TikTok has 1.6 billion active users. And when we say active, we mean active.

The platform has an engagement rate above 2.6 percent and watch times that tip over an hour a day. TikTok’s audience is watchful, interactive, and engaged. No wonder brands want a piece of the pie.

TikTok delivers scale and resonance that few platforms can match.

Whether you’re a social media manager in an enterprise, an SEO specialist at an agency, or a small business owner exploring new channels, this guide will help you understand the world of TikTok advertising.

We’ll look at how the TikTok Ads Manager works, what formats are best for your brand, and how TikTok consumer research can set you apart from the crowd.

What are TikTok ads?

TikTok offers brands the chance to advertise on the platform in a variety of ways. TikTok’s suite of ad formats matches numerous marketing objectives, so you can find one that suits you.

  • In-feed ads: These are the most popular type of TikTok ads. They’re up to 60 seconds long, shot in vertical format, and placed in For You feeds. They’re ideal for traffic, app installs, and lead generation.
  • TopView ads: These are premium full-screen takeovers that appear when a user opens their app. They autoplay for up to 60 seconds and are best for brand awareness and big launches.
  • Spark ads: Brands can sponsor existing organic posts (your own or from creators) as native ads and leverage authentic user-generated content for higher engagement.
  • Carousel ads: Brands can post up to 10 cards in a 1:1 format – images or videos – with individual headlines and links. They’re perfect for product catalogs or sequenced storytelling.
  • Playable Ads: These enable users to interact with the ad, perhaps by moving a figure on screen or clicking a button.This then nudges the user down the funnel.
  • Branded hashtag challenges: TikTok is all about trends, and branded hashtag challenges can be really effective. Users create content under your custom hashtag on a dedicated landing page, driving mass user-generated content (UGC) and buzz.
  • Branded effects: AR filters, stickers, and lenses from TikTok Effect House help users co-create with your brand.

You can create TikTok ads within the platform itself or by using a tool like Brandwatch, which provides a holistic overview of your ad strategy – from ideation to publishing, tracking, and reporting.

Why TikTok advertising matters in 2025

TikTok isn’t just another social network: it’s a hub for discovery and commerce. As of 2025, TikTok's net ad revenues are projected to hit $132 billion. Why? Because so many people use it. TikTik is the most downloaded app in the world, and the average daily time spent on the platform is 32 minutes.

For brands, TikTok is a shop window with enormous reach. TikTok’s algorithm serves content based on behavior, not just followers. Ads blend seamlessly into For You feeds as in-feed ads, driving engagement rates.

TikTok users are able to discover new products via ads and buy within the app. The TikTok Shop feature is a huge innovation that makes selling on TikTok much easier. You can raise brand awareness and achieve sales all in one place.

Understanding the TikTok Ads Manager platform

TikTok Ads Manager might feel a little overwhelming at first, but you can quickly get used to how it works. It’s the in-app place to create and launch ads within TikTok, although you could also use a tool like Brandwatch to achieve improved results.

If you choose the Ads Manager option, you’ll need a TikTok Business account to sign in. Visit TikTok Ads and click ‘Get started’ to create an account. Enter your email, create a password, and then add your business details. Verify your account and set up two-factor authentication to ensure it’s secure.

From here, you can begin to navigate the TikTok Ads Manager interface and see your dashboard. This is where you'll be able to see your campaigns, assets, and reports. The idea is to visualize everything in one place. Go into each campaign and look at ad spend, engagement metrics, and audience data. Head to the reporting page to create reports that include the metrics that matter to you.

The beauty of the TikTok Ads Manager platform is that it’s very easy to use.

Managing multiple accounts in Business Center

For agencies or enterprises running dozens of accounts, TikTok Business Center offers centralized permissions and billing. This is often an easier way to manage things rather than going into each individual Ad account. Invite users, assign roles (analyst, advertiser), and share assets like audiences and Pixel events across accounts – saving time and ensuring consistency.

Of course, you can also use a tool like Brandwatch to oversee your TikTok content and execute entire strategies with Advertise.

Creating your first TikTok ad campaign

Launching a TikTok ad campaign for the first time requires a bit of research beforehand. Once you get into the swing of things, it’ll become easier – but to start with, ensure you’re fully prepared for launch before starting.

The process of creating a campaign breaks down into four components: defining objectives, audience targeting, budgeting, and preparing your content. Let’s have a quick look at each stage:

Defining your campaign objectives

Select one primary objective aligned with your business goals. This might be boosting brand awareness or perhaps increasing direct sales from TikTok. Use Brandwatch tools to set specific objectives based on data that align with your overall business strategy.

Your objective needs to be as detailed as possible, as this will help guide your ad campaign as it unfolds. Making changes during a campaign is much easier when you can compare real-time data with your goals.

Building ad groups and audience targeting

Next, divide your campaign into multiple ad groups. Run audience analytics with Brandwatch to understand who is out there and who might be interested in your ads. Look at demographics like age, gender, location, and language. Split audiences into interests and behavioral segments. Go as deep as possible until you find your target audience and create that ad group.

Now you have a reliable destination for your ads.

Setting your budget and bid strategy

Brands need to bid for advertising space on TikTok, which means going through the bidding process. TikTok offers two bid strategies:

  • Cost cap: Brands define a “cost per action” based on specific metrics, and TikTok optimizes delivery. Metrics include optimized cost per thousand (oCPM), cost per click (CPC), cost per thousand (CPM), and cost per view (CPV). This plan is great for app installs, conversions, and lead generation.
  • Maximum delivery: Brands set a maximum budget, and TikTok drives the most results possible within the timeframe and budget provided. These ad strategies are useful for boosting traffic, reach, and video views. It is also ideal for lead generation and catalog sales.

You can set bid controls to ensure you don’t stray over your budget.

Uploading creatives and writing ad descriptions

Once you have your goals, audience and bid strategy in place, it’s time to create your content. Shoot videos and photos, add design elements, and create your ads before uploading them to TikTok.

Include an ad description to optimize reach and select a call to action (CTA). Then, add UTM parameters to your landing page URLs to track in Brandwatch Publish.

Once your content is uploaded and optimized on the platform, it’s time to launch your campaign.

Setting up conversion tracking and TikTok Pixel

Brands can utilize TikTok Pixel to track the user journey on their website when people click through from TikTok. TikTok Pixel is effectively a snippet of code that you add to your website or landing page. It collects user behavior on your site, so you can track their process from the TikTok ad through to a specific action.

TikTok Pixel reveals which ads are performing well and which are missing the mark. TikTok Pixel is free for anyone with a TikTok Ads Manager account. To set it up, head to TikTok Ads Manager and hover over "Tools". Click "Events" and then "Connect Data Source". Then click "Web" and "Next". Add your website and click "Manually setup", before naming your Pixel.

From here, you'll get your base code, which you can paste into the top of the header section on your website.

Now you're ready to see the TikTok customer journey from watching your ad through to visiting your website.

Ensuring compliance with TikTok ad policies

It's fair to say TikTok has a lot of ad policies. This is great news for brands because it means you're playing on a fair platform that enforces the rules. TikTok ad policies range from restrictions to under-18 audience segments to politics, financial services, adult content, and ad formats.

You can read TikTok's advertising policies here.

To avoid disapproval, review TikTok’s policy center before uploading and keep your ad descriptions clear, fact-based, and free of banned terms.

If you're using a tool like Brandwatch to advertise on TikTok, then you can access smarter tools and AI to help stay aligned with the latest policies.

Optimizing your creative assets for TikTok

Establishing a TikTok ad strategy is one thing – actually creating gripping content that achieves a strong return on investment (ROI) is something else altogether.

Your creative assets are the videos, images, captions, and interactive features that make up your TikTok ads. They’re what users actually see. They need to be eye-catching and interesting. Otherwise, the value of your ad is zero.

Here are some ways to optimize your creative assets.

Video specs and best practices

Ensure your TikTok videos align with the following ad specs:

  • Aspect ratio: 9:16 (vertical) for full immersion; 1:1 for carousel
  • Resolution: 720 × 1280 px min.; 1080 × 1920 px recommended
  • Length: 9–15 s for in-feed; up to 60 s for TopView and carousel
  • File size: ≤ 500 MB

Use dynamic cuts, text overlays, and motion graphics to hook viewers in the first three seconds. Small advertisers who don’t have much brand recognition need to work on making their ads appear organic. This way, you’re not relying on your brand to keep users interested but on your content. For established brands with high levels of recognition already, ensuring a logo or product is visible in the first three seconds may be more effective.

Crafting compelling narratives and CTAs

Adverts always need a narrative. Even the most boring ad must tell a story. Otherwise, people won’t be interested. On TikTok, it’s really important to nail your narrative and show users the value of your product or service.

A template video ad structure looks like this:

  1. Hook (0–3 seconds): Pose a question or show a striking visual.
  2. Value proposition (3–10 seconds): Highlight benefits or features.
  3. CTA (final seconds): Prompt an action, such as “Swipe up,” “Shop now,” or “Join the challenge”.

Ads for cleaning products, for example, suit this template perfectly. The hook is a dirty surface you can’t clean. The value proposition is the product, which cleans the dirty surface and makes it spotless. The CTA is the link to buy the cleaning product and make your life immeasurably better.

Lean on user-generated content and branded effects

Authenticity wins on TikTok. Sponsor top user-generated content as Spark ads, adding prompts or overlays to encourage viewers to engage.

You can also build branded effects (AR filters, stickers) via TikTok Effect House and seed them with in-feed or TopView ads to spark organic participation and extend reach.

Creative ideation and trend tracking with Brandwatch

Brands seeking to get the most from their TikTok ad campaigns can oversee everything with Brandwatch. The platform is designed to help a brand strategize, research, execute, and follow up on ad campaigns.

Brandwatch is a TikTok official partner that provides brands with access to the ad platform via the social media management tool.

You can also pull trend data from Brandwatch Consumer Research and monitor hashtags, songs, and formats among your target audience. Analyze sentiment around emerging challenges and memes and identify high-engagement creators and UGC for potential Spark ad partnerships.

Combine these insights with TikTok’s Discover feed to align your creatives with what’s resonating right now.

Measuring performance and refining your strategy

Gauging the success of your TikTok advertising efforts will come down to how well you use your data. You can pull a lot of data through to Brandwatch when monitoring your ad strategies, while TikTok Ads Manager also has a range of metrics to assess.

Metrics that are worth following daily are:

  • Impressions and reach: How far your content is spreading
  • Clicks and click-through rate (CTR): Clicks per thousand impressions
  • Cost metrics: CPM, CPC, CPA
  • Conversion rates: Success of your optimization goal
  • Engagement: Likes, comments, shares, average watch time

Drill down by placement, demographic, and location to unearth high-value pockets.

While TikTok’s native reports focus on paid performance, using a tool like Brandwatch enables you to go a lot further. With Brandwatch, you can access:

This 360° view – combining paid metrics with public conversation data – unlocks smarter decisions and stronger campaign results.

Setting TikTok advertising cost and budget planning

TikTok advertising costs are hard to determine because they vary so much depending on a number of factors. Everyone is bidding for the same spots, and your ad costs relate to the competition.

There’s not much point sweating on the cost of TikTok advertising in terms of an exact figure. Instead, you need to start forecasting to ensure you hit ROI targets without overspending.

To do this, consider your rough budget and what you want to achieve from your ad campaign. If you’re focused on your goal and have fewer resources, then you might need only a small bit of flexibility in your budget when going for a Cost Cap bidding strategy. Or you could go for a Maximum Delivery and be willing to have a more volatile bidding experience, with the aim of maximizing your campaign over a specified time period.

Make sure you define the metrics that guide your ad strategy. Set KPI thresholds – target CPM, CPC, or CPA – and adjust your spending as you see fit.

Best practices for TikTok advertising

The most important thing you can do when orchestrating a TikTok advertising campaign is to stay on top of it. Brands fail to make the most of their campaigns when they launch and then sit back, expecting the ads to do the rest of the work.

Think of your ads as just one small slice of the entire campaign. From audience research to conversion tracking, there’s a lot to do to ensure a TikTok ad delivers ROI.

Here are some best practices to go alongside a proactive approach.

Retargeting and custom audiences

Install TikTok Pixel events for key actions (AddToCart, Purchase) and retarget with special offers or reminders. Thisnudges users back to convert and also boosts brand awareness.

Lookalike audiences and scaling

Once you’ve identified your core customers, build lookalike groups within a tool like Brandwatch to expand reach while preserving relevance. It’s much easier to find similar audiences when you have core audience data to play with.

Creative A/B testing

Run multivariate tests on hooks, captions, and CTAs to isolate which works best. For example, you might post the same ad but with different CTAs or with a different click-through point on your website. Monitor what works best and pause underperforming variants swiftly to optimize ad spend.

Dayparting and budget pacing

Dive into the granular data and analyze your TikTok ad performance by hour and day to allocate budgets when your target audience is most active. This doesn’t need to take long and could save you a lot of wasted ad spend.

Cross-channel attribution and distribution

Use Brandwatch Publish to combine TikTok UTM data with other channel metrics and get an understanding of TikTok’s role in multi-touch funnels. You could even pick out the best ads from TikTok and place them on your other social media profiles to see which thrive there, too.

Frequently asked questions

How quickly should I see results from TikTok ads?

Performance of TikTok ads depends on budgets and objectives. Awareness campaigns often generate reach and impressions immediately, while conversion-focused ads may require a few days of data for TikTok’s algorithm to optimize.

What’s the ideal video length for a TikTok ad?

Test 9-15 seconds for in-feed ads; longer videos (up to 60 seconds) work for TopView and carousel ads. Always front-load your hook and ensure you’ve captured your viewer’s attention within three seconds.

How often should I refresh my ad?

Ad fatigue is a real problem, and it’s important that brands refresh their content on a regular basis. If you’re going big on a new ad, then your audience will likely become familiar with it within a day. Less regular ads could have a two-week lifespan before needing to be replaced. Monitor frequency and performance in TikTok Ads Manager before choosing your next step.

Can I run organic and paid campaigns together on TikTok?

Yes. Tie them together in Brandwatch Social Media Management to coordinate posting schedules, monitor community engagement, and boost top organic content with Spark ads.

Next steps and getting started

You now have an end-to-end blueprint for TikTok advertising success. The next step is to get started. Begin by planning your ad campaign based on your business goals, and figure out your audience using Brandwatch as a guide. Establish a TikTok Ads Manager account and add the TikTok Pixel to your website.

Create amazing ads before uploading them and publish them at the right moment. From here, track the results using Brandwatch Social Media Management and ensure you hit your ROI.

TikTok’s unmatched reach, engagement, and commerce features make it a vital channel for brands of all sizes. By combining TikTok’s ad platform with Brandwatch’s analytics and workflow tools, you’ll be equipped to launch smarter, more effective campaigns that drive real business impact.