TikTok Advertising: How Much Does It Cost to Advertise on TikTok?

TikTok, the former Musical.ly, has expanded to become the world’s 7th most popular social media network. And we all know what it means for advertising, right? This figure shows just how much of a fertile ground TikTok is for marketing. But how much does it cost to advertise on TikTok?

Advertising on TikTok helps brands reach the younger and more energetic audience thirsty for great content. For marketers and brands who want to advertise on a particular social media platform, it’s essential to know the basics before fully diving in. One of the basics is finding out how much a platform’s ads cost and checking whether it’s within the marketing budget. 

Like any marketing strategy, brands should have a clear campaign goal when advertising on TikTok. It can be gaining new social media followers, reaching a more targeted audience, or increasing sales and ROI. Whatever your goals are, you should know how to invest in TikTok marketing. 

Looking for an article to help you out on TikTok advertising cost in 2021? You’ve landed on the right page! So, without further ado, let’s get down to our agenda. 

Factors That Influence TikTok Ads Cost

In digital marketing, several factors could influence how much an ad campaign costs. If you’re wondering “how much does it cost to advertise on TikTok,” the same thing could be said of the platform. Some aspects can affect how much TikTok prices an ad. 

The influencing factors are the ad’s objective—whether it’s to drive traffic or increase conversions. Other factors may include the amount and method of bidding, the industry, audiences, and the ad formats. Among the several aspects mentioned, advertising formats are what influence the cost of TikTok ads the most. 

Main TikTok Ad Types

The platform offers four main types of ads, including in-feed native ads, hashtag challenges, brand takeover ads, and branded filters or lenses. So if you’re asking “how much does it cost to advertise on TikTok,” most experienced marketers suggest that at least $1,000 should be allotted even for simple campaigns. 

In-feed Native Ads

The in-feed native ads in TikTok function similarly to Google and Facebook native ads. It goes to show that you need to bid for the spots to be able to serve your ads to targeted users. 

Brand Takeover Ads

In brand takeover ads, an advertisement would automatically play whenever a targeted TikTok user opens the app. Users who show interest in the ad will then click on it—redirecting them to a page on the brand’s website. However, the opportunity for using this ad type is limited since TikTok ensures that no user comes across more than one brand takeover ad per day. 

Hashtag Challenges

Ah, the ever-famous type of ad! A lot of brands and people use hashtag challenges informally. However, you could take it a notch higher by formalizing an official hashtag challenge. The primary benefit of hashtag challenges is generating a large amount of user-generated content. While the brand has to pay for the formal hashtag challenge, users who would participate in the challenge don’t have to spend a dime. 

Reaching a larger real audience through the hashtag challenge may be daunting, but you can use a tool like the one in this Rakuten Advertising review to make the process easier for you. 

Branded Filters or Lenses

These filters or lenses refer to particular filters created by brands that users could use in their TikTok videos. Branded filters are particularly effective for beauty brands where users can identify how they would look with the products on. 

How Much Do TikTok Ads Cost?

At this point, you might still be intrigued by “how much does it cost to advertise on TikTok?” It took quite some time for TikTok to enter the ads market. However, the platform has already set up a formal ads program. It was a slow and gradual process; nonetheless, it’s moving. 

But are TikTok ads free? Given that TikTok ads are still relatively new, the platform can afford to charge premium rates, knowing that the advertising competition there isn’t as competitive as Facebook and Instagram. 

The cost of official TikTok ads starts at $10 per CPM or cost per 1,000 views. On top of that, the social media platform requires advertisers to have a $500 minimum campaign budget. The fee for every ad type may also vary. This is pretty much paid advertising on TikTok 2021

For example, each impression for in-feed ads costs $10, while brand takeovers get a guaranteed 5-min. impression for $50,000 per day. Moreover, hashtag challenges cost $150,000 per week, while branded filters cost a whopping $80,000 per day. Hence, it isn’t a wise move to use paid advertising on TikTok for a cheap, badly-planned marketing campaign.

Can You Advertise on TikTok?

When used properly and effectively, TikTok ads could help your business soar high. However, not all brands are wired to make it to TikTok and benefit from its unique offerings. Sure, you can advertise on the platform, but the question lies on whether it’s the best for you. 

You may already know how much does it cost to advertise on TikTok. But before investing your time, effort, and monetary resources on TikTok ads, ask yourself these two questions to determine if the platform is best for your business: 

What is Your Business’ Target Demographic?

If the primary audiences for your brand fall under the range of younger people, investing in TikTok ads might prove worthwhile for you. But if you want to target older audiences, the social network might not be great for you. According to statistics, 66% of TikTok users are younger than 30, and 41% are aged 16-24. 

However, you should also consider that social networks are more adopted by younger audiences first, then would slowly make their mark on the older demographics. The bottom line is to identify your target audience. If you often find them spending time on TikTok, you can give TikTok ads a try. 

To build good connections with your audiences, you may check out helpful social media tools like the one in this Tailify review. 

Is Your Budget Enough to Advertise on TikTok?

Large businesses like Nike, Grubhub, and Disney hurriedly took the opportunity of pioneering advertisements on TikTok to drive impressions. However, TikTok ads might be a little bit overboard in terms of expenses for small businesses. 

Now that you have an idea of how much does it cost to advertise on TikTok, you must determine and set the budget for your marketing campaign. Once you have the budget to advertise on TikTok and your target demographic is suitable, investing in the social media platform might turn out to be worthwhile. 

Are TikTok Ads Worth It?

TikTok is expensive and hyped, but is it really worth it? Is it worth investing your time, efforts, and resources? To help you sort out this question, here are some data to consider:

Reach a Diverse Audience

Although most of the TikTok users are young (as mentioned earlier), it isn’t fair to say that the platform is totally free of the older ones. As revealed by statistics, 41% of TikTok users are 16-24-year-olds, which means that the remaining 59% are a mix of Millennials, GenX, and even Baby Boomers. 

Moreover, the number of adult TikTok users in the United States grew 5.5 times this year. And aside from the age variety, TikTok users also come from different countries with different nationalities, cultures, and upbringings. The audience diversity on the social platform is truly amazing! 

Easily Create Great Campaigns

Many brands, especially small businesses, think that advertising on TikTok isn’t worth the money and effort. It’s maybe because they believe that the process of setting up a campaign isn’t easy. However, reality says otherwise. Setting up a TikTok campaign isn’t hard at all— you can use numerous tools and resources to get started. 

On top of that, advertising on TikTok at this time won’t be too costly, especially now it’s helping out small businesses through its Back to Business relief program. This program provides $100 million in-ad credits to advertisers from eligible countries worldwide. Its goal is to help businesses that have been financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and allow them to get back on track. Moreover, brands that are eligible for this program may claim $300 worth of one-time ad credit. 

TikTok Works Great for Influencer Marketing

One powerful thing that can enable you to promote your brand to a larger audience is influencer marketing. In TikTok, you may collaborate with creators and have your brand reach a significant amount of audience. These creators could be influencers, bloggers, athletes, or celebrities—sharing bits and pieces of their lives on the social network. 

Unlike Instagram or YouTube that often uses intense editing and complicated camera work, TikTok influencers share experiences in their rawest form. Hence, making the content more relatable and genuine. 

TikTok is home to budding influencers like Charli D’aMelio and Addison Rae. These influencers have now forged glistening business partnerships even in the early stages of their careers. However, keep in mind that TikTok users are receptive to social media advertisements. Hence, choose your influencer and promotion-delivery strategies wisely.

Genuinely Showcase Products

One unique aspect of TikTok ads is its authenticity-driven bedrock. As mentioned, TikTok is all for the raw and genuine. The influencers on the platform showcase their true personalities and interests. As a result, users would be encouraged to stay true to themselves and not be afraid to share their stories, opinions, interests, and creations while toying with the opportunity of going viral. 

Having your brand participate in this kind of genuineness would drive ultimate success. It would be a perfect opportunity to share your story and showcase your products to users who haven’t heard of you yet. Eventually, this would lead to increased awareness, and with the appropriate messaging, increased engagement as well.

Implement Effective Video Marketing.

Sure, you can do video marketing on Instagram and Facebook. However, the medium on TikTok is purely video—unlike on other platforms where you can advertise through photos or texts.

On Instagram and Facebook, viewers are less likely to turn on their sound when viewing an ad or scrolling through their feed. But in TikTok, viewers won’t have any other choice because videos are all they’ve got! Hence, to fully take advantage of the platform’s video feature, we encourage brands to use popular or trending songs on TikTok for the ad to feel more native and familiar to the viewers. 

Advertise to Engaged Consumers

We commonly misconceive TikTok as just another app that consumes more irrelevant screen time. Little do most people know that this benefits brands in a way that increased screen time entails an upward trend in the usage of TikTok. And the upward trend is a solid-rock opportunity for brands to reach many potential engaged consumers. 

Since TikTok contains a wide variety of content, there’s always something for somebody. Whether you’re a fashion brand, restaurant, music industry, or another application, there’s constantly a place for you on the platform. The neverending, dynamic trends are an avenue for advertisers and brands to gain a higher social media reach. 

Stay Ahead of the Social Media Marketing Curve

With the popularity that TikTok has gained over the years, it’s a reality that the platform is growing larger. From the various content and exciting trends, users from different age groups are using the platform nonstop. Although several people claim that it’s making people dumber, it’s doing quite the opposite. 

With novel updates on the social media network, TikTok has overtaken the traditional advertising forms and built a greater wave of creativity among its users—regardless of age and gender. If you want your brand to stay ahead of the social media curve, you should consider investing in TikTok. 

Is TikTok advertising right for you?

TikTok is indeed a fertile advertisement ground for marketers and brands. It’s a growing platform with millions of users worldwide. The premium ad rates of this social network might be costly, but its effectiveness is indisputable. Thus, if you want a foolproof advertisement investment for your brand, TikTok is the way to go. Just make sure to have your ads strategically thought out and planned to avoid ineffectiveness and wasting of resources. 

Now that you already know the costs and essentials of TikTok ads, you may try advertising on the platform. Read this article about “TikTok Advertising: A Brief Guide for Marketers” to help you get started.