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TikTok Ads
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At a glanceTikTok is a product discovery engine that can contribute to discovery, search and purchasing. The campaign's role depends on the objective and products available in the target market. Costs have three components (media budget, management and video production), the platform imposes minimum daily budgets, and the test budget depends on account thresholds, test duration and the acceptable cost per result. Creative decides almost everything: copying a Facebook ad without adapting it wastes money.
TikTok is more than a dance app. It is a product discovery engine with a broad audience in Romania, where people regularly buy things they were not looking for. But TikTok advertising follows different rules from Google or Facebook, and simply copying an ad from another platform wastes money. Here is what you need to know before starting.
How it works, briefly
On Google, you capture existing demand: someone searches and you appear. On TikTok, you create demand: someone casually scrolls their feed, and your content stops them and sparks desire. This changes everything. On TikTok, you sell through video that feels part of the platform, rather than a banner or an ad pasted over it.
The practical consequence: success on TikTok depends almost entirely on the quality and volume of videos you test. Targeting matters, but creative is king.
How much TikTok Ads cost
As on other platforms, there are two cost components: the media budget paid to TikTok and, if you work with an agency, the management fee. TikTok adds a third cost you cannot ignore: video production.
Some reference points:
- Platform-imposed minimum budgets. TikTok Ads Manager requires minimum daily budgets at campaign and ad group level (approximately USD 50 per day per campaign and USD 20 per day per ad group). This means token amounts cannot fund a meaningful test.
- A realistic starting media budget. Check the minimum applicable to your account, then calculate the cost of the testing period and video production. A monthly budget does not guarantee enough results.
- Creative production. You can produce it in-house with a phone or outsource it. Either way, you need several variations rather than a single clip. TikTok uses up creative quickly.
Management fees follow the same models as Google and Meta: a percentage of spend, a fixed fee or a hybrid.
The formats you will use
Videos appearing between organic posts in the feed. The standard and most widely used format.
Promote an existing organic post, either your own or a creator's with their permission. Likes and comments are retained, making it feel more authentic. It often performs better than an ad built from scratch.
Formats such as TopView or takeovers, designed for brand awareness at scale with budgets to match. Rarely the starting point for an SME.
For most businesses, In-Feed plus Spark Ads is the place to begin.
What good TikTok creative looks like
- The opening seconds decide everything. If you do not stop the scroll in the first two or three seconds, the rest of the video no longer matters.
- Native, rather than corporate. A phone-shot clip that feels made by a real person usually beats a polished TV commercial.
- Sound and on-screen text. Many videos are watched with sound, and audio trends matter. Captions help the message get through either way.
- One clear message. One benefit, one offer, one call to action. Do not cram everything in.
Who should use TikTok
TikTok is not for every business. It deserves serious consideration if:
- You sell visually compelling products that can be explained in a short video.
- Your margin can support testing costs until you find a winning approach.
- You can produce video consistently, rather than one clip every two months.
Proceed cautiously, or avoid it, if your product is highly technical with a long decision cycle, or your audience does not spend time on the platform. In many cases, TikTok complements Meta and Google: it brings discovery at the top of the funnel, which remarketing then turns into sales.
Common mistakes
- Reusing a Facebook ad without adapting it to the platform's language.
- Using one video instead of a set you can test.
- Giving up after a week, before the system has time to learn.
- Ignoring comments, which on TikTok form part of the ad and its social proof.
- Sending traffic to a slow or difficult-to-use mobile page when almost all traffic is mobile.
The budget depends on applicable account thresholds, test duration, estimated CPA and the number of assets. Budget separately for video production. Check current settings before launch.
Impression costs can be competitive, but the real cost includes ongoing creative production. Compare final customer acquisition cost, rather than cost per click.
It can, if the subject suits short educational videos, but TikTok is primarily a consumer channel. For B2B, other channels usually take priority.
An active account can help. Spark Ads amplifies eligible brand or creator posts with the necessary authorisation. Compare results with other formats; it is not universally the most effective.
The answer depends on the product, margin and capacity to produce video. We will tell you honestly whether it is the right channel; sometimes we recommend starting elsewhere.
Explore our TikTok Ads service →For other channels, see our guides to Facebook and Instagram advertising and how much Google Ads costs.