How to Sell Ads on TikTok

Selling ads on TikTok is a gold mine in today's digital advertising landscape. With over 1 billion active users worldwide, TikTok has quickly evolved into one of the most influential social media platforms. But how do you tap into this audience to sell ads effectively? If you're looking to make serious money through TikTok ads, understanding the platform’s features, audience, and strategies is essential.

1. Why TikTok is an Advertising Powerhouse

TikTok's user base is unique. It's youthful, engaged, and more likely to buy products they see on social media compared to other platforms like Facebook or Instagram. One of TikTok's core strengths is its algorithm, which makes content go viral almost instantly. As an advertiser, this provides an incredible opportunity. A single well-executed ad campaign can reach millions of users with relatively low investment. The average engagement rate on TikTok is much higher than on other platforms—up to 9.38% for micro-influencers compared to Instagram’s 3.86%.

Advertisers are not just interested in reaching audiences; they are laser-focused on ROI (return on investment). TikTok offers this through its varied ad formats and targeting options, allowing brands to tailor their campaigns for specific demographics or interests.

2. Understanding the Different Types of Ads on TikTok

Selling ads on TikTok means understanding the types of ads that are available to potential buyers. Here’s a breakdown:

In-Feed Ads

These appear in the user’s feed as they scroll through videos. They are skippable, but a well-crafted ad will catch attention within the first few seconds. These ads are ideal for driving traffic to external websites or app downloads. One of the unique features here is the ability to link directly to your product page or site, making it an effective tool for e-commerce.

Brand Takeover Ads

These are the ads that pop up as soon as a user opens the app. They offer high visibility but come at a premium cost. This is ideal for big brands launching new products or services.

Branded Hashtag Challenges

Hashtags are the heart of TikTok's user-generated content (UGC). In branded hashtag challenges, companies encourage users to create content around a specific theme or hashtag. It’s an incredibly interactive and viral way to engage the audience. In fact, 34% of users have participated in at least one branded hashtag challenge.

Branded Effects

These are filters or effects that users can apply to their videos. Companies can create branded effects to make their products feel more integrated with TikTok culture.

TopView Ads

These are similar to Brand Takeovers but are a little less invasive. They appear as the first in-feed post after 3 seconds of being on the app. They're great for companies who want attention without being too disruptive.

3. Targeting the Right Audience

TikTok’s algorithm is highly efficient at pushing ads to the right people. However, as a seller of ads, you need to educate your clients about targeting. TikTok offers a variety of demographic and interest-based targeting options.

• Demographic Targeting: You can target users based on their age, gender, location, and language.
• Interest Targeting: TikTok allows you to target ads based on users' interests, which is determined by their viewing habits, engagement with content, and interactions with brands.
• Custom Audiences: You can upload a list of customer emails or phone numbers to target them directly.
• Lookalike Audiences: If you have a high-performing audience, TikTok allows you to create a Lookalike Audience to reach new users who behave similarly.

Brands that understand their audience are more likely to succeed. When selling ads, emphasize the importance of data and insights to optimize campaigns.

4. Strategies to Sell Ads on TikTok

You now understand TikTok's unique strengths, but how do you actually sell ads to brands or businesses? Here’s a step-by-step guide to doing just that.

1. Build a Portfolio with Case Studies

If you’ve run successful campaigns on TikTok, use them as case studies to demonstrate your ability to deliver ROI. Highlight metrics such as engagement rate, impressions, and conversion rates. Case studies make it easier to convince potential clients that you know what you’re doing.

2. Focus on Small Businesses and Niche Markets

Many big brands are already sold on TikTok, but small businesses are still trying to figure out the platform. This is where the opportunity lies. Niche markets, especially those with highly engaged communities, offer fertile ground for ads that convert well. For example, fitness equipment, eco-friendly products, and DIY projects are often best advertised on TikTok, where creativity thrives.

3. Offer Packages

Offering different ad packages (e.g., In-Feed ads, Hashtag Challenges, etc.) allows businesses to test out what works best for them. Make sure to offer consulting services to help guide their TikTok advertising strategy.

4. Showcase the Power of Influencers

Influencer marketing is huge on TikTok. If you can, partner with influencers to create powerful ad campaigns. Highlight their reach, engagement rates, and ability to produce native content that doesn’t feel like traditional advertising. TikTok ads that don’t feel like ads perform the best.

5. Pricing Your Ads

Selling ads on TikTok is not a one-size-fits-all game. The price of TikTok ads varies based on ad type, targeting, and duration. Here’s a rough guide to pricing:

• In-Feed Ads: $10 per CPM (cost per thousand impressions)
• Brand Takeover Ads: Start at $50,000 per day
• Hashtag Challenges: $150,000 for six days
• Branded Effects: $80,000 to $120,000 depending on the complexity

But here’s the trick: Don’t stick to a rigid pricing structure. Offer flexibility based on client goals. Work on a cost-per-acquisition (CPA) model for small businesses, allowing them to pay for performance rather than impressions or clicks.

6. Create Compelling Content

At the end of the day, ads on TikTok work when they feel native to the platform. This means using trending sounds, memes, and challenges. Emphasize to potential clients that creativity is king. If the content is bland or too “salesy,” users will skip it.

Case in point: a Lipton Ice Tea campaign used popular TikTok dances and sounds, which led to a 12% increase in sales during the campaign period. On TikTok, creativity trumps production quality. A well-timed, clever ad with a relatable meme can outperform a polished commercial.

7. Measuring Success

Selling ads also means ensuring clients can measure their success. TikTok offers an Ads Manager tool that allows you to track the performance of ads. Key metrics include:

• Impressions: How many people saw the ad
• Clicks: How many people clicked on the ad or linked product
• Conversions: Purchases, sign-ups, or other desired actions
• Engagement Rate: Likes, comments, shares

Break these down for your clients, explaining how each metric impacts their bottom line. Offer A/B testing services, helping businesses tweak ads for maximum performance.

8. Keep Up with Trends

TikTok trends change fast, and so do the opportunities to advertise. Encourage your clients to stay ahead of the curve by capitalizing on trending sounds, filters, and challenges. Trends are what drive engagement on TikTok, and understanding them is key to creating ads that go viral.

Final Thoughts

Selling ads on TikTok is about leveraging creativity, targeting, and data. For clients to get the best ROI, they need a comprehensive understanding of TikTok’s algorithm and audience. The platform offers unique opportunities for brands, but success comes down to understanding the pulse of TikTok’s community and creating ads that feel like they’re part of the user experience, not just interruptions.

Whether you’re selling ads to small businesses or large brands, remember to focus on results-driven strategies, showcase your successes with case studies, and most importantly—be creative. TikTok is the future of social media advertising, and those who can master its unique features will lead the way.