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COMING AT YOU WEEK OF 7.27.21

Your weekly update

A study suggests that TikTok ads are more memorable and “more likely to drive purchase response” than other social platform’s ads. But the study was published by TikTok, so take it with a grain of salt.

Google starts testing a new system in September for punishing accounts that repeatedly violate their ad policies.

Now all users can draft Instagram stories.

You can now access 60 days worth of Instagram insights data (before it was only 30 days).

Meet the 5 TikTok ad formats

If you’re considering TikTok ads or just starting them, here’s a quick breakdown of the ad formats TikTok offers.

IN-FEED
These ads appear like any other native content on the For You page, meaning they allow users to like, comment, or share the ad. If you aren’t familiar with TikTok, the format is similar to Instagram story ads. The video can be up to 60 seconds (but is best at about 9-15). Also, it can include CTAs for downloading your app, shopping, or visiting your site.

The downside: people can–and do–scroll past these ads.

BRAND TAKEOVER
These ads “take over” as a full-screen video or image right when a user opens the app. The entire screen is clickable for this ad and you can direct traffic to an internal TikTok page (like a Branded Hashtag page, which we’ll explain later) or an external page (like your website).

Because TikTok only allows one Brand Takeover ad per day per user and because this placement gets lots of views, this format requires some serious cash (not like cash cash, just a lot of money. You get it, right?).

TOPVIEW

TopView ads are a sort of hybrid between in-feed and brand takeover ads. These start when you open the app and the first three seconds are full-screen, similar to Brand Takeovers. But after the first three seconds, the usual For You page elements (a caption, share, like, and comment buttons, etc.) appear over the ad. In other words, it transitions from a Takeover ad to an In-feed ad after three seconds.

BRANDED HASHTAG CHALLENGE
With this ad format, you can create challenges associated with a hashtag. When creating this type of ad, you’ll work with two components: 1) the Discovery page banner ad and 2) the Sponsored Challenge page.

The banner ad appears at the top of the Discovery page. Because these banner ads are “prime real-estate,” they require a minimum ad spend of $150,000. That’s why the branded hashtags are typically used by large brands.

TikTok discovery page

The Sponsored Challenge page gives the details and includes a record button that has the challenge’s special filters and/or music set up and ready. Users get to this page by clicking the hashtag or banner ad.

BRANDED EFFECTS
With Branded effects, you create and upload stickers, filters, and special effects that show off your brand. The effects can be accessible for up to 10 days and their power comes from the brand interaction they promote. Some brands will encourage creators to use the effects by offering prizes or other incentives. Also, advertisers often pair these effects with other ad formats like In-feed or Branded hashtag ads.

Finally when using these formats, we recommend really buying in to the TikTok culture, otherwise you’ll stick out like a sore thumb and no one will like your ads. And on that cheery note, happy advertising!

Today’s SEO lesson

Google is the new homepage