If you’re a business owner, marketer, or TikTok user, you need to know the different TikTok ads specs.
In this blog post, we’ll go over everything from what kind of ads are allowed on the app to what TikTok ad specs are the most important when creating your very own ad on the short-video app giant.
So whether you’re just curious about TikTok ads or about to make one for your own business, keep reading!
What Are TikTok Ads?
TikTok Ads are a form of advertising that businesses can use to reach out to potential customers using the very popular TikTok app.
Tiktok ads are generally short, 15-second feed ads that promote a product or service targeting a specific demographic.
Due to the large user base of the TikTok app (over 1 billion users), as well as its focus on video content, TikTok ads are becoming an increasingly popular way for businesses to reach out to potential customers.
They are also relatively affordable, making them an attractive option for businesses of all sizes.
With TikTok ads, businesses can customize their content to fit the platform’s unique style and audience. This allows them to create engaging videos that will stand out from the competition and entice potential customers.
Additionally, businesses can track the performance of their ads using various analytics tools, allowing them to adjust their strategies as needed.
By creating engaging video ads, businesses can reach a large audience and maximize their ad spend and return on investment in a unique and engaging manner.
What’s So Good About TikTok Ads?
Are you curious about how effective ads are on TikTok? Are you unsure if advertising on TikTok is worth it for your business? Numbers will help us.
So let’s go over some statistics that show why TikTok ads are so successful and why businesses are into them.
Below are just a few of the many statistics that show the effectiveness of TikTok for businesses.
- 65% of marketers that buy paid ads purchase them on TikTok. (HubSpot)
- TikTokers are twice as likely as users of other social platforms to recommend something they’ve seen on the app. (Material)
- 61% of TikTok users are women. (Statista)
- 43% of users try something new after seeing it on TikTok. (Tiktok)
- Collaborating with TikTok creators can increase ad recall by 27%. (TikTok)
- 49% of users reveal that TikTok helped them make purchase decisions. (AdWeek)
When developing a digital marketing strategy, marketers maximize the use of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and sometimes even on household advertising channels like Google to reach the market online.
But among all these options, marketers are particularly investing a significant portion of their assets in TikTok in recent years.
According to a HubSpot study, 65% of marketers that use paid ads on social media platforms do it in TikTok. And these efforts are not misplaced.
When compared to users on other social channels, TikTok users are twice as likely to recommend the products and services they discover on TikTok than others, a study by Material concludes.
In addition, 43% of TikTok users try something new after seeing it on the app, according to TikTok.
Among TikTok’s one billion active users, 61% are found to be females. This is also why beauty brands that appeal to the female demographic find productivity in the app’s large female market through collaborations that increase a brand’s recall.
Moreover, TikTok’s interface is not only designed for entertainment. Businesses enjoy TikTok’s various features that offer ease for promotions and when users want to learn more about an ad.
As a result, 49% of users admit that TikTok is effective in helping them make purchase decisions.
The 6 Different Types of TikTok Ads
TikTok is a rapidly growing app with over 500 million users. It’s the perfect place to advertise your business or product. But, before you start advertising on TikTok, you need to know the different types of ads that are available.
In-feed Ads
In-feed ads are types of ads that are displayed within a user’s feed on TikTok. These ads are typically formatted as videos that promote a product or service.
Video Ads
Video ads are ads that appear full-screen on TikTok’s “For You” feed that last 5 to 60 seconds long. These ads come with an ad display image, brand or app name, and ad text.
Spark Ads
Like organic videos, this format allows the same type of features that enable interaction through comments, likes, and shares. If users swipe left, they’ll be directed to your profile the same way if they clicked on your picture or handle name.
Spark Ads also allows users to give you a quick follow by clicking the “+” icon next to your picture.
Pangle Ads
Pangle’s app monetization solutions allow publishers to make money while advertisers reach their target audiences through ads on 3rd party apps.
Carousel Ads
A carousel ad is a type of ad that allows businesses to showcase multiple products or services within a single ad.
This type of ad is typically formatted as a series of images, usually up to 10 images, allowing businesses to reach a larger audience in a unique presentation.
TopView Ads
TopView ads are designed to instantly grab the attention of the user the moment it opens TikTok. This type of ad usually runs up to 60 seconds long and appears at the top of your “For You” feed upon opening.
Branded Hashtag Challenge
A Branded Hashtag on TikTok is a marketing campaign that uses a branded hashtag to encourage users to share videos related to the campaign.
This kind of ad allows users to run 3 to 6-day campaigns that draw in engagement from every user that joins the challenge by using the hashtag.
Branded Effects
Branded effects are special filters or animations that brands can create and add to their videos on TikTok to make their TikTok video ad more special. They are generally used to promote or advertise the brand and can be quite flashy and eye-catching.
Some popular branded effects include McDonald’s “M” logo animation, Nike’s “swoosh” animation, and Pepsi’s “Pepsi Globe” animation.
TikTok Ads Specs for Video Ads
In order to produce a quality TikTok ad, you’ll need to adhere to certain TikTok ad specs when using the TikTok Ads Manager.
In this article, we’ll go over the most important TikTok ad specs and requirements for creating effective TikTok video ads for your brand.
By understanding what’s expected of you, you can create video ads that will really grab users’ attention!
These specifications apply to TikTok in-feed ads.
What’s included:
- Video Creative
- Ad display image
- Brand or app name (logo)
- Ad description
- CTA button
Aspect Ratio:
- 9:16, 1:1, or 16:9
Video Resolution:
- (A minimum of) 540*960px, 640*640px, or 960*540px
File Type:
- .mp4
- .mov
- .mpeg
- .3gp
- .avi
Video Duration:
- Between 5-60 seconds
- 9-15 seconds is recommended
Bit Rate:
≥516 kbps
File Size:
≤500 MB
Profile Image:
- 1:1
- .jpg, .jpeg, .png
- <50 KB
App or Brand Name:
- App name: 4-40 Latin alphabet letters or 2-20 Asian characters
- Brand names: 2-20 Latin alphabet letters or 1-10 Asian characters
- Emojis not supported
Depending on the mobile phone model and operating system, longer text may be at risk of being cut off from the display area on the screen.
Ad Description:
- 1-100 Latin alphabet letters or 1-50 Asian characters
- { }, #, and all emojis not supported
Depending on the mobile phone model and operating system, longer text may be at risk of being cut off from the display area on the screen.
TikTok Ads Specs for Image Ads
These specifications apply to TikTok image ads.
What’s Included:
- Image creative
- Brand or app name (logo)
- Ad description
- CTA button
File Type:
- .JPG
- .PNG
Image Resolution:
- 1200*628px
- 640*640px
- 720*1280px
File Size:
- Up to 500 KB max
App or Brand Name:
- App names: 4-40 Latin alphabet letters or 2-20 Asian characters
- Brand names: 2-20 Latin alphabet letters or 1-10 Asian characters
- Emojis not supported
Depending on the mobile phone model and operating system, longer text may be at risk of being cut off from the display area on the screen.
Image Ads Description:
- 1-100 Latin alphabet letters or 1-50 Asian characters
- { }, #, and all emojis not supported
Depending on the mobile phone model and operating system, longer text may be at risk of being cut off from the display area on the screen.
Examples of Ads on TikTok
Are you curious about how businesses are using TikTok to advertise? In this blog post, we’ll share three examples of successful TikTok video ads. Keep reading to learn more!
1. Hormel Chili
In this ad, MaxTheMeatGuy, as he is known on TikTok, creates a giant cheese-stuffed hotdog sandwich poured with Hormel’s famous chili with beans. The creation finishes with an incredible-looking hotdog sandwich made for the giants.
The TikTok video ad has so far garnered 1.2 million views and 8.8 thousand comments with the hashtag, #HormelChili.
2. Walmart
This fun TikTok ad video shows Shane Boyerr almost getting caught before spray painting a wall. Toward the end of the video, a stranger catches on with him and returns his spray bottle. Turns out, it was no spray paint.
It was actually a Subway Surfers Vinyl Figure cleverly cased inside a spray bottle package. The ad ends with a CTA saying “Available at Walmart.”
The ad garnered 5.4 million views and 7.4 thousand comments using the hashtag, #SubwaySurfers.
3. Moncler
In this example, fashion brand Moncler collaborates with famous TikTok star turned recording artist, Bella Poarch to feature their Bubble Up Challenge.
In the ad, Bella Poarch stuns viewers with her iconic cute core-esque style wearing Moncler’s Parnaiba Long Down Jacket.
The ad attracted 7.2 million views and 52.3 thousand comments with the use of the hashtag, #MonclerBubbleUp.
FAQs
As you continue to explore the advertising potential of TikTok, you may have questions about the specs and requirements for creating ads on the platform.
This FAQ provides answers to some of the most common questions about TikTok ad specifications.
In Summary
Now that you know what is expected of you in terms of TikTok ad specs when creating an ad, it’s time to get creative!
By understanding the specs and requirements, as well as seeing some successful examples, you can create an ad that will really grab users’ attention.
Brian Shelton is an entrepreneur, marketer, and life-long learner committed to helping businesses achieve impactful results. He founded Grow Predictably to provide tailored marketing strategies to generate predictable, profitable growth. With over a decade of experience in the industry, Brian has helped businesses, large and small. reach their goals and drive positive change in the world.