You probably already know that TikTok is now one of the most downloaded social sharing apps in the world.
TikTok generates a lot of attention among younger viewers, notably Generation Z and millennials. There are currently 500 million active monthly users, which allows for a broad reach when it comes to being a brand. If you target audience is younger than 24, and older than 16, then you might want to consider using TikTok in your next marketing campaign.
Tweens and teens love to create and share videos on the popular app, which means that TikTok marketing could result in a huge amount of exposure for your business.
In this article, we are going to talk about best practices for your ads to qualify for the TikTok market, so that you can be successful with your product or service. We will also talk about specs when it comes to video and audio ads.
Best Practices for Marketing on TikTok
TikTok decided to introduce a number of marketing options for targeting specific user groups in 2019. Brands could use to TikTok ads to get better returns from marketing on the platform. Let’s take a look at some best practices for content creators and marketers on TikTok.
Prioritise Videos That are Vertical
If you want to make your ads look native to TikTok, then you need to fit them into the recommended ad specs. If they don’t, then TikTok isn’t going to approve your ads. And, even if they do, the ads won’t have as much of an impact. They might get cut off at the edges and look warped.
Limit the Video Length
The best way to make sure that your video ad content is successful is to keep the video length between 9 and 15 seconds.
Begin with Something That Has Impact
Remember, people who are using TikTok are more than happy to carry on swiping and scrolling to the next post if they don’t find anything appealing about your content. This is why you need to hook viewers in with the initial image and find something that is appealing and attention-grabbing.
Put Important Elements in the Middle
For the most part, TikTok obscures the outer edges of the frame. This is why it’s best to keep all the important elements of your ad in the center. This will include things like your brand name and your call-to-action.
Include Background Music
TikTok needs its users to have their audio settings turned on. This is why it is recommended that you add background music clips to your ads, instead of using subtitles. The person watching the ad is more than likely to hear it and have their audio turned on. If they can’t hear anything, then they aren’t likely to hang around for too long.
Include a Caption
Social media users who are ready to jump to the next post might abandon yours before it’s even finished. To avoid this, make sure that you write an informational and concise caption that makes it easy for viewers to understand what they’re looking at. TikTok recommends that you use local language to write your captions too.
Include a Call-to-Action that Resonates
There is no point in investing in an ad if it isn’t known to lead to any tangible results. Including a strong call-to-action is a great a way to prompt viewers and is key to doing really well with your ads on TikTok.
Video Ad Specs for TikTok 2021
The thing about TikTok ads is that they can cost you a lot. If you want your ads to be successful, then you need to optimize them for the audience in the platform. TikTok has ad specs according to where the ad is going to be featured. This includes things like add duration, filetype, image resolution, aspect ratio, and ad composition. All of these are going to be different depending on where your ad is going to be shown.
Your TikTok ad can either be shown in the news feed series, within a personal user’s feed, or through Helo and Vigo apps.
Ad Specs for In Feed
Ads like this for TikTok will come up in your audience’s feed. They include video, ad display name, app/brand name, and a description of the ad. This is what an in-feed ad would look like on an Android phone:
Specs:
- The suggested aspect ratio is 16:9
- Resolution includes 649 by 640, 1280 by 720, and 720 by 1280
- You can use a number of different file options, including AVI and MPEG
- They can be between five and 16 seconds long
- The file size for the video should be less than 500 MB
Specs for the display image:
- 1:1 aspect ratio
- 50 KB or less file size
- File type can be JPG, JPEG or PNG
Specs for Brand Name:
- Up to 20 characters in English for the brand name
- No emojis
- Spaces and punctuation marks are included in character count
- App names shouldn’t have more than 40 characters, and no less than four
Specs for Ad Description:
- Character limit is 12 to 100
- Longer descriptions are allowed, but the end might be omitted or cut out
- Curly braces, emojis, and hash symbols are permitted
- Spaces and punctuation marks will be counted as characters
News Feed Ad Specs
TikTok has a number of news feed apps, including BuzzVideo and Buzz. If you want your ad to appear in these apps, you will need to comply with the specs. These video ads come with the video, name of the brand, and ad description.
This is what one looks like:
Specs for Ad Video:
- Aspect ratio is 1:1
- File types are the same as ads that are found in your feed
- No restriction on video resolution
- Short-form videos are permitted, with a recommended length being between five and 60 seconds
- File size needs to be smaller than 500 MB
Specs for the name and ad description are the same for in-feed ads.
Ad Specs for Helo and Vigo Ads
TikTok offers its users something else that makes it unique. It lets brands reach out to local audience by placing their ads on social platforms and native apps, like Vigo and Helo. Helo is focused primarily on Indian customers and is available in a number of native languages.
This type of ad has gained a lot of momentum not only in India, but in China, Nepal, and the USA. TikTok lets you make ads to reach the feeds of Helo’s users as well.
These ads should include a video, an ad description, and a brand name.
Specs:
- The aspect ratio should be 16:9
- Ad files need to be AVI, MPEG or MP4 for Vigo, and MPEG, AVI, and GIF for Helo
- There are a number of different resolution recommendations, including 1280 by 720 and 640 by 640
- The file size and duration are the same for news feed ads
- The specs for the description and brand name are the same for in-feed ads
Does Your Budget Cover TikTok Ads?
Since TikTok started its ad service in early 2019, big names like Nike and Disney have capitalized on it. They have enjoyed the unique opportunity to be a monopoly, as the space wasn’t crowded like Instagram and Facebook.
However, if you’re a smaller brand, is it worthwhile investing in TikTok ads? The answer to this question can be found in your audience demographics. If your products are preferred by those under the age of 18, then there’s a good chance that TikTok ads will resonate with your target market.
However, if your brand targets an older demographic, then they might not be the right method to be using to find more leads for your sales funnel. With this thought in mind, then, what is a TikTok ad going to cost you?
TikTok is charging quite a lot for its ads, especially when you compare them with other companies. A TikTok ad is going to cost you $10 for 1000 impressions, and you will have to pay $500 at the beginning before you’ve even launched your campaign.
Beyond this, a brand takeover that guarantees five million impressions is going to cost you $50,000. A feed that is featured within someone’s feed is going to cost $10 per impression, and a sponsored hashtag challenge will cost you $150,000 a week.
Final Thoughts
TikTok has become an authority and relevant marketing platform for influencers and marketers alike. If you want to appeal to the platform’s audience, then you will need to optimize your ads for them.
If you follow our recommendations above, you will be able to fall within TikTok’s terms and conditions, and potentially end up doing really well with it all. Good luck!
