TikTok ads: 5 tips for high-performing creatives

Already a fast-growing network, TikTok has seen a huge boom over the last several months. During global lockdowns, TikTok added tons of new users looking for connection and entertainment. And unlike the image many of us have of TikTok as dominated by Gen Z—who certainly are an important demographic on the platform—those new TikTok users come from all age brackets. They’re also from diverse geographies. All kinds of people love the fun creativity and immersive quality of the platform.

All this means there has never been a better time to reach your customers on TikTok.

TikTok being a relatively new network, it can be hard to know where to get started and how to get the most of your advertising on the platform. As an immersive video platform, creatives are absolutely key on TikTok. To help you out, here are our favorite creative tips and best practices to successfully engage users on TikTok.

Designing successful TikTok creatives

Design ads for TikTok specifically

As a video creation platform, the content on TikTok is really unique among networks. Because of the distinct style of TikTok videos, repurposing content you’ve used on another network isn’t an option. Your Instagram ad creatives just won’t work here. When you advertise on TikTok, you need to design for TikTok!

Tell a story to capture attention

With in-feed video ads, you only have a short window of 2 or 3 seconds to capture your viewer’s attention before they scroll through to the next thing. That means your creatives should start with a strong hook. Telling a compelling story will get users to stop scrolling long enough to hear what your brand has to say.

Use humor to engage your audience

If you’ve ever used TikTok, you know that it’s a platform that doesn’t take itself too seriously. Memes and jokes thrive here, so you might have good luck with creatives that also come with a good dose of humor.

Make the most of sound

Music is at the heart of TikTok. Not only is sound on by default on the app, it’s central to the user experience. As an advertiser, it means sound is as important as images when it comes to your ad creatives. Make sure the audio in your ads works to communicate your message.

Test and learn and build on what works

As with advertising anywhere, there’s no magic recipe for a top-performing ad. Since advertising on TikTok is still in its early stages, this is even more true here. Brands are still figuring out what works best on the network. So especially when you’re starting out, keep an open mind and adopt a test and learn approach. Try out several creative angles, see what resonates with your audience, and build out your campaigns from there.

Run and report on your TikTok ads on Paragone

With TikTok ads now available on Paragone, you can launch your campaigns directly through our simplified creation flow. And when it comes to reporting and seeing exactly which creatives and campaigns are performing best, we’ve got you covered. You have a ton of flexibility when it comes to visualizing your campaign data on TikTok and across networks, and sharing campaign results is easy.