TikTok Ads: which formats for its advertising campaigns?

How to set up the right kind of advertising on TikTok?

TikTok Ads is the new generation advertising lever presented that allows you to exploit the commercial opportunities of the social network. Accessible via the TikTok For Business platform since the end of 2019 in France, it first conquered large companies before becoming a commercial tool accessible even to small brands.

Above all, advertising on TikTok is a very effective tool for achieving your business goals. In fact, 67% of the app's users say that ads on TikTok capture their attention more - 10% more than other platforms.

TikTok for Business allows you to launch effective TikTok campaigns, as the targeting is precise and the return on investment very interesting. The tool propels branded content into the famous "For You" feed of a large number of qualified users, thus considerably increasing the visibility of the content among potential customers.

In this article, we will explain the TikTok advertising formats that exist and the right strategy to take advantage of them!

1. Top view

At first, the formats called Top view are advertising formats of 60 seconds maximum, which appear directly when the user opens the application. The video is then displayed in full screen.

By using this type of format, you are sure to reach your target as soon as they arrive on the application. On the other hand, the challenge is to capture their attention from the first three seconds of the video so that they watch it in its entirety. The risk is indeed that users will skip the ad before they can really grasp the content.

2. Brand Takeover

In the same logic as the Top view formats, the Brand Takeover formats appear directly when the user opens the application. However, these formats are shorter, lasting on average between 3 and 5 seconds. Thus, the format has a better chance of being viewed entirely by the users, who will not necessarily have the time to scroll before the end of the ad.

The disadvantage of this advertising format is that it does not always allow you to deliver enough information. This is why it is necessary to optimize it as much as possible according to the messages you wish to transmit to your public.

Moreover, these two types of ad formats are not available to all brands that want them. Indeed, TikTok only offers Top View or Brand Takeover ads from one advertiser per day. This limits the number of ads of this kind that can be launched and creates a form of competition between the different advertisers, which leads to an increase in the price of these ad formats.

In order to produce these types of ads, it is necessary to collaborate directly with TikTok. This usually means a larger advertising budget.

3. In-feed native Video

In-Feed formats offer the best value you can find on TikTok.

Indeed, as its name indicates, the promotional video "in feed" appears directly in the TikTok feed, that is to say in the page "For you" of its users.

These videos appear when users swipe from one content to another. This makes the impression more natural. If the ad is produced in a native format, and it looks like a classic TikTok, users are likely to view the ad without even realizing it was an ad content.

This type of advertising format is also more affordable, as there is less competition between brands. There is not the same limitation of advertisers as for the two previous formats.

In general, this advertising format follows a "cost per thousand" logic, as is the case on many other networks.

In addition, it is possible to reuse old advertising formats . For example, promotional formats such as Top View or Brand Takeover can be reused or adapted to become in-feed videos.

The advantage of the In-Feed formats is that they blend perfectly into the"For You" feed and feel very natural to the users of the application.

Indeed, In-feed advertising videos are only differentiated from other non-advertising videos by a small "Advertising" label. If the format is well done, it can therefore be mistaken for classic organic content.

The brand @conforama had, in particular, set up an In-feed format with the content creator @powerpoussin (1.2M subscribers) in which she announced a live TikTok with the furniture company. In this video, we can see a call to action that links to a registration link to participate.

4. Hashtag challenge

Other advertising formats allow to directly engage TikTok users. This is the case, for example, of the Hashtag challenge, which is an excellent way to co-create content with the platform's users.

Hashtags are very important on TikTok. They allow you to reference your content by giving information to the algorithm about the type of video you produce.

In the context of advertising content, using a hashtag is an opportunity for your brand to measure the engagement of your subscribers by inviting them to complete challenges.

The objective is to gather your target around a hashtag that will raise awareness or promote your brand, or more simply a product.

A challenge around a hashtag lasts about 6 days on the platform, depending on the responsiveness of users. For example, the hashtag #LiptongenerationTri (from the brand Lipton) has generated more than 293 million views on the platform.

Finally, the hashtag challenge allows the TikTok algorithm to broadcast your challenge and therefore your brand on a large scale.

The advantage is that it is an advertising format that gives a playful and participative character to your content, while boosting your visibility.

5. Branded Effects

In the same logic, you can also create an advertising campaign around effects related to your brand. This is called the Branded effect format. With this type of format, you can develop an ad around an effect that users can then use.

This type of advertising format is also used on other social networks, such as Instagram and Snapchat, so it can be used on them.

The goal is to create a filter/effect related to your ad campaign and to get users to use it. The goal is that users will adopt the filter en masse and that it will continue to be displayed over time.

This strategy not only allows users to interact with your content, but also tocreate content for your brand.

For example, many brands collaborate with public figures and pay them to use and promote their filter so that it spreads even further.

But you can also perfectly let users take ownership of your effect by optimizing your TikTok ad campaign.

For example, Dior Addict has set up a filter that allows you to see yourself with the latest lipstick of the brand accompanied by #shineattitude.

6. Spark Ads

Spark Ads is certainly the most native In-Feed ad format on the platform. It allows businesses to boost their own organic posts or content from other creators in TopView or In-Feed Ads formats. The video will be displayed in the users' main ForYou page.

By partnering with a content creator, you can ensure that you produce a fully native ad that fits perfectly into the TikTok environment.

Can my brand advertise on TikTok?  

Of course, beyond the formats to be used to set up an advertising campaign on TikTok, you also need to define your marketing needs . Your goal may be to increase traffic to your site, build and improve brand awareness, generate app installs or simply create engagement.

And to limit your mistakes on TikTok Ads, keep in mind that developing an account with native organic formats remains one of the keys to a successful advertising campaign on TikTok.

TikTok is a great opportunity for brands, and TikTok Ads can be an interesting boost, but it's obviously important to understand your audience, in order to create videos that are relevant, that inspire them and capture their attention.

So if you want to launch a new campaign on the TikTok application and you want to use the ads, contact us!