Types of TikTok Ads: A Beginner's Guide

 

TikTok has evolved from being a platform for fun lip-sync videos and dance challenges into one of the most influential social media channels for advertisers. With over 1 billion active users, TikTok provides an opportunity for businesses to tap into a massive and highly engaged audience. Whether you're a small business or a global brand, TikTok offers a variety of ad formats that can help you reach your marketing goals.

In this beginner’s guide, we’ll dive into the different types of TikTok ads, their features, benefits, and how to use them effectively for your campaigns. By the end of this article, you’ll be ready to start running successful TikTok ad campaigns.

Why Advertise on TikTok?

Before we get into the specifics of the different TikTok ad types, let’s first understand why TikTok has become a top platform for digital advertising.

1. Massive Audience: TikTok’s user base continues to grow rapidly. With over 1 billion active users as of 2023, it's a platform with massive reach.
2. Highly Engaged Users: TikTok users are incredibly active. On average, people spend 52 minutes per day on the app. This means there is a lot of potential for your ads to be seen by highly engaged users.
3. Targeting Options: TikTok provides advanced targeting options that allow you to reach specific demographics, interests, behaviors, and more, ensuring your ads reach the right audience.
4. Creative Freedom: TikTok thrives on creativity, and the platform’s short-form video content offers the perfect canvas for fun and innovative ads.

Now that you know why TikTok is an appealing platform for advertisers, let’s take a closer look at the different types of TikTok ads.

1. In-Feed Ads

What Are In-Feed Ads?

In-Feed ads are one of the most common and widely used ad formats on TikTok. These ads appear in the user's "For You" feed, the main content discovery area of the app. When scrolling through videos, users will come across an In-Feed ad, which is designed to blend seamlessly with organic content.

Key Features:

• Video Format: These are full-screen video ads that play automatically with the sound on (if the user has their volume on).
• Duration: In-Feed ads can range from 5 to 60 seconds, giving you plenty of room to get your message across.
• Call-to-Action (CTA): In-Feed ads often include a call-to-action button, such as "Shop Now" or "Learn More," which encourages users to engage with your ad.
• Targeting Options: TikTok allows you to target users based on demographics, interests, location, and more.

Benefits of In-Feed Ads:

• Highly Visible: They appear directly in the user’s feed, which means they are less likely to be skipped.
• Creative Flexibility: You can create engaging content that feels like native TikTok videos, making your brand more relatable and less intrusive.
• Actionable: The CTA button makes it easy for users to take the next step, whether it’s visiting your website, downloading your app, or making a purchase.

Best Practices:

• Keep your videos engaging and creative. The first few seconds are crucial to grab the user’s attention.
• Use captions or subtitles since many TikTok users watch videos without sound.
• Ensure your ad blends well with the user-generated content on the platform, but make sure your brand is still prominent.

2. TopView Ads

What Are TopView Ads?

TopView ads are a premium ad format on TikTok that allows your video ad to appear as the first thing users see when they open the app. Unlike In-Feed ads, which are part of the user's scroll, TopView ads take over the entire screen when the app is launched.

Key Features:

• Prime Placement: TopView ads are displayed as the first thing a user sees when they open TikTok, ensuring maximum visibility.
• Full-Screen Video: These ads are full-screen and can last up to 60 seconds.
• High Engagement: Given their prominent position, TopView ads typically receive higher engagement compared to other formats.

Benefits of TopView Ads:

• Maximum Visibility: Since your ad is the first thing users see when opening the app, it’s nearly impossible for users to miss it.
• Extended Playtime: With up to 60 seconds of video, TopView ads give you plenty of time to convey your message.
• Strong Branding: The ad format allows your brand to take center stage, making it ideal for awareness campaigns.

Best Practices:

• Make sure your content is captivating from the very first second. Users are most likely to skip a boring ad.
• Ensure your video is optimized for mobile viewing, especially considering the vertical video format.
• Keep your message simple, especially if you have only a few seconds to catch attention.

3. Branded Hashtag Challenges

What Are Branded Hashtag Challenges?

A Branded Hashtag Challenge is a unique ad format that encourages TikTok users to participate in a challenge, usually related to a specific hashtag. Brands can create their own challenge by posting a video that explains the challenge, which encourages users to create and share their own videos using the same hashtag.

Key Features:

• User-Generated Content: Users participate by creating their own videos based on the challenge.
• Hashtag Tracking: The branded hashtag helps track user participation and engagement.
• Interactive: This ad format encourages user interaction, making it a fun and organic way to increase brand visibility.

Benefits of Branded Hashtag Challenges:

• Viral Potential: Challenges have the potential to go viral, especially if they catch the attention of TikTok influencers or celebrities.
• Increased Engagement: With user-generated content, users feel more involved with your brand.
• Brand Awareness: As users create and share content, your branded hashtag gains visibility and spreads to new audiences.

Best Practices:

• Make the challenge fun and easy to participate in. The more creative and shareable your challenge is, the better.
• Collaborate with TikTok influencers to boost the challenge’s visibility.
• Use a catchy and memorable hashtag that’s easy to remember and type.

4. Branded Effects

What Are Branded Effects?

Branded Effects allow you to create custom filters, stickers, and special effects that users can apply to their own TikTok videos. These interactive elements can help users make their videos more fun while associating those videos with your brand.

Key Features:

• Custom Filters: Brands can create custom filters that users can use in their videos.
• Interactive: It’s a fun way for users to interact with your brand through creative expression.
• Extendable Reach: When users share videos with your branded effects, your brand is exposed to their followers.

Benefits of Branded Effects:

• Viral Content: When users apply your branded effects, it creates a viral loop that increases brand visibility.
• User Engagement: People love sharing their creative videos, so your brand is likely to get shared as well.
• Memorability: Custom filters and effects help make your brand more memorable as users associate your brand with fun, creative experiences.

Best Practices:

• Keep the effects fun and easy to use. Simplicity often works best.
• Ensure your brand is subtly integrated into the effect rather than overtly so.
• Promote your branded effect through influencers to drive initial adoption.

5. Spark Ads

What Are Spark Ads?

Spark Ads is a relatively new ad format that allows brands to boost organic content (either user-generated or brand-created) directly from TikTok. This means you can turn high-performing content into an ad by promoting it to a broader audience.

Key Features:

• Boost Organic Content: Spark Ads allow you to sponsor organic TikTok content that has already gained traction.
• Seamless Integration: The promoted video appears as if it’s part of the user’s feed, making it feel like a natural part of their experience.
• Engagement: Since these ads are based on already popular content, they tend to have a higher engagement rate.

Benefits of Spark Ads:

• Leverage Organic Success: If a video is already performing well, you can amplify its reach and results.
• Native Experience: Spark Ads feel like regular content, which can improve user engagement and reduce ad fatigue.
• Increased Brand Credibility: Promoting organic content, especially user-generated content, can help your brand feel more authentic and trustworthy.

Best Practices:

• Choose high-performing organic content to boost.
• Maintain consistency in messaging and branding to ensure the promoted content still feels relevant to your brand.

Conclusion

TikTok offers a variety of powerful ad formats for businesses to engage with its massive and highly active user base. Whether you're looking to raise awareness with TopView ads, encourage user participation with Branded Hashtag Challenges, or promote organic content with Spark Ads, there is a TikTok ad type that can help you meet your marketing objectives.

As with any advertising platform, the key to success is creating content that resonates with your audience. TikTok thrives on creativity, so experiment with different ad formats, and use your unique brand voice to engage users in fun, interactive ways.

If you’re new to TikTok advertising, start small, test different formats, and keep an eye on the performance metrics to refine your strategy. With the right approach, TikTok ads can deliver impressive results and help you grow your business in a way that feels authentic and engaging.