Everything That You Need to Know About TikTok Ad Types

Is your company interested in tapping into the unfettered potential of a social media site that attracts more than one billion engaged visitors each month? Enter TikTok, an app that has gone viral and become a cultural phenomenon, creating an ideal environment for innovative advertising campaigns. But how can you choose the ideal TikTok ad type for your business from the many that are available? In order to streamline your TikTok advertising tactics, let’s dive into the comprehensive introduction to TikTok ad formats.

Exploring the Many Advertising Choices on TikTok

TikTok’s innovative and engaging ad formats have transformed the digital marketing world. If you want to make the most of the platform, it’s important to get to know more about each one. The most common types of TikTok ads are detailed here:

1. In-Feed Ads

When you go through your TikTok stream, you’ll frequently come across what appears to be regular content but is actually sponsored—a defining feature of In-stream Ads. These adverts are designed to blend seamlessly into the user’s For You Page (FYP) in a way that is less obvious and more intuitive to them.

Key Features:

• Duration: Up to 60 seconds, the first 5-10 seconds are crucial.
• Include a Call-to-Action (CTA): Direct users to websites, app downloads, or other destinations, like interactive microsites.
• Performance Metrics: Track impressions, click-through rates, conversions, and engagements.

As an added bonus, In-Feed Ads can be enhanced with interactive add-ons, making them an even more potent tool for increasing brand recognition and website traffic. 

2. Brand Takeover

Think about using the Brand Takeover ad type if you want to grab people’s attention right away. These full-screen advertisements deliver a clear and noticeable message immediately after a user opens the app.

Key Features:

• Format: Images, GIFs, or short videos (3-5 seconds).
• Exclusive: Limited to one advertiser per category per day.
• Linking: Directs users to your landing page, hashtag challenge, or profile.

Takeover commercials are great for quickly introducing new products or building brand recognition.

3. TopView Ads

TopView Ads combine the high-profile exposure of Brand Takeovers with the interactive nature of In-Feed Ads. After opening the TikTok app, they are the first posts that users see on their feed.

Key Features:

• Duration: Up to 60 seconds.
• Immersion: Full-screen video with sound.
• Engagement: High engagement due to premier placement.

When you want your content to be front and center in the user’s feed, use TopView Ads.

4. Branded Challenges

Among TikTok’s most eye-catching ad possibilities, Branded Challenges leverage community engagement through the promotion of user-generated content centered on a predetermined topic or challenge.

Key Features:

• Duration: Runs for six days.
• Engagement: Uses a dedicated, branded hashtag.
• Discovery: Positioned on TikTok’s Discovery Page.

If you want to encourage substantial participation and spread like wildfire, there’s no better way than branded challenges.

5. Branded Effects

Maximize the impact of your brand’s interactions using Branded Effects. Users can add their own unique stickers, filters, and effects to their videos, highlighting your brand or promoting your new product in exciting, interactive ways. 

Key Features:

• Customization: Tailored effects align with your brand’s aesthetics.
• Engagement: Trendy and fun, leading to high user interaction.
• Longevity: Typically available for around ten days.

Get your brand into user content in an organic way with Branded Effects.

6. Spark Ads

Growing an organic following? Spark ads allow you to maximize the impact of an organic video on the platform, whether it’s one you’ve made yourself–or one made by an influencer. Spark ads can be optimized for video views, traffic, or even community building objectives. 

7. Promote Ads

Targeted towards influencers and new creators, “promote” ads allow users to create Spark ads and pay for them in coins–directly from the TikTok application itself. This can be a great way to explore your first few ads, or to experiment with amplifying your posts for the first time. You’ll find you get more control over configuring the audience and targeting if you instead opt to run Spark ads, so you may not spend a lot of time building these.

How to Create TikTok Ads: Step-by-Step

Embarking on your TikTok advertising journey begins with understanding the practical steps entailed in creating your campaigns. Here’s a quick step-by-step guide on how to create TikTok ads:

Step 1: Set Up Your TikTok Ad Account

The first step is to head over to the TikTok Ads dashboard and register an account. After you’ve filled out the required fields and submitted information for your company, TikTok will verify your account.

Step 2: Craft Your Campaign

Select “Create” from the Campaign tab. Decide on the campaign’s target, which could be traffic, conversions, or app installations. You may decide to set your budget at either the “campaign” or “ad group” level. 

Step 3: Ad Group Details

Define details like placement (auto or manual), target audience, budget (if you didn’t set it at the campaign level), and schedule. TikTok’s robust targeting options include demographics, interests, creator types, and device types.

Step 4: Design Your Ad

This is where you can let your creativity reign free. Choose your ad format and upload your assets. If you’re looking to build a Spark ad, you can configure it here, too, or leverage TikTok’s tools like video creation kits to adjust and optimize your content.

Step 5: Monitor and Optimize

After you go live, you can track how well your TikTok Ads are doing using the dashboard. Make use of important metrics to fine-tune and optimize for improved engagement and return on investment (ROI).

Best TikTok Ad Type for Your Business

Selecting the best TikTok ad type for your business is a question of your brand’s goals and target audience. For example:

• For Brand Awareness: Opt for TopView Ads or Brand Takeover.
• For Engagement: Consider Branded Hashtag Challenges or Branded Effects.
• For Direct Response: In-Feed Ads tend to perform well.

By understanding the strengths and nuances of each ad format, you’ll be able to create more effective marketing campaigns that are tailored to your objectives.

Conclusion

The advertising possibilities provided by the ever-changing nature of TikTok are extensive and can accommodate a variety of business goals. If you want your ad campaigns to stand out to TikTok’s large and active user base, you need to learn about its various ad types and how they relate to your brand goals. You can drive big results in the TikTok marketing scene by making smart use of the several ad formats, each of which offers distinct opportunities to grab attention and encourage engagement.

Now is the time to tap into the power of TikTok advertising and witness your business reach new heights.