TikTok Marketing 101: How to Get Started
TikTok has taken the world by storm with its popular social media platform, and there are plenty of opportunities for savvy marketers.
TikTok has over a billion monthly users, and in the US, users spend approximately 52 minutes a day on the app.
With this level of reach and engagement, TikTok offers many unique ways for businesses to reach potential customers.
In this post, I will break down the benefits of advertising on TikTok, how to create a business profile on TikTok, how to navigate the Ads Manager, and what types of ads work well on the social app.
What is the advantage of TikTok advertising?
TikTok continues to improve its marketing efficiency and ability to grow sales.
In 2022, about 24% of marketers found the app effective for their business goals.
Progress won’t stop anytime soon.
In 2021, TikTok users spent approximately $2.3 billion on the app, compared to $1.3 billion in 2020; that’s a 77% increase in sales!
And since TikTok ads reach so many people, being able to get your product in front of the right audience is pretty easy.
How to create a TikTok profile for your brand
Curious how to create a TikTok business profile?
Follow these five easy steps.
Step 1: Create your login
Visit the TikTok Ads Manager login page and fill in the fields with your company’s self-identifying information.
Click Send Code and enter your verification code.
After verifying your account, you will have the option to sign in to create your login.
Step 2: Create your account
Once your account is verified, you’ll need to enter the basic information for your business.
This includes providing your company’s location and currency preferences.
You can also add your company name here.
Step 3: Add business information
When you log in for the first time, you’ll see a pop-up form where you can add more details about your business and your billing information.
It is important that you enter your URL correctly to ensure your website works properly.
To pass account verification, the website must contain all of the business information you previously entered, clearly list the products you are viewing, and be relevant to what you are trying to promote.
Step 4: Specify payment preferences
In your account you choose whether you prefer manual or automatic payments.
Once you have selected your preference, you cannot change it.
Step 5: Submit your account
After adding your account information, click submit and you will be informed within 24 hours whether your account has been approved or not.
Rejected? Here are common reasons for rejection
- Check the format of your URL. Make sure it follows the recommended format.
- your website does not promote the product you specified, or your landing page didn’t display the product appropriately.
- Your product or service may be banned in your market. For more information, see TikTok’s advertising policies.
How to navigate the TikTok Ads Manager
There are four main areas you can navigate to from your TikTok Ads Manager:
dashboard
The dashboard provides a quick overview of your data and performance trends.
You’ll see a high-level overview of active campaigns, budget spend, and charts that track ad performance over time.
campaign
When you visit the campaigns page, you will see all the campaigns, ad groups and ads that have been created.
You can edit all your ads at micro and macro level and easily create new campaigns.
financial assets
The Assets page stores all of your ad assets, including events, creative, audience data, and your catalog.
Your assets page is also the main source for you to create and manage third-party tracking pixels, website pixels, and audience managers.
reporting
Here you can create custom ad reports to share with your team members. You can customize each column as you like or use one of the predefined templates.
What Types of Ads Can You Run on TikTok?
There are a variety of different ads you can run on TikTok. It’s important to understand the different types of ads to determine if the format is effective for your business goals.
Here are the five types of TikTok ads:
- In-Feed Ads.
- brand takeover.
- Top view.
- Brand Hashtag Challenge.
- brand effects.
TikTok Ads: In-Feed Ads
In-feed ads have a similar feel to the Instagram ads you experience when you tap through endless Instagram stories. They will appear among other videos on your For You Page (FYP).
They are designed to fit seamlessly into your TikTok experience. They typically have a 9- to 15-second format and include a clear call-to-action (CTA), which may vary.
To keep end-users’ attention, these ads should be eye-catching and engaging. This increases the likelihood that the end user will continue to interact with your ad.
TikTok ads: brand takeover
Immediately after opening the app, you may see an ad immediately. That would be a brand takeover ad.
If you want to generate brand awareness from a large audience, this ad type is the best way to achieve that goal. After the ad is presented to the user when opening the app, it also appears on the FYP.
If you’re a small business or just getting started with TikTok ads, this might not be the most effective ad template. These ads can be quite expensive due to their wide reach.
Reviewing your KPI and performance benchmarks is critical to deciding which format to proceed with.
TikTok Ads: TopView
Building on Brand Takeover Ads, TopView ads are similar, but instead of the ad appearing as soon as the user opens the app, it will appear in your feed after three seconds.
TikTok Ads: Branded Hashtag Challenge
Looking for an ad type unique to TikTok? Consider using a branded hashtag challenge ad.
When you create this type of ad, encourage users to create their own content with a hashtag of their choice.
When an end user clicks on your sponsored hashtag, they’re taken to a TikTok landing page with your logo, website link, and a description of your challenge.
This information sets the stage for your end users to get creative.
It’s important to remember that these ads require crystal clear objectives before starting the ad.
You need to determine whether you want to increase awareness of your products, generate leads or improve brand awareness with this hashtag challenge.
Once you’ve ironed out the details, you can set clear standards for your hashtag challenge.
TikTok Ads: Brand Effects
Like Snapchat, TikTok allows brands to advertise with shareable stickers and filters.
These ads can run for up to 10 days and encourage end users to engage directly with your brand.
What Kind of Content Works Well on TikTok?
Every social platform has a content style that performs better than others.
Understanding the types of content that drive engagement will help you maximize your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and help you avoid the trap of sharing purely promotional content.
The following breaks down three types of content that drive engagement on TikTok:
humor
Why do end users gravitate towards TikTok?
You are looking for entertainment and a short escape. Brands can effectively appeal to this audience through humor.
Lightheartedly introducing a problem and how your product solves it can be a unique way to showcase your product and solutions.
instructive
Have you ever been tagged in a “TikTok tips” or “TikTok hacks” video? Probably too many to count.
The reason is that these videos are very informative and fascinating.
Following a similar format can be beneficial for your brand. You can show how your products help your prospects solve problems in a memorable and meaningful way.
influencers
Building a strong working relationship with influencers in your industry can help you speak directly to your target audience.
Influencers have the unique ability to build a trusting relationship with large numbers of followers.
This trust is very valuable as it gives them the opportunity to openly review and support your product.
You can address your audience’s pain points and be perceived as an authentic and genuine source of information.
Conclusion
TikTok will continue its unprecedented growth.
As more and more new advertising opportunities become available and the platform is constantly updated, the potential to grow your business with this platform will only increase significantly.
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Featured image: Kaspars Grinvalds/Shutterstock