As the platform grew, so did the features and advertising opportunities. After becoming a sensation itself, TikTok focused on creating a way to activate kindness in the hearts of more than 1 billion people who actively use the app. That’s why TikTok launched a social good program that helps non-profit organizations reach people, raise awareness and drive donations. This noble initiative allows organizations to use advanced tools such as donation stickers, promoted hashtags, account management and advanced analytics for their cause. 

It should be noted that their ‘TikTok For Good’ platform is limited to major campaigns, but this may change in the near future. Also, there are many other ways and proven practices to put your organization and cause on TikTok’s radar. Today, we will help you explore the strategies on how non-profit organizations can use TikTok as a platform to grab attention and grow their audience like never before!

Build your presence at every step

One of the easiest ways to promote the mission of your organization is by displaying a link on your profile page that will allow users to get familiar with your work and provide donations for the cause.

No matter if you are making first steps or have a longer history with TikTok, another way to quickly build your audience and awareness about your cause is identifying and featuring celebrities or well-known public/TikTok figures in your videos. Another option is having them to promote your work through their profiles. Either way, it will help spread the word and reach new potential supporters of your organization.

Also, don’t hesitate to use TikTok LIVE and start interacting with your followers in real time. This can work great to answer specific questions, host panel discussions, do „behind-the-scene“ tours and bring followers closer to your volunteers and staff members and their everyday work.

Whatever you decide to do, remember that creativity is the key factor for the success of your content. Avoid polished aesthetics, sterile and formal communication. Don’t be afraid to show the real side of your organization, because authenticity is the foundation of standing out in a crowded digital space.

Educate your viewers

Even though the most important rule of TikTok is the principle of „entertainment-first“, educational and informational content is key for nonprofit organizations. And there are a lot of ways to make them interesting while staying mission-related.

Facts, statistics, insights or tutorials using text on the screen and with the right narration can also be captivating and intriguing. And if one video can’t cover all the important information you want to share of incredible work you do – there’s no need to worry. Creating a series of videos that cover different aspects of the same subject can keep your potential supporters longer on your profile as long as you keep it short, snappy and interactive.

Use the algorithm to your advantage!

Your Discover page is a place where trends are constantly circulating and serves as a great place for what might be the best way to go viral. 

You can do this by using trending sounds and songs that you can implement into your videos. In the same way, using trending hashtags can give your videos the best chance of landing on users’ “For You” page. Being part of the latest “hashtag challenge“ or launching your own can maximize the reach of your mission.

Consistency is a great way when aiming to grow your TikTok account. That’s why posting at least once daily is considered a must when we talk about TikTok. As well as posting regularly, you should post at peak times for maximum engagement. This may seem challenging to achieve on a daily basis, but simply repurposing content from all your social networks can be a lifesaver.

Also in-app tools can help you to create outstanding pieces of content and attract additional attention – that’s why you should definitely try TikTok’s duet, react, reply with video and stitch options.

Learn from the best!

Despite the serious and urgent cause of your organization, creating and sharing funny, entertaining videos in classic TikTok style can take you a long way. And there’s a lot of great cases that prove this is true! You can get ahead of the game by following best practices – organizations that already racked up the numbers on TikTok.

St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital is another that leverages TikTok to build a huge follower base. With the right mix of educational videos, testimonials and content made purely for entertainment, St. Jude’s finds a way to make its content relatable and gain traction for its cause.

Unicef, as one of the most recognized nonprofits, leads the way when it comes to TikTok, too. Featuring some of the biggest influencers of the platform in their videos to grab attention, sharing inspiring stories of children around the world and swift educational videos are the reason behind the success story of Unicef on TikTok.

Oceana is another great example of nonprofits using TikTok for good, in a good way. An organization that works to save oceans and feed the world, shows the regular life of the irresistible ocean animals motivating viewers to help in conserving the ocean life.

This is just a fraction of the good work nonprofits do on TikTok when it comes to promoting their missions and causes. You can always find organizations close to your line of work and inspire yourself.

How can you do more with TikTok?

Being devoted to your cause is one thing. Being devoted to engaging with your audience and highlighting the important work you do is a whole other story! Finding the right approach might take some trial and error, and if you’ve taken some of the advice we suggested without concrete results – don’t worry! Expanding your TikTok audience can happen out of the blue, the most important thing is to keep giving your best and experimenting. 

TikTok is here to stay – the time and energy you invest in this platform to gain awareness and tell your story in a new and engaging way to an audience you might not reach in another way. 

You can also consider putting the promotion of your work in the hands of experts specialized in TikTok marketing. Our team can help you take steps in the right direction and become a part of the latest global trends. Get in touch with us today and let’s identify the best strategy for the needs of your organization – we will be more than happy to guide you along the new ways of digital marketing and exciting opportunities that TikTok has to offer.

The post Unlocking the Power of TikTok: A Game-Changer for Nonprofits! appeared first on A 2023 Marketing Agency | Adcoom Corporation.

From discovery to purAdcoom through the For You Page 

TikTok has become the go-to platform for holiday shopping list research and planning. The entertaining and, more importantly, edutaining nature of the platform is ideal for finding inspiration for gifts and shopping locations. The For You Page (FYP) represents an enormous pool of possibilities when it comes to holiday inspiration. In fact, one in two TikTok users will use this page for holiday shopping content, according to TikTok Marketing Science US Holiday Purchasing Research by Material. 

What this means is that brands need to reach as many users as possible through their For You pages, making sure, of course, to reach the ones that align the best with the brand’s target audience. 

Now, there’s no single bullet-proof way for brands to make sure they’ll appear on their target audiences’ For You pages, but several things can certainly help, and hashtags are among the most important ones. 

This season, try the most popular holiday TikTok hashtags: #Holiday, #HolidayModeActivated, #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, #BlackFriday and #GiftIdeas. 

The content you post with these hashtags has to be aligned with its scope, which means it should educate and entertain while keeping the holiday spirit with appropriate visuals (which should correspond to the specific holiday you’re targeting). 

Prepare your holiday marketing funnel 

From Awareness through Consideration to Conversion, the marketing funnel needs to be aligned with the marketing objectives during the holiday season. These objectives may differ from the regular, considering the specific nature of the season. 

1. In the Awareness stage, the ad formats that perform best are Top View, Top Feed Ad and In-Feed Ad. The auction objectives are reach and frequency. In this stage, you’re still taking the TikTok-first approach. You still want to keep the viewers within the app, while you build brand recognition and awareness, establishing the brand as part of the community. 

The content should be engaging and should encourage the viewers to participate. The best-performing content is created around humor, viral sounds and trends. Also, at this stage, native content works best.  

2. In the Consideration stage, Top View, Top Feed Ad and In-Feed Ad are still the preferred formats. The auction objectives should be set to video views, engagement and traffic. 

As for the content, after you’ve got the audience to listen and pay attention (in the Awareness stage), it’s time to entertain and educate – edutain. Types of content that work best in this stage are tips and tricks, life hacks and product reviews. This is the time when brands are providing value to the community, by teaching them something or entertaining them. 

3. Finally, it’s time for the Conversion. This bottom-of-the-funnel stage is all about inspiring action to leave TikTok, which is not an easy task since the app is so addictive and engaging. To do so, brands need to create a sense of urgency, and the holiday season is perhaps the ideal moment to do so. Also, if you set up a TikTok Shop account, brands can convert customers within the app.

In addition to creating FOMO, brands should also consider sales and promotions, and create “Where/How to buy?” content. At this stage, it’s best to focus on In-Feed Ads, and the auction objective is web conversions. 

Boost the holiday spirit with creatives

There should be no difference in creative approach throughout the funnel during the holiday season. In line with the holiday spirit, the creatives should be funny, cheerful, and positive, and should both entertain and edu-tain. 

If you’re stuck with inspiration or need to create visuals quickly, using AI tools for suggestions, tips and material is always a good idea. 

Viral sounds and holiday music are encouraged. The ads should be native, and, as usual, pairing with influencers and niche creators is a plus (the TikTok Creator Marketplace is your go-to place to find partnerships). Ads that encourage viewers to participate, as well as life hacks, always perform well during the holiday season. 

Align the tools with the funnel stages

TikTok has an amazing toolset of products for boosting reach, traffic and conversions through ads and native content. Most are geared towards eCommerce and should be used to the max during the pre-holiday and holiday seasons. 

For instance, display cards and stickers are excellent for the Awareness stage of the funnel. Display cards can be used in other stages too, since they are interactive and can be used to convey a range of messages. They can also be used to take visitors to your landing page or let the audience know about your holiday deals and specials. 

For audiences in the Consideration stage, brands can use countdowns for special offers or holiday sales. Countdowns are available as ready-made interactive add-ons on TikTok. Instant Pages are another great tool at this stage. These are the pages that load very quickly and within the app, and can be used to display videos, images, product carousels, etc. 

Instant Pages work well for the Conversion stage too, along with gift code stickers. At this point, the audience is about to purAdcoom so you want to make the final gentle push towards that objective, and you want to make it as streamlined as possible. 

Video shopping ads, which are shoppable in-app ads connected to your catalog, should be on even before the holiday season starts and pushed right through the final days. Pre-season, these ads help the audience learn about your brand, and during the season they serve for prospecting and retargeting. Other TikTok Shop features are also worth exploring, like Live Shopping and Product Showcases. 

Optimize for Search Ads

TikTok Search Ads represent an enormous potential for expanding the reach and boosting brand awareness. During the holiday season, brands need to make sure their campaigns are expanded to include specific queries in the search bar. Optimizing for this feature means trying to appear among the first results a user sees when searching for a term on TikTok. These results are labeled as “Sponsored,” similar to Google search ads. 

This is an excellent tool for targeting users who already know what they want to purAdcoom for holidays. More and more people use the TikTok search feature like they use Google, and this is especially true during the holiday season since audiences are aware a lot of brands will have a shopping functionality set up within the app. 

TikTok Holiday Tips and Best Practices

Here are some things brands can do to leverage the potential of the holiday season on TikTok and to maximize the effect of their campaigns: 

1. Start early

For brands, agencies and advertisers, preparations for the holidays should start as early as August. Late summer is the right time for connecting with partners or agencies (for brands that don’t have an in-house team), and for planning the holiday strategy. If you’re already late for this stage, don’t worry, start whenever you can by reaching out to TikTok marketing experts. 

September and October should serve for learning about your audience, trending content and creators, and for doing some testing. 

Bear in mind that holiday shopping starts mid-October/early November, so by that time you want to have your strategy in place. 

2. Prepare a variety of creatives

Holiday creatives can’t be tested mid-campaign, so brands should have more than one type of creative content in place. When the campaigns start, the strategy can be tweaked by using ad creatives that have been shown to perform better. 

3. Cultivate an “always on” approach

Although holiday season may sound like the right time to conduct burst marketing with hard sales and ads delivered in a specific period, for a fixed amount of time, the “always on” approach or drip marketing is actually better for maximizing efficiency with audiences primed to shop. This means marketing that’s running 24/7/365. The drip marketing approach is the safest way to build awareness and retention, so when the time comes for holiday shopping, your TikTok audience will already know who to turn to. 

4. Go full-on with effects and challenges

Holidays are the right time to spice up your campaigns with the creative tools available in the app. Branded effects are ideal for the season – they are primed for discovery and suitable for all ad formats. TikTok users love filters and effects so when you offer them your own branded effects in line with the holiday spirit, they can become valuable brand ambassadors. 

Brands should also seek to embrace holiday-themed challenges. Each year a new challenge goes viral for Halloween, Christmas and New Year, so keep a keen eye on trends and jump on the bandwagon to maximize the viral potential. 

Follow the trends not just for hashtags and challenges, but for creative content that has the potential for virality. For instance, many TikTokers enjoy creating anti-unboxing content around holidays. Brands can use this trend to showcase top product features and increase brand awareness.

5. Team up with TikTok marketing experts

To truly maximize the potential of the holiday shopping season on TikTok, it’s best to find a reliable and experienced partner to help you create a streamlined and efficient holiday strategy. Our Adcoom team of TikTok marketing experts will be more than happy to help so reach out today and let’s create a campaign to remember!

The post Best TikTok Holiday Strategies for Brands appeared first on A 2023 Marketing Agency | Adcoom Corporation.

Fortunately, there are already well-established and highly functional solutions to bypass these issues, to establish server-side tracking and optimize performance on the main social networking platforms. TikTok Events API (aka TikTok Conversion API) and Facebook Conversions API (or Facebook CAPI for short) are both such server-side solutions for tracking events. When combined, the two promise optimal attribution tracking and insights into marketing performance on these platforms. 

Understanding the cookieless problem 

In general, cookies are bits of HTML that store information about a user performing a certain action through identifiers like registration numbers or session IDs. These identifiers are exchanged between advertisers in order to track and measure ad performance. 

As user privacy and security on the web are becoming more important for all parties involved, major players like Google, Firefox and Apple, to name just a few, have begun phasing out third-party cookies, which are believed to be not just a privacy, but also a security concern.  Regulations like GDPR and CCPA now require users to consent to the use of third-party cookies, with a great number of users simply rejecting them. 

Phasing out of the cookies isn’t the only concerning trend for marketers right now. Pixel solutions, like TikTok Pixel and Facebook Pixel (or Meta Pixel, if you wish) cannot be rejected by users as easily as cookies, but they are affected by other issues, most notably by ad blockers. 

The solution for these social advertising platform issues lies in server-side (S2S) tracking. 

Server-side tracking to the rescue

TikTok server-side tracking (just like Meta server-side tracking) is a more secure and more privacy-friendly way for marketers to track their conversions. In this tracking methodology, when a user clicks on a link or generates an ad impression, it creates a unique identifier (ID). This ID is stored and when the conversion happens, the ID is pulled out and matched with the click on the ad link. That way we can know for sure that it was this particular user that made this particular conversion, and track the conversion path. 

The click ID alone packs some important information – the location, the browser, operating system, ISP, time and date. All this information is sent back along with the unique ID, allowing the marketers to know exactly when, where and how the conversion took place. 

The main difference between server-side and client-side (or browser-side) tracking lies in where the information is collected and stored. In client-side tracking, it all happens within the browser, in which case tracking can be disabled using the browser’s native functionality, or using an ad blocker.

In server side tracking, the information is sent from the user’s browser to the advertiser’s web server and then to the advertising platform, so the conversion events can be recorded. By moving third-party cookies out of your website into server side processing through the cloud, that converts them into first-party cookies, which are less restricted by most privacy policies. This type of server side tracking isn’t obstructed by ad blockers which gives access to richer data. Since the quantity of code running in the browser is reduced, your website will load quicker. That provides a better user experience and is beneficial for improved SEO.

Available tools for server side tracking

Developing a native solution for server side tracking is way too complicated, time-consuming and resource-heavy for most marketers. If you are advertising on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok, you need to know about the platforms’ unique solutions designed just for this purpose, the Meta Conversions API (Facebook CAPI) and the TikTok Events API.

Bear in mind that, when you integrate these server side tracking solutions, it doesn’t mean you have to forgo TikTok tracking pixel or Meta tracking pixel. Pixels are still valid, they’re still important and they still provide valuable insight. However, since server-to-server tracking can overcome certain issues that surround the use of pixels, it is recommended to use both methods: to combine conversion APIs with appropriate pixels. 

The challenge with having both the server side tracking and also using a tracking pixel is that conversions are frequently double counted. This requires deduplication. Although this can be a bit complicated, a good TikTok Events API and Meta Conversion API expert can implement this correctly, so you get the best accurate conversion data possible:
TikTok Events API and Facebook Conversions API (Meta/Facebook CAPI). 

For a truly comprehensive approach and maximum ad optimization, you should also consider combining TikTok conversion API with Facebook CAPI. 

Why you should use both TikTok Events API and Facebook CAPI

TikTok Events API (sometimes referred to as TikTok Conversion API) and Facebook Conversion API or Meta CAPI (yes, the names can get confusing but they all mean the same thing) are basically the same solutions designed for different platforms. 

TikTok Events API is a server-side solution that provides marketers with a secure, reliable and precise connection between TikTok and their ad data (through the website, the app or CRM). The interface sends the events or actions that customers take to TikTok, allowing marketers to understand which customer took which action, when, how, where, etc. That way, the Events API helps marketers improve attribution tracking. 

The Meta Conversions API is a similar tool designed for tracking Facebook conversions. It provides a secure channel for exchanging marketing data with Meta, which can include website and app data and even offline conversions. 

Here are a couple of reasons why every marketer should consider using both these APIs in order to optimize ad campaign tracking and targeting. 

1. Wider scope for better attribution tracking

It only makes sense that covering more angles gives you better visibility. By collecting information on conversions coming from both the Facebook and the TikTok ads, you’re gaining a much wider picture and collecting insights about a much wider audience. 

Using both TikTok Events API and Facebook CAPI, you can get information on different touchpoints and determine their role in driving the final conversion. This is vital for identifying the channels that perform better and provide a better ROI, but also for understanding which touchpoints could use improvement. 

2. More accurate performance evaluation

Using both pixel tracking and server-side tracking provides the most visibility into your performance. And if you use both methods for two platforms – Facebook and TikTok – you’re essentially casting a larger net and providing more valuable data for your strategy.

Bear in mind, though, that in this case it’s crucial to have deduplication set up correctly. 

If you connect your website, app or CRM activity to the platforms using both pixel and Events API, you will get duplicate data, or data that describes the same event. One of the events is therefore redundant and should be discarded, which is what we call deduplication. This is a necessary step if you’re tracking the same events. If you want to track different events, for instance to track Add to Cart events from the browser, and PurAdcoom events from the server, you don’t have to set up deduplication as these are completely different events. 

3. Improved segmentation and targeting

The math is quite simple here – the more audience you cover, and on more channels, the better your ability to segment it. TikTok Events API and Facebook or Meta CAPI give you accurate and secure data on how your audiences behave on each marketing platform. Using this data, you can segment the audiences better.

Additionally, using both the Meta Conversion API and TikTok Events API will enhance the ability for cross-platform retargeting of the ideal potential customers.

4. Bypassing issues like ad blockers or opting out of cookies

Like we said, TikTok server-side tracking, just like Facebook server-side tracking, gives marketers a chance to recover data that is otherwise lost to various technical issues like customers using ad blockers or in-built browsing functionalities that prevent cookies. Plus, more and more people are opting out of cookies by selecting “No” or “Deny” in the opt-in forms that you’re required to show if you’re using cookies. 

Because they are server-to-server solutions, TikTok API and Facebook Conversions API are not affected by ad blockers like Facebook and TikTok Pixel are. 

The Bottom Line

The takeaway here is quite simple: if your marketing strategy is cross-platform and if you’re placing ads on Meta (Facebook/Instagram) and TikTok, combining the two conversion APIs will enhance your retargeting abilities, improve attribution tracking and optimize your campaign performance. All the better if you use the APIs along with pixels:

Facebook Pixel + Facebook CAPI + TikTok Pixel + TikTok Events API = a formula that will optimize your marketing performance on these two major platforms. 

If you have any questions about how to set it all up or you’re looking for the right approach for TikTok and Facebook advertising, the Adcoom team of experts is always at your disposal. Contact us, and we’ll help you correctly implement your server side tracking that will maximize your ROI. 

The post Top Reasons for Facebook CAPI and TikTok Events API appeared first on A 2023 Marketing Agency | Adcoom Corporation.

In the era of digital marketing, and with the expansion of social networks, UGC has become much simpler to implement. People create this sort of content from their social media accounts, becoming brand ambassadors. But, when it comes to the potential of user-generated content, not all social networks are the same. Some are more suitable for this, and bear a much richer potential for driving conversions via UGC – and the absolutely best one is TikTok. 

In this article, we set out to discover how businesses can leverage user-generated content on TikTok to build trust and authenticity in their TikTok advertising campaigns. 

What is TikTok user-generated content? 

By definition, user-generated content is any content that is created by real users, as opposed to brand-created content like ads, for instance. Any user-to-user content can be user-generated content, but in marketing, when we talk about UGC, we talk about the content that also carries the brand message, promotes it and spreads awareness about it. 

TikTok is a creator-oriented platform. It’s all about what we users post, much less what the brands post. Sure, brands can create high-performing content, and there are also TikTok ads, but the messages that come from peers, from actual users, are much more powerful. 

What makes TikTok user-generated content special? 

Over time, TikTok has grown to become a community. While other networks have influencers with status of stars, TikTok has micro-, even nano-influencers. These are the creators that excel in their chosen niche, and creators that their followers trust. The relationship between creators and their audience (the audience who are, in turn, also creators) is a dynamic and trusting one. As such, it is ideal for brands to create authentic TikTok content and a strong relationship with their target audience. 

TikTok user-generated content represents a remarkable opportunity for brands to boost their growth. The process is extremely simple: a user discovers a product on TikTok, tries it out and creates a post about it. The brand then reposts the content which new users discover, purAdcoom and post about. This cycle is incredibly simple, incredibly efficient and – incredibly cheap. 

In addition to a very short turnaround time and generally low production costs (TikTok favors unpolished, raw and authentic content), user-generated content on the platform also means faster community validation. TikTok users tend to trust peer recommendations more than brands, so if a creator delivers your brand message in their authentic content, it also means you gain social proof faster. 

Essential steps for leveraging TikTok user-generated content

Using TikTok UGC to grow your brand effectively implies keeping in mind several important things and steps that need to be completed. 

1. Know your audience

To be able to use UGC to grow your brand, whether it’s an organic post or an ad campaign, you first need to understand the person you’re directing it to, and to understand them well. 

You probably already know who your potential customers are – hopefully, you have created a buyer persona that you use in your marketing strategies. You need to apply what you know about that persona to your TikTok audience, and to target them, using the rich set of options available in the TikTok Ads Manager platform. 

You need to find out what sort of content your ideal customer enjoys on TikTok and how he or she engages with it. 

2. Find the right creator

After identifying your customers and their needs, the next step is to team up with creators who fit the bill. At this point, your strategy should already be informed around the objective (which can be awareness, consideration, conversion…) and the main value proposition of the message. 

To find the right creator, first look into your audience and learn about the creators they enjoy the most, and the ways they interact with them. You will discover a number of creators that can potentially be used for your user-generated content. If their profile meets your strategy and your objectives, it’s time to reach out to them and work out a deal. 

At this point, the TikTok Creator Marketplace will be of tremendous help. It’s a platform that brands can use to discover the right creators and the creators can use it to find work. 

In general, it’s recommended to start with “smaller” influencers. Oftentimes, a creator who is influential within your narrow niche will produce a better result than a “big time” influencer that charges a lot and can hardly squeeze you in their schedule. In addition to being cheaper, smaller influencers have a higher engagement rate and actually convert better. 

The creators you team up with need to have a good sense for storytelling and have to be able to understand and embrace not just your message and tone, but also your mission and vision. 

3. Be clear when negotiating a contract

Some brands choose to work with agencies and other third-party partners to source influencers. Some rely solely on TikTok Creator Marketplace, and some favor a more personal approach and contact the creators directly. Whatever route you choose, you need to have a solid contract that will protect and benefit both you and the creator you choose. 

When it comes to negotiating contracts, you may want to use your in-house legal team, but you should also consider working with a TikTok marketing agency that provides end-to-end services in this department. 

The contract needs to be clear and precise, of course, but it also needs to be fair to the creator. This is important because, once you find the perfect creators for your user-generated content, you will probably want to work with them again, or repeatedly, so it’s important that they’re happy with the conditions, too. 

4. Provide detailed, thorough briefs

Creating a set of creative guidelines and a detailed brief for each UGC ad is vital. It helps keep everyone happy and it also helps save time and money. 

A good brief should include basic do’s and don’ts, in terms of the message itself, the tone, the language, the visuals, etc. It needs to specify the objective and the target audience, the preferred format, and the main value proposition. 

Furthermore, if the creator is going to be needing your product for the ad, you need to make sure they have it, along with other technical and practical requirements. 

Once you send the brief over, you may want to ask the creator to pitch a few ideas for you to choose from. 

5. Decide on the type of ad 

TikTok user-generated content can be used in organic posts or in paid ads. Essentially, when a creator posts the content you’ve agreed upon, you can repost it as a TikTok Spark Ad. You can do this even for UGC posts that creators post on their own, without an agreement with you. However, in this case, you have to ask their permission to repost the content. A Spark Ad, being essentially a repost, includes everything the original organic post contains, plus a CTA to your landing page or your TikTok Instant page. The ad can be reposted from the brand’s official account, or from a Custom Identity – another, official and authorized account. 

UGC can also be used in a paid ad campaign, in which case, the content is usually launched from the brand’s official account and managed through TikTok Ad Manager.

6. Measure and analyze the results

Once your user-generated content ad launches, it’s a good idea to both save a copy of it for future reference or repurposing, and to record its data and analytics. The metrics should include reach, views, watch time and any follows you might get after the ad is displayed. You can use these insights to see how the TikTok UGC fares against the other ads you’re posting, as well as against your organic posts that do not involve UGC, if you have any. 

You can also use the material for repurposing on other platforms. In this case, use the analytics to learn which platforms clicked better with your UGC, on which platforms the content can be 100% repurposed and on which it will require some adjustments. 

Note that, when the campaign is over and you’re measuring the results, you can’t just look at CPA alone. That is the cost of the ad through the platform, but it needs some additional numbers to show you the actual spend. For instance, it needs to contain the creator fee, as well as costs for goods provided. Now, once you get a more accurate number, look into the total ROI which will determine whether this course of action was a good choice for you. 

Find the right growth partner

Unless you have a team of growth experts specializing in TikTok marketing, creating successful UGC campaigns can be tricky and time-consuming. TikTok is a highly specific platform, with particular dynamics and a rich ecosystem of creators and influencers. Building trust and establishing authority in any industry is a time-consuming process in which even a small mishap can take you back several steps. 
Unless you are one hundred percent confident you know TikTok like the back of your hand, it’s best to reach out to professionals who can help you chart your growth based on where you’re at now and where you want to get, using the rich array of tools and features the platform offers to advertisers. Get in touch with us today and let’s find the best way to harness the power of user-generated content in your favor!

The post Leveraging User-Generated Content in TikTok Ads appeared first on A 2023 Marketing Agency | Adcoom Corporation.

TikTok Events API is one of the surest ways to use events data to power your dynamic TikTok ads, get better attribution and improve custom targeting. 

This server-to-server connection mode allows you to send visitor events from your business website or app back to TikTok. 

The data is processed in a way much similar to TikTok Pixel, but it comes with some significant advantages, which is why it is recommended to use them both for optimal results. 

Let’s take a look at what TikTok Events API is and how it can help you boost your campaign performance. 

TikTok Events API – advanced TikTok conversion tracking

TikTok Events API is a server-to-server interface designed to provide advertisers with a secure and reliable connection between TikTok and ad marketing data (website, app, CRM, server). Using this channel, marketers can send events or actions their customers take directly to TikTok. 

The concept is similar to that of the Facebook Conversions API, for instance. It is also what the TikTok Pixel does, but with a significant advantage. 

The problem with Pixel is that it’s not always accurate, and, because of ad blockers, it doesn’t always work. 

TikTok Events API gets around this issue, and it also allows you to customize the events you want to share with TikTok, thanks to rich privacy options. You can set which specific events you want to track and share with TikTok, and you can also specify the timing. 

Ad blockers – no longer a problem! 

The browser-side TikTok Pixel is fine, but it is powerless when faced with ad blockers. By implementing TikTok Events API (or, ideally, combining the two, but more on that later), you get to bypass this issue, since TikTok Events API can work around not just ad blockers but also iOS tracking restrictions and cookie ban. 

It also guarantees a steady flow of data to TikTok regardless of various client-side issues, such as poor connectivity or clearing their browser.

The TikTok Events API advantage is that by capturing all relevant conversions, marketers can significantly improve measurement and targeting. 

More control over what you share with TikTok

The TikTok Events API allows marketers to specify which exact events they want to track and send back to TikTok. You get to decide which data you want to share, and you can even specify at what times. For instance, you may want to share add to cart events but only on specific days or at specific times. The point is that data sharing privacy settings allow you to share only the data that aligns with your marketing objectives and that you can actually benefit from. 

Moreover, with server-side tracking (as opposed to browser-side), the privacy of your customers is protected, too. 

Events API + Pixel = The most complete solution

In order to keep up with the changes in the advertising ecosystem and to make sure not to miss a single potential conversion, TikTok recommends incorporating both TikTok Events API and the TikTok Pixel. That way you can keep your existing campaigns in place while perfecting the connection between your business and the TikTok platform and its rich advertising tools. 

What does the Events API+Pixel combination do?

• Allows you to broaden the scope of shared  conversions 
• Helps improve measurements throughout the entire funnel
• Optimizes TikTok ad delivery 
• Improves creation of customer audiences
• Helps you adapt to ad industry changes

There are a few considerations to keep in mind here, though. 

First of all, TikTok Events API is more resource-intensive than TikTok Pixel. The TikTok Pixel is lightweight, quick and automated, and the TikTok Events API requires a server on which to store customer information such as Click ID, Advanced Matching, IP address and User Agent. In most cases, it also requires dedicated staff (developers, martech experts, etc). 

Additionally, if you plan to use TikTok Events API and TikTok Pixel side by side, you need to create a setup that mirrors the Pixel setup. Because you will capture and share the same events, you will need to set up deduplication between the two data attribution channels, which means discarding one of the two identical events to prevent redundancy. This means that, when setting up TikTok Events API, you will also need to set aside some time to set up deduplication. 

How to set up the TikTok Events API? 

If you’ve decided to set up the TikTok Events API (and ideally to combine it with the TikTok Pixel), there are a few ways to go about it. 

• Commerce Partner integration: if you are working with a TikTok Commerce partner, you can set up the integration directly in the TikTok’s Events Manager. It only takes a few minutes and the process is rather straightforward, but the data deduplication will require some past knowledge to make sure it is working properly. A good TikTok Events API developer can help with that.
• Data Partner Integration: for those teaming up with a TikTok Data Partner, which includes CMSs, CDPs or Tag Managers, the interaction should be carried out through your partner. Again, there is need for some experience to set this up correctly and to make sure the data is deduplicated.
• Direct Integration: for advertisers that want to handle the integration themselves, with complete control and autonomy from the partner platforms and solutions, direct integration is available following TikTok’s Marketing API guidelines. Note that this method will require the help of developers. 

Once you’ve completed the integration, it is recommended to define a range of matching data in order to further optimize ad targeting. 

TikTok recommends sharing the following match keys in order to accurately identify and track website visitors to TikTok users and measure their events: 

• Click ID
• First-party cookies
• Advanced matching (hashing required): email, phone, external ID
• User agent and user IP address

TikTok Events API Success

From what we outlined today, it’s clear that no TikTok advertiser should skip adding TikTok Events API to their marketing toolset. 

The TikTok Events API is a powerful, secure and streamlined way to give a huge boost to your TikTok advertising optimization efforts, by making sure all relevant conversions are accurately tracked and measured. More insights lead to better TikTok targeting and attribution, and better overall success of the campaigns. 

Combined with the TikTok Pixel, the TikTok Events API offers a complete solution that overcomes many of the obstacles in today’s advertising ecosystem and provides a clear and accurate insight into the dynamics between a business and its TikTok ads. 

We also saw that setting up TikTok Events API correctly and preventing duplicate signals requires some time and know-how. The Adcoom TikTok technical marketing experts are at your disposal to give you a hand with anything you might need – get in touch and let’s boost your TikTok campaigns together!

The post Advantages of the TikTok Events API appeared first on A 2023 Marketing Agency | Adcoom Corporation.

What Is TikTok Creator Marketplace? 

The name “TikTok Creator Marketplace” is rather self-explanatory: it is a platform where advertisers can source creators to participate in their campaigns, create branded content and promote brands. It is also a place where TikTok creators who’ve already made a significant presence on the platform can earn money by creating content for brands. 

The TikTok Creator Marketplace has revolutionized the way brands and creators collaborate, opening up a world of exciting opportunities for both parties. With this powerful tool, content creators can now monetize their skills, expand their reach, and build meaningful partnerships with brands seeking authentic and engaging content.

The platform streamlines the collaboration process between creators and brands. It allows brands to browse available creators and analyze their profiles to find the best match. It also gives them access to first-party data, as well as the ability to track campaign performance in real time. It minimizes the time needed to find the right creator to work with and provides tools for optimizing the collaboration. 

How to join TikTok Creator Marketplace? 

If you use TikTok for advertising, you already have an active TikTok Ad Manager account. You can use the same credentials to log into the Creator Marketplace. If not, a TikTok advertising agency can set up everything for you.

After completing the profile with the company logo, a brief description and links, you can start browsing the creator profiles and reaching out to those that seem like a good fit. 

The procedure is a bit more complicated for creators as they need to meet certain eligibility criteria (age, follower count, engagement, video content, etc). 

How to select and source the creators? 

The TikTok Creator Marketplace offers a quick and simple overview of available creators, with basic information: typical response times, content category, the number of followers and top audience segments. If that sparks your interest, clicking on their username will give you access to first-party data: 

• Core metrics
• Sample organic or branded content
• Audience age and gender
• Active/inactive users
• Audience device type
• Audience location
• Profile trends and
• Similar creators

The profile has a button that you can use to invite the creator to the campaign. It is highly advised to vet the creator before starting the collaboration, or even inviting them, as it saves time and prevents failed collaborations. 

At this point you can also see the creator’s approximate rate which you can use in determining whether they’re the right fit for you. 

As for the data, it is recommended to look for consistency and/or growth over time. Also, make sure to check out their content to see if it aligns with your brand and the sort of content you want to create. 

4 types of collaboration through TikTok Creator Marketplace

There are four collaboration workflows or types of collaboration you can initiate with creators: 

1. Direct invitation.

In this type, the brand invites the creator to collaborate. Negotiation and content reviews and approvals are handled directly through TikTok Creator Marketplace. 

In this type, you start with a brief and negotiate a rate and partnership terms. These include the content guide, specific deliverables and their timeline. The notifications are sent to creators 72h before the deadline. 

In the next step, creators submit a concept, a script or a video draft. The advertiser confirms or rejects the concept and confirms the posting schedule. If approved, when the post is ready, it will need to be approved in the Creator Marketplace platform, where the payment also takes place. 

2. Open Application campaigns.

This type is something of a casting call for creators. Advertisers create a brief and specify creator criteria and then the creators apply with a pitch, their rate and sample videos. Advertisers then review the applications and accept the ones that work for them, after which they share the collaboration details with the selected creators. 

One benefit of this type of collaboration is that it saves the time that would otherwise be spent on browsing the creators. It also allows advertisers to partner up with creators with specific and unique visions and unsearchable attributes. Plus, there are filters that can be applied to help find relevant creators faster. 

Note that this type can be combined with Direct Invitation in order to maximize the chances to find the right creator. 

3. Invite Links.

This is a brand new campaign type that’s not yet available to the general audience and has to be applied for. In this type, advertisers can invite creators to participate in campaigns outside of the TikTok Creator Marketplace by generating a public link for creators to upload videos. 

With Invite Links, advertisers can work with any creator on TikTok (over 18), not just those within the Creator Marketplace platform. They can still leverage the platform’s reporting and performance tools and get first-party data on the creator they selected. 

After you create a campaign, simply click on Invite Link. You can then send the link to the creator via offline channels. Since any creator with the link will be able to upload videos to the campaign, make sure to send the link only to those you really want to work with. 

Insights about the Invite Links campaign are available in the Reporting menu. 

4. Campaign Codes.

This is another way for advertisers to connect content posted outside of TikTok Creator Marketplace and still use the platform’s reporting and Ad Auth. With this tool, advertisers get TikTok Creator Marketplace reporting, authorization codes and campaign organization. Campaign Codes can only be used through Direct Invitation and Open Application campaigns.

The Campaign Code is found within an active Direct Invitation or Open Application campaign. Before or after a post has gone live, the creator links it to the TikTok Creator Marketplace reporting. The advertiser shares the code with the creator, and he or she then toggles the Branded Content toggle on within the Ad Manager, clicks on “Link Campaign,” enters the Campaign Code and clicks on “Sync.” 

TikTok Creator Marketplace Add-ons

As we saw, the platform provides a lot of ways to simplify and streamline creator collaborations. First-party data and platform-specific reporting help optimize the campaigns, but that’s not all. The Creator Marketplace also features a couple of exclusive add-ons to further boost campaign performance. 

Specifically, there are TikTok Creator Marketplace Anchors, solutions that help deliver a native in-app experience within ad campaigns and branded content. 

So far, advertisers can leverage the Gaming Anchor and Comment Anchor.

Gaming Anchor is aimed at mobile gaming clients partnering up with creators. Creators add a link in their post leading to the partner’s landing page, from where users can be led to the app store and download the app. It is an excellent tool for driving brand awareness and boosting downloads using creator marketing. 

Comment Anchor is a similar tool that generates a link that creators post in the comments below their branded content posts. Again, the link leads to a special landing page where users can take further action.

Tips for reaching out and creating the perfect brief

TikTok Creator Marketplace provides the necessary solutions but the success of a creator campaign will be depend on how healthy its foundation is. Essentially, on frank and clear negotiation, and on the good brief. 

After finding the right creator, advertisers make the initial outreach. At this stage, it is important to state that it will be a paid partnership, to describe the brand, the goal and the offer. 

The offer should include specifics, with all the important elements outlined as early as possible. 

During the negotiating phase, it is vital to treat creators professionally and to find an equitable and fair deal. This will shorten the process and minimize the back-and-forth. Plus it will help create a strong relationship with the creator that can be repeated in the future for mutual benefit. 

The creative brief sent out to select creators should include: 

• Brand profile and overview
• Campaign messaging and creative
• Timeline
• Campaign CTA
• Elements you want to include
• Elements you explicitly want to avoid

It would also help to provide some sample posts as creative guidelines. 

Remember that, while it’s your job to provide the general outline, goals and state the deliverables clearly, you really should just let the creators create. Allow for flexibility and freedom because, after all, creating content is what they do best and they know best what works and what doesn’t in their niche. Also, allow or even encourage them to deliver the brand message in their own voice and tone. 

The TikTok Creator Marketplace is an excellent, feature-rich and expanding platform that can be of great benefit both for the creators and the advertisers alike. If you’d like to explore the advertising potential of TikTok or to learn more about the TikTok Creator Marketplace, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team of dedicated experts and make sure to check out our Ultimate Guide to TikTok Advertising. 

The post Full Guide to TikTok Creator Marketplace for Brands appeared first on A 2023 Marketing Agency | Adcoom Corporation.

GrowMojo experts share some things to keep in mind when creating TikTok ads that convert:

Understand the importance of native content

The best performing TikTok ads are organic ads. The type of ad you don’t even realize it’s an ad. The very nature of the ad is downplayed, and the “salesy” or clickbaitish quality is avoided at all costs. This is the sort of ad that has been performing the best across all marketing channels ever since the inception of advertising. 

Native advertising is the sort of advertising where the ad blends in perfectly with the medium or platform it appears on, in tone, form and function. 

This is something where the very nature of TikTok plays a huge advantage. TikTok is a social media platform built around original, creative, user-generated content that’s not staged or scripted (or at least, it doesn’t appear to be). This is also the reason why pairing with a TikTok influencer is one of the best business ideas for a brand. The influencer creates his or her original content as they normally would, and then casually incorporates a product or a service – and the video becomes an ad. 

The best TikToks are catchy and entertaining. The similar quality is sought in brand ads. Ad content that is creative, authentic and inspiring is the one that works best. And if it blends seamlessly with the rest of the content during a session – all the better. 

Consider the power of storytelling

There’s a reason why storytelling remains the single most effective way to convey a message and get the recipient on your side. It revolves around a journey, a transformation, a solution, and since it involves an archetype, it strongly resonates with us. 

In advertising, storytelling has been employed since its earliest days. The good old formulas, like PAS (Problem/Pain – Agitate – Solve) or AIDA (Attention – Interest – Desire – Action) still work like a charm. 

In TikTok advertising, the short and snappy format makes it a bit more difficult to apply these techniques. How are you going to tell a hero’s journey in a 30-second video? Or to complete the whole AIDA cycle? 

It’s actually not impossible at all. Just remember the concept of authenticity and native content. Each TikToker tells a story with his or her content. That’s why we love it. Because they’re like micro-stories. Your TikTok ads can be the same. 

There are several popular and proven storytelling formats that you can consider for your ad. 

• Results first: The ad first shows the remarkable results of a product and then takes the viewer back to explain what it was that the product has solved. It’s like an adventure where the flashbacks actually tell the story and explain the process. It’s an engaging framework and thanks to TikTok’s built-in editing tools, it’s quite easy to do.

• The classic step-by-step video: This is the linear, classic storytelling format. Each step is described and illustrated and as we progress towards the result we are drawn in and invested in the result. 

• Brand as lifestyle: A product is shown as easily and effortlessly incorporated into someone’s lifestyle. Here advertisers can leverage the user-generated content, showing a person using the product or service in their daily routine. TikTok even has a cool “Day in the Life” lens that can fit this format perfectly. 

Of course, in order for any of these to work, the content needs to remain true to the platform’s nature: it should be fast-paced, optimistic, fun, dynamic. Captions, stickers, filters, music and editing tools are more than welcome. Remember that you’re dealing with a short attention span audience. 

Understand the motivation

Human emotions are the single most powerful motivator for behavior. Whether we’re going to purAdcoom something or not is also dictated by our emotional response, not to the product, but to the way it’s advertised. Therefore, each step in the sales process should be based on some emotional component. 

Targeting specific emotions is rarely of use, because people are different. But certain emotions are equally strong in all of us, and those are fear (of loss) and hope (for gain). If you address those two in your ads, you’ll be more likely to hit your mark. Position your product or service in relation to these by showing the audience what they will gain by purchasing it, or what opportunity they’ll miss if they don’t. 

The latter brings us to the concept of FOMO – the fear of missing out. More than just a buzzword, FOMO is a powerful motivator. That’s why limited offers, limited editions and low stock alerts are such terrific sales boosters. 

TikTok is an excellent medium for playing the FOMO card and triggering emotional responses. The ad format, which is short, dynamic and vibrant, served within a sequence of other content or ads, leaves us with no room to think too much about what we saw. If the value proposition works for us, if it promises us what we need and tingles our primary motivators, we’re already halfway to becoming paying customers. 

Define your unique selling point

Regardless of the channel, every ad strategy should be formed around the understanding of what the brand’s USP (Unique Selling Point or Unique Selling Proposition) is. USP is the quality that sets the brand apart from the competition and you need to have a deep understanding of it in order to leverage it. 

On TikTok, you can’t just show up in feed and declare your USP. As we already mentioned, you need to do it in an organic way. It can be a how-to video (which adds the educational dimension to the ad and it’s always beneficial), a POV-type, a hashtag challenge, even a dance-off. You can start with what’s trending at the moment, and figure out a way to include your product or service into it. 

Let’s say you’re marketing a cosmetic product, for instance a highlighter. The ability of the highlighter to change and improve a person’s complexion and even the facial features can be its USP. You can create a video, perhaps with the split screen, in which an influencer or someone else is complaining about an issue (droopy eyelids) in the left screen and the same person is fixing the issue (eyelids appear lifted) using the product in the right screen. Combine it with some catchy music, captions and effects, and you get a short, cheap and memorable TikTok ad based on your USP. 

Make good use of event triggers

When you create ads, you obviously want them to be as memorable as possible. A study found that higher information density leads to better ad memorability. Note that by information density we don’t mean a lot of information packed and conveyed in a short time period. Instead, the term refers to the combination of brand elements and creative elements in an ad. These include music, effects, text overlay, voice, movement, editing, and can collectively be termed “event triggers.” 

These event triggers need to be placed strategically. For instance, you can use one just before delivering your key message, your value proposition, your CTA. 

Text overlays can be used to point out key features of a product. Music can be used to create dramatic suspension. Having your brand or product visible throughout the ad will improve brand recall. Fast editing and lots of movement on screen also help by creating a stronger impression. 

Note that high density information ads are more suitable for industries from the so-called low involvement verticals, which don’t require a lot of consideration and deliberation. Tech products are high involvement vertical and consumer gods, cosmetics, makeup, and cheaper items are low involvement vertical. These require more information to sustain the viewer’s interest and therefore can benefit from high density advertising. 

From hook to CTA

The simplest ads, which are often the most efficient, follow the basic formula: 

1. Hook 
2. Value proposition 
3. Testimonial
4. CTA

Let’s see how you can optimize each of these in your TikTok ads. 

1. Hook

In advertising, a hook is a message, a tagline or an angle that grabs the viewer’s attention and makes him receptive to your messages. It’s the first couple of seconds of your TikTok ad, during which the viewers decide whether to watch it through the end or to move away. 

To say that the hook needs to be catchy, intriguing and compelling would be stating the obvious. Let’s see some of the TikTok hooks that are proven to do well: 

• Hooks starting with “Wait!” like “Wait! Don’t go, you need to see this” or similar, which convey a sense of urgency and stop the user in his tracks. 
• “This is for (insert audience persona), so if you’re not (audience persona), move on” is a trick to make the viewer feel exclusive (if belonging to the audience persona category) or to cause FOMO
• “I tried (insert product/service) so you don’t have to” – in addition to providing viewers with a digest version of a review, creators using this hook also establish themselves as experts in the matter at hand
• “If you, like me, are (insert quality), then check this out” – it creates a sense of connection with the viewer
• “I was today years old” – this sort of content always reveals a hack or a little know fact that educates and entertains
• “X tips to get rid of…” – this is a classic format that always works since it offers a solution to a problem. 

Depending on your brand tone and voice, one or more of these hooks may work for you but there’s a chance none of them will fit. If your branding is already well established, make sure your hook reflects it, just spice it up a bit and make it energetic enough. 

2. Value proposition

Your value proposition is the short statement or explanation of why the audience should choose you and not your competition. It consists of your best features and most important benefits. You can’t list them all in a 60-second video or shorter, and even if you could, they wouldn’t hold up. To keep your audience interested and not scrolling away, incorporate your value proposition in a video that entertains, engages and educates the audience. 

Remember like we said in the beginning – best-performing TikTok ads feel native and authentic. They don’t even feel like ads. So your product placement in the ad needs to be seamless and your value proposition needs to be an integral part of the storytelling in the video. 

3. Testimonial

This can be tricky since ads with testimonials can feel a bit outdated. The good thing about TikTok is that it’s basically all user-generated content, and if you can find a TikToker who actually uses your product, you got yourself a testimonial that doesn’t feel staged or corny. 

Some brands collect video testimonials from buyers at their physical POS. You can do something similar with your online shop – ask the customers to provide a video testimonial in TikTok-friendly format and offer something in return, like a hefty discount for their next purAdcoom. 

4. CTA

The CTA (Call to Action) is the final and crucial element in creating TikTok ads that convert. It directs viewers to perform your desired action – if you have a TikTok Shop, it could be an Add to Cart button, it could be an email signup, a link to your website, etc. 

The TikTok Ad Manager features two sets of smart CTA features that are designed to increase a brand’s clickthrough rate and increase conversions. 

• Recommended CTA: this feature takes into consideration your industry, your past ad performance and other factors, and then displays the “Recommended’ tag next to one of items in the dropdown menu of available CTAs. 

• Dynamic CTA: with this feature, each person seeing the ad will see the CTA text that is most relevant to them, based on insights such as the viewer’s click and conversion behavior. LIke the standard (Recommended) CTA, this type also works with a set of CTAs that are most relevant to your niche, objective, landing page, your ad creative and caption. 

Thanks to these features, you don’t even need to think too hard about what sort of CTA to include. 

Making the best possible shift to CTA is also vital – check out our experts’ 5S formula for boosting ad performance and find out. 

The importance of text

One would think that with a short video medium like TikTok the onscreen text doesn’t matter much but, surprisingly or not, it actually does. 

This is particularly true for eCommerce. According to TikTok itself, ads that used closed captioning or text to display an offer or a CTA had a 80% conversion lift compared to ads that didn’t. 

It also appears that the combination of voice-over and text does particularly well, with a 87% conversion lift. 

Speaking of voiceovers, many creators and brands are tempted to use AI-generated voice. While this certainly worked fine for a while, it may be time to go back to actual humans for voice-over. AI voice-overs are now very easily recognized and can be irritating for the viewers, as they have been hearing them everywhere for a while. 

When in doubt, ask an expert!

Harnessing the power of TikTok ads that convert is something that takes time, experience and skill. These days, when no brand can afford to underperform in any area, your smartest move may be to team up with a TikTok advertising agency. And if you want to make sure your TikTok ad strategy is in good hands, give Adcoom a call – in consultation with our dedicated experts, you too can use TikTok to skyrocket your conversions. 

The post How to Create TikTok Ads That Convert appeared first on A 2023 Marketing Agency | Adcoom Corporation.

A TikTok AI revolution is underway, so let’s explore some ways you can implement machine-learning tools to up your TikTok strategy. 

Use TikTok AI tools to create avatars

Although this feature hasn’t fully rolled out yet (it’s testing in select markets), it seems that TikTokers worldwide will soon be able to use generative AI to create fun and engaging TikTok avatars. 

Once it becomes widely available, this tool, which will represent an app within the platform itself, will allow users to select from three to 10 photos that the AI will then work on to generate up to 30 avatars. 

Obviously, these avatars will be complex and extremely fun – nothing like flat and rudimentary Facebook animated avatars, for instance. 

The app is similar to Lensa, albeit with less features, of course, since Lensa is a premium tool. Nevertheless, those who have tried TikTok’s tool were pretty impressed with the possibilities. 

Avatars created using the AI art generator from TikTok can be uploaded as profile pics or shared to their followers. This image generator will probably not remain limited to avatars alone. Creators can use it to manipulate and experiment with any image they like, and to use the result in their TikTok content. 

AI Greenscreen: a text-to-image TikTok AI tool

As users wait for the avatar generator to roll out worldwide, there’s a readily available AI effect they can start experimenting with right now – the AI Greenscreen, available via TikTok Effect House. 

This tool uses textual prompts to create all sorts of images that can be used for video backgrounds, hence the “greenscreen” in the effect name. Because of TikTok’s strict content restrictions, the filter is rather basic. The platform didn’t want to give users a chance to create content that goes against the community guidelines. For that reason, some prompts will yield abstract results, thus helping avoid graphic, explicit or violent content. 

However, if you feed the generator with “normal” prompts, it can give some pretty fun and interesting outputs, like “Exploding flowers in the galaxy” or “Cowboy swimming underwater” and so on. You can get backdrops that fit the subject you’re posting about and that way create more engaging content, with added value. 

Other AI art generators for TikTok

Creators and marketers who want to explore more AI options for generating visual content for TikTok can also check out DALL-E 2. One of the first art generators to become massively popular, DALL-E 2 was developed by Open.AI, the company behind the ChatGBT chatbot. 

It is a tool that creates both realistic and abstract art based on user prompts, combining styles, techniques, concepts and other elements, to create unique artwork that can be downloaded and used in your TikTok videos. 

Another interesting option you can use for backdrops, avatars and other still image uses in TikTok is Midjourney. This tool is particularly useful for high-quality, high-resolution photorealistic imagery, which makes it particularly suitable for product marketing. DALL-E 2, on the other hand, may be a better solution for experimenting and producing highly creative images, which is why so many TikTok creators like it. 

Video creation AI tools for TikTok

Creating quality videos for TikTok comes naturally to some, but for others, with less proclivity or free time on their hands, it can be a chore. Again, we have AI coming to the rescue, with a selection of AI tools designed to help TikTokers create engaging and fun video content. 

• Nova A.I. is a simple and efficient online video creation and editing tool. Among its features, there’s a TikTok Video Maker tool, designed to help everyone create professional-looking videos. It includes all the essential tools for trimming, merging and resizing videos, adding sound effects and more. The videos can easily be repurposed for sharing on other platforms, too. 

• Then, there’s the popular InVideo. What sets this tool apart from the others is the remarkable collection of available video templates. Furthermore, InVideo offers features that help users create a conversion-driving video strategy. AI-powered script generator helps users come up with compelling text, and there’s also a feature that turns blogs into videos. 

• For those who don’t like being in front of the camera, there’s Colossyan, a video generator that uses AI actors. This tool is designed specifically for online learning, but considering that a lot of TikTok content constitutes some sort of instructions, tutorials and other know-how content types, Colossyan can be a terrific solution for TikTok creators and brands alike. In addition to a nice selection of templates and actors-avatars, Colossyan also has rich localisation features with 120+ languages. 

Create video concepts using TikTok AI Script Generator

TikTok has recently added a new tool to its arsenal of AI solutions to improve video strategies and content. The Script Generator can be found in the app’s Creative Center, and it serves to give users video concepts and ideas based on a few simple prompts. To use this tool, simply go to the Creative Center and select Script Generator. Enter your industry and your niche, product or service name with a short description, any keywords you’d like to use, and select the video length. 

The tool will then generate several script ideas that include a description of what’s going on in the video, audio and visual cues, a hook, and a call to action – basically anything you could need for a successful product video. 

Like most AI tools, this one shouldn’t be followed blindly – creators and marketers must fact-check the content and make sure everything is correct and functional. Still, as far as ideas and inspiration go, Script Generator can turn out to be pretty useful. 

Improve your ad copy using third-party AI tools

Creators and marketers who struggle with copy (wording, efficiency, ideas or consistency) should check out a few AI solutions aiming to help users create better ad and content copy. 

We’ve already written about how ChatGPT can help with your TikTok strategy – your captions, hashtags and content ideas. This tool, however, can also write your TikTok copy for you. 

Again, the success of the output will depend on the quality of the prompts given. For best results, creatives and marketers should try to be as specific as possible. 

If you’re making a product ad, the prompts should include the purpose of the ad (reach new customers, for instance), a short description of the product and a value proposition, as well as a call to action. It’s also a good idea to have the AI highlight the benefits of the product, in order to set it apart from the others.

If the initial result doesn’t work for you, you can ask ChatGPT to create another one, perhaps adding another prompt or explaining your idea better. You can even tell it to give you several ad ideas for the same product and then pick the one that you like best. 

Once you’ve approved the concept, you can tell ChatGPT to write a full script for it. 

ChatGPT is probably the most popular and widely used AI copy generator, but it’s not the only one, or even the best one, for that matter. 

Jasper.ai is a premium tool for copywriting and content creation. It combines several AI models, including ChatGPT-4 and Anthropic. One of its biggest benefits is the fact it learns from your existing copy to make sure its output has a consistent brand tone and voice. It can even use several tones, depending on the audience and purpose. Plus, it helps with SEO and makes sure grammar is impeccable. 

Another popular tool is Copy.ai, which not only helps write copy across all digital marketing channels, but also has a designated feature for producing TikTok content ideas – for free. 

If you’re a fan of Google products, you can also check out Bard, another conversational chatbot. Unsurprisingly, it works by pulling information from the web, and it may be a good solution for information-based copy, such as lists and rankings, tutorials and how-tos. It’s currently available in English, Japanese and Korean but some 40 languages are promised to be added soon. 

Get Better Results on TikTok than AI tools can deliver!

AI tools can sometimes backfire and cause more damage than good. Specifically, they can cause your ad creatives, or your entire campaigns, to appear derivative, generic and bland. When too many people use the same tool, it tends to yield the same results. To prevent this from happening and to make sure you’re making the most out of the TikTok AI tools, get in touch with our team of TikTok marketing experts. Together, we can identify the best tools and solutions for your specific needs and craft a TikTok campaign that maximizes your ROAS.  

The post Using AI to Upgrade Your TikTok Marketing appeared first on A 2023 Marketing Agency | Adcoom Corporation.

TikTok Ad Review – What’s reviewed and what’s the process? 

When you create a TikTok ad, it obviously doesn’t deploy right away. It needs to be reviewed by the platform.

TikTok reviews the following elements: 

• Advertised products/services – not all products and services can be advertised
• Ad creative – text (caption), visual and audio content, additional content
• Targeting region – currency, language, age, etc.

Here’s how the review works: 

1. The ad is submitted through TikTok Ad Manager
2. Creative is evaluated to check if it adheres to the policy
3. A notification is sent when the ad is approved, which usually happens within 24 hours
4. In case of rejection, the advertiser will be notified of what can be improved, through the Ad Group section of the Ad Manager

Note that certain products and services, or industries, are prohibited and will be rejected straight away. These may depend on the region but on the global level include weapons, drugs and paraphernalia, animals and animal products, and adult sexual products and services. 

Ad Creative – What to know

When it comes to the actual ad creative, the first aspect that is examined is the ad format and its functionality. 

Consistency

The ad creative must be consistent with the landing page it leads to. What you advertise on TikTok must be the same as what you’re selling on your landing page, but also the caption, product/service name and other details need to be consistent as well. 

Landing page

Take time to make sure your landing page is working properly, too. The page needs to be active and functional. TikTok will also check the landing page for things like prohibited content, asking for personal info, lacking required info, intrusive pop-ups, etc. 

Ad text and image

The ad text should be legible, complete, free of spelling or grammar mistakes and typos. 

The image should be sharp, properly aligned, without strobing effects, and it should not be fixed for longer than 5 seconds. 

Ad Content – What’s prohibited? 

Note that restrictions don’t apply just to the product or service you’re advertising, but to the ad content itself. Certain things are strictly prohibited and including them in your ad creative will surely result in a rejected ad. 

1. Discriminatory content

If your ad can be interpreted as discriminatory against any of the following categories, it will be rejected:

• Race
• Ethnicity and nationality
• Sexual orientation and gender identity
• Religion 
• Age
• Medical condition
• Family status

2. Sexual and adult content

Products/services and content that are strictly not allowed include: 

• Adult products
• Sexually suggestive products
• Sexually explicit lyrics 
• Excessive nudity
• Sexual innuendo
• Focus on intimate body parts

3. Misleading claims

This is the part where advertisers really need to be careful not to make: 

• Absolute or exaggerated claims and promises
• Malicious comparisons to other brands
• Before/After comparisons
• Inconsistent or misleading information about the product
• Induced gestures or text
• Invalid buttons

4. Sensational and/or shocking content

This is a category that can be a bit tricky since shocking and disgusting are subjective categories. The best practice is to avoid showing content that can be off-putting to some users or a group of users, for instance bodily fluids and products like earwax, dandruff, scabs, acne, etc. 

Gruesome imagery and blood must not exceed 50% of the frame duration. 

Things like crime, violence and cruelty to people and animals, including animal testing, are prohibited. 

5. Drugs

The ad creative must not show: 

• Drugs
• Controlled substances
• Drug use
• Drug paraphernalia and accessories

6. Cigarettes and tobacco

As tobacco industry is generally banned from advertising, promotion and sponsorship, the ad must not include: 

• Cigarettes and cigars
• Tobacco 
• Pipes and rolling papers
• E-cigarettes, vapes, etc
• Smoking, imitating smoking or smoking-related behavior

7. Alcohol

Similarly to tobacco, alcohol-related content is prohibited and this includes: 

• Depictions of excessive drinking or alcoholism
• Alcohol brand names
• Real-life drinking scenes

Content that includes background alcohol or moderate consumption, e.g. glasses of wine or other alcohol somewhere in the video, may not be prohibited automatically, and will instead be evaluated to verify whether it promotes alcohol or not. 

8. Political content

Political content, solicitation and promotion are generally prohibited on TikTok, as it aims to remain a neutral, non-politicized platform. Ad creatives must not include: 

• Candidates for public office
• Political parties
• Political leaders (current or former)
• Political organizations
• Issues of public or political importance on local, state and federal level

Restricted ad content

While the content on the prohibited list must be avoided altogether as it will result in ad rejection or even a ban, restricted content can be allowed on a limited basis, such as age restriction, certification, etc. 

1. Gaming

While gaming itself is not prohibited, some of its aspects are: 

• Games for children
• Tools and plug-ins for cheating
• Cash-earning games and real-life rewards
• Love stories
• Games featuring torture and cruelty as the main gameplay feature

2. Healthcare and pharmaceutical

Ads that promote healthcare or pharmaceutical products and services must adhere to the following: 

• Legal compliance with local law
• Aiming at 18+ audience
• Not containing misleading or inaccurate claims
• Having proof of licensing

3. Financial services

When it comes to financial products and services, TikTok applies three categories: 

• Allowed: bank accounts, debit cards, insurance, budgeting products
• Restricted (18+): Loans, credit cards, debt consolidation
• Prohibited: Bail bonds, debt relief or credit repair

In addition, all industry-related ads must only target an 18+ audience, with proper disclaimers, and strictly adhere to applicable industry requirements, laws, regulations and licensing.

4. Cryptocurrency and NFTs

Brands working in crypto and NFT industries must not place ads that promote: 

• Initial coin offering
• Devices for mining cryptocurrency
• Crypto ATMs
• NFT trading

5. Gambling and lottery

Ads promoting the following activities, products and services are not allowed: 

• Real money online gambling
• Simulated gambling featuring real money
• Gambling-related behavior
• Sports bets and horse racing
• Lotteries with real money

6. Religion and culture

Being a rather sensitive field, ad creators and advertisers should be careful when creating ads that refer to religious or cultural aspects. The ads must not contain: 

• Disrespectful behavior towards religious symbols, objects, buildings, etc
• Content that violates local culture in the targeted region

7. Protection of minors

The age restriction for TikTok users is 13+, and there are a lot of minors on the platform. The ads containing the following will be rejected: 

• Minors engaging in inappropriate behavior (smoking, alcohol abuse, etc)
• Excessive skin exposure of minors
• Products of particular appeal to minors (toys, gaming, etc)
• Minors performing in restricted industries

8. Weight control and body image

Healthy workout programs, content promoting a healthy lifestyle and healthy eating are okay, but the following ads are prohibited: 

• Ads making promises and absolute guarantees about weight loss
• Ads targeting minors or promoting unhealthy choices
• Ads suggesting that losing or gaining weight is easy
• Specific calories or weight loss amounts
• Promoting unhealthy or negative body image
• Exploitation of body-related insecurities
• Skin lightening products
• Insulting or offensive messages

9. COVID-19

Ads containing positive and constructive behavior towards the pandemic are allowed, such as masks and good hygiene practices. However, it is not allowed to: 

• Make absolute claims regarding efficiency in protection or treatment of COVID-19. 
• Spread misinformation or create consumer anxiety
• Provide medical advice or treatment plans
• Sell “medical-grade” masks

TikTok Intellectual Property infringement

It might be tempting to use the fact your ad and your product are doing well on TikTok, but brands need to be careful not to violate the platform’s IP (Intellectual Property) rights. So, even if you have a “TikTok bestseller,” you can’t really say that in your ad creative or landing page. Of course, infringement of any other brand’s IP rights is prohibited, too.

The following is strictly prohibited: 

• Ads using TikTok logos
• Any claims that imply a partnership with TikTok
• 3rd party logos in the background
• Promotion or sale of counterfeit logos

Now, bear in mind that these are just rough guidelines and TikTok Ads Policy elements. There are universal guidelines, but also those that are applicable only in specific regions. Furthermore, some confusion is not uncommon when it comes to industries that belong to the restricted, rather than the prohibited list. 

The best way to guarantee optimal performance of your ads and to avoid having them rejected time and again is to team up with industry experts who possess an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the TikTok Ads Policy. The Adcoom team of TikTok marketing experts is at your disposal – reach out to us and let us craft a tailored ad strategy that meets all the guidelines, ticks all the boxes with the audience and promotes your growth. 

The post TikTok Ads Policy – A complete guide! appeared first on A 2023 Marketing Agency | Adcoom Corporation.

TikTok Shop is the latest and the most significant addition to the platform’s feature roster, with a simple mission – to turn discovery into purAdcoom. 

What is TikTok Shop? 

TikTok shop is a new feature that brings full e-commerce functionality into the TikTok app itself. This means that brands, creators and merchants can not only advertise, but also sell their products directly from the app. 

Social commerce has been on a steady rise even before the pandemic, but 2021 definitely tipped the scale and now more and more millennials and Gen Z-ers are turning to their social platforms for online purAdcooms. 

Instagram Shop used to be the premier destination but the platform is slowly shutting down its shop features, starting with live shopping. 

TikTok, on the other hand, understands that its sheer virality, massive visibility and excellent advertising features represent an enormous pool of possibilities for social shopping, which is why it’s rolling out TikTok Shop. 

This new feature has been available in select markets, such as Indonesia, UK, Singapore and Vietnam. TikTok Shop USA has been in the testing phase since November 2022 and the general rollout has arrived.

How Does TikTok Shop Work? 

The whole idea behind TikTok shop is to allow users to discover, explore and purAdcoom the products right there in the TikTok app, without navigating away to another platform, shop or website. This sort of seamless and streamlined shopping experience is something that will benefit both the shoppers and the merchants, as in-app purAdcooms reduce friction and cart abandonment. 

TikTok Shop provides three native, in-app ways of shopping: 

1. Product Showcase

This is something of a window display or an e-commerce product page for a brand, except it’s on their TikTok account. All products can be accessed within the app from the Product Showcase page. 

Basically, TikTok Shop brings your online store – wherever it’s hosted – to the TikTok audience. They can explore it and purAdcoom it through the app itself, as your shop is connected to your account. 

The in-app sales are conducive to better conversion rates, more sales and higher revenue, and the process is really quite simple for all parties involved. 

Furthermore, TikTok Shop allows merchants to manage their shop, inventory, orders, promotions, partnerships and customer service right there in their Seller Center dashboard.

2. Live Shopping

Creators and brands will now be able to pin the products they are using or showcasing in the live video, into the video itself. Viewers can tap on the pinned product that will lead them to the product page where they can explore it further and add it to cart right then and there. 

There is also a basket icon in the lower left corner of the live video, with all the items featured in the live, also leading to the designated product pages. 

3. In-feed Shoppable Videos

Similarly to the Live Shopping feature, in-feed Shoppable Videos feature pinned products and a product basket leading viewers to the shop page. 

TikTok Shop Examples

Here are some examples of TikTok Shop: 

How to Set Up TikTok Shop? 

First of all, you will need a TikTok Business account. If you don’t already have one, and if you’re not yet using the advertising potential of the platform, check out our Ultimate Guide to TikTok advertising where we also explain how to start a business account.

Next, you will need to download and install a special app that will create a connection between your online shop and your TikTok account. If you’re running a shop on Shopify, there’s an app just for that, and if you’re using BigCommerce, you will use the TikTok for Business app, which automatically adds the TikTok Pixel to your shop. 

After you’ve set up your account with information related to your business name, tax ID, entity type, US TIN, business address and other, you can proceed to operation preparation, which entails getting familiar with the Seller Center and account management. 

The next step is product management. You need to add products from your store to your TikTok Shop, sort them into Live, Deactivated, Suspended etc, add rating and so on. All this is done through the Seller Center, which features an intuitive dashboard with familiar sections and easy to understand sorting. 

Now it’s time to get your products out there. For this, you will need to use the Streamer platform. This is a desktop platform that allows merchants and creators to run content marketing through the available formats – live video, in-feed videos and product showcases. In addition to adding, removing and otherwise managing products in videos and showcases, the Streamer platform also performs data performance analysis. 

Promotion and Creator Partnerships

In addition to providing merchants with shopping functionalities straight on the platform, TikTok Shop also comes with a range of promotional tools for getting your brand out there. As TikTok Shop users, brands gain access to the platform’s monthly campaigns that can help them gain more visibility and reach even wider audiences. 

As it’s generally the case with TikTok, creators and influencers play a big role in brand success with TikTok Shop. The new feature helps merchants connect with the users that can be great ambassadors of their brand through their live and in-feed videos. 

On the creators’ side, since each brand using TikTok Shop can start an affiliate program, creators get an opportunity to earn commissions and create profitable partnerships with brands they’re featuring in their content. 

Need help with TikTok Shop? 

TikTok Shop is a major addition to the app’s capabilities. Understanding and leveraging its potential for maximum gain can be difficult in these early stages, especially for brands who are relatively new to using TikTok for business purposes. This is particularly true for TikTok Shop USA, since that’s the newest market for the feature and things are still very fresh. That’s why teaming up with a TikTok advertising agency is the smartest course to take. At GrowMojo, we have a team of dedicated TikTok experts ready to help brands make the best of the platform and show them how to set up TikTok Shop. Contact us today so we can start growing your e-commerce revenue right now!

The post Introducing TikTok Shop – Everything You Need to Know! appeared first on A 2023 Marketing Agency | Adcoom Corporation.