Explore Top Ads on TikTok: Find Creative Inspiration

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Carolyn Howell

Last Updated: Oct 29, 2024

TikTok Tips

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Are you looking for inspiration for your TikTok advertising strategy? Explore top ads on TikTok! Find out why businesses are advertising on the app and learn marketing strategies to connect with content-hungry and highly engaged users.

A busy street at night with big and colorful ads on the sides of tall buildings.

Why Should You Advertise on TikTok?

Whether you’re advertising on other platforms or looking to put all your ad budget in one basket, TikTok is a lucrative bet. The platform is projected to reach 2 billion users by the end of 2024. It’s also the most downloaded app in over 40 countries. These numbers make TikTok advertising a worthwhile investment. 

If you need more convincing, here are more statistics to get you hopping on the TikTok train:

  • Pew research showed that two out of three teens in the U.S. use the app daily; 16% say they use TikTok almost constantly. 
  • Millennial users on TikTok are 2.3 times more likely to create a post and tag a brand
  • Two in five Gen Z TikTok users say they’re drawn to content that TikTok tailors to their tastes. 
  • Among baby boomers who use the app, more than one in four say they’re fond of TikTok’s storytelling video format. 
  • In the U.S., over two in five use TikTok for search and discovery, preferring the app over Google. 
  • Gen Z users who go product-hunting on TikTok are 1.8 times more likely to make a purchase based on community recommendations. 
  • An Adobe report found that 54% of business owners have used the platform for brand promotion. On average, these businesses allocate 15% of their marketing budget for TikTok content creation. These brands publish about nine posts per month. 
  • Combined data from TikTok and Nielsen showed that 15% of product discoveries begin on TikTok. 
  • Additional data from TikTok revealed that advertisers are seeing an average ROAS (return on ad spend) of $2 for every $1 spent. 
  • TikTok was the first non-game mobile app on the App Store and Play Store to hit the $10-billion mark in consumer spending.

Big billboards cover one side of a train platform.

TikTok Ads 101

Here’s a quick guide on how advertising on TikTok works. 

TikTok advertising has three levels of organization:

  1. Ad campaign level. This is the primary level for ad creation. Within a single campaign, you can create multiple ad groups to run different ads. You’ll need to set an advertising objective, campaign name, and budget.
  2. Ad group level. Your ad group contains a collection of ads that share the same advertising target, budget, and bidding settings. 
  3. Ad level. You can create multiple ads within a single ad group so you can test/use different creative assets. 

How much does it cost to advertise on TikTok? You can spend as much as you want to run an ad on the platform. TikTok’s auction and bidding model lets you decide how much you want to pay for impressions, clicks, or views. Take note, however, that TikTok requires a minimum ad spend on both campaign and ad group levels:

  • At the campaign level, you need to allot at least $50 for both your daily and total budgets. 
  • At the ad group level, the minimum daily ad budget is $20. Your lifetime budget will be equal to your daily budget x the number of days your ad will run. 

Finally, TikTok has four bidding methods:

  1. Cost per view (CPV). The cost you pay when a user watches your video for over six seconds or interacts with it within the first six seconds. 
  2. Cost per thousand impressions (CPM). This bid represents how much you’re willing to pay for one thousand impressions. 
  3. Optimized cost per thousand impressions (oCPM). The cost you’ll pay to create a thousand impressions among select users who are most likely to complete a conversion event. 
  4. Cost per click (CPC). This is how much you’ll pay every time a user clicks on your ad. 

A red and white sign on top of a stainless steel shelf says, “Ad.”

Explore Top Ads on TikTok: Where To Find Inspiration

Do you want to see examples of top-performing ads on TikTok? There are a few places you can go to discover topads TikTok ideas and inspiration: TikTok Creative Center and TikTok’s Commercial Content Library

TikTok Creative Center is one of the platform’s major creative hubs. You’ll find insights, trends, and creative tools and resources to guide your content creation process. TikTok creative experts handpick top ads each month to feature on Creative Center. To find top ads, navigate to the Inspiration tab, then click Top Ads.

On the Top Ads page, you can:

  • Search by brand or product keywords. 
  • Explore the Top Ads Dashboard by region, industry, objective, ad language, ad format, and popularity. 
  • View search results by relevance, reach, click-through rate (CTR), or view rate. 
  • View the analytics for each ad. 
  • Explore the Top Ads Spotlight by industry and view each ad’s relevant metrics and analytics.

TikTok’s Commercial Content Library is the platform’s repository for all ads with at least one impression published since October 1, 2022. These ads include those that advertisers have temporarily paused. It may take up to 24 hours after a new ad receives its first impression before it appears in the library. 

To search for an ad, choose your Target country and Ad published date. Then, in the Ad type field, select All ad types. Enter the advertiser name or keyword, and then click the red Search button. 

A blank billboard at a bus stop.

How To Create an Ad That Converts: Best Practices

You don’t need digital marketing know-how to run a successful ad on TikTok. Make sure you get the most out of every ad dollar with these best practices:

  1. Know TikTok’s image and video specifications to make sure you publish quality content. Take note of TikTok’s video layout when it appears on feeds so you can keep important information/creative elements unobstructed. 
  2. Use TikTok Creative Center and Commercial Content Library to find creative inspiration for your ad. 
  3. Capture your target audiences’ attention within the first few seconds. Get them hooked from the get go to keep them from scrolling past your video. 
  4. If it’s your first time advertising on TikTok, perform an A/B test to identify advertising strategies that work. 
  5. Make your ad accessible to everyone. Use as many accessibility features (e.g., caption, voiceover, auto-translate, etc.) as you need when creating your ad. 

An advertising for Coca-Cola printed on the hood of a sports car.

Build Your Brand With TikTok Ads

Building a strong online presence requires a multi-pronged approach. This means having a presence across multiple social media platforms. You may have to develop a separate strategy for each channel to achieve your growth goals. 

And you need to use both organic and paid solutions to connect with your target market and drive conversions. 

If you haven’t done so yet, it’s never too late to hitch a ride on the massively popular TikTok train. Before you spend your ad dollars, make sure to explore top ads on TikTok for creative inspiration. Learn from brands who are at the top of their marketing game!

Give yourself a running start as you embark on your TikTok journey by signing up for a High Social plan! Gain laser-sharp targeting capabilities with High Social’s advanced, proprietary AI technology. Connect with viewers most suitable for your ads and organic content for higher engagement and a dedicated following. 

Start growing your TikTok today!

An advertisement for a health supplement printed on the side of a bus.

Elevate Your Creative Game With Top Performing TikTok Ads: Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find top-performing ads on TikTok?

TikTok Creative Center is where you’ll find top-performing ads on the platform. Go to the Inspiration tab and click Top Ads. 

Take note that not all successful TikTok ads make it to Creative Center’s top ads’ list. If an advertiser does not authorize TikTok to feature their top-performing auction ad, it won’t appear on Creative Center. 

You don’t need to create or log into a TikTok account to explore Creative Center. Using the site as a guest will limit your results, however. 

Are TikTok ads a worthwhile investment?

With nearly 2 billion users, the highest engagement rate among all platforms, and a robust algorithm, TikTok is a lucrative marketing channel. Data from numerous studies and reports also support TikTok’s high advertising potential. 

Whatever the size of your business and advertising budget, TikTok has an ad solution for you. For serious advertisers with substantial budgets, TikTok Ads Manager offers a complete suite of commercial tools. Do you want to test the waters before running a full campaign? Use TikTok Promote to discover what the platform has to offer. 

TikTok Tips