TikTok is quickly becoming one of the most popular social media platforms globally, boasting over 1 billion active users worldwide. With its expansive audience and unique short-form video format, Tiktok provides an excellent platform for advertisers to engage with consumers in a fun, dynamic, and creative way.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the process of running ads on TikTok for eCommerce and discuss what strategies work best on this platform when targeting consumers.
Understanding TikTok Ads
TikTok’s advertising platform offers different types of ads to help businesses reach their target audiences:
- In-Feed Ads: These are short video ads that appear on the For You page, similar to an Instagram story or a typical TikTok video.
- TopView Ads: TopView Ads are full-screen, longer-form videos that play when users first open the app. They offer a great way to make a strong, immediate impact.
- Branded Hashtag Challenges: This ad type encourages user-generated content by inviting users to participate in a challenge under a specific hashtag. These challenges can quickly go viral, creating massive brand awareness.
- Branded Effects: These are interactive elements, like filters or stickers, that users can add to their videos.
Getting Started with TikTok Ads
Step 1: Create a TikTok Ads account
First, you’ll need to sign up for a Tiktok Ads account. Visit the TikTok Ads home page and click “Get Started.” Fill in the required information, and you’re good to go.
Step 2: Set up a TikTok Ad campaign
Once you’ve got your account, it’s time to create a campaign.
Click on the “Campaign” tab in the dashboard, then “Create.” You’ll be asked to choose an advertising objective, which should align with your broader business goals (Awareness, Consideration, or Conversion).
Step 3: Define your Ad Group
Next, create an “Ad Group.” Here you can define your audience, placements, scheduling, budgeting, and goals. Spend time refining your target audience; TikTok provides various targeting options, including age, gender, location, interests, and more.
Step 4: Create your Ad
Finally, you’ll create your ad.
Upload your ad creative (video), add text, a CTA (Call to Action), and a link to your landing page. Be sure to follow TikTok’s ad specifications and community guidelines when creating your ad.
Step 5: Track your Ad’s performance
Use TikTok’s Ads Manager to track performance and optimize your ads. Here, you can see how your ads are performing in real-time, allowing you to adjust your strategy as needed. A good social media advertising strategy should constantly shift according to the data, so it’s important to monitor your TikTok ad performance and adjust accordingly.
What Works Best on TikTok
Here are some best practices to consider when running ads on TikTok for eCommerce stores:
1. Embrace Authenticity: Unlike traditional advertising platforms, TikTok values authenticity. Craft ads that resonate with the culture of the platform. User-generated content often performs better than polished, professional advertisements.
2. Engage With Trends: Keep an eye on trending topics, songs, and hashtags on TikTok and incorporate them into your ad content where appropriate. This shows that your brand is current and in touch with the TikTok community. It’s not simply a marketing gimmick, this is like social proof. It’s a signal to users that you are not only aligned with their interests, but that you’re also a real person and not some faceless automated service or out of touch marketer.
3. Encourage Interaction: TikTok is a highly interactive platform. Create ads that encourage users to engage, such as participating in challenges, using branded effects, or commenting. The more engaging your content is, the better it will perform.
4. Test and Learn: What works for one brand may not work for another. Constantly test different creatives, targeting options, and ad types to learn what resonates best with your audience. It’s perfectly fine to test multiple ads at the same time using different angles or trending songs. This way you can easily see what works and what doesn’t.
5. Optimize for Mobile: Remember, TikTok is a mobile-first platform. Ensure that your creatives are optimized for mobile viewing, with clear visuals and sound. Avoid landscape-orientated videos or anything that results in a chopped visual.
Running ads on TikTok is a fantastic opportunity for brands to engage with younger, tech-savvy audiences.
Why TikTok is So Effective For eCommerce Stores
TikTok has quickly become a hotbed for online stores, and there are a few key reasons why this platform is proving so effective for eCommerce merchants:
- Highly Engaged User Base: TikTok’s user base is extremely engaged, spending an average of 52 minutes per day on the app. With such high levels of engagement, TikTok provides an ideal environment for brands to interact with potential customers.
- Organic Reach: TikTok’s unique algorithm provides businesses with the potential for viral organic reach. Even accounts with a small following can experience massive engagement if their content aligns well with current trends or is particularly creative or engaging.
- TikTok Shopping Partnership with Shopify: TikTok has teamed up with Shopify, enabling Shopify merchants to create, run, and optimize their TikTok marketing campaigns directly from the Shopify dashboard. This partnership has significantly streamlined the process of selling products on TikTok, making it a highly effective platform for eCommerce.
- Demographics: A significant portion of TikTok’s users belong to Gen Z and younger Millennials. These generations are digital natives who are comfortable with online shopping, making them an ideal audience for eCommerce stores.
- Authentic Content: Users on TikTok value authenticity, and many successful eCommerce brands on the platform have leveraged user-generated content to drive their campaigns. This authentic content often resonates better with audiences compared to highly polished, traditional advertisements.
- In-App Shopping Features: TikTok is progressively introducing in-app shopping features like shopping tabs and shoppable videos, making it even more convenient for users to purchase products directly through the platform.
- Influencer Partnerships: TikTok influencers can offer tremendous reach and can be a great way for eCommerce stores to get their products in front of new audiences. Influencer-created content is often seen as more authentic and trustworthy, driving higher engagement and conversions.
- Educational Content: TikTok is not just about entertainment, but also education. “How-to” videos, product demonstrations, and other educational content can perform very well, making it an excellent platform for eCommerce stores to showcase their products’ features and benefits.
TikTok shops, especially, is proof that the platform is prioritizing merchants. eCommerce is booming on TikTok, so it makes sense that running ads on the platform would be potentially lucrative.
Not every industry works well on the platform just yet, as the demographic does skew younger and there is somewhat less disposable income in this demographic vs platforms like Google and Facebook, however this is quickly changing.
All sorts of eCommerce businesses advertise successfully on TikTok. Chances are, with a creative strategy and authentic content, you can too!
By understanding the platform, getting creative with your content, and continuously testing and learning, you can effectively leverage TikTok to achieve your social media marketing goals. So get out there, start creating, and let the TikTok community experience what your brand has to offer!
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