What is TikTok? Why advertise on the platform?

The article was written by Markestic
2022-07
What is TikTok?
TikTok is a social media platform that you can use to create, share and discover short videos of up to 60 seconds. Recently, TikTok has also introduced 3 and 10 minute videos!
TikTok is one of the fastest growing platforms in the world, with a growing reach in terms of both users and advertisers.
In 2016, it merged with Musical.ly, a platform mainly used by 12-15 year olds. TikTok is no longer just for Generation Z, but also for Generations X and Y.
TikTok has an average of 52 minutes of global traffic per day, and thanks to its fast-learning algorithm, it shows videos that might be of interest to you. That’s why the platform glues your eyes to the screen.
Why is it worth advertising on TikTok?
TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users.
Today it is the number one downloaded app, ahead of popular social platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.
For reference – active users of other social platforms:
Facebook – 2.9 billion
YouTube – 2.2 billion
Instagram – 1.4 billion
TikTok – 1.0 billion
Snapchat – 500 million
Pinterest – 480 million
Twitter – 397 million
Demographic data by sex
As of March 2021, 61% of active TikTok accounts in the US were held by female users, compared to only 39% of male users.
Top 3 themes for successful advertising:
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Consumer goods such as clothing or cosmetics;
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Info business: financial literacy training, coaching;
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Games and apps.
Generally speaking, TikTok ads convert best for impulse purchase products.
TikTok ads are also useful for increasing brand awareness, as the platform has a wide audience.
TikTok advertising guidelines
Not surprisingly, like all other advertising platforms, TikTok has strict advertising guidelines and policies. There are many topics that should not be advertised on TikTok:
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Animals, animal parts or products
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Adult sexual products, services and entertainment
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Casinos and gambling
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Cigarettes and tobacco products
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Counterfeiting and piracy
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Drugs and paraphernalia
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Police/military equipment
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Political ads, and the list goes on.
More information: https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article?aid=9550
How much does it cost to advertise on TikTok?
For self-serve ads, TikTok requires a minimum budget of $500 for entire campaigns and a minimum budget of $20 for ad groups. This minimum will allow you to experience real results and your ads to reach their target.
Before you start advertising on TikTok, you will need:
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Business Center,
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Ad Account,
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TikTok Pixel for logins, accounts
Business Center:
To advertise on TikTok, you will first need a Business Center. The TikTok Business Center is essentially a “hub” that allows organizations or agencies to manage multiple TikTok advertising accounts more efficiently and securely.

Ads Center:
Once your Business Center is ready, you can start creating campaigns in the Ads Center. If you’re familiar with Facebook Ads Manager, TikTok Ads Center shouldn’t be a problem either, as the two platforms are quite similar.

TikTok pixel
TikTok Pixel is a powerful measurement tool that tracks the impact of TikTok ads on your website. This clever little piece of code allows you to track sales, user activity and find the right audience for your ads.
It is highly recommended to set up TikTok pixels on your website to measure the success of your campaigns.
Campaign Objectives
TikTok offers a wide range of campaign objectives. For each campaign, you should think about exactly what you want to achieve and choose your campaign objectives accordingly.

List of campaign targets in the TikTok Ads Manager.
Cue
TikTok is the fastest growing social platform today and will only continue to grow from here. TikTok users engage more with content compared to other social media. Many creators are migrating their content from YouTube and Instagram to TikTok. Studies show that TikTok is becoming increasingly popular among users of other social platforms.
TikTok has similar advertising features to Facebook and Instagram.
It’s worth advertising on TikTok, but mostly if your target audience is the younger generation or if your product is impulse buy.
If you want to build awareness for your brand, you should give TikTok ads a chance.
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