To advertise on TikTok, you open a TikTok Ads Manager account at ads.tiktok.com, install the TikTok Pixel or Events API on your site, choose a campaign objective, set budget and audience at ad group level and upload vertical video creative. On TikTok, success depends more on creative than on targeting; the algorithm learns who to show your ad to largely from the video itself.
Habits that work on Meta do not always work on TikTok. After setup, see our TikTok Ads optimization article for the differences in detail.
What do you need to advertise on TikTok?
A TikTok for Business (Ads Manager) account, a verified payment method, a website or app for the ad to point to and at least a few vertical videos. For conversion campaigns, install the server-side Events API alongside the TikTok Pixel; because of browser restrictions, pixel-only measurement is incomplete (TikTok Pixel setup).
- Ads Manager account: business name, country, time zone and currency; the last two cannot be changed later.
- Payment: prepaid or automatic payment, with the card in the company's name.
- Measurement: Pixel plus Events API; purchase, add-to-cart and form events.
- Creative: 9:16 vertical, 1080x1920, with sound, ideally 20-35 seconds.
Step by step: your first campaign in TikTok Ads Manager
The TikTok Ads Manager hierarchy resembles Meta's: campaign, ad group and ad. The campaign objective tells the algorithm what to optimize for; the ad group holds budget, audience, placements and the optimization event; the ad holds the creative.
- Create an account at ads.tiktok.com and set country, time zone and currency correctly.
- Install the Pixel and, ideally, the Events API in Events Manager, and verify with a test event.
- Choose the objective: 'Website conversions' or 'Product sales' for ecommerce, 'Lead generation' for leads.
- Pick the optimization event in the ad group (for example purchase); if data is thin, start one step up the funnel (add to cart).
- Keep the audience broad: country, age and language only; do not narrow with interest layers at the start.
- Leave automatic placements on and upload 3-5 different creatives per ad group.
- Set the daily budget based on the conversion volume needed for learning (next section).
How much should you budget for TikTok ads?
TikTok's minimum budget is $50 a day at campaign level and $20 a day at ad group level, or the local-currency equivalent. But the minimum is not enough to learn. An ad group needs about 50 conversions a week to exit the learning phase. With a $25 target CPA, that is roughly $1,250 per ad group per week, or about $180 a day.
See TikTok on the same screen as your other channels
Ads Sensor combines TikTok Ads data with Meta, Google Ads and GA4 and explains risks and opportunities with reasoning.
What kind of creative works on TikTok?
On TikTok, ads compete with organic content in the feed, so videos that do not look like ads usually perform better. In practice the decisive element is the hook in the first 2 seconds: users need to see why they should keep watching before they scroll. That is why creator videos and user-generated content (UGC) formats are so common (UGC ads guide).
- Hook: open with a problem, a result or a surprising moment, not a logo.
- Format: 9:16 vertical, with text outside the safe zone covered by the interface.
- Sound: TikTok is watched with sound on; music and voice are part of the creative.
- Captions: on-screen text for silent viewers and accessibility.
- Refresh: creative fatigue arrives fast on TikTok; add new variants per ad group regularly.
When should you use Spark Ads?
Spark Ads let you run an organic TikTok post from your brand or a creator as an ad. Likes, comments and follows accrue on the original post and the ad looks more native. If a video already performs well organically, boosting it with Spark Ads is often more efficient than producing an ad from scratch (TikTok Spark Ads guide).
The most common mistakes when advertising on TikTok
- Uploading Meta creative as is: square or horizontal videos and polished brand films underperform in the TikTok feed.
- Conversion optimization at minimum budget: a $20 ad group runs but cannot learn.
- Over-narrow targeting: TikTok's algorithm learns better from creative signals in a broad audience.
- Not validating the pixel: without the Events API, conversions are under-reported and optimization weakens.
- Deciding too early: switching off an ad group in its first 3-4 days resets learning.
How does Ads Sensor help with TikTok ads?
Ads Sensor reads your TikTok Ads account in the same panel as Meta, Google Ads, Criteo and GA4. Cross-platform revenue and ROAS comparison helps you see what TikTok really adds versus your other channels. Its AI analysis prioritizes risks such as cost spikes, conversion drops and ad groups stuck in learning, proposes reasoned actions and applies them with your approval. 24/7 anomaly monitoring keeps you from missing TikTok's fast-moving performance swings. Apply for the beta.