Spark Ads on TikTok: What it is and how to use Spark Ads in traffic arbitrage

We continue to keep you updated with the latest news and trends in internet marketing and traffic arbitrage. We recently talked about Instagram Reels, an Instagram tool that is just entering our market. And, today, as we continue with the topic of social networks, we will talk about TikTok, namely, about the new format of native advertising: Spark Ads.

What is Spark Ads?

Spark Ads is a new native ad format on TikTok launched at the end of July 2021. The essence of it is that through Spark Ads, you can promote videos already posted on your account, not only your videos but also those of any other user (with the user’s permission, of course). Previously, you could only run ad campaigns with individual creatives. 

Visually, Spark Ads are no different from regular creatives. They appear in In-Feed Ads (recommendation feed) and TopView (ads that automatically play when you log into TikTok).

The difference between these formats is in what happens after a tap and a swipe.

As you can see in this image, in regular ads, after clicking on the CTA button, nickname, profile photo, ad title, or swiping to the left, the user is immediately taken to the landing page.

In the case of Spark Ads, interaction with different elements leads to different results:

1. Click on the profile photo, pseudonym, and swipe to the left: The user goes to the author’s profile.
2. Click on the «+» next to the photo: The user subscribes to the account.
3. Click on the title of the track, the name of the artist, or the music disc: The user is taken to the page of the specified music.
4. Click on the ad title and the CTA button: The user is taken to the landing page.

Spark Ads are perfect for buying traffic for those websites for which TikTok is a priority area. They are ready to invest a lot of resources in promoting not just individual advertising campaigns but entire accounts. This will allow us to build an audience that is ready to buy. And yes, it’s more about the long term.

Proof of Success for Spark Ads: Metrics

Compared to regular ads, Spark Ads have the following metrics:

1. The number of views (VTR) increased: Two-second videos by 58% and six-second videos by 66%.
2. Interactions (in beta): The indicator increased by 100% for shares, 170% for paid comments, and 222% for likes.
3. Conversions (CVR): Increased by 42%.
4. Costs: The cost of watching two-second videos decreased by 35%, and the cost of watching six-second videos decreased by 39%.

Interesting fact: In two years, the number of users on TikTok has increased seven times. And this summer, Neuro-Insight conducted a study and found that the audience perceives advertising content on TikTok 44% better than on other social networks. This means that viewers on TikTok are much more likely to experience outbursts of emotions, they are immersed in the content, and they remember ads better. Spark Ads has every chance to develop and strengthen this effect.

Requirements and quirks of Spark Ads videos

• All ads are tied to a real account, so all likes, comments, reposts, subscriptions, etc., are saved to this account.
• The text and title of the ad being pulled from an organic publication. They cannot be changed when setting up a campaign. You can, however, mention your account in the title, and you can use emojis.
• When launching a campaign, all the functions of regular videos are saved.
• Traffic from such ads can be directed to your website, account, or mobile application.
• There are no restrictions on resolution, file size, file type, and duration.

This last point is of key importance for promotion and, by the way, clearly speaks of TikTok’s plans, which will increase the length of the video to five minutes, or maybe even more. The five-minute format allows you to make more complete videos and talk more about the offer and its benefits. 

Promotion with Spark Ads: What and how to launch

Spark Ads is a cross between advertising and organic content, and this is its advantage. If you take a creative approach to launch an advertising campaign, then the result should be tangible.

TikTok Spark Ads for Business: What segments to work with

TikTok is now more loyal (especially when compared to Facebook and Instagram). 

Promotions on here are usually in these segments:

• Products: More often from the beauty segment, clothes, etc. To promote these offers, it is especially effective to buy advertising from bloggers.
• Health & Beauty: Nutraceuticals, Nutra, weight loss, and anything similar that can be shown through «before/ after» images. Please note, outright trash will not pass moderation.
• Gambling: Everything in this segment is in the «expensive» and «emotional» styles. In principle, the same approaches are used on Facebook. Simply convert your messages into a video format.
• Betting: In addition to demonstrating luxury, you can use betting strategies, discuss future matches, etc. TikTok is amazing in the sense that even screenshots from articles or Twitter, for example, are permitted in this segment.
• Mainstream and adult dating: This segment is well suited for the TikTok format. Mainstream dating will give you even more profit on here than adult 

TikTok Spark Ads for Business: Formats and placements

The Spark Ads format is available for these campaigns:

1. With Auction: Reach, Video Watch, Engagement (still in beta), Traffic, Conversions, and App Install goals.
2. With reserved placements: Reach and Frequency targets (also in beta).

If you are going to promote your videos and your account is tied to TikTok for Business, then there is a simple process for choosing a video from your account as a creative. But if you want to promote other people’s videos, you will need to get the creator’s permission.

To do this, in the «Advertising Settings», the video creator must agree to the Advertising Terms of Service to allow the use of the video for advertising purposes. And then, they need to generate a video code that they share with advertisers and choose the authorization period for the publication (7, 30, or 60 days).

You can find more information about running ads in Spark Ads in TikTok Help under «How to create Spark Ads».

Let’s meet each other in the following articles!