Effects & Trends
Research which songs, AR effects, transitions, stickers, and meme trends currently resonate with your target viewers. Then incorporate appropriately into video ads.
Collaborate With TikTok Creators
Partner with relevant TikTok influencers in your niche to produce branded video ads or challenge content. Their followers already love their style.
Test Multiple Ad Variations
Develop a few different video ads with alternative creative approaches. Use A/B testing to determine which visuals, captions, and other elements perform best.
These best practices will help your video ads stand out as authentic and engaging – not overly salesy or generic.
Now let‘s discuss how to track performance and continually optimize.
Measuring Results & Improving Your Ads
Within TikTok‘s clean, intuitive Ads Manager dashboard, you gain access to robust analytics on ad and campaign performance, including:
- Reach & Impressions: how many users viewed ads
- Clickthrough Rates: how many clicked links or engagements
- View Rates: how many watched full video ads
- Conversions: sales, sign-ups, or other goals reached
- Return on Ad Spend
Monitor these metrics to identify high performing creatives, placements, target demographics, and campaign objectives.
You can then tweak underperforming elements and scale budgets behind what‘s working best to maximize conversions.
Common optimization tactics include:
- Retargeting engaged viewers or converters for additional exposure
- Adjusting placements from automatic to a specific feed type
- Expanding highest value audience segments
- Reducing poorer performing target groups
- Changing out lower performing video creatives
By continually assessing and implementing improvements, you‘ll see campaign growth acceleration and achieved KPIs.
Let‘s Get Your TikTok Ads Launched!
As you can see, TikTok advertising presents expansive new potential for marketers with its sight, sound, and motion-optimized video formats and youthful influential audiences.
I‘m excited for you to tap into everything this channel offers to enhance brand connection and performance in 2023.
To rapidly grow your ecommerce sales, leads captured, or product awareness through viral TikTok video ads, click here to explore customized campaign management.
My team and I will develop breakthrough TikTok video concepts tailored to your business, launch strategically targeted campaigns, continually enhance performance through optimization, and supply clearly analyzed reporting.
Within weeks, you could profitably scale your customer reach by connecting with millions of ideal new buyers daily across TikTok.
Reach out now to strategize your 2023 TikTok gameplan!
