6 TikTok Ad Types + How to Pick the Best TikTok Ad Format

TikTok has become one of the fastest-growing social media platforms in recent times, with millions of users logging in daily. A TikTok ad is an amazing way for brands to reach new audiences with engaging and creative content. Whether you’re a small business or a big brand, understanding the different TikTok ad types will help you choose the right strategy for your marketing goals. From in-feed ads to branded hashtag challenges, there are various options to suit every need. Learning about each TikTok ads format allows you to maximize your reach and connect with your target audience effectively.

What are TikTok Ad Formats?

TikTok advertisements are paid ads that appear on the TikTok app. These advertisements come in different forms and are designed to grab the attention of users through videos, interactive challenges, or branded effects. TikTok ad allow brands to show off their products or services in a fun and creative way to a wide and diverse audience.

Why Advertise on TikTok?

Advertising on TikTok can be a total game changer for businesses:

• Huge Audience: With millions of active users, TikTok has a massive audience to tap into.
• Engaging Format: TikTok’s video-centric format encourages creativity and engagement, and TikTok ads are more likely to grab attention.
• Targeting Options: TikTok has advanced targeting options, advertisers can target specific demographics based on age, location, interests and more.
• High Engagement: TikTok users are highly engaged, they spend hours on the app daily, so TikTok ads are more likely to be seen and interacted with.

TikTok Ad Types

Knowing the difference between each TikTok ad type is key to choosing the right one for your campaign. Here are the main types of TikTok ads:

In-Feed Ads

In-Feed TikTok Ads are short TikTok video ads that appear in users’ “For You” feeds as they scroll through the app. They’re like regular TikTok videos but marked as sponsored. Up to 60 seconds but best to keep them short and sweet.

Pro Tip: Use eye-catching visuals and a strong call to action to make your In-Feed TikTok Ad more effective.

Brand Takeover Ads

Brand Takeover Advertisements are full-screen ads that appear when a user first opens the TikTok app. They can be images, GIFs, or videos and have a clickable link that directs to a landing page or a TikTok profile. Great for high-impact campaigns as they grab the user’s attention right away.

Fun Fact: TikTok only allows one Brand Takeover Advertisement per category per day so these TikTok ads are exclusive and highly coveted.

Top View Ads

Top View Ads are similar to Brand Takeover Advertisements but with a twist. Instead of appearing when the app opens, Top View Ads are the first in-feed post after 3 seconds. This ad format allows for longer videos (up to 60 seconds) and sound, making them more engaging and memorable.

Branded Hashtag Challenges Ads

Branded Hashtag Challenge Ads ask users to participate in a challenge by creating their own videos around a theme. These ads appear in the “Discover” section and encourage user-generated content, making it go viral. Branded Hashtag Challenges are perfect for brands looking to increase engagement and build a community around their products or services.

Example: A fashion brand might launch a Hashtag Challenge asking users to show off their best looks using a specific hashtag.

Spark Ads

Spark Ads are exclusive to TikTok, allowing brands to boost existing organic content from their own accounts or from influencers. This format helps brands amplify user-generated content and leverage the authenticity of TikTok creators to reach a wider audience.

Tip: Use Spark Ads to promote content that resonates with your audience.

Shopping Video Ads

Video Shopping Ads are ads that combine video content with shopping. They show products and allow users to shop from the TikTok app, making it a seamless shopping experience. Perfect for e-commerce brands looking to drive sales on TikTok.

Where Can TikTok Ads Appear?

TikTok ads can appear in:

1. For You Feed: In-Feed TikTok Ads and TopView Ads as users scroll through their feed.
2. App Launch: Brand Takeover Advertisements when users open the TikTok app.
3. Discover Page: Branded Hashtag Challenges in the Discover section to encourage users to participate.
4. User Videos: Spark Ads and Branded Effects within user-generated content in TikTok videos

How to Create a TikTok Ads Campaign

Creating a TikTok ad campaign is easy but requires some planning to make sure your ads work. Here’s a step-by-step guide to get you started:

Step 1: Set Up Your TikTok Ads Manager Account

First, you’ll need to create an account on TikTok Advertising Manager. This is where you’ll manage all your campaigns from creating ads to tracking performance.

1. Go to the TikTok Ads Manager website and sign up for an account.
2. Fill in your business details and set up your billing information.
3. Once approved you’re ready to create your first ad!

Step 2: Choose Your Campaign Objective

In TikTok Advertising Manager you’ll be asked to choose a campaign objective based on what you want to achieve. The main objectives are:

• Traffic: Drive users to a specific website or landing page.
• App Installs: Get users to download your app.
• Conversions: Get users to take a specific action like buying or signing up for a newsletter.
• Video Views: Increase video views on your TikTok video ads.
• Lead Generation: Collect information from potential customers through a lead form.

Step 3: Set Your Budget and Schedule

Next, you’ll set your budget and schedule for your ad campaign. You can choose between a daily budget (the amount you want to spend per day) or a total budget (the total amount for the entire campaign).

• Daily Budget: Ideal if you want to control your daily ad spend.
• Total Budget: Allocate a fixed amount for the entire campaign duration.

You’ll also select the start and end dates for your campaign or run it continuously.

Step 4: Create Your Ad Group

Within each campaign, you’ll create one or more ad groups. An ad group defines the specific details of your ads, targeting, placement and bidding strategy.

• Targeting: Define your audience based on demographics, interests, behaviors and device types.
• Placement: Where your ads will appear, in-feed or on the Discover page.
• Bidding: Choose your bidding strategy based on your campaign objective. You can choose from CPC, CPM, or CPA.

Step 5: TikTok Ads Design

Now it’s time to design your ad. TikTok has plenty of creative tools to help you make great videos even if you’re not a pro at video production.

• High-Quality Visuals: Make sure your videos are good-looking and high-quality.
• Keep it Short: TikTok ads should be short to grab user’s attention fast.
• Call to Action: Tell users to take action, whether it’s to visit your website, download your app, or follow your account.

Step 6: Review and Launch

Before you launch, review everything to make sure everything is set up correctly. Check your targeting, budget and ad creatives. Once you’re happy click “Submit” to launch your campaign. TikTok will review your ads to make sure they comply with their guidelines, which usually takes a few hours to a day.

TikTok Ads Best Practices

To get the most out of your TikTok ads campaigns here are some best practices to follow:

• Know Your Audience: Know who your target audience is and create content that speaks to them.
• Leverage Trends: Use TikTok trends and sounds to make your TikTok ad more relevant and engaging.
• Test Different Types of TikTok Ads: Try out different TikTok ad formats to see what works best for your brand.
• Use Influencers: Partner with TikTok influencers to increase your reach and credibility.
• Analyze Performance: Review your ad performance regularly and adjust your strategy based on what’s working and what’s not.

TikTok Ads Costs and Budgeting

TikTok ad costs can vary greatly depending on your targeting options, bidding strategy and TikTok ad format. Here’s a rough breakdown:

• In-Feed Ads: These ads cost around $10 CPM (cost per thousand impressions).
• Brand Takeover Advertisements: These are more expensive, starting at $50,000 per day due to their exclusivity.
• TopView Ads: Similar to Brand Takeovers, these are also quite costly, starting at $50,000 per day.
• Branded Hashtag Challenges: These TikTok campaigns can cost between $150,000 to $200,000 for a 6-day challenge.
• Spark Ads and Video Shopping Ads: Costs for these ads will depend on your bidding strategy and targeting options.

Try: Start with a low budget to test different types of TikTok ads and then increase the budget once you know what works.

Advanced Targeting Options on TikTok

TikTok has a range of targeting options to help you reach your audience better. Here are some of the targeting features in TikTok Ads Manager:

1. Demographic Targeting

Demographic targeting helps you target users based on specific characteristics like age, gender and location. Useful for brands that know their target market’s profile.

• Age: Target teenagers to adults.
• Gender: Men, women, or all users.
• Location: Users from specific countries, regions, or even cities.

2. Interest Targeting

Interest targeting lets you target users based on their behavior and engagement on TikTok. TikTok categorizes users based on the content they interact with, such as videos they watch, like or share.

• Categories: Choose from a range of interest categories like beauty, fitness, gaming, travel and more.
• Behavioral Signals: Target users who have recently shown interest in specific topics or activities.

3. Device Targeting

Device targeting lets you target users based on the devices they use to access TikTok. Useful if your product or service is device or OS-specific.

• Device: Target users on smartphones, tablets or both.
• Operating System: iOS or Android depending on your campaign goals.
• Connection Type: Show ads to users based on their network connection, Wi-Fi, or mobile data.

4. Custom Audiences

Custom audiences let you retarget users who have already interacted with your brand. This feature helps you re-engage users who have visited your website, used your app, or interacted with your previous ads.

• Website Visitors: Target users who have visited your website by adding your website’s tracking pixel to TikTok Advertisement Manager.
• App Users: Target users who have downloaded or used your app.
• Customer Lists: Upload your customer list and target users based on their email or phone number.

TikTok Ads Campaigns

Once you’ve set up your TikTok ads campaign you need to continuously monitor and optimize your ads for best results. Here are some strategies to get the most out of your TikTok ads:

A/B Testing

A/B testing (also known as split testing) is running two or more ads to see which one performs better. This allows you to optimize your TikTok campaigns by seeing what works and what doesn’t.

• Ad Creatives: Try different video creatives to see which one works best with your audience.
• Headlines and Captions: Experiment with different headlines and captions to increase engagement.
• Call to Action (CTA): Try different CTAs to see which one gets users to take the desired action.

Performance Metrics

TikTok Ads Manager gives you detailed performance metrics to see how your ads are performing. Here are the key metrics to monitor:

• Impressions: How many times your ad has been shown?
• Clicks: How many users have clicked on your ad?
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): Percentage of people who clicked on your ad after seeing it. A higher CTR means your ad is working.
• Conversion Rate: Percentage of users who completed a desired action (e.g. purchase or sign up) after clicking on your ad.
• Cost Per Conversion: How much you’re spending to get one conversion. Lower this to maximize your ad budget.

Targeting and Bidding

Based on your ad campaign performance you may need to adjust your targeting and bidding.

• Refine Targeting: Narrow or widen your audience based on which demographics or interests are working best with your ads.
• Optimize Bidding: Adjust your bids based on your campaign objective. For example, if your goal is to drive more traffic you may increase your cost-per-click (CPC) bid to get more clicks.

Retargeting

Retargeting is a great strategy that involves showing ads to users who have already interacted with your brand. This keeps your brand top of mind and encourages users to take a desired action, like a purchase or sign up for a newsletter.

• Retarget Website Visitors: Show ads to users who visited your website but didn’t convert.
• Engage App Users: Target users who downloaded your app but haven’t used it in a while.
• Re-Engage Ad Viewers: Retarget users who viewed your previous ads but didn’t take further action.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the different types of TikTok ads?

TikTok has different TikTok ad types to suit different marketing goals. In-Feed Ads appear in the user feed, Brand Takeover Ads are full-screen takeovers when the app is opened, and TopView Ads are at the top of the “For You” feed. Branded Hashtag Challenges Ads encourage user engagement by asking TikTok users to create content around a specific hashtag. Other options are TikTok Spark Ads (promote organic content), TikTok Collection Ads (showcase multiple products), Carousel Ads (multiple swipeable images or videos), and Video Shopping Ads (shop from the video).

What formats are in TikTok ads?

TikTok ads come in video, image and interactive video ad formats. Video ads are the most versatile and most used, perfect for storytelling and engagement. Images are used in Brand Takeover Advertisements. Interactive TikTok Ad formats like Branded Hashtag Challenge, TikTok Spark Ads and Carousel Ads ask users to interact with the ad directly and increase engagement and participation.

Which TikTok ads are best?

TikTok ads effectiveness varies on your goals and audience. In-Feed Ads and TikTok Spark Ads are very effective because they are native to the feed and can boost organic content. For high engagement and participation, Branded Hashtag Challenges are the top choice as they leverage user creativity. TikTok Collection Ads and Video Shopping Ads are best for direct sales and showcasing multiple products.

Where can ads appear on TikTok?

TikTok ads can be placed in multiple places to get maximum exposure. They can appear in the For You Feed, as users scroll through. They can also appear on the App Launch screen as Brand Takeover Ads, so users see them as soon as they open the app. On the Discover Page, ads like Branded Hashtag Challenge are targeting users looking for new content. Spark TikTok Ads and Carousel Ads can also appear in User Videos, alongside organic content to give a more native ad experience.

Conclusion

TikTok ads are an excellent way to reach a massive and engaged audience with creative and dynamic content. By following these tips, you’ll be able to create effective campaigns for your brand quickly. Whether your goal is to increase brand awareness or boost sales, TikTok ads have you covered. For even better results, consider buying TikTok views from our site, TokUpgrade. This can help amplify your reach and make your campaigns more successful.