The Top 5 TikTok Ad Types

I’ve spent millions of dollars from my own bank account, running ads across almost every social channel. I hate wasting money — so I’ve tinkered with designs a lot of avoid it at all costs. These are the ad types I use to test the UVP’s (Unique Value Propositions) of my products or scaling products sales across the big online channels. Ranked in the order that I use them.

These ads work best for e-commerce (physical goods) but can be applied to any business model.

Before the Ad Designs: Details

The ad designs are the most important part of your ad, so don’t fret over the little details. Little details that I hear people fret over are aspect ratios, length, camera choice, button placement, font, etc. The most important thing for TikTok is that your videos have a vertical aspect ratio or 1080x1920, everything else is drastically less significant than the overall design itself. Most modern smartphones typically shoot in this aspect ratio (so if you are shooting on your phone, you are good). Everything else can move the needle 1–5%, but we’re chasing 40%-50%-60% changes.

The Ads

Difference — Before vs After

Show your customers life/situation before and after they use your product. Sometimes the best way to show your value is to show the actual value. Start your video with the problem they were experiencing before your product, problems draw attention, show you product or service entering, and then show the life after.

Us vs Them

Show a comparison between your product and the competitor. Humans will always subconsciously compare you (the unknown) to the mental anchor they understand (a big competitor or product). Show them how you are different.

Lifestyle

Scenes from the lifestyle your product fits into. People will click this ad because it’s the quickest way to the lifestyle they desire. Keep it simple here — pick one emotion and show that.

Customer Facial Expressions — UVP

Everyone says create UVP, but not all of it works. Create user generated videos to show reactions from using your product. Dramatic faces are attention magnets — people click because they want to see what provoked it.

Tutorials

These draw attention to the problem you are solving in an extremely blunt way. If you can’t tell, I’m a big fan of problems. Show your product in these videos, but make how to solve the problem the focus of the ad.

(And if you know a Brand Strategy or Ad Ops Lead at TikTok, please share this article with them, I may be applying).