If there is a social media network that has attracted attention lately, it is TikTok.
Launched in 2016, the application now has more than one billion active users per month and is one of the largest social media networks in the world.
With so much popularity, many B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer) digital marketers are developing new advertising strategies for social platforms.
In this article, we will give you an overview of advertising on TikTok, how it works, how much TikTok ads cost, and whether they are worth it or not.
What are TikTok Ads?
While ads on TikTok aren’t as popular as those on Facebook and Instagram, they are a great opportunity for brands looking to expand their reach.
TikTok Ads provide a powerful and easy-to-use platform that allows businesses and brands to reach millions of users worldwide through targeting, ad creation, and various ad management tools.
TikTok Ads currently offers two budget options: the daily budget and the lifetime budget. You can adjust your budget at any time during your campaign.
Different targeting options are available (gender, age, location, interest), and you can also create “custom audiences” and “lookalike audiences” to reach new audiences similar to your existing ones, just like the Facebook ads manager.
How Do TikTok Ads Work?
TikTok ads work like on Facebook and Instagram. In fact, ads and sponsored content appear among user-generated content (UGC). When viewers see TikTok ads and sponsored videos, they can click on them to learn more and go to a landing page or website.
The great strength of this platform is its advanced machine-learning feature that can suggest to users the content they like the most.
Also, if the videos of TikTok lasted only a maximum of one minute at the beginning of the platform’s launch. Now, it is possible to create videos of 10 minutes on TikTok.
With so much user-generated content, it’s quite easy to see brands’ interest in using the platform to communicate about their products and services.
Types Of TikTok Ads
Now that you know more about advertising on TikTok, let’s take a look at the different options that brands and businesses can use for their marketing strategy.
- In-Feed Ads: In-Feed ads are video ads that appear between users’ videos as they scroll down the page. Videos can range from 9 to 15 seconds long and include multiple calls to action (CTA). For example, you can encourage users to shop now, download your app or visit your website directly from TikTok.
- Branded Hashtag Challenge: It consists of paid ads encouraging other TikTokers to post videos of themselves performing a “challenge” using a sponsored hashtag. When a user clicks on a sponsored hashtag, they are directed to a TikTok landing page or a link to the website.
- Branded effects: TikTok currently offers branded and shareable stickers, AR filters, and lenses in its ad mix. Similar to Snapchat’s branded lenses, TikTok’s branded effects allow brands to design their own custom filters within the app. Branded effects are valid for up to 10 days and are a great way to encourage users to interact directly with your brand in a fun way.
- Brand Takeover: Brand Takeover displays a takeover ad when the app is opened, and a full-screen video is shown to the target user. This is one of TikTok’s best advertising options for increasing awareness and driving direct sales, as it allows you to place your message right in front of your target audience. These ads appear not only as soon as a user opens their TikTok but can also appear as still images, GIFs, or videos on your For You Page (FYP).
- TopView: TopView Ads is a new advertising opportunity based on brand acquisition. The difference with TopView Ads is that, unlike Branded Takeover Ads, TikTok users are not spammed with ads as soon as they open the application.
How Much do TikTok Ads Cost
Let’s have a quick look at how much TikTok ads cost. If you want to post ads on TikTok, the platform offers two types of budgets:
- Lifetime budget: For the duration of an ad’s run, this is the maximum amount you are willing to spend on a campaign or group of ads.
- Daily budget: As the name suggests, this is the maximum amount you are willing to spend per day on your ad.
In order to guarantee that you deliver your advertisement consistently, both lifetime and daily budgets require a minimum budget.
- Campaign level minimum budget: Both daily and total campaign budgets must exceed $50.
- Ad group level minimum budget: Daily budgets for ad groups must be greater than $20.
You can also use influencers if you don’t have the time to handle your campaign. Here is an overview of the price per post, according to Statista.
- A post from an influencer with less than 5000 followers costs between $4 and $25.
- For influencers with between 20K and 100K followers, the price is between $30 and $145 per post.
- Last, posts can cost up to $1034 for influencers with more than 1 million followers.
Are TikTok Ads Worth It?
Initially, TikTok captured the hearts and minds of the younger generation (think Gen Z), but by 2022 people of all ages were watching videos on TikTok.
As of 2021, TikTok has more online traffic than Google, with the app being downloaded over 3 billion times and spending about 20 hours a month watching videos.
The social network has become a key player and is now as high as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Advertising on TikTok is now essential for businesses that want to boost their activity.
Key Takeaways
TikTok ads are a great opportunity for brands looking to expand their reach and grow their business.
- Reach millions of users worldwide through targeting, ad creation, and various ad management tools.
- Create “custom audiences” and “lookalike audiences” to reach new audiences.
- Now, it is possible to create videos of 10 minutes on TikTok.
- By 2022 people of all ages were watching videos on TikTok.
Back at you. What do you think about today’s article? Are TikTok ads worth it?
Let us know in the comments below.
Denisa Lamaj
