How to win at TikTok ads in 2024

How to set up ads on TikTok

Now that you know about the different types of TikTok ads, let’s look at how to set them up from your TikTok ad account.

Step 1: Create your TikTok ad account

The first step is simple: create a TikTok Ads Manager account. To set up a new account, visit the Advertising on TikTok signup page.

Enter basic information, like your email address and password. Then enter the verification code sent to your email. If you sign up with your phone number, you’ll need the verification code sent to your phone.

Confirm that you agree to the terms and conditions, then click on “Sign Up.” You’ll be prompted to provide more information about your business, such as your country or region, industry, legal business name, time zone, phone number, billing and payment information.

Once your brand is approved, log in to your dashboard and finish the initial account setup according to the instructions.

Then, follow the steps below to create TikTok ads.

Step 2: Create and install the TikTok Pixel

Now you’ll need to install the TikTok Pixel—a snippet of code on your website that gathers information about site events (such as how users arrived on your site, what device they’re using and where they’re located).

To create your TikTok Pixel, you will need to:

• Open TikTok Ads Manager and hover over Assets, then click Event.
• Under Web Events, select Manage.
• Select Set Up Web Events.
• Select TikTok Pixel as your connection method, then Next.

Now you can name your pixel, set up your web events (actions that you want the pixel to track) and decide how you will collect cookie consent.

To install the TikTok Pixel on your website, add the code snippet to the header of your website’s HTML code. Platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce and Google Tag Manager have plugins and integrations to simplify the process.

Step 3: Create a new campaign

Create an ad campaign under the Campaigns tab and click the Create button.

You will then get the option to use the Basic or Advanced setup options.

Basic mode simplifies the process to four steps: set an advertising goal; select an audience; set your budget; and create your ad.

In the Advanced setup mode, you will have to follow a few more steps to set up a new campaign. You will need to set an advertising objective, name your campaign, select a special ad category (if required), set a budget and decide whether you want to create a split test or use campaign budget optimization.

Step 4: Create an ad group

The next step is creating an ad group where you will define audiences, campaign budgets and placements for your ads.

Choose the optimization location:

Select whether you want to direct traffic to your Website or App.

Select the ad placement:

Your choice of ad placement will determine where your ads appear on TikTok and its partner platforms, such as CapCut or Fizzo. If you’re just getting started with TikTok ads, choose Automatic placement to have TikTok place your ads for maximum reach and value. Users can also manually place ads across TikTok and its news feed apps. There are also more advanced settings with options to enable or disable user comments, video downloads, video sharing and prevent your ads from appearing in certain Pangle apps.

Define your target audience:

Choose the audience for your ad by selecting demographics, audience, interests, behaviors and device. Each category has a drop-down menu with further customization options. For example, for demographics, you can determine your target audience’s location, gender, age, language, spending power and household language.

Confirm your budget and schedule:

Set a start and end time for your ad campaign and whether you want your ads to run all day or at specific times of the day and week.

Select bidding and optimization:

Choose whether you want to optimize your ads for clicks (i.e., the people who are most likely to click on your ad) or views (i.e., the people most likely to land on your website). If you choose to optimize for clicks, you can set a cost cap per click.

Step 5: Create a new ad

After setting up your ad group, it’s time to configure your first ad by completing the following steps.

Enable or disable Smart Creative ads:

Smart Creative is a feature that optimizes ad performance by automatically remixing a user’s ad creative (e.g., videos, images, text and calls to action) to create new ad variations. This setting will also prioritize the delivery of the most differentiated videos and pause videos that show signs of creative fatigue and replace them with fresh content. Users also have the option to preview, select videos and edit the auto-generated videos’ text.

Choose an ad name and identity:

Further customize your ad by naming it so it’s easier to distinguish between different ads within the same ad group. You may also choose whether you want your ads to come from your TikTok account or a custom identity, which includes a custom profile image and display name.

Customize ad details:

Choose your ad format, upload your ad creative (images, text and call-to-action), add interactive add-ons like a card or sticker and determine your ad destination (either a website URL or a custom TikTok Instant Page).

After creating an ad to your liking, you’ll have the option to preview it and get an idea of how it’ll appear to TikTok users. Feel free to tweak it before you submit it for review. For best results, make sure you follow the recommended specifications for image and video ads. This will ensure your ad looks great on TikTok and across partner platforms.

Update tracking settings:

Add tracking for website, app and offline events, as well as third-party tracking for impressions or clicks. This is an optional step.

Step 6: Measure your ad performance

The job isn’t done after launching your ad. You should also measure your ad performance using social media analytics tools to see how the campaign pays off. TikTok provides native analytics that show you how your ad performs in terms of impressions, clicks, conversions and more. Test and compare the performance of different ad creative and placements to see what works best for you.