(Part 1) My Full TikTok Ad Strategy: Warming Up The Ad Account

Introduction

Welcome back, everyone! Today, I'm excited to share my first experience using Loom for recording videos. I believe this tool is a tremendous asset for capturing insights on ad accounts and analytics while providing honest feedback and advice. Recently, I launched another product to test its viability and potential for scaling. As I’m going through this process, I thought it would be helpful to create a video outlining the different phases I follow when testing products.

Warming Up the Ad Account

The first phase that I want to discuss is the warming up of the ad account. Many YouTubers overlook this step, but I believe it’s essential for building consistent revenue through your store, rather than just achieving quick bursts of sales.

So, what exactly is warming up an ad account? At first glance, you might think that simply allocating a budget to a campaign and gradually increasing its budget will lead directly to sales. While that is true to an extent, you need to ensure that your ad account recognizes what to target and who to approach. Warming up the ad account allows it to determine which ads to run effectively and identifies the product audience.

The ATC Warm-Up Campaign

Let’s take a look at my first campaign, which is an Add To Cart (ATC) warm-up campaign. This strategy is particularly important. You might wonder why you should focus on getting customers to add items to their carts without completing the purchase. The answer lies in the valuable data you’ll gain regarding the product before deciding to proceed with further testing.

Here’s the breakdown:

CPC (Cost Per Click): Aim for between $ 0.01 and $ 0.60.
CPM (Cost Per 1,000 Impressions): Ideally between $ 2 and $ 9.
CTR (Click-Through Rate): Should be above 1.5%.

If your metrics fall outside these ranges, particularly a high CPM (anything above $ 10 should raise a red flag), it’s a sign that the product may not be worth testing. For instance, if you find that your CPC is high, that indicates you’re spending a lot just to get users to click on your ad, which isn’t favorable.

Instead of pouring budget into sizable campaigns upfront and risking poor analytics, utilizing a warm-up campaign provides critical insights before making bigger investment decisions.

Setting Up a Warm-Up Campaign

To create an effective warm-up campaign, follow these steps:

Campaign Selection: Choose website conversions and connect your pixel.
Objective: Set an objective for the add to cart campaign.
Placement: Select placement strategically (I typically opt for TikTok comments).
Targeting: Keep the age range wide open and gender either male or female, based on your product.
Budget: Start with a budget of $ 20, run the campaign continuously.
Ad Format: Use smart creative ads, typically uploading three videos with the same ad text to assess which performs best.
Call to Action: Use “Shop Now” as the CTA, even for an Add To Cart campaign.
Ad Submission: Include your URL and publish the ad.

Once the ad is live, let it run for at least two days to gather adequate analytics. By spending around $ 40 over this span, you can derive insights that inform whether you should pursue further testing.

In the next video, I will discuss the follow-up steps, such as running ABOs (Ad Budget Optimization) or CBOs (Campaign Budget Optimization), based on the analytics gathered.

Keyword

TikTok Ads
Ad Account Strategy
Warming Up Campaign
Add To Cart Campaign
CPC (Cost Per Click)
CPM (Cost Per 1,000 Impressions)
CTR (Click-Through Rate)
Product Testing

FAQ

What is the purpose of warming up an ad account?
Warming up an ad account helps to gradually develop an understanding of target audiences and ad performance before escalating budgets.

What metrics should I track during the warm-up phase?
You should focus on CPC, CPM, and CTR to evaluate the ad campaign's effectiveness.

How long should I let a warm-up campaign run?
It’s recommended to run the warm-up campaign for at least one to two days to gather adequate analytics.

What is an ATC campaign?
An ATC (Add To Cart) campaign focuses on getting users to add items to their carts, offering insights into potential purchase intent before committing to larger campaigns.

Can I proceed with a product if the metrics are not perfect?
Yes, if the metrics are close but not perfect, it's still worth testing the product further.