TikTok is not “the place where teens dance.”
It’s a performance channel with a very specific rule: creative is the targeting. If your ads look like ads, TikTok will punish you with CPMs that feel like a tax.
This guide walks through how to start TikTok advertising in 2023 - from account setup to ad formats to a creative pipeline that doesn’t cost you $200 per video and a week of waiting.
Why TikTok ads work (when they work)
TikTok’s feed is the most efficient attention auction on the internet.
But it’s also unforgiving. The platform rewards:
- Native-feeling creative (UGC-style, fast hooks, minimal polish)
- Volume (you need lots of shots on goal)
- Speed (iteration beats perfection)
If you’re used to Meta where you can squeeze a winner for months, TikTok will feel like a treadmill. That’s not a bug - it’s the business model.
Before you spend $1: make sure TikTok is right for you
TikTok can work for:
- DTC brands with a clear “before/after” or transformation
- Apps with a crisp demo
- Agencies and performance teams that can ship creative weekly
TikTok is harder if:
- Your product needs a 10-minute explanation
- You can’t produce creative consistently
- Your offer is mushy (“premium quality at affordable prices”)
TikTok doesn’t hate your brand. It just hates boring.
Step 1: Set up TikTok for Business + Ads Manager
You need two things:
- TikTok for Business account
- TikTok Ads Manager (where you build campaigns, ad groups, and ads)
Basic setup checklist:
- Create/convert to a business account
- Add billing details
- Add users + permissions (don’t share one login like it’s 2012)
- Connect your TikTok profile (optional, but useful for credibility)
Install the TikTok Pixel (and don’t half-do it)
If you want performance, you need signal.
Do this early:
- Install the TikTok Pixel on your site
- Configure standard events (ViewContent, AddToCart, InitiateCheckout, Purchase)
- Verify events are firing correctly
If you’re on Shopify, use the native integration. If you’re custom, get your dev to do it once and do it right.
Step 2: Choose the right campaign objective
TikTok will happily take your money with the wrong objective.
Common objectives:
- Traffic: good for early testing, but easy to buy low-quality clicks
- Conversions: the default for ecommerce and lead gen when pixel is ready
- App installs: for mobile apps (obvious, but people still mess this up)
- Video views/Reach: top-of-funnel, useful for warming audiences and testing hooks
Practical rule:
- If you can track purchases/leads reliably, start with Conversions.
- If your pixel is brand new and starving, run a short ramp with Traffic or ViewContent optimization - then graduate.
Step 3: Understand TikTok ad structure (Campaign > Ad Group > Ad)
TikTok is similar to Meta, but the knobs matter.
Campaign level
This is where you choose:
- Objective
- Budget type (daily/lifetime)
Ad group level
This is where most of the performance decisions live:
- Audience targeting
- Placements
- Optimization event
- Bid strategy
- Schedule
Ad level
This is where you win or lose:
- Creative (video)
- Primary text
- CTA
- Destination (landing page)
If you’re struggling, it’s usually not your bid strategy. It’s your first 2 seconds.
Step 4: Targeting - keep it simpler than you want to
TikTok targeting can work, but it’s not a cheat code.
Start with:
- Broad (age + geo + maybe gender)
- One or two interest clusters max
- Lookalikes once you have enough conversion data
Then let creative do the heavy lifting.
A note on audiences
Useful audience types:
- Website visitors (retargeting)
- Add-to-cart / checkout initiators
- Past purchasers (exclude or upsell)
- Engagers with your TikTok account
Retargeting can print money, but only if your prospecting is feeding it.
Step 5: TikTok ad formats you’ll actually use
TikTok has a menu of formats. Most brands should focus on the ones that scale without a Hollywood budget.
In-Feed Ads
This is the workhorse.
- Looks like a native post
- Shows in the For You feed
- Best for performance testing and scaling
Spark Ads
Spark Ads let you run ads using organic TikTok posts (yours or a creator’s, with permission).
Why it matters:
- Social proof (likes/comments) carries over
- Often improves CTR because it feels “real”
TopView / Brand Takeover (awareness)
These are premium placements.
They can be great for big launches. They can also be a very expensive way to learn that your creative is average.
If you’re performance-first, master In-Feed + Spark before you buy the billboard.
Step 6: Creative - the part everyone underestimates
Most TikTok ad “strategy” is just creative production discipline.
You need:
- A system to generate hooks
- A system to ship variants
- A system to learn fast
What good TikTok ad creative looks like
Patterns that work:
- Hook in the first second (problem, curiosity, bold claim)
- Show the product early (don’t hide it like it’s a plot twist)
- One idea per video (TikTok is not your pitch deck)
- Proof (demo, testimonial, UGC-style review, numbers)
- Clear CTA (what happens after the click)
The ugly truth: traditional UGC is slow and expensive
Hiring creators the old way often costs ~$200/video.
That’s fine when you need 5 videos for a quarter. It’s a disaster when TikTok demands 20-50 iterations just to find a winner.
Where EzUGC fits (without the hype)
EzUGC is built for the part that breaks most teams: consistent creative volume.
- Traditional UGC: ~$200/video hiring creators
- EzUGC AI UGC: ~$5/video with better consistency
- AI avatars that look real, speak 32+ languages
- Create video ads in minutes, not days
This is why DTC brands, agencies, and performance marketers use it: not because it’s “cool AI,” but because it makes iteration cheap.
A practical creative workflow (that doesn’t melt your team)
- Write 10 hooks (pain, curiosity, contrarian, social proof)
- Produce 3 angles per hook (demo, testimonial, founder story)
- Generate 2-3 edits per angle (different first frame, pacing, captions)
- Launch 20-30 ads
- Kill losers fast, remake winners fast
If you can’t do step 2 cheaply, you won’t do step 4 enough.
Step 7: Build your first TikTok campaign (a simple starting blueprint)
Here’s a clean setup that avoids 90% of beginner mistakes.
Prospecting campaign
- Objective: Conversions
- Ad groups: 2-4 (Broad, Interest cluster, Lookalike if available)
- Ads per ad group: 3-6 (different hooks)
Retargeting campaign
- Objective: Conversions
- Audience: 7-14 day site visitors, ATC, checkout initiators
- Creative: proof-heavy, offer-forward, FAQs, objections
Keep budgets sane. Your job in week one is learning, not “scaling.”
Step 8: Measurement - what to watch (and what to ignore)
TikTok will show you a lot of numbers. Most are distractions.
Watch:
- CPA / ROAS (your north star)
- CTR (creative relevance)
- Hook rate (2-second view rate) as a proxy for “is this boring?”
- Conversion rate on landing page (don’t blame TikTok for a bad page)
Ignore (early on):
- Vanity engagement
- Comments as “market research” (useful sometimes, but noisy)
Step 9: Optimization - iterate like a scientist, not a gambler
The fastest way to lose money is changing 12 variables at once.
A simple optimization cadence:
- Every 48-72 hours: pause obvious losers
- Weekly: duplicate winners and test new hooks
- Biweekly: refresh offers/angles if performance decays
What “refresh” actually means:
- New first 1-2 seconds
- New creator/avatar delivery
- New proof asset (review, demo, screenshot)
- New edit pacing
TikTok fatigue is real. So is lazy iteration.
Common TikTok ad mistakes (so you don’t repeat them)
- Making TV commercials and calling them TikToks
- Waiting for “perfect creative” instead of shipping versions
- Over-targeting too early
- Sending traffic to a slow, generic product page
- Testing one video and declaring TikTok “doesn’t work”
A quick TikTok ads checklist
Before launch:
- Pixel installed + events verified
- Clear offer + landing page loads fast
- 20+ creatives ready (yes, really)
- Naming conventions for campaigns/ad groups/ads
After launch:
- Monitor CPA/ROAS daily
- Refresh creative weekly
- Scale winners with duplicates, not constant edits
Final take
TikTok advertising is not mysterious.
It’s a creative throughput problem wearing a media-buying costume.
If you want to run TikTok ads without paying ~$200/video and waiting on creators, build your creative engine with EzUGC and ship more tests for ~$5/video.