How to Advertise on TikTok

Advertising on TikTok offers a direct line to one of the most engaged audiences on the planet, but getting started can feel intimidating if you're used to other platforms. This guide breaks down exactly how to set up, launch, and optimize your TikTok ad campaigns. We'll cover everything from creating your account and understanding the powerful TikTok pixel to building your first campaign step-by-step.

Why Should You Advertise on TikTok?

Before jumping into the setup, let’s quickly cover why TikTok is a platform you can't afford to ignore. It’s not just for viral dances, it's a massive hub of commerce and content discovery.

• A Huge, Engaged Audience: With over a billion monthly active users, a massive portion of the world’s population is here, ready to see what you have to offer.
• An Algorithm Built for Discovery: Unlike other platforms that prioritize who you already follow, TikTok’s "For You" page is designed to show people new things they’ll love. This gives brands, even new ones, an incredible chance to get discovered.
• Creative-First Environment: Users come to TikTok to be entertained. They're more receptive to ads that feel like native, creative content, giving you a chance to build a genuine connection with your audience instead of just interrupting their feed.

Getting Started: Your Pre-Flight Checklist

Before you even think about creative or audience targeting, you need to get the technical foundation right. This involves setting up your business account and installing the TikTok Pixel.

1. Create a TikTok Ads Manager Account

This is your command center for everything related to advertising. Setting it up is simple:

1. Navigate to the TikTok For Business website and click "Create Now."
2. Sign up with an email address or your existing TikTok account.
3. Fill out the required information about your business, including your region and currency. You’ll be asked to provide your business website and agree to the terms.
4. Once submitted, your account usually goes through a quick review process. After approval, you'll have full access to the Ads Manager dashboard.

2. Install the TikTok Pixel

What’s a pixel? It's a small piece of code you install on your website that tracks user activity. It’s absolutely essential for any serious advertiser. Here’s why:

• Conversion Tracking: The pixel tells you when someone who saw your ad makes a purchase, signs up for your newsletter, or takes any other important action on your site.
• Audience Building: You can create Custom Audiences of people who have visited your website, added items to their cart, or purchased before. This is perfect for retargeting campaigns.
• Ad Optimization: By feeding data back to TikTok, the pixel helps the algorithm find more people who are likely to convert, making your ads more effective and efficient over time.

To set it up, go to "Assets" > "Events" in your Ads Manager, choose "Web Events," and follow the instructions to create your pixel. You can usually install it easily through partner integrations like Shopify or Google Tag Manager, or by manually placing the code in your website's header.

An Overview of TikTok Ad Formats

TikTok offers several types of ads, each suited for different goals. Understanding them is the first step in building an effective strategy.

• In-Feed Ads: These are the bread and butter of TikTok advertising. They appear as native videos in a user's "For You" page, seamlessly mixed in with organic content. They can be up to 60 seconds long (but shorter is usually better) and include a call-to-action (CTA) button that can link to your website, an app store page, or your TikTok profile. They are perfect for driving traffic and direct sales.
• TopView Ads: This is a premium ad format that takes over the entire screen when a user first opens the TikTok app. It's an unskippable, full-screen video with sound on, making it impossible to miss. TopView ads are fantastic for major product launches or large-scale brand awareness campaigns.
• Brand Takeover: Similar to TopView, a Brand Takeover is a full-screen ad that appears upon opening the app. However, it can be a static image, a GIF, or a short video. It completely dominates the screen for a few seconds before becoming an In-Feed video ad. This high-impact format guarantees massive reach for a single day.
• Branded Hashtag Challenge: This is an interactive campaign where a brand encourages users to create content around a specific theme using a custom hashtag. It often includes a dedicated brand page and can go viral, generating tons of valuable user-generated content (UGC).
• Branded Effects: Brands can create their own custom 2D, 3D, or AR filters, stickers, and effects that users can incorporate into their own TikTok videos. It's a fun, engaging way to get your brand organically integrated into user content.

How to Launch Your First Campaign: A Step-by-Step Guide

With the foundations in place, you’re ready to build your first campaign. The TikTok Ads Manager makes this process structured and logical.

Step 1: Choose Your Campaign Objective

First, log in to your Ads Manager and click the "Create" button. TikTok will ask you what your goal is. Your choice here determines how the algorithm optimizes your ad delivery.

• Awareness: Show your ad to as many people as possible to build brand recognition.
• Consideration: Drive people to learn more about your brand. This breaks down into several goals:
  • Traffic: Send people to your website or a landing page.
  • Video Views: Get as many views on your video ad as possible.
  • Lead Generation: Collect leads using TikTok's instant forms.
• Conversions: Encourage people to take a specific action on your website, like making a purchase or signing up. (Note: You need the TikTok Pixel installed for this objective).

For most direct-response advertisers, Conversions is the most common objective.

Step 2: Create an Ad Group

Inside a campaign, you create Ad Groups. This is where you’ll define your target audience, placements, budget, and schedule.

For placements, TikTok lets you choose where your ad is shown. You can choose "Auto placements" to let TikTok decide, or you can manually select placements across TikTok and its partner apps (like Pangle). If you're new, just sticking to TikTok itself is a safe bet.

Step 3: Define Your Target Audience

TikTok offers robust targeting options to help you reach the right people.

• Demographics: Target by location, gender, age, and language.
• Interests & Behaviors: This is where it gets powerful. You can target users based on the types of videos they watch, like, comment on, or share. You can even target based on categories of creators they follow.
• Custom Audiences: If you have a customer list or have the pixel installed, you can create audiences of past website visitors or existing customers.
• Lookalike Audiences: Once you have a strong Custom Audience, you can ask TikTok to find new people who "look like" your best customers.

Tip: Start broad. TikTok's algorithm is smart. Give it some room to work by choosing broader interest categories before narrowing down too much.

Step 4: Set Your Budget and Schedule

Next, decide how much you want to spend. You have two options:

• Daily Budget: The maximum amount you want to spend per day.
• Lifetime Budget: The total amount you want to spend over the entire campaign duration.

You can also set a schedule for your ads to run, either continuously or only during specific times of the day (known as "dayparting").

Step 5: Design and Upload Your Ad Creative

This is the most important step. On TikTok, poor creative will fail no matter how good your targeting is. The golden rule is: Don't make ads, make TikToks.

• Format Correctly: Always use a full-screen vertical video (9:16 aspect ratio).
• Grab Attention Fast: The first 3 seconds are everything. Start with a strong hook to stop people from scrolling.
• Use Sound: Create your video with a trending sound or use a voiceover. Ads without sound feel out of place on TikTok.
• Be Authentic: Highly polished, corporate-style ads usually perform poorly. Lo-fi, user-generated-style content shot on a phone feels more native and trustworthy.
• Add Text Overlays: Many people watch videos on the go. Use on-screen text to highlight key messages and add captions.
• End with a Clear CTA: Tell people exactly what you want them to do next, whether that's "Shop Now," "Learn More," or "Download."

Step 6: Launch and Monitor

After you’ve uploaded your creative and written some ad text, you’re ready to submit your campaign for review. Once approved, it will go live.

But your job isn't done. Monitor your campaign's performance closely from the Ads Manager dashboard. Pay attention to metrics like:

• CPM (Cost Per Mille): Cost per 1,000 impressions.
• CPC (Cost Per Click): How much you're paying per click.
• CTR (Click-Through Rate): The percentage of people who clicked your ad after seeing it.
• CPA (Cost Per Acquisition): The cost to get one conversion (e.g., a sale).

Don't be afraid to turn off ads that aren't performing well and double down on the ones that are. Keep testing new creatives, trying different audiences, and refining your approach.

Final Thoughts

Advertising on TikTok is a powerful way to tap into a culture-driven platform and find new customers. It requires thinking more like a creator than a marketer, embracing authenticity and trends, but the rewards are well worth the effort when you get it right.

Running great TikTok ads is only half the battle. A strong organic presence builds trust and gives your ads a place for curious customers to land. As your brand grows, managing your organic content - planning your videos, scheduling posts, and engaging with comments - can get chaotic. When we built Postbase, we designed it video-first, specifically to simplify scheduling TikToks, Reels, and Shorts, so you can keep your content calendar full and consistent without the headache.