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TikTok has rapidly gained popularity across all social media platforms in recent years, and has become one of the most popular apps in the world. The most popular home to short-form content, TikTok's quick paced videos have its users hooked. With over a billion active users worldwide, and a total engagement rate of 4.25%, it's not surprising that advertisers are flocking to the platform to promote their brands.
In this blog, we'll cover the complete guide to all the formats of TikTok ads, and their specifications. We'll also cover best practices so you know you're getting the most out of your brand.
The main advantage that advertisers get when using TikTok as a platform for their ads is the huge user base, and the notoriously high engagement rates. Let's look at the numbers.
According to Social Shepherd, "the average user opens TikTok 19 times per day." We also know that kids spend about 75 minute per day on the app. That's a lot of potential touch-points with your brand. The audience itself is littered with Gen Z-ers and Millennials. With 25% of users being between the age of 10 and 19. 22.4% are aged 20-29, and 21.7% are aged 30-19. So, if your target audience is within that age group, then TikTok ads offer a huge opportunity!
TikTok Ads Manager is a powerful tool that can help businesses reach their target audience and grow their brand. It's the perfect way to get your message across in a fun, creative, and interactive way.
This tool you can create TikTok ads that are tailored to your specific needs and get your product or service noticed. From creating custom audiences to setting budgets and targeting options, there are plenty of ways to ensure your ad campaigns succeed. Here's an overview of how TikTok Ads Manager works and what it can do for your business.
The world of digital marketing has changed drastically over the last few years with new technologies emerging every day. For businesses looking to stay ahead of their competition, having access to cutting-edge solutions is essential. With the intuitive TikTok Ad Manager interface, companies can take advantage of the interface and its comprehensive set of features to tailor different TikTok ad formats specifically for their goals and objectives.
This includes everything from defining target audiences to optimizing your ad campaign with detailed analytics reports.
For companies looking to tap into the massive potential of mobile advertising on TikTok, the platform’s Ads Manager is a must-have tool. Not only does it provide the means for crafting engaging advertisements quickly and easily, but it also offers insights into user behavior that allow for more effective targeting and optimization of campaigns for maximum ROI.
Whether you’re a small business or large enterprise, find out how TikTok Ads Manager can help you reach new heights in digital marketing success!
These are the most common tiktok video ad specs...
In-feed ads are video ads that plays in the user's "For You" page. It's the most native video ads format and users can like, comment, and interact with the video ads for everyone to see. In-feed ads also have a dedicated call-to-action (CTA) button right on it, to direct viewers to act. You can add a landing page to these in-feed video ads.
Image from: https://megadigital.ai/en/blog/tiktok-topview-ads/
While in-feed ads are the most native, topview ads, perhaps the most loved ad type by TikTok users, appear on top of a user's "For You" page. Although users can't engage with these TikTok ads, topview video ads do appear in full screen, and are up to 60 seconds long.
Image from: https://riseatseven.com/blog/the-go-to-guide-on-tiktok-ads/
Brand takeover ads are quite similar to topview ads, except for the fact that these video ads play immediately when a user opens the TikTok app and are short (3-5 seconds). Just like the name suggests, the ad takes over the user's "For You" page. No description or text can be added. Also, users only see one brand takeover ad per day, so it's more expensive than other ad types. Generally, it’s a more impactful ad type.
Image from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-branded-hashtag-challenge-kolsasia/
The branded hashtag challenge is an extremely interactive TikTok ad type. Create a hashtag for your campaign, and creators will be able to join it with one-click. Your ads will also show in the discovery page. This is a great way to get some brand awareness. Plus, like the in-feed ads, the branded hashtag challenge allows users to engage with your brand in a fun and creative way, by inviting them to participate in a challenge or trend that aligns with your brand values or products
Image ad: https://effecthouse.tiktok.com/learn/general/publishing/branded-community-effects/
The branded effects is the most creative and interactive TikTok ad formats. Brands can create their own special effects, such as a filter or stickers, and promote it for users to use. You'll get an effects page, with up to six pinned videos of your choice with a creator using your filter. You will also get your own effect icon.
The specs for the effect icon/logo:
Now that we have mentioned all tiktok advertising such as in-feed ads and topview TikTok video ads, all video ad specifications, and different TikTok ad formats let´s dive a mention some of the best ways to put all of this in practice.
The higher the quality, the better. The best performing TikTok video ads are at 720p or higher. Make sure it's a vertical TikTok video ad, too!
The hook is important, it gets people listening to what you have to say, but don't lose them in the rest of the TikTok video ad. Keep your scenes short and snappy to keep the users engaged.
This is perhaps the most important part of any TikTok video ad. You need to push the audience in the right direction of your video ad.
Although the duration of your TikTok videos can be 60 seconds, it's best to keep it short and sweet. It's not likely a user will stick around for that long. Keep your TikTok videos in the 15-20 second range for the best results.
Once your TikTok ad campaign is running, you should monitor your campaign performance. This will help you determine if your bidding strategy is effective or not.
If you notice that your TikTok advertising campaigns are not performing well, you should make some adjustments to your bidding strategy. You can increase your bids or adjust your targeting to reach more relevant users. Also, make sure you are using the right TikTok video ad specs for each ad format.
Monitoring tiktok ads campaign is critical to your success!
For any TikTok video, it's extremely important to test out a few different ads on your TikTok ad account to see what works best. Perhaps you test out different ad messages? Perhaps you're trying out different hooks? Or even offers? Whatever you decide to try, once you've found a winner, iterate! That's the key when it comes to paid social and maximizing on ad spend.
TikTok is the home of user-generated content (UGC), which is why your advertisement will kill it with some well-sourced influencer UGC. It's quite different to other advertising platforms, because TikTok relationships feel more personal. Let your brand take advantage of this, and create ads and relatable content for target audience to interact with.
Here are some effective ad ideas that your brand can use in different ad formats:
Whether you’re testing creative on Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok, understanding and efficiently measuring your creatives is one of the most important parts of a campaign's success. Optimization begins by understanding the accurate data behind your ads, which is why a platform like Creative Cockpit is invaluable to marketers who are looking to scale and optimize their ads. Not only will you be able to look at ROAS of each creative, but you'll also get insight into what part of the creative needs more work (video, image, or copy), and click-through rate (CTR), cost-per-click (CPC), and cost-per-impression (CPM) benchmarks, to help navigate your media buying and scale efficiently.
So there it is, folks: every TikTok ad spec for 2023. It's hard to fathom how rapidly the digital landscape is evolving, but one thing is certain: TikTok is here to stay.
The platform has become a cultural juggernaut, a breeding ground for virality and trend-setting, with billions of views and counting. Advertisers would be remiss not to take advantage of TikTok's enormous potential, and these ad format specs provide ample opportunity to do so.
From immersive AR experiences to influencer partnerships to localized targeting, TikTok is offering an array of options to connect with audiences and create memorable campaigns. But as with any emerging platform, there will be growing pains and challenges to come.
Navigating the ever-changing algorithms, avoiding ad fatigue, and balancing authenticity with promotion will be crucial for brands looking to succeed on TikTok. Nonetheless, with so much untapped potential on a platform that's at once vast and intimate, the possibilities for storytelling and engagement are limitless.
Who knows what the TikTok ad format specs will look like in 2024 or beyond, but for now, it's a thrilling time to be in the midst of the TikTok revolution. So whether you're a marketer, a creator, or a casual scroller, get ready to buckle up and embrace the ride.
The TikTok video ad specs train is leaving the station, and it's bound for some exciting and uncharted territories.
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