TikTok Advertising 101

Monica Simmons - August 25, 2021

With the onset of the pandemic and stay-at-home orders put in place, it makes perfect sense that social media channels saw boosts in user engagement across the board in 2020 and into 2021. Most notably among social platforms, however, was the tremendous growth of a newer channel: TikTok.

It’s no wonder that a social platform centered around highly engaging user-generated video content (I can personally scroll through #cleantok videos for hours) is experiencing such a large increase in consumption. As TikTok advertising capabilities become more and more sophisticated, brands both large and small can take advantage of this hyper engaged audience.

Since introducing TikTok For Business in June of 2020, many new capabilities have been rolled out to further refine targeting. One example of a major change that was introduced earlier this year is the ability to geotarget at the DMA level within the United States. Previously, advertisers could only advertise as narrow as state-wide. This change allows for local businesses to get in front of potential customers who have historically only seen national and international brands advertising on the platform.

Outside of the narrow geotargeting capabilities, a key selling point for TikTok advertising is the ability to target users as young as age 13 in conjunction with interest and / or behavior targeting. Interests range from travel to pets to beauty / personal care, and beyond (not only are these interests great for teens and adolescents, but to reach adult demographics as well). With the recent news of Facebook limiting advertiser’s options on how they can target users under the age of 18, advertisers may need to turn to different channels in order to get in front of their younger target audience.

Another great tool available within the platform is the ability to create custom audience lists. This includes uploading lists of contacts (current customers or prospect database lists) and remarketing to users already familiar with your brand (website remarketing, those who have downloaded your app, or have previously engaged with your TikTok ads). This allows for very narrow targeting that could keep costs relatively low while seeing high engagement. In addition, there is an ability to create lookalike audiences of these segments to further expand reach and find new potential customers. If the interest targeting available in the platform is just too broad to reach your target audience, uploading a list of contacts and utilizing lookalikes may be a good fit for your brand.

TikTok has proven itself as a relevant social channel in the game that is here to stay for the foreseeable future. To learn more about the requirements and benefits of advertising on TikTok, please reach out to your client strategist or contact us today.