TikTok Ad Overview
One of the great things about TikTok ads is that the platform is very user friendly, and the ads are quick and easy to set up. With this checklist you’ll be able to get ads up and running in no time! The last page includes a printable checklist you can use to check off each part of the ad setup process as you complete it.
TikTok offers five different kinds of ad products:
- In-feed ads
- Branded hashtags
- Top View ads
- Branded effects
- Brand Takeover
For this checklist, we’ll be focusing only on the in-feed ads, as the other ad products are typically only open to companies with large ad budgets.
TikTok Ad Campaign Structure:
TikTok ad campaigns have three levels: campaigns, ad groups, and ads.
Campaigns: This level includes the objective choices and campaign name
Ad groups: This level includes ad placements, target audiences, budget, and schedule
Ads: This is where you will create the actual ad content and publish your ad
Each campaign can have multiple ad groups, and each ad group can have multiple ads.
To start advertising, you need to create a TikTok Ad account. This is separate
from any profiles you may already have on the TikTok app.
Setting up your account:
1. Sign up for a TikTok Ad account at https://ads.tiktok.com/
2. Add payment information to activate your ad account.
Setting up a campaign:
On the Campaign page, click “Create” and then follow the steps below.
Ad creation mode:
There are two options to choose from: Simplified and Custom. We recommend
Simplified since you are just getting started with TikTok advertising.
Advertising objective:
Choose one of the following options:
- Website Conversions – Drive valuable actions on your website.
- Website Traffic – Send more people to a destination on your website.
- App Installs – Get more people to install your app
- Lead Generation – Collect leads for your business or brand
Campaign name:
Once you’ve selected an objective, set a campaign name. TikTok will generate one if you don’t. Many marketers use campaign names that are related to the objective and overall goal. For example, WebsiteClicksBookLaunch01012021.
Setting up an ad group:
Begin by naming your ad group. As with the campaign name, it’s best to come up with a name that is easily identifiable and related to the ad group settings.
Note: Not all options below will be available for every ad. The ad features available to you will differ depending on the objective you select.
For example, if you select the “App Installs” objective, there will be a field for a direct link to your app store page in the ad. But for “Lead Generation” you’ll need to create a form that users can fill out with the information you are requesting.
TikTok Pixel:
If Using Website Conversions
Choose your TikTok pixel and appropriate optimization event from the dropdown boxes.
If you don’t have a pixel already installed on your site, you’ll need to set that up first.
You’ll also need to set up rules for conversions based on user actions, such as click or purchase events. To access that information, click Assets > Events in the top menu.
If Using App Installs
Select the app you want to promote (you’ll have to add your app under the Assets
section if you haven’t already).
If Using Website Traffic and Lead Generation
No pixel is needed for either of these objectives, but it’s still recommended that you set one up for the purposes of creating custom audiences (more on that below).
Placement and Targeting:
Placement Type
There are two placement options to choose from: Automatic and Manual.
Automatic placement will show your ads across all supported placements.
Manual placement lets you choose between one or more placements from the following:
- TikTok
- News Feed App Series
- BuzzVideo (Japan)
- TopBuzz (US and BR)
- Babe (Indonesia)
- News Republic
- Helo (only available in India)
- Pangle (a premium global publisher network in select areas)
For the best results among international audiences, choose Automatic Placement.
Audience Actions
At the bottom of the placement section, click the heading that says, “Audience Actions”.
This will open up the ad comment and ad download settings. By default, ads are set to allow comments and downloads, but you can turn this off if you choose to. We recommend leaving those settings as is, because you want people to comment and download your ad!
Location
Choose one or more locations for your ads to display. You can go as broad as an entire country or narrow down to a specific state or region. For the United States, you can also
choose to target ads by media market (DMA) location.
Demographics
Gender – choose between no limit, male, or female
Age – choose from 13-17, 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55+
Language – choose from more than 40 different options
Note: You may need to click “Show More Options” to see the settings below.
Interest and Behavior
TikTok ads are similar to Facebook ads when it comes to targeting. You can choose from two broad categories: Interest or Behavior targeting. (See the Ad Targeting Worksheet for more in-depth information about these options.)
Interest
Choose one or more interests from the dropdown list. There are 15 categories and numerous subcategories to choose from.
Behavior
These are actively engaged users who have completed one of selected actions on another video related to the selected category.
Video-related Actions:
- Watched to End
- Liked
- Commented
- Shared
Category:
There are 12 main categories and multiple subcategories to choose from.
Action Time Period:
Choose from 7 days or 15 days.
TikTok also offers you the ability to create Custom and Lookalike Audiences from an email list or based on users who have already interacted with your TikTok account or website. You can set these up by clicking Assets > Audiences in the top menu bar.
Device
This section allows you to target users based on the type of device, internet connection, and operating system their device uses. These are the options you can choose from:
- Operating system
- Android
- IOS
- OS Versions (there are too many options to include here)
- Connection Type
- WIFI
- 2G
- 3G
- 4G
- Device Price
- No Limit
- Specified Range
Budget and Bid Optimization
Budget
Here you’ll select the type of budget you want to use and set your spending limit.
There are two options for budgets:
- Daily ($20 minimum USD)
- Lifetime
Schedule
Here you’ll set what dates you want your ads to run, and when you want them to stop.
There are two scheduling options:
- Run continuously beginning on a certain date/time
- Choose a specific date/time range
Optimization Goal
Depending on the objective selected, you may be able to choose one of the following
optimization goals:
- Website conversions
- Conversion
- Click
- Leads
Bid
Here you’ll set your bid amounts per objective as well as the bidding strategy (not available for all objectives).
Website Conversions
Conversions bidding strategy – enter a maximum bid amount per conversion
Clicks bidding strategy – choose from lowest cost clicks or enter a bid cap amount
Website Traffic and App Installs
Choose from two bidding strategies:
Lowest cost – maximize your number of results
Bid cap – keep your average cost around or lower than your bid amount
Lead Generation
These ads are automatically optimized for leads, so you’ll just set a max bid amount
Setting up an ad:
Finally, we’re to the actual ad creation section of the process! After you name your ad and select a format, you’ll choose your creative and text in the following sections.
Below are several setting options you may find when creating your ads. The specific settings available will depend on the advertising objective selected, your market, the
user’s market, and the ad placements you chose.
Creative Options:
- Upload – upload files from your computer
- From Library – choose from files you uploaded previously
- Create – use TikTok’s tools to create video and images to use
Example Ad Types:
- Image
- Video
- Playable
- Carousel
- Collection
- Form
If you don’t have someone on staff to create video ads for you, TikTok has templates you can use to do it yourself! They also have creative tools you can use to add sound/music and turn images into videos.
Another really cool feature for ad creation is the Automated Creative Optimization (ACO) tool. The ACO utilizes AI to automatically finds high-performing combinations of creative assets you have uploaded. With this tool, all you have to do to create your ad is upload images and videos, write some ad text, and select the CTA. The ACO system will then create multiple ads which will be explored, evaluated, and optimized in order to find the best combination. That best combo is then the ad that your audience will see.
Text Options:
Display Name – this will appear in your ad as your brand identity and must be
consistent with the name of the brand/product/company being promoted. If you are promoting an App, your App name will go here. For Brand names there is a 20-character limit and for App names there is a 40-character limit.
Description Text – this will be displayed on your ad below your display name and is limited to 100 characters.
Note: No emojis allowed in either section. Punctuation and spaces count as characters.
Video File Recommendations from TikTok
Recommended Format: .mp4, .mov, .mpeg, .avi or .gif
File Size: Up to 500 MB Bitrate: ≥ 516kbps Duration: 5-60s
Aspect Ratio Requirements for All Placements:
Horizontal (16:9) / Square (1:1) / Vertical (9:16)
Resolution for TikTok In-Feed Ads:
Horizontal (960*540) / Square (640*640) / Vertical (540*960
Content Safe Zone:
From left: 44px
From right: 140px
From top: 130px
From bottom: 483-484px
Call to Action
Choose from 22 different CTA buttons:
1. Learn more
2. Download
3. Shop now
4. Sign up
5. Contact us
6. Apply now
7. Book now
8. Play game
9. Watch now
10. Read more
11. View now
12. Get quote
13. Order now
14. Install now
15. Get showtimes
16. Listen now
17. Interested
18. Subscribe
19. Get tickets now
20. Experience now
21. Pre-order now
22. Visit store
Profile Image
Profile images must be in .jpg, .jpeg, or .png format and less than 50 KB in size.
Publish
Once you are done creating your ad, you’ll click the Publish button as the final step.
Need inspiration to help you get started? Check out the TikTok Creative Center! You can browse top ads and trending videos and hashtags, and search by keyword and filter
by market and industry. You can also sort by 7- or 30-day timeframes, CTR,
impressions, and 6s video view rate.