Why You Must Advertise On TikTok Right Now

Opportunities wait for no one. If you’re a business owner you’re sick of hearing about how good it was to advertise on Facebook and Google when there was little competition on those platforms.

You’ve probably heard the stories about how cheap conversions were when the platforms launched and how much money the people who seized those early opportunities made because they got on board at the right time. 

As a business owner, it kind of always feels like you missed the train and you always face the market at the most challenging times. However, that’s probably not the case. The way we remember the past is always different than what it was in reality, but that’s a different topic. 

What, if now, you would come across the perfect opportunity to hop on the next train? Well, that opportunity is called TikTok Ads.

TIMING IS EVERYTHING

If you’re an active reader of my blog, you know how important timing is when it comes to advertising. Imagine you want to go to a crowded and popular beach and you want to get the best spot. Chances are you will be able to pick any spot if you get there early in the morning, but you probably won’t find an inch of empty sand on a hot and sunny afternoon, right? The same rule applies to advertising. Those who get there first take advantage of all available opportunities. 

TikTok requires no introduction. It’s the fastest growing social network on the planet and covers 150+ countries in 75 different languages. TikTok has been on the Number 1 spot in app downloads on Apple and the Number 3 spot on Google and it’s creating a real threat for platforms like Snapchat and Instagram. Why? For the same reason Instagram became popular: it’s cool. 

Stats, such as 48 million videos are created every day and the fact that 78% of users are between 16-34 years old, makes for a strong argument that TikTok is either going to be the leading social media network in the next few years or at least a big part of the social media landscape. 

What does that mean for your business? Aside from the fact that TikTok should be the centre of focus for your social media marketing strategy, which means creating a TikTok profile and start growing your followers while organic reach is available,  you MUST start advertising on TikTok now.

Currently, TikTok Ads is invite-only and the only way to get on board is through this application form. The waiting list depends on your location and in which geolocation you plan to advertise. If the list is closed to a selected number of advertisers, can you imagine what kind of results they currently get? 

The first thing that you should do after reading this post is to sign up immediately on TikTok to ensure that, when new spots open up, you will be on that list and be in line to start advertising. 

Inspired By Facebook Ads…

TikTok’s platform looks similar to that of Instagram and the Ads Manager in TikTok looks very much like Facebook’s Ads Manager. 

The methodology of creating campaigns and managing your ads is very similar to the way it is done with Facebook Ads and the logic is exactly the same. 

The core optimization and logic of the ads platform is based on pixel learning. The same method used by Facebook applies to TikTok in that you select your goal/objective on TikTok ads and have the machine learning algorithm automate and optimize your ads, just like you do if you use Facebook’s Ads Manager.

Simply select your goal, upload your creatives, select your settings and targeting, as well as the goals of your creatives and targets and then launch your ad. The good news is if you know your way around Facebook Ads, then you already know how to advertise on TikTok. 

Your campaign overview can be viewed on a campaign level, ad set level or ad level. 

The Ad Library is where you manage all your creative assets: 

You can also find advanced reporting of your ads: 

Plus, you are able to gain insights about your audience: 

Here are the ad formats that are available on TikTok Ads:

Did I say how similar this looks like Facebook Ads already? 

SO, WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL ANYWAY?

If setting up campaigns on both TikTok and Facebook feels the same and the same people who are on TikTok are probably using Instagram and Snapchat as well, then what’s the big deal? Let me show you…

LOWER COST TO ADVERTISE 

Like most online advertising platforms, TikTok uses auction bidding to determine the cost per impressions that advertisers end up paying for ads. An impression occurs each time your ad appears in a user’s feed, and you pay for every 1000 impressions. Whether or not someone clicks, purchases from or engages with your ad, you are still billed by impressions. 

Because TikTok Ads is a relatively new advertising platform, the number of users to advertisers ratio is much lower than what it is on Facebook and Instagram. Although Facebook has an estimated 4-5X more users than TikTok, the number of ads each user sees on Facebook is much greater than on TikTok. That means that as a user on TikTok you are exposed to fewer ads. 

If fewer advertisers compete for more users, the price per impression will be relatively low. Based on early reports, the cost per 1000 impressions on TikTok is estimated to be much lower than on Facebook and Instagram. This means that you can reach users on Titkok for a much lower cost than when you advertise to those users on Facebook or Instagram. 

LESS DIRECT COMPETITION

Aside from the fact that the cost to reach a user is lower on TikTok, the number of competitors is also lower. It’s not always about the cost to reach the user that makes the difference, it’s also the way that you reach the user.

If you are selling a watch in an oversaturated market where the same user sees several ads per day of different brands that sell similar watches, the chances that he will purchase from your brand will be much lower. So converting users is more than just the cost you paid for an impression. 

In fact, some advertisers will be willing to pay a premium rate for having exclusivity over certain advertising spaces. Why do you think large companies pay a fortune for a billboard in a busy and popular area? It’s not just about how many people will see their advertising, it’s also about the fact that no other competitor will be displayed next to them. The same principle applies here. Fewer competitors mean a larger market share for your business and a more exclusive reach to users.

LESS INDIRECT COMPETITION

Decreased direct competition can help to increase your advertising performance, but indirect advertising also plays a huge role. Advertising on TikTok is not keyword-based which means you are not targeting users who have searched for your product. Instead, you are targeting users who might be interested in your product or in your market. 

That means that many different advertisers from completely different industries compete for the same users and the same ad space. If I am a 32-year-old male that shops online, TikTok will recommend hundreds of different ads that it thinks I might be interested in. If I make a few purchases a month and get targeted by hundreds of advertisers, each advertiser gets a very small chance of winning me over as a customer. If the number of advertisers drops and is lower, their chances increase. 

A lower amount of indirect advertisers will increase your chances of generating conversions from users on the platform as they won’t be exposed to as many ads. 

HEAVILY ENGAGED USERS LEAD TO INCREASE AD INVENTORY

Have a look at these stats:

Not only do users watch massive amounts of videos every day, but they also spend a lot of time creating videos and content on TikTok.

As advertisers, we look for spaces where content is heavily user-driven and organic as that’s where sponsored posts and ads tend to perform best because the market is not saturated with ads and users respond positively to ads when they are not overly exposed to them. 

IN SUMMARY

TikTok has blazed its way onto the social media platform and offers businesses a chance to capitalise on a fresh advertising avenue. Advertising on TikTok is currently by invite only and when you are accepted it opens up an exciting platform for you to reach a fresh new audience where there are low cost and little competition for your ads.