Advertising Effectively on TikTok

In the last five years, the popularity of video-sharing platform TikTok has consumed the Internet. Originally written off as an unserious dancing app fad, now nearly one-third of the United States is active on TikTok, and it only continues to grow in power and prominence. As the general public took notice and interest in the app, so did marketers. Now, scrolling through endless videos without seeing some sort of promoted or sponsored post is nearly impossible. As advertising professionals, it’s important to take note of what works on TikTok, and what doesn’t. Trends change in the blink of an eye, and having a jumping-off point will ensure you’re able to focus on what’s working, without all the extra frills. 

Best Practices for TikTok Advertising

Mix Up Your Creative Styles: While branding is important, so is avoiding fatigue. Consumers can easily get fed up with the same-looking creative day-after-day, and will unfollow if they no longer want to see it. TikTok themselves recommend updating creative styles to stay in trend, and to avoid audience burnout. 

Get To The Point: Now, TikTok advertisement videos can be as long as a minute, but your audience likely will not spend that much time on your content. Ensure that the first few seconds are eye catching, as the best performing ads highlight their product or message in the first three seconds. 

Audio & Captions: Choosing the right audio or recording the right audio is crucial on TikTok, but captions matter too. Use this text to highlight your call-to-action, whether it’s a website link, or an invitation to follow your brand.

Be True To Your Brand: One of the best things about TikTok is the authenticity. Users share their stories, and want to see others using the same transparency. Now more than ever, brand authenticity, consistency, and transparency is important to consumers. Videos that look too “corporate” and high-quality often won’t perform well here, and will immediately register as an ad in consumers’ heads. Be honest, casual, and showcase your brand for their true values. 

Problems & Practices to Avoid  

Location Advertising: Make sure to take a look at TikTok’s geotargeting options before committing to a strategy or plan. While many cities and areas are available for geotargeting, they are located primarily in bigger cities and your target audience may not be included. 

Ensure Quality: Before being posted, TikTok ads must go under review. If your video advertisement contains no audio, poor audio, poor resolution, or other audio/video quality issues, it will likely fail the review, or fail to connect with your audience if it does go through. 

Narrow Targeting: When you dedicate yourself to a campaign, it’s often a good idea to start broad, and narrow as you gather more data. Without a better understanding of your audience, immediately having a narrow target will likely cause your ad to perform poorly. 

Creative But Not Compelling: While poor ad quality can cause lackluster TikTok performance, it’s often the content that is the problem. The idea may be creative, but it must be compelling and get attention fast. Ensure you have a plan to grab audience attention in addition to your creative idea. 

With these good and bad TikTok advertising practices as a standard, you’re free to jump on the trends that work best with your brand. Need some assistance with branding yourself on TikTok? Get in touch with AdVentures Media Solutions!