Once seen as a quirky short-form video platform where GenZers share dances, pranks and tricks, TikTok has evolved into a must-buy for advertisers who want to reach a wide audience. In fact, TikTok’s US net ad revenues will rise by 184.4% to $5.96 billion in 2022, per eMarketer’s inaugural forecast.
But advertising on TikTok isn’t the same as on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube. To succeed here, advertisers must use paid media strategically and build creator-led, user-generated, and owned content.
New advances in the platform’s technology now guarantee ads will be shown in the top 4% of view on the “For You Page.” And, advertisers will now have another option for targeting apart from custom and lookalike audiences.
Incorporate UGC into brand ad campaigns.
The platform is leveraging the trend toward native creative, particularly the use of creator content and UGC, which has been a major challenge for many advertisers. TikTok launched a set of tools that help brands connect and engage with content creators and then boost that content via paid media buys. These new tolls include:
- TikTok Pulse: A revenue-sharing program in which the ad revenue will be split 50-50 with creator.
- Spark Ads: A tool that allows advertisers to pay to amplify organic content from creators or their own accounts as in-feed or TopView ads.
- TikTok Creator Marketplace: A self-serve portal that connects brands and TikTok creators for campaigns.
- TikTok Creative Exchange: A platform for brands to upload campaign briefs and receive a curated list of creators to work with on projects.
- Branded Mission: A tool that allows advertisers to crowdsource creator content and UGC, then amplify that content as ads.
In-Store Tie-Ins via FourSquare.
Reigniting a “blast from the past,” TikTok has expanded its partnership with Foursquare to connect ad campaign views with in-store visits. (While Foursquare may appeare to have lost relevance in recent years, the platform remains a data empire.) Advertisers can take advantage of this data by adding first-party cookies to TikTok’s conversion pixel, which allows better browser data for measuring retargeting campaigns.
TikTok’s measurement capabilities are improving.
Of course, all the ad tools in the world are meaningless without conversion and measurement. So, in addition to the new automated ad buying tools, TikTok has introduced new features that allow advertisers to better track the effectiveness of their campaigns.
Advertisers can conduct brand and sales lift studies on TikTok via a partnership with Kantar. These studies help brands better understand the impact of their campaigns on upper- and lower-funnel behaviors. And, the platform has partnerships with industry-leading media mix modeling companies like Nielsen, IRI, Analytic Partners, Ekimetrics, and Neustar.
The bottom line is if you haven’t added TikTok to your paid media marketing mix, you are missing out on what consumers see as authentic brand engagement, now enhanced by better targeting and tracking. If you need assistance with media buys in TikTok, please contact us today. Our social media teams are ready to help!
