How to Run Effective TikTok Ads from A to Z for Beginners
TikTok ads have become a popular choice for brands looking to connect and engage with a diverse audience, especially young people. If you own a business or store targeting a younger demographic, TikTok advertising is a strategy you shouldn’t overlook. So, what exactly are TikTok Ads? How can you run TikTok ads cost-effectively? Read this article to get a detailed step-by-step guide on running TikTok ads for beginners.
1. What is TikTok?
TikTok is a social video-sharing application originating from China, launched at the end of 2017. Thanks to its rapid growth and widespread appeal, TikTok provides users with a creative and promotional platform unlike any other.
The app operates in a straightforward manner—users can upload videos up to 15 seconds long, or they can combine multiple clips to create engaging 60-second videos featuring trending topics or storytelling elements.
Since TikTok videos are short, they encourage quick, engaging content. After recording, users can upload videos directly from their phones without needing to shoot content within the app itself.
Beyond just adding background music, TikTok offers a wide range of special effects that allow users to edit their videos, making them more unique and eye-catching. Additionally, the platform features personalized content recognition, meaning that it tailors its recommendations based on user preferences, ensuring a highly engaging experience.
See More: How to Increase TikTok Followers
2. What is TikTok Ads?
TikTok Ads are short video advertisements ranging from 3 to 15 seconds, often featuring music or entertaining content. Running ads on TikTok allows businesses to reach a large audience, making it an ideal platform for industries such as fashion, beauty, and lifestyle.
TikTok encourages user creativity, which makes it a dynamic and engaging advertising platform. Since it primarily targets younger demographics, brands with products suitable for this audience can attract new customers effectively through TikTok Ads.
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3. Why Advertise on TikTok?
3.1 A Significant User Base
In the first half of 2018, TikTok was downloaded 104 million times on Apple’s App Store, surpassing social media giants like Facebook and Instagram.
In Vietnam, Gen Z (a tech-savvy and trend-driven generation) dominates the platform, making TikTok a highly potential advertising channel for marketers.
According to network reports, TikTok ranked third in Vietnam in downloads across iOS and Android, reaching 12 million monthly users after just one year of testing.
With a well-planned marketing strategy, brands and businesses can effectively leverage TikTok Ads to reach their target audience effortlessly.
3.2 Engaging Customers with Creative Content
Most TikTok users are young and highly expressive, making TikTok the perfect platform for creativity-driven advertising.
In Vietnam, a majority of TikTok users are under 30, with interests in beauty, travel, food, and social issues. They are quick to adopt trends and actively engage across multiple social media platforms.
For businesses targeting young consumers, TikTok provides a powerful tool for impactful storytelling through viral challenges, creative campaigns, and trend-driven content. Brands can leverage this potential to maximize customer engagement and boost marketing success.
Moreover, TikTok does not limit brand creativity, allowing businesses to develop innovative and compelling ads that captivate their audience.
3.3 Wide Influence and Viral Potential
TikTok Ads consist of short, engaging video content (3-15 seconds), making them highly effective in capturing user attention. Unique and well-crafted ads can quickly become viral trends, extending their reach organically.
Given TikTok’s massive user base, advertising campaigns on the platform have the potential to significantly boost brand awareness. This is especially beneficial for industries such as fashion, travel, beauty, and pet care, where viral content can drive high engagement and sales.
4. Available TikTok Ad Formats
To run ads on TikTok, you need to understand the different TikTok Ads formats that are available. This knowledge will help you create an effective marketing strategy. Below are the main types of TikTok ads:
4.1 Brand Takeover Ads
These ads appear immediately when a user opens the TikTok app and last for about 5 seconds. When users click on the ad, they are redirected to the brand’s homepage or a Hashtag Challenge—a type of video campaign that includes a branded hashtag, encouraging users to create similar videos and participate in a trend.
Brand Takeover Ads are measured by impressions, clicks, and reach. This ad format is designed to increase views for videos within a Hashtag Challenge and encourage user-generated content. As of now, TikTok limits the number of advertisers who can use this format per day in each country.
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4.2 In-Feed Video Ads – Boost Your Reach on TikTok
In-Feed Video Ads appear in the “For You” feed of TikTok users. These ads work similarly to Instagram Story ads, displaying in full screen and allowing users to skip them. They also support call-to-action buttons that direct users to a landing page, app download page, or e-commerce store.
There are two types of In-Feed Video Ads:
- Direct Native Ads – Designed to increase views and engagement directly within TikTok.
- Direct Diversion Ads – Help drive traffic to external landing pages.
Metrics for In-Feed Ads include impressions, clicks, CTR (click-through rate), total views, average watch time, and engagement levels.
4.3 Branded Hashtag Challenges – Creating Viral Trends
This TikTok ad format encourages user participation by launching a viral challenge linked to a branded hashtag. Unlike other paid ad formats, anyone can create and participate in hashtag challenges for free.
Many hashtag challenges are initiated by influencers, who create trendy videos that their followers replicate. For brands, TikTok offers a paid version of this feature, which includes banner ads in the TikTok Discover section. These banners lead users to the brand’s homepage or a challenge page showcasing user-generated content.
Key performance indicators for Branded Hashtag Challenges include:
- Number of views
- Clicks on the banner
- Hashtag page views
- Number of user-generated videos
- Engagement rates
4.4 Branded Lenses – Interactive TikTok Ads
Branded Lenses work similarly to Snapchat and Instagram filters. Brands create interactive AR (Augmented Reality) effects that TikTok users can apply to their videos. These filters appear in the “Hot” or “Trending” section for the first five days and can remain active for up to 10 days.
This ad format promotes two-way engagement by allowing users to interact with branded content in a fun and creative way.
Choosing the Right TikTok Ad Format for Your Business
From these four formats, TikTok advertising helps brands target customers based on their interests and demographics, making campaigns more effective.
- Brand Takeover Ads and In-Feed Video Ads are ideal for driving direct sales and website traffic, as they redirect users to your sales page—increasing conversion rates.
- Branded Hashtag Challenges are best for brand awareness and wide audience reach, allowing businesses to create viral trends that boost brand recognition.
See More: List of Free TikTok Follower-Boosting Apps in 2025
5. Guide to Effective Advertising on TikTok
To successfully sell on TikTok, you need to understand how to run TikTok ads, what steps are required, and how ad operations work. We will help you explore these steps.
5.1 How to Register a TikTok Ads Account
TikTok does not currently allow individual users to create ad accounts directly. However, in Vietnam, you can contact TikTok’s representative companies to register an advertising account.
See more: Step-by-step guide to creating a TikTok Ads account
The process of registering a TikTok Ads account in Vietnam follows these steps:
- Step 1: Register a TikTok account through a TikTok representative company in Vietnam.
- Step 2: The TikTok representative company in Vietnam will review and respond to your registration request.
- Step 3: Create an account and add funds to your ad account.
5.2 How to Run Ads on TikTok
Once you have created a TikTok Ads account, you will be directed to the homepage to set up your ad. Basically, there are three different levels of advertising you should know about: Campaign, Ad Group, and Ad.
Understanding how these three levels of advertising work will help you better target your audience. At the same time, you can allocate your ad budget and design ads appropriately to increase audience reach. This will help improve ad performance and achieve your TikTok advertising campaign goals effectively.
The first step in creating an ad on TikTok is to submit a request via their ad link:
- Open the TikTok Ads page at https://ads.tiktok.com/. You will see a prompt in the center of the page that says “Create an Ad.”
- Click on “Create an Ad”, and you will be redirected to another page where you need to provide your profile details.
- On this page, you must specify your company’s location and the main purpose of creating an ad on TikTok. Then, click Continue.
- Complete the ad creation form by providing your contact details, such as name, company name, email address, phone number, company location, industry, and company website.
- Finally, submit the information. This will be sent to TikTok’s advertising unit. You will receive a response from TikTok via the email address you provided.
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6. Some Tips for Running Effective Ads on TikTok
There are several ways brands or businesses can enhance the effectiveness of their TikTok ads:
- Collaborate with Influencers to Promote Your Brand’s Videos
Working with TikTok influencers is an effective way for businesses to strengthen their brand presence, especially for those with a smaller following. TikTok provides tools to help businesses connect with influencers, allowing you to find the best representative for your product.
- Create Your Own Channel and Post at Least Three Pieces of Content Daily (Including One About Your Product)
TikTok users do not primarily visit the platform to shop but to find entertaining or educational videos. That’s why you should create a personal account and act like a regular user rather than aggressively promoting your products. Instead, focus on producing engaging, creative videos. Sharing these videos widely will help increase interaction and gradually expand your reach to potential customers.
- Share Your Content or Campaign on Other Social Media Platforms
This strategy will help expand your audience reach. While TikTok’s user base consists mainly of younger demographics, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube have a broader demographic range, from young adults to older generations.
- Start New Trends on TikTok
Beyond running traditional ads, consider creating fresh trends on TikTok. Trends tend to have a strong influence and can attract significant attention to your account, helping boost engagement and brand awareness.
We’ve outlined detailed steps on how to run cost-effective and impactful TikTok ads. Start applying these TikTok Ads strategies today to increase sales and attract more customers on TikTok!
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