Running TikTok Ads? Read These 6 Crucial Basics (2022)
If you’re not advertising on TikTok in 2022, you’re missing out big time.
In the last 4 months, I’ve spent roughly 200k on TikTok ads, and to be brutally honest, I love the advertising platform.
It has exceeded my expectations. I thought this was too immature of an app to crack conversions, but I was wrong. It’s crushing. It’s also worth noting that ~72% of TikTok's audience is 20+ (via Statista).
Because we are still in the early days of TikTok Ads, I’m experiencing much lower CPMs to Facebook, lower CPCs, and lower CPAs. So let's dive in.
1. Creative, Creative, Creative!
TikTok craves new creatives refreshed often. The entire platform is purely creative-driven, so if you’re not feeding it new creatives to plug on the FYP, you will see a decline in performance. In terms of frequency, I typically refresh creatives weekly. Whether you’re making them in-house, working with influencers, or an agency, be sure to have a schedule of when new creatives are ready. The best advice I can give for what makes a good creative → Don’t make an ad, make a TikTok. You want it to look native to the feed.
Be sure to test our different types like POV, testimonials, unboxing, product in-use, transitions, voiceovers, comment answering, etc. Aim to be between 12–24 seconds with a curious thumbnail, that seems to be the sweet spot.
Don’t think you need studio-grade quality either. Not even close. Pull your phone out and start shooting. If you need inspiration, go to the creative center library, filter by your category, select campaign type, and see what your competitors are running or similar brands/companies.
2. Trending Sounds
A strategy that has worked really well for me is being sound-first when making a creative. If there is a trending sound, see if there’s a way you can incorporate your product/goal into that sound with a video. If there is a sound that you’re hearing lots of your personal feed, think if there is a way you can make that work as well. This is a super easy strategy that many are not using.
3. Spark Ads
Looking to drive conversions AND grow your follower list and engagements? Run spark ads. Here’s the play; film a solid short TikTok that does not look like an ad→ post organically on TikTok → create a conversion campaign → select the posts you want for Spark ads → create a campaign. This is SO much better than simply boosting a post because the Spark Ads are still attached to the conversion campaign. By doing this, you will gain followers fast, build your views and likes quickly, and still generate sales. You can even sneak your way into getting your ad viral from Spark Ads.
4. Turn Those Comments On
If you have your comments turned off, you’re actually doing more harm than good. TikTok wants engagement of all types. Turn those comments on and engage back. Be human when responding. If you want, you can create a list of blocked words that won’t be posted as well.
5. Spending Issues? Quick Fix.
I see this problem all the time of people saying their campaigns won’t spend. Here are a few things to check. Is it a lowest-cost campaign? Have you tried increasing the budget? Have you duplicated the ad group? Have you tried different creatives? Still not spending? Use CostCap and bump the cost cap by $5 until it begins to spend. Quality of the creative is crucial here too (also make sure URL isn’t broken).
6. Create Audiences
Go to Assets → Audiences and create some audiences to retarget. Only do this if you have a large pool of audiences to retarget to avoid high CPMs. Great opportunity to offer a BOF promo.
Get Started.
Remember, the best time to begin advertising on TikTok was months ago, the next best time is now. Get some killer creatives made and launch!
Best of luck!
