TikTok ads are expensive, but many brands now swear by them.
Although the cost of an ad on TikTok starts at an exorbitant $10 per 1,000 impressions, well above similar rates on Instagram, some brands insist that the right ad on TikTok sees higher conversion than on any other platform. In a recent survey, 52% of TikTok users said that they found ads on the platform “fun and engaging.”
Yet the platform is still so new that many brands are struggling to figure out how to craft an ad for the platform.
In general, the best TikTok ad is the one that fits so effortlessly within the platform that users don’t immediately realize it’s an ad. On TikTok, ads pop up in the For You page, just as regular videos do. That gives brands a unique opportunity to capture people before they write off what they’re watching as an ad.
Getting to that point isn’t easy, however. The tactics that might work for an Instagram ad—bright colors, clean backgrounds, professional-grade camerawork—aren’t necessarily effective on TikTok. Coming in with a video that is too fine-tuned feels inauthentic.
The best way to get attention on TikTok is to lean into the tropes of the platform.
Part of the appeal of TikTok is that few videos feel professionally made—they are skits or musings that seem, to some extent, like the creator thought of them spontaneously. The right ad will mirror that.
Most TikToks feature a person talking to viewers in their car, bedroom, or workplace. An effective TikTok ad could attempt to mirror that sense of personal intimacy—a single person talking into a front-facing camera. The thrift store mystery box company Goodfairl, for instance, cut an ad featuring a single employee doing an unboxing.
The media company Morning Brew, which runs a daily business newsletter, ran a campaign with TikTok featuring a fictional conversation between several job sites—Monster, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed—about the Great Resignation. The video was sparsely produced, which helped make it feel more authentic. According to TikTok, Morning Brew had a 24% engagement rate by the end of the campaign.
While brands should be careful about slapping on a popular external sound just to get attention, they should be mindful of what sounds are currently popular on the platform. If their video features audio that TikTok users are already familiar with—whether that audio is a song or a clip from a conversation that has gone viral—the ad might fit more nicely in the context of a user’s For You page.
Almost 50% of social comments and DM’s are ripe for sales conversions, but most brands don’t tap into this opportunity. And it’s not that they don’t want to - but they don’t have the time or staffing to do so.
That’s where Chatdesk can help. Our CX Experts can help you respond to customers on social, faster so you can capture all those extra sales. For a free social audit, schedule a free demo here.