TikTok Ads: How to Win More Customers for Your Business

Haven’t you heard? Gen Z consumers in Toronto are flocking to TikTok, the newest and hottest social media platform. And it’s not just them.

Having recently surpassed the 1 billion monthly users mark, TikTok is a certified hit even well beyond the Gen Z crowd. With numbers like these, it’s in the big leagues now, at par with the biggest platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. And despite being a new icon in the social media landscape, TikTok is already dominating the trends and proving to be an emerging and vital advertising platform. It’s all thanks to viral engagement with fun and fresh creative formats.

Are you on TikTok yet? With impressive stats and an exponentially growing user base, TikTok ads are the latest frontier in digital marketing. Every second that you aren’t creating what hopefully becomes one of the most viewed TikToks is a missed opportunity, so don’t go any further without a TikTok ads strategy.

Find out all about the buzz behind TikTok — and why TikTok ads should be number one on your digital marketing strategy. Learn the in’s and out’s of TikTok Ads to reach new audiences in Toronto, and create fresh and memorable brand experiences.

The TikTok Tea: All About the Next Generation of Social Media

If your brand aims to reach a younger demographic, TikTok is the best place to do it. Compared to other (and older) social media platforms, TikTok tends to skew young largely due to its playful and creative format. Think modern video editing, filters, stickers, music, dancing, remixed reels, and more. Just last year, 43% — that’s nearly half — of users were aged 18 to 24, with women comprising nearly 25%.

And while this massive and young advertising audience is one of TikTok’s biggest draws, it’s not the platform’s only strength. In fact, the real difference that TikTok ads make is because of their creativity and authenticity, leading to increased engagement and conversions. 

TikTok audiences love fresh, authentic, creative, and most of all, fun content that makes use of creative formats. The best TikToks are in line with the latest trends — or even better, start a new viral trend that engages a larger audience. By incorporating these in your brand, you’ll be able to build a community and create new conversion pathways for increased ROI.

TikTok Ads: Ad Types, Formats, and Everything You Need to Know

Now that you’ve got the basics of TikTok covered, it’s time to level up your TikTok game. With a billion users, TikTok boasts a massive advertising audience, with various groups meeting your target customer demographic.

Generally, TikTok ads perform well when:

• Ads are geared towards customers 35 and under
• Ads generally target women from 18 to 25
• Ads aim to build a strong brand presence in Asia or the Middle East, where new TikTok users are from.

Managing Your TikTok Ads

Once you log in to the TikTok Ads Manager, you’ll start by choosing a goal for your ad. Then, you’ll set the audience you want to target, followed by your budget and bidding option. Once ad delivery is defined, you can either design an ad or upload your own creative assets to launch.

TikTok Ads and Format

The TikTok Ads Manager offers various types of ad formats for engaging audiences, leveraging creative assets, and achieving your marketing goals. These include:

• Top-view ads: These appear when customers first open the app
• In-feed ads: These are displayed on customers’ For You Pages
• Branded hashtag challenge: Invites customers to share TikToks using your branded hashtags
• Branded effects: Encourage customers to use your branded filters, stickers, and other effects.

Cost of TikTok Ads

Similar to other social media platforms, TikToks offer great advertising opportunities at cost-effective rates. TikTok ads are available through bidding, with various types:

• Cost per thousand impressions (CPM): Pay for 1000 impressions at a time.
• Optimized cost per thousand impressions (oCPM): Pay for 1000 impressions among audiences most likely to take an action.
• Cost per thousand views (CPV): Pay for 1000 audience views for two and six seconds, or the entire length.
• Cost per click (CPC): Pay for every click.

Tips for Creating and Managing TikTok Ads

Check out these expert tips for launching TikTok ads. Get the highest ROI from your ads and set up reliable conversion pathways for audiences. See how each ad fits into your digital marketing strategy and help you build a connected brand with engaged audiences in Toronto.

1. Set the right goals

What are your marketing goals for advertising on TikTok? Before you create assets and bid, make sure to set clear goals. TikTok Ad Manager offers pre-loaded goals, including:

• Awareness for reaching a larger audience
• Consideration for growing website traffic and increasing app installs, views, and leads
• Conversions for increasing clicks to your website and other targeted actions that drive revenue.

Choosing the right strategy informs the ads you create and the creative assets they require, as well as campaign measurement. Think about what you want your ads to do, whether it’s reaching new potential customers through viral trends, or driving sales. This also helps you track ad analytics, so you know what metrics to look out for and how to optimize your TikTok ad strategy.

2. Pay attention to trends

The TikTok algorithm is all about viral content, so pay attention to what gets the most views and comments. When you know what trends and what creators do to achieve trending status, you’ll be able to replicate relevant elements to your brand. Features like hashtags, branded filters, and audio are just some of the ways that content becomes more appealing, so keep your finger on the pulse of trending content using the Discover feature.

3. Engage with other creators

Don’t be shy — TikTok is a community with lots of creators to learn from and establish relationships with. It’s especially big on influencer content, so find out the top creators in your industry and see how you can engage them for partnerships that bring you closer to customers.

TikTok influencers are big on collaborations, so once you find the top creators, you can reach out with a partnership deal. And to keep that momentum going, make sure to keep your current followers engaged by replying to comments and messages.

4. Make every second count

TikTok ads are just 60 seconds long, so use every precious second wisely. And while you do have 60, TikTok actually recommends keeping ads down to 21-34 seconds. Lots of customers have a short attention span, so you’ll want to pique their interest and get them to complete a conversion action in an extra-short timeframe. Make sure to highlight your offer or product in the first 3 seconds for maximum impact.

5. Mix and match creative formats

Most important for TikTok ads — be creative! Did you know that TikTok recommends changing your ad’s creative asset every seven days? This helps avoid audience fatigue and keeps customers engaged in your ad, especially in a rapidly changing advertising landscape.

Switch up your TikTok ad formats with sound like audio clips and music, dialogue, b-roll footage, filters, and more. This helps put your brand in the 93% of top-performing TikToks that use audio. For high view-through rates, choose tracks above 120 beats per minute. Make sure to add captions to make your ads easily watchable and highlight the call-to-action.

And finally — be authentic and positive. TikTok audiences content that’s relatable, inspiring, and tells your brand’s story. Leave the obvious and constant sales pitch out of your ads, as well as video content that appears too professional. Instead, focus on speaking to your audience like you would a friend or colleague, and be someone they would like to keep talking to.

Go Viral with Our TikTok Ads Agency

Want your brand to be a star on TikTok? Be the next viral sensation with TikTok ads that help you reach new audiences, build a loyal community of customers, and achieve your digital marketing goals.

Consultus Digital can help. At our TikTok ads agency in Toronto, we can’t stop scrolling through the best and most-watched videos on the platform — and we can help put your brand there. Our digital marketing experts are always on the hunt for the latest trends and customer interests, so we can help you launch ads that will place you on your next customer’s feed or right when they open the app.

From mapping out your audience and target demographic and selecting key messages that appeal most to them, to setting clear goals, designing ad creatives, and tracking analytics, we offer a full-service TikTok ads solution. Together, we’ll grow your brand with the latest trends and fresh ad content, so you’ll always be in front of your next customer.

Want to go viral on TikTok? Serve fun, fresh ads that customers love and inform their next purchase. Let’s create your TikTok ads today.