TikTok advertising: The complete guide

TikTok Advertising has become one of the most direct ways to reach modern shoppers. With billions of engaged users and unmatched creative potential, TikTok offers brands a unique path to awareness, engagement, and conversions. In this guide, you’ll learn how TikTok ads work, how to set up your first campaign, and how to optimize like a pro, so you can start generating real business impact fast.

Key takeaways

• TikTok Advertising delivers high engagement and strong conversion potential.

• Easy-to-use ad tools help brands create authentic, high-performing content.

• Precise targeting and simplified setup make TikTok ideal for all skill levels.

• Best practices: hook fast, stay native to the platform, and use trend-based storytelling.

Getting started with TikTok advertising

If you’re looking for an ad channel that combines scale, creativity, and conversion power, TikTok Advertising is a top contender. With 1.5+ billion active users and unmatched engagement levels, TikTok offers brands a unique opportunity to reach shoppers who are ready to buy. TikTok users are 1.5x more likely to purchase after seeing a product advertised on the platform.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to set up your ads in TikTok Ads Manager and follow proven tips to maximize your results.

Why advertise on TikTok?

TikTok gives brands an energetic creative space so that they can reach audiences who want authentic content and not polished commercials. Benefits include:

Effective engagement
Short-form video inspires participation, comments, and shares for the best chance to create viral momentum.

Creative ad tools
TikTok’s built-in video editors, templates, and effects make it easy to turn simple footage into scroll-stopping ads.

Outcome-based objectives
Choose goals such as awareness, traffic, leads, or conversions, and optimize based on measurable results.

Precise targeting
Reach audiences by demographics, interests, behavior, or allow TikTok’s algorithm to automatically optimize your distribution.

Robust reporting
Dashboard insights and custom reports help you track performance and refine your strategy.

How to advertise on TikTok​ in 7 steps

Step 1: Create your TikTok Ads Manager account

1. Go to TikTok Ads Manager and sign up using your email or phone number.

2. Add business details: location, time zone, industry, and currency.

3. Switch to a Business Account in the app:
   Settings & Privacy → Manage Account → Switch to Business Account

Step 2: Set up billing and payment

Add billing details, tax info, and choose manual or automatic payments.

Note: Once automatic payments are selected, you cannot switch back.

Step 3: Create a TikTok ad campaign

Click the red Create Ad button in your dashboard anytime to start building your campaign.

Step 4: Choose your campaign objective

TikTok offers four simplified objectives:

• Traffic – Drive visitors to your site or landing page.

• Community interaction – Grow followers, views, and engagement.

• Lead generation – Capture customer information via TikTok forms.

• Website conversions – Ideal for eCommerce brands focused on sales.

Step 5: Select your target audience

Choose between:

Automatic Audience
Let TikTok choose the best audience based on your goals, creative, and performance data.

Manual Targeting
Refine by:

• Location

• Gender, Age, and Language

• Interests (e.g., beauty, fitness, gaming)

• Behaviors (likes, comments, interactions)

Example: A skincare brand can target users interested in “Skincare,” “Beauty Enthusiasts,” or users engaging with related videos.

Step 6: Set your campaign budget and schedule

Your campaign budget is the amount that you’re willing to spend on running your ads. You can choose between a ‘Daily budget’ or a ‘Lifetime budget’. If you choose the first option, determine your daily ad spend (minimum $5) and how long you want your campaign to run. For flexible campaigns, choose the "No end date" option and stop it whenever you want.
Choose:

• Daily budget – Min. $5/day

• Lifetime budget – Spend cap over entire campaign

Select a fixed end date or run indefinitely with the No End Date option.

Step 7: Create your TikTok ad

1. Upload videos or build new creatives using TikTok’s templates.

2. Add ad text (12–100 characters; preview to avoid truncation).

3. Choose a CTA. Some examples of good CTA can be found below:

• Shop Now

• Learn More

• Sign Up

• Download Now

• Book Now

• Apply Now

• Contact Us

Click Submit to launch your ad.

3 TikTok ads best practices

1. Use the right content structure

As with all video ads, it’s important to have a hook, highlight your unique selling points, and end with a clear call-to-action. Here are some additional tips to make your ads stand out on TikTok:

• Hook viewers in the first 6 seconds with suspense or surprise to boost engagement and watch time.

• Introduce your product or value proposition within the first 3 seconds.

• Keep viewers engaged by making use of unique transitions, stickers, and graphics.

• End with a strong call-to-action so viewers know what action you want them to take.

Pro tip: Suspense or surprise in the first 6 seconds can drastically boost watch time.

2. Stay native to the platform

Using an ad that you’ve used on another ad platform on TikTok is setting yourself up for failure. The creatives that usually perform best are ones made specifically for TikTok. If you’re new to the platform, it’s a smart idea to spend some time watching popular TikToks to understand what works. To maximize your ad's impact, feature real people like creators, employees, or customers in a DIY, authentic style that resonates with TikTok's user-generated content.

3. Use trends as storytelling templates

Trends offer ready-made story frameworks. With 77% of users enjoying branded trend-based content, tapping into current sounds, memes, or challenges can significantly increase engagement.

Explore trending formats in TikTok’s Creative Center → Trends.

Tip: TikTok Ad Library is a goldmine for high-performing creative examples.

Learnings

• TikTok Advertising combines scale, creativity, and high-intent audiences.

• The platform’s tools and simplified Ads Manager make campaign setup fast.

• TikTok’s audience is conversion-ready and highly interactive.

• Authentic, trend-aware, fast-hooking content performs best.

• TikTok Advertising is essential for brands that want to grow in 2024 and beyond.

The bottom line

TikTok Advertising gives brands a chance to show up authentically, creatively, and powerfully in front of highly engaged consumers. With the right content structure and a trend-aware approach, you can turn TikTok into one of your highest-performing channels.

Want to go deeper into social commerce and cross-channel ad strategies?
Explore more insights on the Channable blog.