TikTok ads. Made to be watched, not swiped past.
A TikTok ad plays in the same feed as everything else, so people swipe past it in a second if it looks like an ad. We make video that looks like TikTok, put the offer up front and judge it on enquiries and sales rather than views. The ad account is opened in your company's name and stays yours.
What it looks like
An ad in the For You feed.
An In-Feed ad sits in the For You feed between everyday videos, with a Sponsored label and a button. The first three seconds decide whether anyone stays to watch. The example is an illustration, and the business in it is made up.
- TikTok's own advice: get the offer on screen within three seconds and land the hook within six.
- When it runs as a Spark Ad, the views, likes, comments and follows stay on the original post after the campaign.
- Ad groups aimed at the UK, the EEA or Switzerland need an audience of more than 1,000 people.
@muddlewickgrooming
Full groom, nails and ears for medium dogs. Saturday slots open online. #doggrooming #beforeandafter
Promoted music
Sponsored
Book now- Ad group daily budget
- Over $20
- US adults reached, late 2026
- 54.1%
- Offer on screen within
- 3 seconds
- Facts checked
- 7 Nov 2026
What you get
From the account to videos people finish.
The ad budget is billed to your company on an ad account that stays yours. We charge a management fee, never a percentage of spend, so a bigger budget earns us nothing.
Account and rules
We open or audit the TikTok Ads Manager account and check the ad policies for your category. Currency, time zone, region and business name cannot be changed once the account exists.
- An ad account in your company's name, in Business Center
- Billing currency settled before the account opens
- Your category checked against TikTok's ad policies
- A TikTok business account to run Spark Ads from
- Who signs off each video, and how quickly
Tracking
Without clean conversion data, TikTok learns from the wrong signals and finds people who watch but never buy. Tracking goes in before the first campaign.
- TikTok Pixel on the site
- Events API, deduplicated with the Pixel
- Events for enquiry, add to basket and purchase
- UTM tags, so TikTok shows up properly in GA4
- The Pixel wired to your cookie consent tool
Video
On TikTok an ad is made like a post, not like a TV commercial. Vertical, sound on, offer up front.
- Scripts with three different openings for each idea
- Shot on a phone, vertical 9:16, at least 720p
- On-screen text people can read in a second
- Spark Ads from your posts or creators' posts, with their permission
- New videos as soon as the old ones tire
Campaigns and reporting
In-Feed and Smart+ campaigns are judged on cost per enquiry and per sale. Views come a distant second.
- In-Feed campaigns under manual control
- Smart+ tested against the manual set-up
- Three to five videos per ad group, as TikTok advises
- Cost per enquiry and per new customer
- A plain recommendation to scale, change or stop
Comparison
TikTok ads and Instagram Reels ads.
Both are vertical video between other videos, so they are easy to mix up. The differences are in the tools, the rules and what each one does with a creator's post. Reach figures are DataReportal's US numbers for late 2026.
| What differs | Instagram Reels ads | TikTok ads |
|---|---|---|
| Where it plays | Between Reels on Instagram | In the For You feed, between videos |
| US ad reach, late 2026 | 180 million across Instagram | 150 million adults |
| A creator's post as an ad | Partnership ads, with their consent | Spark Ads, with an authorisation code |
| Automated campaigns | Advantage+ | Smart+ |
| Tracking on your site | Meta Pixel and Conversions API | TikTok Pixel and Events API |
| Political ads | With authorisation, none in the EU since October 2025 | Not allowed anywhere |
How it runs
A test first, then a decision.
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Week 1
Account and rules
We check the account set-up, your category and the billing currency. Currency and time zone are fixed for good, so they are settled before anything else.
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Week 2
Tracking and filming
The Pixel and Events API go in while we shoot the first batch of videos. Each idea gets several different openings.
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Weeks 3 - 8
The test
One campaign, two or three ad groups and a budget above TikTok's minimum. Videos that lose people early are switched off and replaced.
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Ongoing
The decision
If TikTok brings enquiries at a cost that works for you, we scale. If it does not, we say so and the budget moves to a channel that does.
Who this is for
Who it works for, and who it does not.
It makes sense if:
- What you sell shows well on video: a product, a service or a finished job
- Someone in the business is happy on camera, or you already work with creators
- Your site or shop can track enquiries and purchases with the Pixel
- You can give a test budget two months before judging it
It does not make sense if:
- You need political advertising, which TikTok bans along with paid political content from creators
- Your brand only wants polished commercials, not video shot on a phone
- Your budget cannot clear TikTok's floor of $20 a day per ad group
Let us be plain: TikTok is a test-and-replace channel, and a video that worked last month can stop working this month. We plan for a steady supply of new videos from the start. Everything on this page was checked on 7 November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Questions about TikTok ads.
What is the minimum budget?
TikTok requires a daily budget above $20 per ad group, and above $50 if you set the budget at campaign level. A fair test with two or three ad groups therefore runs at more than $40 to $60 a day. On a lifetime budget, an ad group needs at least the daily minimum times the number of scheduled days.
What are Spark Ads?
Ads made from real posts, either from your own account or from a creator who gives you an authorisation code. Views, likes, comments and new followers stay on the original post. We usually spark posts that have already done well without paid support.
What is Smart+, and do you use it?
Smart+ is TikTok's AI-run campaign type for sales, leads, app installs or traffic, covering targeting, budget allocation and creative combinations. In the upgraded version it can run fully automated, partly automated or manual. We test it against a manual campaign once the Pixel is recording enough enquiries or purchases.
What kind of video works?
Video that looks like a post, not a TV ad. TikTok advises getting your offer on screen within three seconds, landing the hook within six, shooting vertical 9:16 at 720p or better with sound, and running three to five different videos per ad group. A phone is enough. A script is not optional.
Is TikTok still a safe bet in the US?
In January 2026 TikTok finalised the deal that created TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, 80.1% owned by US and global investors. The joint venture handles US data protection, content moderation and algorithm security, and the deal lets the app keep operating in the US. We still put your best videos to work on other channels too, so no single platform holds all of your demand.
Are there special rules for the UK and the EU?
Yes. In the EEA, TikTok shows no personalised ads to users aged 13 to 17. Any ad group aimed at the UK, an EEA country or Switzerland needs an audience of more than 1,000 people, for privacy reasons. TikTok also bans political ads everywhere, including paid political content from creators.
Do we need the Events API as well as the Pixel?
For a website, TikTok recommends running the Events API alongside the Pixel, with deduplication so the same event is not counted twice. A browser pixel can miss events when browsers or ad blockers stop it loading. Both still have to respect your visitors' consent choices, so we set them up together with your cookie consent tool.
Are you an official partner of TikTok?
No. We work in TikTok Ads Manager, in an ad account that belongs to your company, so the account, pixels and audiences stay with you. Monthly work ends with 30 days' written notice.