How to Advertise TikTok Shop Products

Selling products directly on TikTok turns viral moments into immediate sales, but just listing an item isn't enough to get the revenue flowing. To get real traction, you need a smart advertising strategy that feels native to the platform. This guide will walk you through the three best ways to advertise your TikTok Shop products, step by step, using methods that work with the platform, not against it.

Understanding Your TikTok Shop Advertising Options

Before jumping into the Ads Manager, it's helpful to know the main ways you can drive traffic and sales to your products. TikTok's blend of entertainment and commerce creates unique opportunities for brands. You’re not just an advertiser, you’re a creator, and connecting your shop with the platform's core experience is how you win. There are three primary routes you can take, and the most successful brands often use a combination of all three.

The Three Core Advertising Methods:

• Direct Ads via TikTok Ads Manager: Run traditional, targeted video and LIVE shopping ads to drive traffic directly to your product pages.
• Amplifying Creator Content with Spark Ads: Boost authentic, high-performing videos from creators who are already featuring your products.
• Building an Army of Sellers with the Affiliate Program: Partner with creators on a commission basis, letting them promote your products organically to their audiences.

Let's break down how to execute each of these strategies effectively.

Method 1: Run Direct Shopping Ads Through TikTok Ads Manager

This is the most direct approach. You create ads entirely within the TikTok Ads Manager and set them up to optimize for one goal: product sales. These ads show up in users' For You Pages just like regular content but include shoppable elements that link straight to your TikTok Shop.

There are two key formats to know:

• Video Shopping Ads (VSA): These are standard in-feed video ads that feature product links. Users can tap on product cards and links within the video to purchase without leaving the app.
• LIVE Shopping Ads (LSA): These ads promote your active TikTok LIVE streams. They drive traffic to your live event, where you can showcase products, answer questions in real-time, and get immediate sales.

How to Set Up a Video Shopping Ad Campaign

Follow these steps to get your first direct campaign running:

1. Choose the Right Campaign Objective:
Inside the TikTok Ads Manager, create a new campaign. Under "Advertising Objective," select Product Sales. Then, for the "Ad Campaign from," choose TikTok Shop. This tells the algorithm your primary goal is to drive sales from your connected shop, not just get clicks or website traffic.

2. Configure Your Ad Group and Targeting:
This is where you define who sees your ads. Go beyond basic demographics and get specific:

• Interest & Behavior Targeting: Target users based on the content they watch and engage with. If you sell hiking gear, target users who interact with videos tagged #hiking, #outdoors, or follow popular travel creators.
• Creator Targeting: Target followers of specific creators whose audience aligns with your ideal customer. Think about creators who promote similar or complementary products.
• Lookalike Audiences: Once you have some sales data, you can create lookalike audiences based on past purchasers, people who have added items to their cart, or people who have viewed your product pages. This is one of the most powerful targeting tools on the platform.

3. Design Your Ad Creative:
Your ad's success lives and dies by its creative. High-gloss, corporate-style ads almost never perform well on TikTok. Aim for content that feels organic and authentic.

• Make it Look Like a TikTok: Shoot with a smartphone in vertical 9:16 format. Use trending sounds, popular effects, and on-screen text overlays. The goal is to make your ad blend into the For You Page so seamlessly that users don't realize it's an ad until they're already hooked.
• Show, Don't Just Tell: Don’t just list features. Demonstrate the product in action. Show how it solves a problem or what a customer's experience looks like. Unboxings, tutorials, and before-and-after videos perform incredibly well.
• Grab Attention in 3 Seconds: The opening footage is everything. Start with a question, a bold claim, or a visually captivating shot that immediately stops the scroll.
• Add a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA): Your ad needs to guide the viewer. Use on-screen text like "Tap the orange cart to shop!" or a voiceover reminding them to click the link below to get their own. Tell them exactly what to do.

Method 2: Use Spark Ads to Authenticate Your Brand

Spark Ads are a native ad format that lets you boost your own organic TikTok posts or, more powerfully, the organic posts of other creators. Instead of feeling like a commercial, a Spark Ad feels like a viral video that's being recommended to more people. This format is perfect for building brand trust and authenticity because the ad comes from a real user account.

Why Spark Ads Work So Well for TikTok Shop:

Social proof is the engine of e-commerce. When a potential customer sees a product recommended by a creator they follow - or even just another regular person - they are far more likely to trust the recommendation than if it came from the brand itself. Spark Ads turn a creator’s authentic testimonial into your best-performing ad.

How to Set Up a Spark Ad Campaign:

1. Find and Partner with a Creator:
You can find creators through the TikTok Creator Marketplace or by direct outreach. Look for creators who genuinely fit your brand’s niche, not just those with the largest following. A micro-influencer with a highly engaged, specific audience is often more valuable than a macro-influencer with a broad, disengaged one.

2. Commission Shoppable Content:
Once you've found a partner, have them create an organic video featuring your product. It’s crucial that they tag the product from your TikTok Shop directly in their video, creating a shoppable post. This video should live on their profile first to gather some social proof (likes, comments, shares) organically.

3. Get the Video Authorization Code:
For you to use their video as an ad, the creator needs to grant you permission. They can do this in their TikTok app by navigating to Ad Settings on the video and generating a video code. Ask them to set the authorization period for 60 or 365 days so you have plenty of time to run the ad.

4. Create the Spark Ad in Ads Manager:
Back in the Ads Manager, follow the same steps as before (Product Sales objective, target your audience). But when you get to the ad creative section, toggle on the "Use TikTok account to deliver Spark Ads" option. You’ll be prompted to link your brand's account, and then you can paste the creator’s video authorization code. The ad will now run from the creator’s account but will be funded and targeted by you.

This approach combines the authenticity of word-of-mouth marketing with the precise targeting of paid advertising. It’s a winning formula.

Method 3: Build a Sales Team with the Affiliate Program

The TikTok Shop Affiliate program lets you collaborate with creators on a performance-based model. Instead of paying them an upfront fee for a sponsored post, you offer a commission on every sale they drive through their content. This lowers your upfront risk and incentivizes creators to make content that actively converts.

How to Set Up Your Affiliate Program:

1. Start from your TikTok Shop Seller Center:
Navigate to the "Affiliate" tab within your Seller Center dashboard. Here, you'll be able to create affiliate plans for your products.

2. Choose Your Plan Type:
TikTok offers three types of plans:

• Shop Plan: This is a plan that applies to all the products in your shop. Any creator can pick up your products and start promoting them for a set commission rate. This is great for casting a wide net.
• Open Plan: This lets you set specific commission rates for individual products. You might offer a higher commission on a new product you want to push or on higher-margin items. Creators can apply to this plan.
• Targeted Plan: This is an invite-only plan. You can invite specific, high-performing creators to a private plan with an exclusive (and often higher) commission rate. This is a fantastic way to build strong, long-term relationships with top sellers.

3. Set Competitive Commission Rates:
The average commission rate on TikTok Shop can range anywhere from 5% to 20%. Look at what similar products in your category average in commission and offer creators a fair deal. Creators can see all available offers in the Creator Marketplace, so a competitive rate is key to attracting top talent. Keep in mind: a 15% commission on a successful promotion is better than 0 sales from an unappealing 5% deal.

4. Provide Product Samples:
The best affiliate content comes from creators who have actually used your product. Enable free product samples within your affiliate plan. This lets creators request a sample to use in their videos, leading to more authentic and compelling reviews.

With an active affiliate program, you essentially build a distributed sales team filled with enthusiastic creators. While you have less direct control over the content, the scale and authenticity you get in return are immense.

Final Thoughts

Successfully advertising your TikTok Shop products is about blending in while standing out. The most effective strategies combine direct performance marketing with the power of creator authenticity. By running targeted Video Shopping Ads, boosting user-generated content with Spark Ads, and building an ecosystem of motivated affiliates, you can drive consistent sales directly within the app.

With so much going on between direct ads and creator collaborations, keeping your content schedule organized is a huge help. When we built Postbase, our focus was on creating a simple, visual calendar for exactly this chaos. We help you plan out all your organic video content across every platform, so you can easily see what’s going live and where. Managing content for video-first platforms like TikTok isn’t an afterthought for us - it’s the core of what we do, ensuring your content plan is clear and that your posts publish reliably, every time.