So you’ve decided to tap into the vast possibilities of TikTok for marketing and advertising? That’s a great call – TikTok is the fastest-growing social app in the world and it offers tremendous reach for brands of all industries.
Partnering up with a TikTok advertising agency is an even better call. TikTok advertising is a complex field – much different and much more specific than other forms of social media advertising – and it takes a pool of dedicated, knowledgeable experts to successfully navigate its exciting waters.
But how to choose a TikTok advertising agency? That’s what we want to help you with this time around.
Here’s a useful checklist to help you decide:
1. Choose an agency that understands what makes the TikTok audience different
TikTok started out as a predominantly young social environment, but now the average age for TikTok users in the U.S. is in the late twenties. Now TikTok has every highly coveted demographic for advertisers.
Next, TikTok audience is highly engaged with the platform, much more so than, say, Instagram or Twitter. This means that they are more likely to engage with your content, as long as you do it right and create what they want to see. For this, you need knowledgeable experts from a TikTok advertising agency as they know just what content clicks with the TikTok crowd, and what doesn’t.
On TikTok, users come for authentic, creative content that makes them feel good and cheers them up. Also, they want content that provides value – in many cases, interesting “how-tos” and “did you know that” sort of content.
Real, raw and relatable content by real people – this is the gist of TikTok. Not highly produced, curated branded content. That’s one of the key differences between TikTok and other platforms, especially Instagram. A good TikTok advertising agency knows just how to translate this quality into your ads, regardless of your field.
2. Choose an agency that is expert in creating video ads.
This one is very important. TikTok is obviously a video-based platform and it essentially pioneered video-centered content on social media. Therefore, it comes with its own set of specific traits, both in creation and in consummation. Again, these are not some curated, staged, highly aestheticized or branded videos. On TikTok, videos are raw, organic, real, creative, but authentic.
For a brand, creating such content is actually much more difficult than it may appear. If you don’t do it right, you’ll come off as a fake and your videos will appear condescending and cringy – like a boomer trying to do what the “cool kids” do. To avoid this trap, partner up with an agency that has a rich portfolio of video ads that actually performed well on TikTok and that have no problems keeping up with the high volume of ad production that is required on the platform.
3. Choose an agency with a deep understanding of different TikTok features
In its core, TikTok is a feature-rich platform with plenty of tools that brands can use to entertain and engage their audience. And then, there are add-ons and various strategies you can implement to boost engagement, go viral or reach even wider audiences.
TikTok instant pages, for example, are displayed within the App and represent a terrific way to showcase your product and drive conversions. Then there are Spark Ads, the organic ad format designed to boost brand awareness.
TikTok also offers a range of Interactive Add-Ons, such as display cards, various stickers, gestures and pop-up showcases. TikTok Pulse places brand ads front and center, right alongside top 4% creators and most viral videos. You also have branded effects, TikTok Shopping and so much more.
The agency you team up with needs to possess a perfect understanding of all the features and solutions that come with the platform. They need to know just which features and ad formats are most suitable for your brand and how to create content for those formats. They need to be able to constantly feel the pulse of the platform and leverage any new features the moment they roll out.
4. Choose an agency that excels in audience targeting and attribution tracking.
Although not as fully developed and detailed as Facebook or Google, TikTok offers a range of targeting dimensions, as well as attribution metrics. These are designed to, respectively, allow businesses to direct their ads to those who are most likely to convert, and to successfully monitor and measure the effectiveness of the ads. Since TikTok’s audience targeting is still evolving it requires an agency with specific TikTok expertise to best optimize for your ideal customers.
TikTok’s native attribution tracking system measures various metrics: clicks, impressions, conversions and revenue generated from the ads. It helps you learn which campaigns and ad groups (or single ads) are performing the best. The system is not nearly as intuitive as brands would like it to be, which is why you need a good TikTok advertising agency to handle that for you. These metrics can get quite confusing and it’s easy to get them wrong if you don’t possess a deep understanding of the platform.
5. Choose an agency that can understand and predict trends on TikTok
Given the nature of TikTok and its audience, the ads need to feel organic and draw the viewers in. The attention span of TikTok users is quite short so you don’t have a lot of room for growing on them.
One of the defining traits of TikTok is its algorithm, designed to bring forth popular and engaging content based on user interest and behavior. Trends play a key role here because they help the algorithm identify what’s currently popular and what sort of content people are engaging with the most.
These trends are not limited solely on content type (e.g. viral dance challenges, cooking and life hacks, etc). The platform itself also changes constantly and certain TikTok trends regarding its features can be predicted – if you’re an expert.
Always go with an agency that possesses the kind of substantial knowledge of TikTok that enables it to predict and really understand trends. That way, you’re making sure you’re always ahead of the curve.
6. Choose an agency that has a firm grasp of TikTok’s strict policy restrictions
Not only is TikTok very strict in community guidelines (zero tolerance for bullying, violence, nudity, pornography, alcohol, drugs and any sexual content), it also has rather firm policy rules when it comes to advertising.
Ads must be clearly marked and make no false claims. Infringement of intellectual property and deceptive practices are strictly forbidden, and so are contests or giveaways without due disclosure. There’s a list of products that cannot be advertised on TikTok, including, but not limited to weapons, illegal drugs, tobacco and adult products. There are also many other categories of advertisers like medical devices, law firms, health and fitness products that need special approval for their ad to run on TikTok.
A good TikTok advertising agency knows each and every policy restriction inside out and can therefore help you avoid violations and penalties. Also, a TikTok approved agency can work with the TikTok policy team to get restricted ads live. Because not everyone among your competition can say this, it gives you a significant upper hand and enables you to run healthy, successful campaigns that convert.
7. Choose an agency that understands how TikTok advertising enhances the performance of other channels
Although the possibilities of TikTok advertising are quite impressive, for most brands focusing on this channel alone will not get you much closer to your goals. The most effective way to get your audience to convert is by employing sequential marketing across multiple advertising platforms – Facebook, Google, YouTube, Instagram, etc.
Specifically, you can’t target your audience on just one channel. For instance, a great strategy is to target both on Facebook and TikTok. By delivering a series of targeted messages across multiple platforms, you increase the chance of reaching potential customers at different stages of the funnel. This, however, can be challenging because it requires a deep understanding not just of the customer journey but also of the different dynamics on each of the platforms. To get all channels to work together to deliver a consistent and cohesive message, you need a lot of experience and knowledge. By making sure the agency you choose to work with meets these important criteria, your business is improving its brand experience and boosts its potential for converting.
Perhaps you’re thinking – this is all great but how do I find an agency that ticks all these boxes? Luckily for you, Adcoom does. Get in touch with us today and we’ll craft your perfect TikTok advertising strategy that maximizes your ROAS and your conversions.
