TikTok Ads

TikTok advertising — campaigns, creative, targeting, Spark Ads, Shop integration, and measurement.

Install

git clone https://github.com/thatrebeccarae/claude-marketing.git && cp -r claude-marketing/skills/tiktok-ads ~/.claude/skills/

Campaign Objectives

Objective	Optimization Goal	Best For
Reach	Maximum impressions	Brand awareness, launches
Traffic	Link clicks	Blog, landing page visits
Video Views	6s or 2s views	Content promotion, retargeting pools
Community Interaction	Followers, profile visits	Account growth
Lead Generation	In-app form submissions	B2C lead capture
App Promotion	Installs, in-app events	Mobile app growth
Website Conversions	Purchase, signup, add-to-cart	E-commerce, SaaS
Product Sales (Shop)	TikTok Shop purchases	Social commerce

Ad Formats

Format	Specs	Best For
In-Feed Ads	9:16 vertical, 5-60s, sound on	Standard performance ads
Spark Ads	Boost organic posts (yours or creators)	Authenticity, social proof
TopView	Full-screen on app open, up to 60s	Maximum reach, launches
Branded Hashtag Challenge	Custom hashtag + landing page	UGC, viral campaigns
Branded Effects	Custom AR filters/stickers	Interactive engagement
Collection Ads	Product cards below video	E-commerce browsing
Dynamic Showcase Ads (DSA)	Auto-generated from catalog	Retargeting, catalog scale
TikTok Shop Ads	Video Shopping Ads, Live Shopping	Direct social commerce

Creative Best Practices

The TikTok Creative Formula

Hook (0-3s) → Value/Story (3-15s) → CTA (last 3s)

1. Hook in first 3 seconds — the scroll-stopping moment. Use text overlay, unexpected visual, or direct address ("Stop scrolling if you...")
2. Native aesthetic — look like a TikTok, not an ad. Phone-shot, real people, trending sounds
3. Sound on — 93% of TikTok is consumed with sound. Music and voiceover are critical
4. Vertical video — 9:16 only. Never letterboxed horizontal
5. Text overlays — 73% of top-performing ads use on-screen text
6. Fast pacing — Cut every 2-3 seconds. Static shots die
7. Creator-led > brand-polished — UGC-style consistently outperforms studio creative

Creative Fatigue

• Refresh every 7-14 days (TikTok audiences fatigue 2-3x faster than Meta)
• Maintain 3-5 active creatives per ad group
• Test new hooks on proven body/CTA structures
• Monitor frequency: >3 weekly = fatigue risk

Targeting

Interest & Behavior

• Interest categories (broader, for prospecting)
• Video interaction (liked, commented, shared similar content)
• Creator interaction (followed similar creators)
• Hashtag interaction (engaged with relevant hashtags)

Custom Audiences

• Website traffic (Pixel)
• App activity
• Customer file (email/phone upload)
• Engagement (video views, ad interaction, profile visits)
• TikTok Shop (shoppers, cart abandoners)

Lookalike Audiences

• Based on any custom audience source
• Broad/Narrow/Balanced options
• Minimum source: 1,000 users

Smart Targeting

• Automatic audience expansion when optimization allows
• Works well for conversion campaigns with sufficient data
• Requires 50+ conversions per week for optimal learning

Benchmarks

Metric	Good	Average	Poor
CTR (In-Feed)	>1.5%	0.8-1.5%	<0.8%
CPC	<$0.80	$0.80-1.50	>$1.50
CPM	<$8	$8-15	>$15
Video view rate (6s)	>15%	8-15%	<8%
CVR (e-commerce)	>2%	1-2%	<1%
ROAS (e-commerce)	>3x	1.5-3x	<1.5x
Cost per lead	<$15	$15-40	>$40

Pixel & Events API

TikTok Pixel Setup

• Base pixel on all pages
• Standard events: ViewContent, AddToCart, InitiateCheckout, CompletePayment
• Custom events for specific actions (signup, demo request)
• Enhanced matching (email, phone) for better attribution

Events API (Server-Side)

• Complements pixel for iOS 14.5+ signal loss
• Deduplicate with pixel via event_id parameter
• Recommended for all advertisers running conversion campaigns

Audit Checklist

• Campaign structure: no more than 3-5 ad groups per campaign
• Each ad group has 3-5 active creatives
• Pixel firing correctly on all conversion events
• Events API configured alongside pixel
• Budget allows 50+ conversions per week per ad group (for learning phase)
• Creative refreshed within last 14 days
• No audience overlap between ad groups
• Exclusions applied (purchasers, existing customers)
• Attribution window set appropriately (7-day click, 1-day view standard)
• Catalog connected (if e-commerce)

Integration with Other Skills

• facebook-ads — Cross-platform creative and audience strategy
• google-ads — Full-funnel paid media coverage
• account-structure-review — Multi-platform structural audit
• wasted-spend-finder — Identify wasted TikTok spend
• copywriting-frameworks — Script ad hooks and CTAs