In 2026, ads on TikTok can reach a potential 1.59 billion people. Businesses, now more than ever, are seeing the impact of TikTok’s reach. With over 225,000 brands and 15+ million merchants, TikTok is becoming one of the biggest platforms to advertise on. With TikTok ads on the rise, it can be difficult to figure out how to stand-out from the crowd.
In this guide, you’ll learn:
Firstly, what are TikTok Ads?
TikTok ads are paid videos or carousels that businesses can run through TikTok Ads Manager to reach specific audiences on the For You Page.
Creating TikTok ads is simple and includes the following key features:
- Set campaign goals: Decide if you want to achieve awareness, traffic, app installs or conversions.
- Produce your ad creative: Usually short, vertical and authentic feeling videos perform the best, make sure you produce multiple creatives so there is a lot to work with in the testing phase of the campaign.
- Choose your audience: Decide who you want to target based on demographic factors like age, location, interests and behaviours.
- Set a budget: TikTok ads compete in an auction-style system, so you’ll need a minimum daily budget of £50 per campaign (which is around £1,500 per month to get started).
- Track results: View metrics like clicks, views and conversions to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns.
How can TikTok fit into a marketing plan?
TikTok helps you attract attention, build connections and turn viewers into customers, making it a powerful tool for marketing and sales. TikTok plays four key roles in your marketing:
- Awareness: Reaches new audiences quickly through its algorithm.
- Engagement: Builds trust with authentic, relatable content.
- Conversions: Drives traffic, leads and sales through ads and strong calls-to-action.
- Insights: Reveals trends and audience behaviour for smarter marketing decisions.
What’s the best way to nail TikTok ads?
Generating ad content that appeals to your audience is a trial-and-error process, as you need to understand what they want. Ask yourself, what do they care about, how do they want it delivered and how can I convey this effectively?
Typically, we recommend testing creative ideas organically first, as the same algorithm serves both paid and organic feeds. If it performs well organically and resonates with your target audience, it should typically perform well as an ad too.
In terms of structuring your ad content, here are some best practices you can follow:
- Hook your audience early: Grab attention instantly with a short hook, such as an eye-catching caption or sound. TikTok rewards early engagement with more reach.
- Keep your videos concise: Aim for 8-15 seconds; longer content must deliver clear value to hold attention.
- Use UGC: User-generated content naturally builds trust, making your ad content feel authentic.
- Write smart copy & use trending audio: Make text punchy, readable, and complementary; use trending audio to boost reach.
- Use the right call to action (CTA): Soft CTAs like “learn more” or “watch till the end” work best – place them later to spark interest.
- Test different approaches: Try multiple hooks, refresh creatives often and let performance data guide your decisions.
When should you use TikTok Ads – and when shouldn’t you?
TikTok Ads vary in effectiveness depending on your brand – it is not a one-size-fits-all approach. At Trio, we believe in transparency with our clients and always recommend the best strategy to meet your objectives.
TikTok ads may be right for you if:
- You want fast brand awareness
- You sell a visually engaging product or service
- You’re willing to test creative variations
- Your target market includes Gen Z or Millennials
- You want to involve top-of-funnel marketing
But it may be wrong for you if:
- You don’t have the capacity to provide multiple ad creatives
- Your audience is 50+ years of age B2B decision makers
- You need immediate ROI
- Your business can not adapt to the informal style of TikTok
- You only have a small budget, but want big results
How Trio can support your TikTok Ads strategy
Our approach to TikTok ads is simple: we do everything we can to achieve a client’s goals. This process includes:
- Build a clear strategy: This includes a full audit (if you have previous ads running), competitor research, audience identification, campaign structures and presenting ideas for ad creatives.
- Create and manage your campaigns: Optimising budgets, refining ad creatives and implementing new ad strategies such as retargeting to maximise performance.
- Track and report on success: We collect data from the campaign to see what elements were successful and what areas need improvement. This helps us understand what the customer responds to, we can make conclusions which are backed by accurate metrics.
TikTok Ad FAQs
What type of TikTok ads convert best?
The most successful TikTok ads are native to the platform and aren’t instantly recognisable as ads. These ads typically use short-form, UGC content which feels authentic to the brand or channel, leading to better leads and/or conversions.
Overly polished TikTok ads will stand out on the platform – but not for a good reason.
Do I need a large following to run TikTok ads?
No, a large following is not needed as TikTok’s ad system delivers content directly to your target audience. In fact, you don’t need a following at all to be able to run ads. A large following is more relevant to organic posting.
Are TikTok ads good for small businesses?
Yes, with precise targeting and creative testing, small businesses can compete effectively – even with smaller budgets.
Want to do TikTok Ads? We can help
In 2026, stay ahead of the curve by investing in your business’s long-term growth with TikTok ads. With the right strategy and expert guidance, we’ll help your campaigns reach the right audience.
