TikTok is a social media platform that has exploded in popularity over the past few years, with over one billion active users worldwide. Its short-form video format and emphasis on creativity and humor have made it a favorite among young people, and businesses are quickly catching on to its potential for advertising. However, with so much competition on the platform, it's essential to create engaging TikTok ads that will capture users' attention and make them want to engage with your brand. In this article, we'll explore best practices for creating engaging TikTok ads, as well as provide examples of successful campaigns that have made a splash on the platform. Whether you're a seasoned TikTok pro or just starting out, these tips and examples will help you create ads that resonate with your target audience and achieve your advertising goals.

Table of Contents

• • Best Practices for Creating Engaging TikTok Ads
• • How to Source & Leverage High Performing User-Generated Content
• • Examples of Engaging TikTok Ads

Best Practices for Creating Engaging TikTok Ads

Knowing best practices when creating engaging TikTok ads can help increase the effectiveness and impact of your ads. By following proven strategies and techniques, you can create ads that resonate with your target audience, capture their attention, and achieve your advertising goals. They can also help you optimize your ads for maximum performance, by using data and analytics to make informed decisions about content, messaging, and targeting. Additionally, paying attention to best practices can help you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments on TikTok, ensuring that your ads remain relevant and engaging over time.

Here are the in’s and out’s to creating the most engaging content for TikTok ads:

• • Know your target audience: Understand who you're trying to reach with your ads so you can tailor your content and messaging to their interests and preferences.
• • Keep it short and sweet: TikTok users have short attention spans, so it's important to get your message across quickly and efficiently. Data shows that ads perform best when they are between 10 and 25 seconds long.
• • Use trending hashtags: By incorporating popular hashtags into your content, you can increase your visibility and reach a wider audience.
• • Use eye-catching visuals: Your visuals should be attention-grabbing and memorable, using bold colors, interesting camera angles, and creative editing techniques.
• • Incorporate music and sounds: Music and sound effects can add emotion and energy to your content, and help create a more immersive experience for viewers.
• • Incorporate user-generated content: Encourage users to create and share content related to your brand or product, which can help increase engagement and brand awareness.
• • Utilize influencer marketing: Partnering with popular TikTok influencers can help expand your reach and lend credibility to your brand.
• • Leverage Spark Ads: Analyze the engagement metrics of UGC your customers and content creators produce, pick the top performing organic content and “spark” it to repurpose the content in your paid ads strategy
• • Use Interactive Add-Ons: Incorporating interactive features like sticker add-ons, countdown add-ons, or community engagement add-ons can help enhance the engagement level of your TikTok ads.
• • Ad Exhaustion: Even if you've created effective and engaging content, it's important to keep in mind that by day 14, around 90% of your ads will have reached creative exhaustion, resulting in a decline in performance. To avoid this, it's crucial to consistently refresh your creative content on a strategic cadence, ensuring that you don't burn through all of your best ideas upfront. 
• • Test and optimize your ads: Continuously monitor the performance of your ads and make adjustments as needed to improve their effectiveness and maximize your ROI.

Examples of Engaging TikTok Ads

Starting from scratch with your TikTok ads can be daunting, but the good news is that you don't have to. Many marketers have already run numerous ads and have insights into what works best. By reviewing their successful ad examples, you can gain inspiration and ideas for your own campaigns. In addition, TikTok maintains a list of high-performing ads that you can refer to periodically for guidance. To make things even easier, we've compiled a list of seven TikTok ad creative examples that you can draw from to create your own impactful ads:

• • Chipotle's #GuacDance Challenge

Chipotle's #GuacDance Challenge was a highly successful TikTok ad campaign that invited users to create and share videos of themselves dancing to a custom song about guacamole. The challenge encouraged users to use the hashtag #GuacDance and tag Chipotle's official account in their videos for a chance to win a prize. The ad campaign was part of Chipotle's broader "Guac Mode" promotion, which highlighted the company's use of fresh avocados and other natural ingredients in its food.

The #GuacDance Challenge was a massive success, generating over 250,000 video submissions and 430 million video starts in just six days. The campaign also drove a 68.8% increase in avocado usage at Chipotle, highlighting the effectiveness of the ad in promoting the brand and its products. The campaign was so successful that it won a Shorty Award in 2020 for Best Use of TikTok.

• • Fenty Beauty's #FentySkinChallenge

Fenty Beauty's #FentySkinChallenge was another highly successful TikTok ad campaign that leveraged user-generated content and social media influencers to promote its new skincare line. The challenge invited users to showcase their skincare routines using Fenty Beauty's products and share their videos using the hashtag #FentySkinChallenge. The campaign was fronted by social media influencer and singer Rihanna, who appeared in several videos promoting the challenge.

The campaign was highly successful, generating over 4 billion views and 3.5 million user-generated videos in just a few weeks. The challenge also received significant engagement from popular TikTok creators and influencers, who shared their own videos using Fenty Beauty's products and encouraged their followers to participate. The campaign's success helped to establish Fenty Beauty's new skincare line as a major player in the beauty industry and demonstrated the power of user-generated content and influencer marketing on TikTok.

• • Ocean Spray's TikTok Fleetwood Mac Challenge

Ocean Spray's TikTok Fleetwood Mac Challenge was a viral TikTok trend that started when a user posted a video of himself longboarding while sipping cranberry juice and listening to the song "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac. The video quickly went viral and inspired other users to create their own videos of themselves doing the same thing.

Ocean Spray, the popular cranberry juice brand, saw an opportunity and decided to capitalize on the trend by creating its own TikTok video. The video featured an Ocean Spray employee longboarding and sipping cranberry juice while listening to "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac. The video went viral and sparked a massive trend, with users creating their own videos using Ocean Spray's cranberry juice and sharing them with the hashtag #OceanSpray.

The campaign was hugely successful, generating over 15 billion views, 1.6 million user-generated videos, and a significant increase in sales for Ocean Spray's cranberry juice products. The campaign also helped to reinforce Ocean Spray's brand image as a fun and relatable brand that is in touch with its customers.

• • e.l.f. Cosmetics' #eyeslipsface Challenge

e.l.f. Cosmetics' #eyeslipsface Challenge was a highly successful TikTok ad campaign that invited users to create and share videos of themselves using e.l.f.'s makeup products to create bold and creative looks. The challenge encouraged users to use the hashtag #eyeslipsface and tag e.l.f.'s official account in their videos for a chance to win a prize.

The campaign was highly successful, generating over 5.5 billion views and 3 million user-generated videos in just a few weeks. The campaign also received significant engagement from popular TikTok creators and influencers, who shared their own videos using e.l.f.'s products and encouraged their followers to participate. The challenge's success helped to establish e.l.f. Cosmetics as a major player in the beauty industry and demonstrated the power of user-generated content and influencer marketing on TikTok. The campaign was so successful that it won a Shorty Award in 2021 for Best Use of TikTok.

• • Gymshark's #66DaysChange Challenge

Gymshark's #66DaysChange Challenge was an ad campaign that invited TikTok users to join a 66-day fitness challenge and share their progress on the social media platform using the hashtag #66DaysChange. The challenge was designed to promote Gymshark's brand as a fitness-focused lifestyle brand and encourage users to engage with the brand and its products.

The campaign was highly successful, generating over 200 million views across its videos and helping to drive engagement and awareness for the brand among younger audiences. The campaign's success demonstrated the power of TikTok as a platform for promoting fitness and wellness-related content and engaging with younger audiences.

The #66DaysChange Challenge was just one of several ad campaigns that Gymshark has run on TikTok. The brand has also used TikTok to showcase its products and promote its brand as a lifestyle brand focused on fitness, fashion, and wellness. Gymshark's successful ad campaigns on TikTok have helped the brand to establish itself as a leading fitness and wellness brand among younger audiences and showcase its ability to leverage social media platforms to engage with its target audience.

Time to hit the 'Finish' button on your TikTok Ad!

TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms for advertisers looking to reach younger audiences and engage with them through creative and engaging content. By following best practices and taking inspiration from successful campaigns, brands can create engaging TikTok ads that generate buzz, drive engagement, and increase brand awareness.

As we've seen from the examples we've discussed, the most successful TikTok ads are those that are interactive, fun, and shareable. They often leverage popular trends or challenges to create a connection with their audience and encourage participation. Additionally, incorporating add-ons such as stickers and countdowns can help to increase engagement and make ads more memorable. By following these best practices and taking inspiration from successful campaigns, brands can create engaging TikTok ads that generate buzz, drive engagement, and increase brand awareness.

Having trouble sourcing content or managing effective TikTok ads campaigns? Give us a shout or book some time to speak with a growth specialist.