Is TikTok Meant For My Business Marketing?

With over 1 billion subscribers on a global scale, there is one thing for sure that the TikTok advertising opportunity is unmatched. In the initial phase of 2019, TikTok came up with an upgraded beta version of its advertisement model. Various big names like Nike, Grubhub, and Apple Music have already advertised on TikTok.

Due to precise audience targeting and distinctive ad development options, TikTok ads are way ahead from its competitors amongst other platforms. If used smartly, TikTok marketing and advertising can be a game-changer for your brand in setting up a lasting engagement with the target audience. However, it is not like that it is meant for every business running in any sector. There needs to be a detailed analysis before moving ahead. The following questions will help you make the right decision related to TikTok marketing.

What Type Of Audience Can Be Targeted Using TikTok Ads?

For advertisers, it is necessary to understand that TikTok ads are primarily targeted at an audience that is younger. So, if your target audience belongs to this category, it is good to go with TikTok advertising. More than half of TikTok user base is of less than 30 years of age, it is generally not preferred by brands that have a target audience of aged people.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t target older audiences but its proportion should be lesser than the younger audiences. A smart advertiser is the one who is able to know the pros and cons of a particular platform before investing the money.

How Much Do TikTok Ads Cost?

This is certainly the most interesting part of TikTok advertising. TikTok started advertising in 2018, and it didn’t start well. It is based on a formal ad platform which means you don’t need to counter heavy competition just to seek the prime spots on the TikTok platform.

Some of TikTok’s prime advertisers, such as Nike and Disney, have enough fund allocations when it comes to advertising. They are very improbable to object about cost unless there is a major difference. It can seem a bit costly than the more familiar Facebook / Instagram advertising, however.

TikTok ads pricing starts at $10 per CPM (cost per 1000 views). In addition, the platform would ask you to throw in a minimum of $500 on a campaign. So, if you’re looking for a low-cost advertising platform for your ads, TikTok marketing might not be a viable option for you.

What Type Of People Are Actively Present On TikTok?
TikTok, along with its initial version Musical.ly, is primarily used by teenagers and youngsters particularly. Another great thing is that most of the TikTok users are women. There are many such interesting statistics as per the various reports by the “Marketing charts” website. As per the report, the average age of TikTok users is 18-24, which attributes to nearly over one-quarter (25.8%) of the total US adult visitors.

How To Start Marketing On TikTok?
The best way is to follow a step-wise approach to Tiktok Marketing.

1. Create A TikTok Ads Account: Visit the TikTok Ads Home page and click on Create an Ad button.

Since TikTok ads are still in the beta version, you may not get all the features on a website. After clicking this button, you’ll be asked to provide the necessary details about you. Once you fill-up the form, a TikTok representative will get back to you for additional support.

Please note that it takes around 48 hours to get your account activated. Once this is done, the further process is quite simple.

2. Create A TikTok Ad Campaign: Click on the Campaign tab in the dashboard and then click the Create button.

Tiktok Ad Campaign: After this, define a campaign objective, which means the primary reason behind your ad. There are three options to choose from: Traffic, Conversions, and App Install.

TikTok Conversions: In terms of budget, you can choose from either the Daily Budget or Total Budget under settings. Please note that in both the conditions, the amount should not be less than $500.

TikTok Ad budget: 
3. Define Your TikTok Ad Placements, Specifications, And Targeting
Now, the next state is to create an ad group for your TikTok marketing campaign and select your targeting and placement.

In TikTok, you can even choose the exact platforms where you want your ads to run on. This means your ads would show not only on TikTok but other related apps like Vigo Video (India), BuzzVideo, News Republic, and others.

An option of automatic placements is also there which means TikTok would decide itself where to place your ads for optimum exposure.

Tiktok Ad Placements
Once you finalize your preferred placements, it’s time to just follow the prompts to enter all the details required to start running your ad, including any pertinent URLs, display names, images, and categories. You can also choose from a maximum of 20 keywords to explain your website or app, which will then be used to match your products with the most precise audience.

In the targeting phase, you can define your target audience for the ads. Various options to choose from here include location, age, gender, languages, interests, devices, and others.

TikTok Ad Targeting: If you have a set audience in mind, you can define it right here by providing the IDs of existing Tiktok users.

4. Manage Your TikTok Ad Spend, Duration, And Goals
Define A Budget And Schedule
In the Budget & Schedule area, you can define a budget for the ad group. You can choose either a daily budget or a total budget. Please keep in mind that there’s a minimum limit of $50 for the regular budget and total budget at the ad group level.

Apart from this, you can choose how long you want your ads to work. You can define it in terms of weeks, days when you want to run your ads.

Pick Your Budget Spending Rate
After all this, you’ll be asked to define at which speed you want your TikTok ad budget to spend. The Standard delivery option uses your budget optimally across the duration of the campaign, while the Accelerate option uses the budget as quickly as possible during the ad duration.

Select Your Optimization Goal
The optimization goal of your ad means the key metric you’re looking to achieve with your ad campaign. You can choose to optimize your ad group for Conversion, Click, or Impression and your request will be enhanced based on the goal you define.

If you choose Conversion as your objective, your ad will be served to an audience that is very likely to convert for your product or service. To keep a watch on all of the activities that indicate a conversion, define conversion events by clicking the Library and selecting Conversions.

Now, choose whether you want to set up conversion tracking for app installs or specific elements of your landing page via pixel.

To develop an app install conversion, provide a name for your conversion event, submit the link to your app in Google Play or the App Store, and get a tracking partner to begin measuring conversions from your ad.

TikTok App Conversion
Conversion goals are charged on the basis of oCPC (optimization cost per click) bidding methodology, which makes sure that your ads are displayed to the audience that is most likely to help you achieve your ad objectives. In the case of oCPC, you bid on the separate conversion cost you imagine but then pay by CPC (cost per click). Tiktok Ads automatically regulates bids as per your bid settings, utilizing the spend of your campaign close to your target price.

If you choose Click as the predominant objective for your ad group, you’ll be charged on a CPC basis, with your ad being enhanced to attract as many clicks as possible.

Lastly, if you set Impression as your goal mouth, your ad will be allocated on a CPM (cost per mille) model, which refers to the price of a thousand impressions.

Smart Optimization
There is an option in TikTok namely Smart Optimization. When it is ON, your bidding gets continually adjusted and optimized to augment conversions. However, if you pick Click or Impression as your target, it’s best to switch off Smart Optimization.

5. Design Your TikTok Ad
TikTok ads can be customized as per your needs in terms of looks. For example, they can be horizontal, vertical, or square videos and images. There is a specific tool called the Video Creation Kit, which is loaded with different video and image templates that can help you customize your existing images. It also comes with 300+ options for free background music.

On TikTok, you can choose from different types of ads: brand takeovers, in-feed ads, and hashtag challenges.

Brand Takeovers
A brand takeover ad comes out when a user opens the TikTok app. The ad can be fixed to an internal or external link—which may have another video on TikTok or a different website or app. However, this ad type is restricted to one advertiser per day.
In-Feed Ads
These are native ads that are shown either at the bottom of organic TikTok videos or in the feed as part of the video queue, given the type of product. These ads can also be linked to an internal app or external website. These ads cost $10 per CPM, which means they are quite affordable in comparison to brand takeover ads.

Hashtag Challenges
There is an option to create a sponsored hashtag challenge of TikTok that asks users to perform a certain task and share the video with the given hashtag. These are usually time-bound campaigns with a typical period of around one week.

How To Optimize Your Tiktok Ad?
After you’re done with the budget allocation and ad creation, it’s time to discover how to make them more captivating and promising. The first and foremost thing to do is to choose high-resolution images and videos that are better than usual TikTok videos.

Other things you can do to optimize your TikTok ads are:

Be very specific about the CTA of your ad. For example, clearly define whether the CTA is to download an app or use an access code
Be smart with your ad copy as there is a very limited space for ad copy. You can write for up to a maximum of 80 characters, so be specific and direct.
In the case of in-feed ads, your ads will come at the bottom, so make the optimum use of your creative instinct to drive engagement and ultimately the conversion.
According to advertising experts, it is all about using all the available elements in the most optimum manner so as to make the most of this video-sharing platform. And one most important thing not to forget about TikTok advertising is to use hashtags smartly to increase the reach of your TikTok ads.