Creating Your First TikTok Ads Conversion Campaign

We already have a number of videos on this channel that talk about individual components of TikTok advertising. You can check out this one here that talks about all the different targeting options available on the TikTok ads platform. And if you're just getting started and you don't have your account set up fully yet, you can also check out this video that'll show you how to set up your events and conversion tracking for your TikTok ads account.

We even have a video that walks you through the start-to-finish setup of a slightly less utilized campaign objective, which is lead generation, and you can check that out here.

But I realize that most advertisers probably utilize conversion objective campaigns on almost all social ads platforms. So in this article, I want to do the same thing as we did with that lead generation video and walk you start to finish through creating and launching a TikTok conversion-focused campaign.

Step 1: Starting Your Campaign

When you first log into TikTok, it's going to drop you on the dashboard page. To create a new campaign, navigate to the Campaign tab.

Here, you need to choose between Simplified Mode and Custom Mode. Simplified Mode helps you spend less time managing campaigns by simplifying the setup process. However, in this article, we'll be using Custom Mode for full control over our campaign settings.

Next, choose your campaign objective. For this walkthrough, select "Conversions."

Campaign Settings

Campaign Name: Assign your campaign a descriptive name to easily distinguish it.
Special Ad Categories: Declare any special categories such as housing, employment, or credit to adhere to regulations.
Split Test: Optionally, set up a split test, though we'll skip this for now.
Budget: Choose to turn on Campaign Budget Optimization to allocate your budget across ad groups. You can also set a specific daily or lifetime budget.

Step 2: Creating Your Ad Group

Ad Group Name: Choose a name for your ad group.
Promotion Type: Select whether you want to drive users to an app or website. We'll choose a website for this tutorial.
TikTok Pixel: Select a pixel for tracking and choose your optimization event.

Placement Settings

Placement: Choose between automatic placements or select specific placements such as TikTok, News Feed, or Pangle.
Advanced Settings: Decide settings like user comments, video downloads, and Pangle block list.

Creative Type

Automated Creative Optimization: Turn this on if you’d like TikTok to automatically display the best combinations of your creative assets.

Targeting Options

Automatic Targeting: Use TikTok's machine learning for broad targeting.
Custom Targeting: Set specific demographics, interests, behaviors, and device types.

Step 3: Configuring Your Budget and Schedule

Budget: Set a daily or lifetime budget with a minimum daily budget of $ 20.
Schedule: Choose to run ads continuously or set specific start and end dates.
Day Parting: Specify times of the day for when your ads should run.

Bidding and Optimization

Optimization Goal: Choose between conversion, click, and value (for advanced pixel setups).
Bid Strategy: Select either "Lowest Cost" or "Cost Cap."

Step 4: Setting Up Your Ad Creative

Ad Name: Provide a name for your ad.
Identity: Decide the profile or custom alias your ad will come from.
Ad Details: Choose your ad format (single video or collection) and upload your creative assets.
Destination Page: For our tutorial, we'll use TikTok Instant Page.

Final Steps

Call to Action: Choose or let TikTok dynamically select a CTA.
Tracking: Set up any tracking URLs or UTM parameters.

Once everything is set, click "Submit" to launch your campaign.

Overall, setting up a conversion-focused campaign on TikTok is straightforward and similar to other platforms. This setup will guide you through creating a robust campaign that leverages TikTok's powerful advertising tools.

Keywords

TikTok Advertising
Campaign Setup
Custom Mode
Conversion Objective
TikTok Pixel
Creative Optimization
Targeting Options
Budget and Schedule
Bidding Strategies
Ad Creative

FAQ

Q1: What is the difference between Simplified Mode and Custom Mode in TikTok ads? A1: Simplified Mode simplifies the setup process to help less experienced users manage campaigns quicker. Custom Mode offers full control over all settings, making it suitable for detailed campaign management.

Q2: What should I do if I have special ad categories such as housing or employment? A2: You must declare any special categories like housing, employment, or credit to adhere to regulations and avoid getting your ad or account suspended.

Q3: Can I change the Automated Creative Optimization setting later? A3: No, once you set Automated Creative Optimization to on or off, it cannot be changed later.

Q4: What is the minimum daily budget for a TikTok ad group? A4: The minimum daily budget for an ad group is $ 20.

Q5: What are the key components to be aware of in the Bidding and Optimization section? A5: The key components include choosing your optimization goal (conversions, clicks, value) and bid strategy (lowest cost or cost cap).

Q6: How important is the TikTok Pixel for conversion campaigns? A6: The TikTok Pixel is crucial for tracking conversions and optimizing your campaigns effectively. Ensure it is properly set up before launching your campaign.

Q7: Can I set a specific time for my ads to run? A7: Yes, TikTok allows for dayparting, enabling you to select specific times during which your ads will run.