Now there are ads available on TikTok to help you to extend your reach and brand exposure. Back in January 2019 TikTok started experimenting with ads on their platform. This led to the launch of their managed service platform in April 2019. At the time of writing this article TikTok ads are not available in all countries.
As with other social media platforms there is a biddable ad environment available. You cannot self serve TikTok ads at the moment and everything has to go through a representative of the company. This will certainly change in the future.
All available ads on TikTok are of the short form video format. This makes perfect sense as TikTok is a platform that is full of short form videos so any ads will be seamless to users.
There are three different models that you can follow with TikTok ads which are:
1. CPC (Cost Per Click)
2. CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions)
3. CPV (Cost Per View where a view is a minimum of 6 seconds)
The targeting features are a little basic right now. You can choose your audience on the basis of age, gender and location. The geo targeting allows you to target down to state level in the United States. In the future you can expect to see more targeting options such as interest and behavior.
Here are the four types of TikTok ads currently available:
Native Ads (In Feed)
Have you ever experienced the story ads on Instagram? These are full screen mode and usually pretty effective. If this appeals to you then you will like the native ads on TikTok. You can add an external link to your website with these ads.
With this type of ad you need to decide on the length of your video from 5 seconds to 15 seconds. You have to create a vertical format video because it is going to display in the “For You” page of your target audience. You can add a call to action such as downloading an app or visiting your website.
Hashtag Challenge Ads
Hashtag challenges are very popular on TikTok so it makes sense to create ads in this format. What you will do here is to encourage the TikTok users in your target audience to participate in a challenge that is centered around your brand or one of your products.
TikTok users really like to participate rather than taking a passive stance. So if you come up with the right hashtag challenge ad you can expect some very good levels of engagement. These ads run for 6 days and a TikTok representative will support you the entire time.
The Brand Takeover Ad
The Brand Takeover ad appears when a user first opens their TikTok app. It is literally front and center on their screen. You can use this kind of ad to send a user to an internal piece of content or drive them to your website.
Brand Takeover ads are permitted on a category basis. Only one advertiser can use this kind of ad for a category each day. We predict that these are going to become the most expensive TikTok ads in the future because of the limited availability.
The Branded Lens Ad
If you go for a branded lens ad you will be able to use face filters, 3D objects and more. The right branded lens app can provide a lot of engagement on the platform so they are definitely worth considering.
