There is no denying that messaging apps are the major force in digital marketing today. One cannot dispel the power of apps like TikTok, which as many would recall, was a “children’s app” not too long ago.
Making waves globally
TikTok is by far one of the most downloaded apps in 2020. To date, its monthly users have exceeded 800 million and this number continues to grow each day. One thing for sure,
TikTok is not for kids anymore!
Who would have thought that an app for users to watch short videos could become so big and powerful? But then again, no one saw YouTube or WhatsApp to be this big then.
Making TikTok work
Make no mistake about it, TikTok can be used to drive traffic to your site, generate leads and into sales and every possible digital marketing initiative you can conjure up. You just need to get into it.
Widen your reach
TikTok runs TikTok Ads which is similar to that of the other social media platforms. You can:
- Choose between daily or lifetime TikTok Ad packages that allow you to customize how much you want to pay for ads.
- Derive your own target audience through demographic factors like gender, age, location, etc.
Advertising options and types
Typically, there are several options when it comes to advertising on TikTok. They include:
- Branded Effects – You can use this feature by designing your own filter on TikTok. This is a viable option for your users to connect with you.
- In-Feed Ads – Video ads that will show up between videos. This is a great option for you to create short videos (about 10 seconds) and drive CTAs.
- TopView Ads – This is an option which is less intrusive. They are designed to be the first in-feed post after 3 seconds and not the first.
- Brand Takeover – Ads that appear at the point of launching the app, this is an ideal option for brand awareness and gets very good recall rate. Users will not see more than 1 Brand Takeover per day.
Spending on TikTok Ads
As TikTok Ads are still very new, a lot of adjustments are in place. As an advertiser, you have the ability to customize your expenditure to suit your campaign where you can use In-Feed ads accordingly.
To date, the campaign budget in TikTok is set at a minimum of $500 while it is $50 minimum for ad group budget. This is considered to be higher as compared to the others. So, it is imperative that you are aware of what you are spending on when advertising on TikTok.
Getting started with TikTok Advertising
Now that you know the basics of what TikTok advertising is and what it can do, let’s see how you can get started with this exciting platform. Big names like McDonald’s’ and Nike would use many ways to drive impressions and you can surely make use of TikTok to do the same. Bearing in mind that there is a minimum amount to start, calculate your budget and if this makes good money sense, then you can get started.
Getting into the TikTok Ads environment
A TikTok account is where you must start. Then, you have to ‘Create an Ad’. This will invoke a pop-up where you have to fill up a form. You should be contacted shortly after submitting your details and then be able to set up your TikTok Ads account after that. Then:
- Create a Campaign – Choose your campaign objective from the options available like Traffic, Conversions or Apps Install
- Select your budget between Daily or Total (which must have a minimum of $500)
- Next will be your placements – You can either choose to have your ads only on TikTok or its affiliated platforms like News Republic or Buzz Video, etc. Alternatively, you can let TikTok decide by selecting ‘Automatic Placements’
- Now you can put in the details like names, images, URLs and others
- Remember to insert keywords (maximum 20) so that you can get the right audience
- Note: If you have a compilation of user IDs you want to target, you can do so. TikTok can read your list from a TXT or CSV file
- Next, select a budget for your target audience. This can be done either on a daily (minimum $50) or total (minimum $500) basis
- The Dayparting feature allows you to decide which time and day of the week where your ad will be run
- Now, it’s about pacing and optimization. Pacing will let you control how your budget will be used up whether it is Standard or Accelerate. As for optimization, you can choose between Conversion, Click or Impression
- Smart Optimization – This is one feature offered by TikTok where the bidding will be optimized so that you get better conversions.
Once you have all that in place, then it is time to design and make your video. Bear in mind that your video needs to be as captivating as possible especially when you are working within a 10-second time-frame. Use an editor if you have to or get a professional to help you shoot the videos.
