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TikTok Advertising for Small Businesses: Tips, Ad Types, and Costs

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Use These Tips and Insights to Advertise on TikTok

If you are thinking of adding TikTok ads to your social media marketing strategy, read on. We will cover why you should consider the platform, the ad formats available, current costs, and the steps to create a campaign.

You will also find tips to help you get the most from TikTok advertising.

Key Points and Facts About TikTok Advertising

  • TikTok is one of the most engaging social platforms, with users spending significantly more time on it each month than on most other networks.
  • TikTok offers several ad formats, from self-service In-Feed and Carousel ads to premium formats like Brand Takeover and Branded Hashtag Challenges.
  • Current TikTok minimum spend requirements start at $50 per day at the campaign level and $20 per day at the ad group level.
  • Sound matters more on TikTok than on most platforms — TikTok-commissioned research found that most users stop and pay attention to ads that use audio.
  • Small businesses generally do best starting with In-Feed or Spark Ads, since premium formats like Brand Takeover and Hashtag Challenges require budgets well beyond most small business marketing spend.

Why Advertise on TikTok?

TikTok is more than a social network known for trends and dance moves. It is also a place to promote your business and reach your target audience. Here are a few reasons to consider advertising on TikTok.

High User Engagement

TikTok remains one of the most engaging social platforms available. Current estimates put average daily use in the range of 90 minutes or more per user, well above most competing platforms, though exact figures vary by source and region. Your ads have a good chance of being seen.

The content on TikTok is diverse, covering fashion, music, food, and technology. Whatever your business does, you should be able to find an audience already interested in that kind of content.

Multiple Targeting Options

Like most social networks, TikTok offers several targeting options to help you reach your exact audience. Here are the main targeting criteria available with TikTok ads:

  • Audience — Create a custom or lookalike audience using account activity and engagement levels.
  • Demographics — Target users by gender, age bracket, location, and language.
  • Interests and Behavior — Target users based on the interests on their profiles and their app behavior, such as fans of food or fashion content.
  • Device — Target users by device model, device price, operating system, connection type, and phone carrier.

Simple Ad Creation Process

Creating video content usually takes time and investment. On TikTok, you can build a video ad for free in a matter of minutes.

TikTok’s appeal is authenticity. Ads don’t need to be polished or heavily produced. Users expect to see the real, everyday side of a business, so there’s no need to over-curate your videos.

Suitable for Influencer Marketing

Finding and working with an influencer on TikTok is easier than on many other platforms. The app has a wide reach of influencers, celebrities, athletes, and bloggers who share their daily lives and interests. Consider partnering with creators who align with your business — you can reach out to them directly through your TikTok account.

Increases Brand Exposure

With TikTok advertising, your ads have a real chance of going viral if users find them worth trying out. You don’t have to be a celebrity or influencer to drive a trend — creating ads based on current trends also helps more users discover your business.

TikTok Ad Categories

Here are the ad formats available with TikTok advertising. Choose the ones that best fit your message and your audience.

In-Feed Ads

These ads appear in a user’s feed alongside organic content. They are the only self-service option you can build yourself. In-feed ads come in several formats:

  • Image Ads — An image, brand name, and ad caption displayed in the TikTok newsfeed.
  • Video Ads — A video clip with your brand name, display image, and caption. TikTok now supports video ads up to several minutes long, though shorter videos in the 9- to 15-second range tend to perform best.
  • Spark Ads — Boost your own organic content, or content from other creators, with paid distribution. This format tends to blend more naturally into a user’s feed since it carries the original post’s likes and comments.
  • Pangle Ads — Placed on TikTok’s ad network of partner apps outside the main TikTok feed, giving you additional reach beyond the app itself.
  • Carousel Ads — Swipeable image ads that can include up to 35 images, useful for showcasing multiple products or services.

Product Sales Ads (TikTok Shop)

TikTok Shop ads let you connect a product catalog directly to your ad campaigns, so shoppers can browse and buy without leaving the app. These shoppable in-feed and carousel formats have become one of the more practical ways for small businesses to turn TikTok views into direct sales.

Brand Takeover Ads

Brand Takeover ads appear immediately when a user opens the TikTok app. They display full-screen for a few seconds before the user’s feed appears.

These ads are limited in reach — TikTok shows only one Brand Takeover ad per day to a given user.

TopView Ads

TopView ads work like an extension of Brand Takeover ads. Instead of appearing before the feed, they show up as the first piece of in-feed content after a user opens the app, and they can run for up to 60 seconds.

Branded Effects

Branded Effects let users interact directly with your brand. These ads let you add branded stickers, filters, and effects to campaigns, giving your audience a fun way to engage with your business. Availability windows and pricing for Branded Effects vary by campaign, so confirm current terms with TikTok before budgeting.

Branded Hashtag Challenges

Branded Hashtag Challenges are built for brand awareness and engagement. They carry strong viral potential, letting you create a challenge and promote it on TikTok’s hashtag challenge page.

How Much Does TikTok Advertising Cost?

Advertising on TikTok tends to run somewhat higher than on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Cost depends heavily on ad format and campaign length, and you control your own bid and budget.

Some formats are realistic for small businesses; others aren’t. For self-service In-Feed campaigns, TikTok requires a minimum daily budget of $50 at the campaign level and $20 at the ad group level. Many small businesses starting out budget $500 to $1,000 for an initial test campaign to give TikTok’s algorithm enough data to optimize, though that’s a practical recommendation rather than a platform requirement.

At the other end of the spectrum, Branded Hashtag Challenges typically start around $150,000 for a six-day campaign — well outside most small business budgets, but worth knowing about if you ever work with an agency or larger partner on a bigger push.

How to Create a TikTok Ad

Now that you know the ad formats and rough costs, here’s how to set up a TikTok ad campaign.

  1. Create a TikTok Ads Manager account. Open a TikTok Ads Manager account, which gives you a self-service dashboard to build and manage campaigns. Choose your billing country or region, select business or individual, enter your email and password, verify your account, agree to the terms, and sign up.
  2. Choose your campaign objective. From the Campaign tab, select “Create” to start a new campaign. TikTok organizes objectives by funnel stage:
    • Reach — for broad brand awareness
    • Traffic, Video Views, Lead Generation, and Community Interaction — for engagement and mid-funnel goals
    • Sales and App Promotion — for driving purchases, leads, or app installs

    TikTok periodically adjusts and renames these objectives, so check the options in your account before finalizing a choice.

  3. Choose a campaign name and set your budget. Campaign names can run up to 512 characters. You’ll also set your campaign’s daily budget — remember that TikTok’s minimum is $50 per day at the campaign level.
  4. Set up your ad groups and choose placements. Each campaign needs at least one ad group, and you can create as many as you like to test different audiences, budgets, and placements. You can select placements manually or let TikTok choose them automatically.
  5. Choose your target audience. Select your audience using the targeting criteria covered earlier: demographics, custom or lookalike audiences, interests and behavior, or device.
  6. Set ad group budget and schedule. Choose a daily or lifetime budget for the ad group — the minimum here is $20 per day. Then schedule your campaign to run all day or during specific hours.
  7. Choose your bid strategy. TikTok offers three bidding strategies: Bid Cap, Cost Cap, and Lowest Cost. Your campaign goal typically determines which one fits best. You’ll also choose standard or accelerated delivery, which controls how evenly your budget is spent over the campaign.
  8. Design and launch your ad. You can run up to 50 ads within a single ad group. Choose an ad format, add your content or build one with TikTok’s video tools, enter your display name and caption, include a call to action, and submit.

Best Practices for Advertising on TikTok

A few tips to help your TikTok ad campaigns perform well.

Keep Your Videos and Captions Short and to the Point

While some TikTok ad formats now support videos several minutes long, shorter still tends to perform best — generally somewhere in the 9- to 15-second range for most campaigns. Keep your caption engaging and to the point. TikTok’s audience moves fast, and a long or tedious ad will get scrolled past.

Use Caption and Sound in Your Ad

Sound matters more on TikTok than on most platforms. In a study TikTok commissioned with Kantar in 2021, 73% of TikTok users said they stop and pay attention to ads that use audio — a higher share than on any other platform tested. Your caption should align with your video and guide users toward your call to action.

Keep It Authentic and Inspiring

TikTok rewards authenticity. Ads don’t need to be perfect — a video of you speaking directly to your audience can work well. Aim for a positive, genuine tone.

Add Some Personality

Don’t be afraid to bring some personality into your campaigns. Use emojis in your caption, smile and greet your audience, and try TikTok trends where they fit naturally. Audiences connect more easily with businesses that feel like part of the community.

Disclose AI-Generated Content

If your ad includes fully AI-generated content, or real footage significantly altered by AI, TikTok requires you to disclose this using the ad disclaimer toggle in Ads Manager. Minor AI-assisted edits, like lighting or color adjustments, don’t require disclosure, but undisclosed synthetic content can get your ad rejected or restricted.

Checklist for TikTok Advertising

  1. Set up your account
    • Create a TikTok Ads Manager account
    • Confirm your billing region and account type
  2. Plan your campaign
    • Choose a campaign objective that matches your goal
    • Set a budget that meets TikTok’s current minimums ($50/day campaign, $20/day ad group)
  3. Target your audience
    • Choose demographics, interests, behavior, or device targeting
    • Consider a custom or lookalike audience if you have existing customer data
  4. Build your ad
    • Keep videos short, ideally under 15 seconds for most campaigns
    • Add sound and a clear caption with a call to action
    • Disclose any significant AI-generated content
  5. Launch and monitor
    • Choose a bid strategy that fits your goal
    • Track performance and adjust budget or creative as needed

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are a few commonly asked questions about TikTok ads.

1. Can you use Automated Creative Optimization when creating a TikTok ad?

  • Yes. Turning this setting on lets TikTok automatically assemble your ad from your images or video, captions, and call to action, then test combinations to find what performs best. You won’t need to run manual split tests.

2. How can I choose an influencer for my ad campaign?

  • Look at an influencer’s follower count and demographics first, and choose someone whose audience matches your target customer. Also check their average video views, since follower count alone doesn’t guarantee reach.

3. Do I need music rights for my ad campaign?

  • For paid campaigns, you’re generally limited to royalty-free music from TikTok’s commercial library unless you obtain rights for copyrighted music separately.

4. How can I make my TikTok ad go viral?

  • You can’t fully control virality, but you can improve your odds. Create fun, entertaining videos, follow current TikTok trends, consider starting a challenge, and stay active on the platform so you know what’s trending.

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