How to advertise on TikTok and boost your small business

You may know TikTok as the home of the latest dancing trends and memes, but did you also know that it can be a powerful advertising tool for small businesses?

The app’s viral trends and short-form content make it hugely popular for a wide demographic of people – not just Gen Zs. And its userbase continues to grow, with it being downloaded 49 million times in January 2025 alone (Backlinko).

That’s why using TikTok ads can help with everything from brand visibility to increasing sales. Want to know more? Keep reading to learn more about:

TikTok’s audience and engagement

TikTok has a reputation for being a young person’s app and while it’s true that it’s a favourite of Gen Z (with 82 per cent likely to have an account), it still has a huge user base across all generations.

The same study revealed that 58 per cent of all consumers have a TikTok account – making it a great advertising platform no matter the demographic you’re targeting.

TikTok is also the social platform with the highest average time spent on it each day – here’s how it stacks up against other leading social platforms.

This high use time is likely due to TikTok being a trend-driven platform – which keeps users scrolling.

These trends and challenges can help you access the right FYPs and increase your chance of going viral. Advertisers who can effectively use these trending formats can tap into existing viral momentum, increasing the visibility and relatability of their ads.

Setting up a TikTok business account

If you’re using TikTok as an advertising tool for your small business, it makes sense to set up a TikTok for Business account. This allows you to:

• access the TikTok Ads Manager platform to manage your campaigns
• choose the target audience for your ads
• manage your ad spending budget

You can choose a business account when you sign up for TikTok or switch your existing account to a business account by following these steps:

1. Tapping the menu icon on your profile (three lines in the top right corner on your app)
2. Selecting settings and privacy
3. Choosing account
4. Selecting switch to business account
5. Choosing the category that best describes your account
6. Pressing next to finish

In-feed ads

Users see in-feed ads organically when scrolling through their FYP and, at first glance, they can appear like regular TikToks. These ads can often see the most engagement, as users are able to like and comment on them like a regular video.

In-feed ads can take the form of either a video or image carousel and can be up to 60 seconds in length – though 21-34 seconds is the recommended length. They’ll also include a clear external call to action (CTA) button, making them great for directing people to your website.

You can use a video posted on your own account as an in-feed ad – or use user-generated content posted (UGC) from another channel.

Small business in-feed ad example

A homemade candle business may use in-feed ads to promote their products. To make sure the ad blends seamlessly with organic content in the FYP, it could be a short video of ASMR-style candle pouring with close-ups of a candle’s texture.

The ad could then use trending sounds and relevant hashtags such as #homedecor. A clear CTA labelled ‘shop now’ links to their website or even to the product on TikTok Shop.

Here’s an example we worked on with our friends at FULL FOODS – a small business specialising in catering and meal prep kits with a strong social media presence.

They seemed like the perfect creators to authentically promote our Business Boost small business grant – check out the result below for some TikTok in-feed ad inspiration.

TopView ads

TopView ads are a premium advertising option for businesses. When you create a TopView ad, you’re guaranteeing that it’s the first video users see when opening the app. Businesses are guaranteed at least three seconds of watch time before users can skip the ad – so it’s really important to make those first few seconds count if you want people to continue watching.

TopView ads often require the most spend out of any TikTok ad option. However, they can often be the easiest ad to create for beginners, as you don’t need to replicate organic content.

Small business TopView ad example

A new restaurant used a TopView ad to showcase its vibrant atmosphere. The goal here is to reach a large audience within the local area, leading to a surge in foot traffic and increased initial sales during opening week. 

Using a 15 second video, the ad shows closeups of the food and happy customers over upbeat music. Text overlays then highlight a limited time deal. The ad ends with a CTA to visit the restaurant.

Branded hashtag challenges

Branded hashtag challenge ads revolve around encouraging participation and the creation of UGC. These ads are great for driving engagement and increasing brand awareness. 

However, it can be challenging for small businesses to get a good level of engagement from these ads. That’s why working with content creators or influencers can help to encourage other users to engage.

Beauty brand E.L.F cosmetics used a branded hashtag ad when they launched their #eyeslipsface challenge – encouraging users to share their makeup looks.

They partnered with TikTok to create a unique audio for creators to use, as well as working with celebrities to boost their reach. Check out actor Terry Crews’ take on the trend below.

Branded effects and filters

Branded effects and filters work as advertisements by encouraging UGC through fun video effects.

If you want to boost your ad’s reach even further, you can combine a branded effect with one of the other types of available ads. And even further than that by working with influencers and celebrities.

However, branded effects and filters can be a pricey advertising strategy – especially for a small business. Not only do you have to put money behind the ads, but you’ll also have to spend money to develop the effects and filters.

Writing compelling TikTok ad copy

It’s not all about the visuals on TikTok – crafting compelling ad copy is just as important to getting your message across. With just a few seconds to capture attention, you need to start with a strong hook. Why not use a question or surprising statement to prevent scrolling?

Use simple, direct language to make the most out of the short time limit. This is especially true for the CTA. Tell viewers exactly what their next step should be and consider using urgency for added effect.

A few strong CTA examples are:

Choosing the right music and effects for a TikTok ad

Using the right music and effects can be an easy way to grab a viewer’s attention. When choosing the music to use, think about currently trending sounds which can increase your visibility. These can be songs or audio clips which users are already familiar with, so they’re more likely to stop and watch.

However, it’s important that the music you choose aligns with your brand and messaging. And don’t forget about copyright restrictions. Using sounds from TikTok’s commercial music library means you have the right to use them for advertising.

You can also use effects to make your ads more engaging. Effects are things like transitions, animation, and filters which can be used to emphasise the most important parts of your ads. Once again, it’s important to consider your business’s branding when choosing effects.

Targeting and budgeting on TikTok Ads Manager

You can use TikTok Ads Manager to target the right audience for your ads. You’ll be able to target based on the following options:

• demographics: covers things like age, gender, and location – this could be your largest customer base or a new demographic you want to reach 
• interests: targets users based on their in-app behaviour – choose an interest related to your industry to reach the right audience
• behaviour history: reach users who’ve interacted with similar content such as certain hashtags or specific creators
• lookalike audiences: helps you reach audiences similar to your existing customers

You can also choose how much you want to spend on your TikTok ads. You’ll be able to optimise this through:

• campaign/ad group budget: choose to budget by an overall campaign or on a more granular level
• bidding strategy: choose from options such as cost per click or cost per mille
• optimisation and testing: monitor your ad performance and adjust your budget as needed – or even trial different ad formats and bidding strategies to see what works best for your business

Measuring and optimising TikTok ad performance

Once your ads are live, you’ll need to monitor them closely in order to optimise their performance. Here are a few key concepts you’ll need to know:

• CTR (click-through rate): this is the percentage of people who see your ad and then click on the link. A higher CTR means your ad is good at grabbing attention and encouraging action.
• engagement rate: this measures how much people interact with your ad through likes, comments, shares, and watch time. High engagement means your ad is popular with viewers.
• conversions: these are the actions you want people to take after seeing your ad. This will differ depending on your business, but could be buying a product, signing up for a newsletter, or visiting your website. Conversions will be the ultimate goal of an ad.
• A/B testing: this means creating two versions of your ad (A and B) and changing only one thing between them (such as the caption or video hook). By running both ads, you can see which version performs better.

Final tips for success with TikTok ads

Ultimately, your success in advertising on TikTok will come down to two key strategies: your creativity and your ability to learn through data.

You’ll need to be creative in order to catch viewers’ attention and increase your visibility. Understanding current TikTok trends while staying true to your brand will be key.

You’ll then need to understand how to learn from the analytics available as part of the TikTok Ads Manager. This will help you see which ads are working the best so you can make more strategic advertising decisions going forward.

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