At the time of writing this guide, TikTok ads were not available to all countries. They were certainly available in the United States. To see if you can place ads on TikTok in your country please go to https://ads.tiktok.com

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TikTok started to show short ads in January 2019. Later in April 2019, TikTok launched the beta version of their managed service platform which created a biddable ad environment. Reps from TikTok will run the ads for you but this is sure to change. So here we want to explain the types of ads that are available on the TikTok platform.

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There are a few things that you need to know about TikTok ads first. You can only use an in-feed video ad. This is sensible as the platform is renowned for its short video clips. You have the choice of three different models with these ads:

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1. Cost Per Click (CPC)

2. Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM)

3. Cost Per View (CPV) – this is a 6-second view

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In terms of audience targeting, you can go for gender and age as well as geo-targeting at state level. Going forward TikTok plans to introduce other targeting options such as behavioral, interest, and more granular demographics.

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At the moment there is no minimum spend requirement but TikTok does encourage their advertisers to make an investment in ads that will be large enough to produce results and generate leads and sales.

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There is a feature to create custom lists but you will need to use a physical list for this as CRM integration isn’t currently available. In time there will certainly be a self-ad serve option and useful integrations.

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Brand Takeover Ads

If you want your ad to appear when a user opens TikTok then the brand takeover ad is right for you as it will present your ad front and center. With this type of ad, you will be able to drive TikTok users internally or to an external destination.

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Only one advertiser can use a brand takeover ad per category per day. Over time this is going to make these ads pretty expensive. At the top of the screen, the user can elect to skip the ad if it is not of interest to them.

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With brand takeover ads you will be able to measure reach through click rates, unique reaches and impressions. These are going to be effective ad types as the ads will be user friendly and designed to have an impact on the target audience.