How To Advertise on TikTok: Get More Out of Your Posts

With TikTok on the fast track to hit 2.25 billion users by 2027, knowing how to advertise on TikTok is a must! Brands that are still on the fence should get on board right away and start advertising on the platform. 

Learn the nuts and bolts of running ads on TikTok!

How Much Does It Cost To Advertise on TikTok?

First things first, you may be wondering how much does it cost to advertise on TikTok.

The cost of running an ad on TikTok depends on a variety of factors. You need to consider TikTok’s Budget and Bid settings when determining the cost of an ad. 

As on other social channels, TikTok Ads Manager lets you choose between daily or lifetime budgets for campaigns. According to TikTok for Business FAQs, the recommended daily ad group budget for a campaign are as follows:

• $30 in North America and EMEA
• $20 in APAC

As for the Bid settings, you can adjust your bid based on what you’re willing to pay for your desired user actions. TikTok Ads Manager offers different bidding strategies: Lowest Cost and Cost Cap. 

Here are other key features of ad budgeting on TikTok:

• Set your daily spending limit to make sure you won’t go over. You can stop your ad spending at any time. 
• Set individual budgets for both your campaign and ad group/s to enjoy flexibility. 
• Only pay for the actions you want, e.g., objectives, impressions, and conversions.

Take note that businesses that have advertised on TikTok have reported varying Costs Per Mile (CPMs) and Costs Per Click (CPCs). The variations primarily depend on ad performance and geography. 

Is TikTok Advertising Worth the Cost?

It depends on your business goals and your type of audience. It’s best to conduct the necessary industry research to determine if advertising on TikTok is right for you. The following TikTok for Business statistics should help you get started:

• TikTok users are 1.7 times more likely to purchase and engage in other e-commerce behaviors than users of other platforms. 
• Dynamic Showcase Ads on TikTok drove 74% of Gen Z weekly TikTok users to seek more information on the advertised product. 
• TikTok ads with a high entertainment value have 25% higher brand love among Millennial users. The same ads have a 17% higher purchase intent than ads with low entertainment value. 
• According to 56% of TikTok users, they wouldn’t find any type of branded content on the platform annoying. 
• TikTok ads make brands more memorable even three weeks after ad exposure, according to 72% of users. 
• TikTok users are 1.9 times more likely to purchase fashion products featured in ads than non-TikTok users. 

How To Advertise Your Product on TikTok

Running ads on TikTok is pretty straightforward. Remember, however, that you need a Business Account to access Business Center and TikTok Ads Manager. Don’t worry, as switching to a Business Account is super easy. 

Business Center is a “central hub that allows organizations and agencies to […] manage multiple TikTok ad accounts, users, assets, and finances in a secure environment.” TikTok Ads Manager is the main platform for creating and managing ads. 

Before we dive into how to advertise your product on TikTok, you must first set up your TikTok Ads Manager account. 

How To Set Up a TikTok Ads Manager Account

You need to sign up for a TikTok Ads Manager Account to start advertising on the platform. Just follow these seven steps:

1. Go to the Ads Manager sign-up page, click Sign up now, and create your login. 
2. Agree to the TikTok Commercial Terms of Service, then click Sign up. 
3. Verify your email address or phone number. 
4. Create your advertiser account. You’ll need to provide certain business info to complete account creation. 
5. Click Register. 
6. Set up your billing information. 
7. When you’re finished, click Go to Ads Manager. 

TikTok may take up to 24 hours to approve your account, but you can start creating your first ad while waiting. 

How To Create Your First Ad

For first-timers and small- to medium-sized businesses, choose the Simplified Mode on the first page of TikTok Ads Manager. 

This mode is straightforward and doesn’t require a lot of digital marketing know-how. Take note that it’s best to access TikTok Ads Manager on a desktop browser. 

Here are nine basic steps for creating a TikTok Ad in Simplified Mode:

1. Go to ads.tiktok.com and log in with your Business Account. 
2. Select Simplified Mode. 
3. Select your advertising goal: Traffic, Community interaction, Lead generation, or Website conversions. 
4. Select your audience. You can select Automatic audience or Custom audience. You can specify your target audience based on their Gender, Age group, Languages, Location, and Interest and Behavior.
5. Select whether to show your ad only on TikTok or add placement on the Premium global publisher network, Pangle.
6. Set your budget and schedule. 
7. Create your ad. You can select an existing TikTok video or create/upload a new one. 
8. Finish your ad by adding a caption, a call-to-action button, and a link to your website. 
9. Hit Submit. 

Et voila! You’ve created your first TikTok ad!

How To Advertise Straight From an Existing Post

Did you know you can turn your organic post into an ad straight from your feed? TikTok’s Promote feature lets you promote your video as an ad sans a Business Account or Ads Manager account. 

Keep the following things in mind if you want to use Promote:

• Your video must be public. 
• You must have a Creator (Personal) or Business Account. Government, Politician, and Political Party Accounts (GPPPAs) are not eligible to use Promote.
• You must be at least 18 years old. 
• Your video must use an original sound or sound that’s available for commercial purposes. You can select from TikTok’s Commercial Music Library selection of more than 1M sounds.
• You’ll see the cost of promoting your video while you’re setting up your ad. The cost will automatically appear in your local currency (Android) or rechargeable coins (iOS). 

There are three ways to access the Promote feature:

1. If you have a Personal/Creator Account, go to your Profile>Menu>Creator tools>Promote. 
2. Go to the TikTok video you want to promote, tap the More options button, and tap Promote. 
3. If you have a Business Account, go to your Profile>Menu>Business suite>Promote. 

Once you’ve enabled the Promote feature or selected the public video you want to promote:

1. Choose a goal for promoting your video. 
2. Tap Next. If you chose More website visits as your goal, TikTok will prompt you to enter your website URL and choose an action button. Tap Save. 
3. Select your audience (Automatic or Custom audiences), then tap Next. 
4. Set your budget and the duration of your ad, then tap Next. 
5. Complete payment. 
6. Tap Start promotion. 

How To Advertise on TikTok for Free

All TikTok feed ads have the Sponsored or Ad label. But you may be wondering how to advertise on TikTok for free. You can promote your brand/product/service in a few ways without spending a dime. Let’s explore each one. 

Leverage User-Generated Content 

User-generated content (UGC) is the digital version of word-of-mouth marketing and is an invaluable organic promotional tool. How do you encourage your followers to mention your brand/product/service in their content? Here are some tips:

1. Create a TikTok challenge. Challenges are still popular on TikTok and are among the best ways to encourage audience participation. Your challenge should feature your product or store location and branded hashtag. It should be easy enough to follow. Make it more exciting by offering prizes, such as discount vouchers for videos with the most likes.
2. Share a video that your fans can use to create a Duet! The video must be fun enough for people to want to reproduce in their own creative ways. Don’t forget to remind people to mention you in their posts!
3. Start a hashtag campaign. This is perfect for holidays, special occasions, or when you’re launching a new product. You can also turn it into a fun contest or raffle. 

Co-Host a LIVE

Did you know that you can be a guest on a TikTok LIVE? If you’re just starting to build a following and don’t have LIVE access yet, LIVE guesting is your next best option. 

This requires pre-arrangement with another creator and make sure they know you want to promote something. Needless to say, it’s crucial that the creator behind the broadcast is also in your niche/industry. 

Share Video Tutorials

Video tutorials are ubiquitous on TikTok, but they remain popular because they’re helpful to users and effective in driving engagement. 

You can go directly to your audience and ask them what they want to see. Get inspiration from more established creators in your industry. Check out their pages and see what they’re up to. Use TikTok’s Creator Search Insights tool to discover trending searches in your niche community. Tap into your audience’s latest interests to create relevant how-to content. 

Should You Advertise on TikTok?

Advertising on social media is an investment. If you want the highest return for your ad spend, you must learn how to advertise on TikTok. 

Sign up for a High Social account if you need expert help developing a winning marketing plan and audience-targeting strategy!

High Social’s advanced, proprietary AI technology is the only targeting solution that complements TikTok’s algorithm. 

And High Social’s team of TikTok experts will help you fine-tune your content optimization and build a presence to watch out for. Start growing your TikTok today!

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