How to Setup Ads for TikTok

TikTok is the fastest-growing social media platform out there. According to Statista.com, the app had 136.5 million engaging users as of April 2022 in the United States alone. 

TikTok is popular not only in the US but also in countries like Indonesia, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Vietnam & many more. Thus, making it a globally popular platform with a wide reach. 

Due to so many people using TikTok, marketers understand the importance of this app for attracting more eyes & increasing their market penetration. 

Creating eye-glazing ads for TikTok is a great way to increase web traffic & boost market sales. And in this article, I’ll explain to you how to set up ads for TikTok. But before that, let’s understand what different types of ads you can make on this platform.

Types of Ads for TikTok

To effectively put your message across, TikTok provides you with tons of advertising options to choose from. You should select the ad type depending on how effective the ad could be for your target audience. 

Here’s a list of the different types of TikTok ads:

• In-feed video– This type of ad appears in the native news feed of TikTok users on the ‘For you’ page.
• Brand takeover– With this sort of advertisement, you may control the conversation by having your message temporarily take over the entire screen. Afterward, it becomes an in-feed video commercial.
• Video advertisements– These are full-screen, 5- to 60-second videos that show up in a user’s “For You” stream.
• Spark ads– This is a new ad format that TikTok introduced in 2021 that allows businesses to sponsor well-liked organic content that is relevant to their interests.
• Image ads– Brands can insert picture adverts into videos that show up in BuzzVideo, TopBuzz & Babe news feed applications on TikTok.
• Video ads– These are full-screen, 5- to 60-second videos that show up in a user’s ‘For You’ stream.
• Pandle ads – The video platform of Pandle interacts with TikTok to provide video, native & banner ads, although this functionality is only accessible in a few countries.
• Carousel ads– Up to 10 photos can be used in a carousel ad, which can be found in TikTok’s news feed applications.
• Hashtag Challenge ads– TikTok Hashtag Challenge ads encourage users to video themselves completing a particular action & upload it to their account.
• Branded AR Content– TikTok users can incorporate your ad into their videos which may appear as branded stickers, lenses & other sorts of AR material.
• Sponsored Influencer ads– You can promote your brand by paying some fees to an influencer on TikTok. Influencers have a huge following who can help you put your message across.

Setting up Ads for TikTok

There are different factors for different businesses to consider when setting up ads for TikTok. These factors include budget, time period for the ad campaign, target audiences’ buying behavior, interests, demography, devices, etc. 

You already know what the different types of TikTok ads are. Now, let’s find out how to set up ads for TikTok. Take a look!

Step 1: Create a Business Account

To launch ad campaigns, you must create an account on TikTok Ads Manager.

To do that, you need to choose your billing country/region & select if you want to use this account as a business or an individual. After that, click on Next.

On the Sign-Up page, you need to enter your email & password. I’d suggest that you use your business email. A verification code will be sent to your email (or phone number if you choose to sign up via mobile number).

Once you agree to the t&c, click on the Sign Up button.

Additional information:-

To switch your Personal account to a Business account, follow the mentioned steps:

1. On your TikTok app, tap Profile at the bottom.
2. Tap the Menu button that you’ll see on top.
3. Tap the Settings & privacy option.
4. Tap Manage account.
5. Tap Switch to Business Account & follow the required instructions.

Step 2: Install TikTok Pixel

Without a TikTok business account & pixel, you’ll find it very difficult to create an ad campaign. Because you won’t be able to tell TikTok the right data it needs for your ad campaign to succeed. Also, to create an ad on TikTok, you need a business account in the first place. 

Let me explain to you what TikTok Pixel is.

The TikTok Pixel must be installed on your website, a piece of code that tracks website events (such as how visitors arrive at your site, the device they use & their location).

You will set up a ‘Web Event’ in your TikTok Ads Manager before creating your Pixel after choosing ‘Standard Mode’ or ‘Developer Mode.’ Next, download or copy the Pixel code & paste it into your website’s header.

Step 3: Create an Ad Campaign

On your TikTok Ads Manager, head over to the ‘Campaigns’ tab & click on the ‘Create’ button. 

You’ll then see various advertising objectives such as increased reach, traffic, app installs, video views & conversion. Choose the option of your choice & scroll down to rename your campaign.

Now, you need to set a budget for your campaign. I suggest you not to choose the ‘No Limit‘ option. Rather, uncheck it. You’ll then get to see 2 options; lifetime budget or daily budget. The minimum amount of money you are required to spend is $50. Once you do that, click on the Continue button. 

Step 4: Select an Ad Group

Once you’ve chosen your budget, you’ll be directed to the next step i.e. selecting your ad group(people who you are targeting). 

Choose the promotional type:

• Website
• App Install

Select the placement of the Ad:

This option will determine where your ads appear on TikTok. If you are new to TikTok ads, you can choose ‘Automatic placement.’ You can also manually place your TikTok ads. 

Select your Creative type:

Here, you can select ‘Automated Creative Optimization‘ if you want to create content variations. You can turn it off if you want to at any time. I think you should test this option. 

Targeting:

This is where you choose your audience based on the demographics, interests & other factors. Depending on your ad objective, choose the required options.

Delivery type:

You get to choose from 2 options:

1. Standard delivery– Your ad appears during high-traffic times. Your ad budget spreads consistently across that time period.
2. Accelerated delivery– Your ad budget is dedicated to attracting the most amount of people to your ad as fast as possible.

Step 5: Create your TikTok Ad

You can configure your first ad after creating your ad group. To do that, upload a video or an image file as your ad creative. Give your ad a name. I highly suggest you check out the recommended ad specifications to ensure your ad looks amazing on all platforms. 

You get to choose the following things here:

• Custom Thumbnail
• Create a video template, smart video, or smart video soundtrack
• Upload existing video or image
• Display name (Typically should be your company name)
• Text(description for your ad creative)
• Choose your CTA (contact us, sign up, download, book now, etc.)
• URL (Typically your website/landing page)
• Profile image (Your company logo)

Once you create an ad, you can preview it to get an idea of how it’ll look. If required, do final tweaking before submitting it for review. 

Hopefully, this article helped you figure out how to set up ads for TikTok. For more such easy-to-understand articles, do check our blog page.