Many well-known brands have jumped into TikTok and aggressively promoted their products there. And if you’re planning to be part of this game, this article is the first guidebook you need to read, which leads you through how you’re going to target TikTok ads and optimize the targeting.
With a brilliant targeting algorithm, TikTok is surely a fantastic place to appeal to your potential audience, provided you know the basics of ad targeting. So, let’s read on!
Table of contents
What Makes TikTok A Made-In-Heaven Place For Advertising?
TikTok is undoubtedly a perfect spot for advertising, and here’s why:
- Vast audience: With over 1 billion users worldwide, TikTok offers access to a massive and diverse audience base.
- Mobile-friendly: TikTok’s interface is optimized for mobile devices, making it a seamless platform for engaging with ads on smartphones and tablets.
- Global availability: Operating in more than 200 countries, TikTok provides advertisers with a truly global reach to target audiences across borders.
- Cost-effective: TikTok advertising can be cost-effective when optimized properly, offering efficient metrics and returns on investment for advertisers who understand how to navigate the platform’s ad options and metrics effectively.
You can refer to our post on “How much do TikTok ads cost?” for further information about TikTok advertising expenses.
- Brand engagement: Approximately 55% of TikTok users have bought a product after seeing it on the app, and 50% have made a purchase after watching a TikTok Live – as per Advantage Solutions.
- Extensive ad reach: According to SocialPilot’s TikTok marketing statistics, TikTok’s advertising capabilities enable brands to reach approximately 885 million people through targeted ad campaigns, maximizing exposure and potential customer acquisition.
Target TikTok Ads: How Many Options Are There?
Basically, there are 4 types of TikTok ad targeting: audience targeting, demographics targeting, interests & behavior targeting, and device targeting.
Audience targeting
While the plarform comes with different targeting options, TikTok ads audience targeting is the most important part of your ad campaign success as it significantly helps foster your ad activities’ performance.
Custom audience
This targeting TikTok ads feature helps you connect with people who already know or have engaged with your brand. It’s handy for:
- Reconnecting: Reaching out to folks who’ve interacted with your brand before.
- Repeat business: Finding potential customers who might buy from you again.
- Building followers: Growing your fan base by targeting people who’ve shown interest.
- App action: Getting more users engaged with your app.
- Lookalike love: Creating audiences similar to your existing customers.
TikTok’s Custom Audience feature lets advertisers pinpoint ads to a specific bunch of users who’ve interacted with their brand somehow. Advertisers can make a Custom Audience by uploading a list of device IDs from users who’ve done certain things like installing apps, watching videos, or visiting websites. TikTok then matches these IDs with user accounts to make a custom audience for advertisers to target with ads.
You can also tailor audiences based on user attributes like age or interests. Targeting a custom audience means showing ads to folks already familiar with your brand, which boosts the chances of them taking action. It’s a potent tool to hit the right audience and ace your ad goals.
Audience integration
Audience Integration on TikTok is a nifty TikTok targeted ads feature that lets you bring in audience data from partners right into TikTok Ads Manager:
- Inclusion: You can use this audience data to target ads at people who already know your brand, keeping them engaged on TikTok.
- Exclusion: Conversely, you can also use this data to exclude certain groups, like customers who’ve already made a purchase, saving ad spend.
- Lookalike audience: By using this data, you can create lookalike audiences, finding new users on TikTok who are similar to your existing audience, all while spending your ad budget wisely.
Once TikTok has your audience data, you’ll find it in your Ads Manager’s audience library.
To use this feature, you need to have a relationship with a data provider supported by TikTok. To learn more about how to make the most of this feature, reach out to a TikTok rep, like SpeedX Agency.
Lookalike audience
Lookalike audience on TikTok helps you discover new audience groups who share similarities with your existing customers. It’s a way to find people who might be interested in your product and expand your reach.
- The model studies the characteristics of the custom audience you create using algorithms.
- The accuracy of the model in generating a user list depends on the audience you provide TikTok. It’s recommended to have a source audience of around 10,000 people to ensure the model works well. Make sure to review the list and attributes you provide.
- The model also considers the Audience Size option, which can be Specific, Balanced, or Broad. The more specific the audience size, the more similar the model will look for an audience.
For instance, TikTok looks at demographics, location, operating system, and users’ interests from the Custom Audience you select. Then, it seeks out other users and groups with similar characteristics to create your Lookalike Audience.
Demographics targeting
TikTok ads geotargeting lets you fine-tune your ad reach based on key characteristics of your target audience.
- Location targeting: Can you target TikTok ads by location? Yes, you can choose specific countries, regions, states, or provinces to tailor your messaging and offers. Note that TikTok ads location targeting options may vary by country, and delivery isn’t guaranteed due to the range of signals used for location targeting.
- Gender: Target your ads based on gender, as some products cater to specific genders.
- Age: Segment your audience into age groups ranging from 13-17, 18-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, and 55+.
- Language: Target users who speak a specific language, even if they’re not necessarily in a country where that language is native. This option allows you to reach travelers or expats living in other countries.
While defining your audience based on demographics is essential, be cautious not to narrow your target audience too much, as it could limit your ad’s reach.
Interests & Behavior targeting
With TikTok ads interest targeting list, advertisers can reach people based on their long-term interests and interactions with content on TikTok. This can help boost engagement from existing fans.
It allows users to define your targeted user through Additional Categories and Interest Categories, which are interests not listed in predefined categories but can be searched for in the search box.
Meanwhile, behavior targeting focuses on recent user interactions with organic and paid content, including engagements with creators’ content and profile visits. There are two types:
- Followers behavior targeting: Target users based on their following of specific creators and profile actions.
- Video-related behavior targeting: Reach audiences based on their recent interactions with video content categories.
When using interest targeting, selecting Tier 1 interest categories targets broader audiences, while multi-tier categories target more specific app users.
TikTok’s ad targeting algorithm further refines interest targeting based on user profiles. And, when analyzing campaign performance, it also shows associated interests of users who engaged outside of selected interests.
Device targeting
Among the four TikTok ads targeting options, device targeting is a unique feature, allowing advertisers to target users based on their device usage online.
This option has been made possible by recent updates from both Android and iOS, which help identify which device belongs to which operating system.
With device targeting, advertisers can specify which operating system they want to target. This is particularly beneficial for brands that cater to specific niches, such as those selling products tailored to certain devices like iPhone covers.
Device targeting enables advertisers to reach users more effectively by focusing on the devices they use. It ensures their ads are seen by the most relevant audience for their products or services.
How To Optimize Your TikTok Ads Targeting?
- Balanced ad groups: Create ad groups with a mix of audience segments to achieve a balance between reach and specific targeting. This guarantees campaign performance optimization.
- Find the right balance: Strive to strike a balance between broad and specific targeting. While broad targeting can drive scale, it may lead to inefficiency, while specific targeting can generate efficient conversions but may increase costs.
- Start with a larger audience: Begin with a slightly larger audience to allow the TikTok algorithm to identify high-performing users, gather campaign insights, and optimize performance.
- Manage budget at the campaign level: Instead of managing budgets at the ad group level, consider setting budgets at the campaign level. This approach enables smart optimization of various benchmarks, like CPC, CPM, or CTR, allowing the TikTok algorithm to identify the best-performing targeting options and optimize ad spend.
Read more: What is a good CTR for TikTok ads?
- Consider specialist agencies: For brands new to TikTok marketing, working with a TikTok advertising service from a specialist agency can be highly beneficial. Paid social professionals can assist in optimizing targeting, creating compelling ads, and improving conversions.
Bottom Line
We hope this detailed and accessible guide equips the beginner you with the knowledge needed to effectively target TikTok ads. By understanding the different options to target TikTok ads, optimizing ad metrics, and leveraging its vast user base, you can confidently step into the TikTok advertising landscape and drive successful campaigns in 2024 and beyond.
