TikTok wants to prove it’s an effective ad platform — quickly.
TikTok’s ad platform, available in beta to a select range of agencies, is testing interest-based targeting,
custom audience and pixel tracking, according to four advertising executives. Those options are in addition to targeting by age,
gender, location, operating system and
network on the device. Sales leaders at the short-form video app have been telling agencies
they plan to release this beta version of its
self-serve ad platform more widely in July, sources said. (Adweek first reported plans for a biddable option and more targeting in February.)
With these updates to its ad system, TikTok
is trying to draw in marketers who have an interest in the app however cautious of its
performance. in a March
Digiday+ survey of 231 media buying executives,
respondents ranked TikTok as the platform with the least effective audience
targeting capabilities.
A TikTok spokesperson said the corporate is testing numerous features for brand partners whereas the main focus is on making a good experience for larger TikTok
community.
An agency executive, who had
a pitch meeting with TikTok last month but has yet to buy ads on the platform, said interest-based targeting
would make them more confident of ad buys on TikTok since they could simply be more precise. The
move better positions
TikTok as an effective buy rather than merely a
“shiny object” that marketers are intrigued by due to its young audience with high engagement, the executive said.
Though, another agency executive who has chatted with TikTok said that they had low
expectations for the practicality— at least in its infancy. TikTok’s
current capabilities won’t be as
good as Facebook’s due
to the newness of
TikTok, the executive said.
“Interest-based targeting can be very effective, depending
on how built out the platform’s
targeting abilities are.
Newer platforms typically provide interest-based
targeting but have a troublesome time actually fulfilling on it because their data is still new,” the executive said.
TikTok representatives didn’t elaborate on what
specific categories are
offered in their meetings with
new partners, sources said.
One client said they expected the options to be similar to Snapchat’s lifestyle categories.
Snapchat’s lifestyle categories, which were released in September 2016 alongside lookalike audiences and audience match, include 117 segments like “American football Fans,” “Movie Theater Goers” and “Online Shoppers.” These classes are based on a Snapchat user’s activity inside the app, namely what sorts of content they spend the most time on.
TikTok’s content algorithmic rule is presently powered by a similar recommendation system,
per sources. The app is able to recognize what
content is in a video, like a dog
or a coffee cup,
which is useful not just for recommendations in the feed however also could power
the advertising system. Unlike on
Snapchat, users on TikTok can like
and comment on videos, which also provide signals for content recommendations similar to Facebook, Twitter and
YouTube.
Even with the limited targeting options, some brands are currently buying ads
on TikTok. A spokesperson from
GrubHub, which was one of the first advertisers on TikTok, told Digiday last month that
ad performance has continued
to “meet or exceed our expectations.” other marketers like Red Bull and Sony are testing the app
with their own accounts. Publishers like ESPN and NBC News also have created their own
accounts.