Partner at Slope Agency
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It’s hard to win on TikTok. Although the platform is relatively new, engaging and exciting, many brands still struggle to achieve quality, lasting results with their ads.
Below are three key strategies that I’ve seen work time and again with TikTok ads. They aren’t a magic formula for success, but implementing these strategies can go a long way toward ensuring that your brand has a chance to win on TikTok.
1. Get To Know TikTok
Creating quality TikTok ads isn’t easy. A central insight I’ve learned from my work is that winning on TikTok requires knowing the ins and outs of the platform. It’s nonnegotiable. This allows you to leverage TikTok to put out ads that both reach your audience and actually convert.
In my experience, you should understand:
• Ad best practices (color consistency, video length, the importance of sound, the “creative safe zone”)
• The importance of targeting the right audience
• The power of TikTok’s automated creative optimization
• TikTok’s demographics
• Bidding methods
To maximize the effectiveness of your TikTok ads, make sure you have a general understanding of these concepts and how they affect your ad performance.
2. Combine Influencers And Paid Ads
“Should we run influencer campaigns, or should we focus more on paid ad campaigns?” That’s a question I’ve seen frequently, and typically my answer isn’t a simple “yes” or “no.”
When it comes to hiring influencers and running paid ads, I recommend doing both. In my experience, the best TikTok ads strategies put the immense power of paid ads behind the reach of TikTok’s largest influencers, thus creating robust campaigns that effectively reach a wide audience.
Strategic paid ads plus quality, authentic influencer content equals winning on TikTok. That’s the formula.
Your paid ads strategy should drive your influencer campaigns, and vice versa. Instead of thinking of both of these strategies as two separate entities, think of them as two sides of the same coin. They complement each other, and they’ll help drive your brand forward.
3. Be Authentic
Brands that understand the ins and outs of TikTok’s ad platform and use paid ads and influencers can still fail on TikTok. Why? Because most TikTok users know immediately whether your brand’s content feels overproduced, gimmicky or unsuited for the platform. That’s the beauty of the platform: It demands authenticity.
Whereas other advertising mediums place a premium on scripted, well-produced, perfect content, most TikTok users love off-the-wall, playful, casual videos. The key is to create authentic content that allows your audience to connect with your brand in a meaningful way. Don’t let your viewers feel like you’re trying to sell them something. No one wants to watch TikTok videos that blatantly push a product. It’s a turnoff.
Additionally, most TikTok users aren’t used to being sold to because TikTok’s ad platform is still so new. That’s another reason why your ads must feel authentic.
That’s the final piece to the puzzle: authenticity. There’s no substitute for it.
Conclusion
Implementing all of these strategies won’t necessarily guarantee that your ads will always perform well, but they’re a great step in the right direction for any brand looking to delve into the TikTok ad space.
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Author: Phillip Hui-Bon-Hoa, Forbes Councils Member
