TikTok Ads: what formats for its advertising campaigns?

How do I set up the right type of advertising on TikTok?

TikTok Ads is the new generation advertising tool presented that allows you to exploit the commercial opportunities of the social network. Accessible via the platform TikTok For Business Since the end of 2019 in France, it has first won over large companies before becoming a commercial tool accessible even to small brands.

Above all, advertising on TikTok is a very effective tool for achieving your business goals. In fact, 67% of users of the application state that TikTok ads get more of their attention - 10% more than other platforms.

TikTok for Business allows launch TikTok campaigns effective, because the Targeting is sharp and the return on investment very interesting. The tool propels brand content into the famous “For You” feed of a large number of qualified users, thus considerably expanding the visibility of the content among potential customers.

In this article, we are going to enlighten you on TikTok ad formats that exist and on the right strategy to adopt to take advantage of them!

1. Top View

At first, the formats entitled Top View Are ad formats of up to 60 seconds, which appear directly as soon as the user opens the application. The video is then displayed in full screen.

By using this type of format, You are sure to reach your target as soon as it arrives on the application. On the other hand, the challenge is to capture her attention from the first three seconds of the video so that she can watch it in its entirety. The risk is indeed that users pass the ad before they have been able to really grasp the content.

2. Brand Takeover

In the same logic as the formats Top View, the formats Brand Takeover appear directly when the user opens the application. On the other hand, these formats are shorter, they last on average between 3 and 5 seconds. Thus, the format is more likely to be watched entirely by users, who will not necessarily have time to scroll before the end of the advertisement.

The disadvantage of this advertising format is that it does not always allow sufficient information to be delivered. That is why it is necessary to optimize it as much as possible according to the messages you want to transmit to your audience.

Moreover, these two types of advertising formats are not not available to all brands who want it. Indeed, TikTok only offers ads Top View or Brand Takeover of one advertiser per day. So this limits the number of commercials of this kind that can be launched and creates a form of competition between different advertisers, which leads to an increase in the price of these advertising formats.

To produce these types of ads, no matter what happens, you have to collaborate directly with TikTok. So this generally involves a larger advertising budget.

3. In-feed Native Video

In-Feed formats offer the best quality/price ratio that you can find on TikTok.

Indeed, as its name suggests, the “in feed” promotional video Appears directly in the TikTok feed, that is, in the “For you” page of its users.

These videos appear when users swipe from one piece of content to another. So the impression is more natural. If the ad is produced in a native format, and it looks like a regular TikTok, users are likely to view the ad without even realizing that it was a advertising content.

This type of advertising format is also more affordable, insofar as there is less competition between brands. Indeed, there is not the same limitation of advertisers as for the two previous formats.

In general, this advertising format follows a “cost per thousand” logic, as is the case on many other networks.

In addition, it is entirely possible to resume old advertising formats. For example, promotional formats like Top View Or the Brand Takeover can be reused or adapted in order to become videos published in In-feed.

The advantage of In-Feed formats is that they blend seamlessly into the feed.”For you“and that they seem very natural for the users of the application.

Indeed, In-feed advertising videos are not differentiated from other non-advertising videos by a small “Advertising” label. If the format is well done, it can therefore be taken for classic organic content.

In particular, the brand @conforama had set up an In-feed format with the content creator @powerpoussin (1.2M subscribers) in which it announced a TikTok live with the furniture company. In this video, we see a call to action that links to a registration link to participate.

4. Hashtag challenge

Other advertising formats allow TikTok users to be directly engaged. This is the case, for example, of Hashtag challenge, who Are a great way to co-create content with platform users.

Hashtags are very important on TikTok. They allow content to be referenced by giving information to the algorithm about the type of video you are producing.

As part of advertising content, using a hashtag is an opportunity for your brand to measure the engagement of your subscribers by inviting them to take on challenges.

The objective is to bring your target together around an awareness-raising or striking hashtag in order to promote your brand, or more simply a product.

A hashtag challenge lasts about 6 days on the platform, depending on the responsiveness of users. For example, the hashtag #LiptongénérationTri (from the Lipton brand) generated over 293 million views on the platform.

Finally, the hashtag challenge allows the TikTok algorithm to broadcast your challenge and therefore your brand on a large scale.

The advantage is that it is an advertising format that gives a fun and participative character to your content, while boosting your visibility.

5. Branded Effects

In the same logic, you can also carry out an advertising campaign Around effects in connection with your brand. It's called the format Branded Effect. Thanks to this type of format, you can develop an advertisement around an effect that users can then use.

This type of advertising format is also used on other social networks, such as Instagram and Snapchat.It can therefore be used on these.

The aim is to create a filter/effect related to your advertising campaign and to encourage users to use it. The aim is for users to massively appropriate the filter and for it to continue to be distributed over time.

This strategy therefore does not only allow Internet users to interact with your content, but togo so far as to create content for your brand.

For example, there are many brands that collaborate with public figures and pay them to use and promote their filter so that it spreads even more.

But you can also perfectly let users own your effect by optimizing your TikTok advertising campaign.

For example, Dior Addict has set up A filter that allows you to see yourself with the latest lipstick of the brand accompanied by #shineattitude.

6. Spark Ads

Spark Ads is definitely the most native In-Feed ad format on the platform. It allows businesses to boost their own organic posts or content from other creators in TopView or In-Feed Ads formats. The video will be displayed on the main page for you users.

By partnering with a content creator, you make sure to produce a completely native advertisement, that fits perfectly into the TikTok environment.

Can my brand advertise on TikTok?

Of course, beyond the formats to be used for set up an advertising campaign on TikTok, you also need to define your marketing needs. For example, your objective may be to increase traffic to your site, to strengthen and improve brand awareness, to generate application installations, or simply to create engagement.

And to limit your TikTok Ads errors, keep in mind that develop an account with organic native formats remains one of the keys to a successful advertising campaign on TikTok.

TikTok is a great opportunity for brands, and TikTok Ads can be an interesting boost, but it's obviously important to understand your audience well in order to create adapted videos that inspire them and capture their attention.

So if you want to launch a new campaign on the TikTok application and want to use ads, contact us!