Turn followers into customers
TikTok Promote is an in-app advertising tool that helps businesses and creators boost video views, reach new audiences, and drive traffic to their websites or TikTok Shops.
Let’s take a look!
Key takeaways
- TikTok Promote allows you to quickly boost existing videos, LIVE streams, and photo posts to increase engagement or direct traffic to your webpage or TikTok Shop.
- Access the promotion feature through your TikTok account in the Settings menu. For commercial purposes, it’s best to use a TikTok Business Account.
- Set up a TikTok promotion campaign by choosing a goal, selecting a target audience, setting a campaign budget, and adding payment information.
- Start promoting with a budget as low as $3 per day – perfect for small businesses looking to increase visibility with popular videos.
- All promotional content must comply with TikTok’s community guidelines and advertising policies, ensuring it’s appropriate for review and free from misleading claims.
What is TikTok Promote?
TikTok Promote is an in-app advertising feature that enables TikTok creators to boost their content directly within the TikTok app. It’s essentially one of TikTok’s built-in promotion services designed to support specific goals, such as:
- Gain followers
- Get more TikTok views
- Bring new traffic to your web page or TikTok Shop
- Reach the right audience with content that aligns with their interests
- Boost visibility for your brand or services
With just a few clicks, you can launch a promotion directly from the TikTok platform, using the Business Suite, Creator Tools, or by tapping Promote on a video. Using a TikTok Business Account is recommended because it provides access to more settings and insights.
Once your promotion goes live, you can track results on the Promotion Details page, which includes:
- Number of video views
- Engagement (likes, comments, shares)
- Clicks to your web page or TikTok Shop
- Audience demographics (age, gender)
This makes it easier to track performance in real time and refine your future campaigns.
How to promote products on TikTok?
Open the Promote Page in the TikTok App
Go to the Promote feature in TikTok. If you want to use TikTok’s promotion services for business, you should open a TikTok Business Account. This account type offers advanced tools and analytics to help you optimize your promotional efforts.
Here’s how to navigate to the Promote feature:
- Open the TikTok app and go to your profile by tapping the Profile icon at the bottom right corner.
- Tap the Menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the top right corner to access Settings and Privacy.
- Select Business Suite or Creator Tools, depending on your account type.
- Tap Promote to enter the promotion setup interface.
Alternatively, if you have a specific video you want to boost, here’s how to promote a TikTok video:
- Navigate to the video on your profile.
- Tap the More Options button (three dots) on the video.
- Select Promote from the menu to begin setting up your promotion.
Using the Promote feature, you can increase the reach of your video, attract more TikTok followers, and direct traffic to your TikTok Shop or other platforms outside TikTok.
Select a promotion goal
On the Promote page, select a campaign goal that aligns with your objectives. TikTok offers several options to help you connect with the right target group:
- More Views: To boost TikTok views and content visibility.
- More Followers: To build a loyal community and increase TikTok growth.
- More TikTok Profile Views: To attract potential customers to visit your profile and explore your TikTok content.
- More Messages: To encourage customers to message you directly, especially useful for service-based creators.
- More Website Visits: To attract more people to your web page or other social media platforms. This is ideal for promoting products on TikTok or driving purchases.
If you choose More Website Visits, you’ll have to enter a valid URL, preferably one that leads to a promotional landing page with a hyperlink action button, like “Learn More”. This can be great if you want to sell products on TikTok through your own eCommerce storefront.
Each goal supports different kinds of TikTok creators, businesses, and promotion strategies, so pick the one that fits your needs. If you want to generate leads, sell products, or raise brand awareness, you must align your goal with your business objective.
Define your audience
After selecting your goal, define your target audience to ensure your promotion reaches the most relevant users. TikTok allows you to target viewers in two ways:
- Automatic: TikTok uses its algorithm to find users who are most likely to engage with your content. This is based on user behavior, video performance, and demographic signals.
- Custom: You can select demographics independently, like age, gender, and interests. This is useful when you want to target a specific location or a specific group of users.
Custom targeting is ideal if you have a specific target segment in mind or know who your typical TikTok followers are. For example, if you’re promoting pet-themed apparel through your TikTok Shop, selecting “Pet Interests” ensures that your content reaches users who are likely to interact with your product.
Use Google Trends to explore popular content, topics, and keywords relevant to your niche before creating content or setting interests.
This step is key to getting real traction from your TikTok promotion services, ensuring your content reaches real users who are most likely to engage, follow, or purchase.
Set your budget and duration
Next, set your budget and campaign duration. Promote allows you to start with as little as $3 per day, making it one of the best TikTok promotion services for small businesses and creators.
You can choose how many days the promotion runs (up to 7 days) and set a total spend cap. As you adjust your budget and timeline, TikTok will display an estimated view range to help you understand the potential reach of your campaign.
If you want to promote products on TikTok, a longer campaign duration can help drive more qualified traffic and increase the likelihood of customer purchases. Use this information to shape future campaigns and improve your strategy for better results.
Monitor campaign results in real time through the TikTok platform to track engagement, followers’ behavior, and cost efficiency.
Add your payment info
Enter your payment information securely within the TikTok app. Go to the payment section in the promotion setup and enter your credit card details or link to another payment method, like PayPal. This information is securely stored for future transactions.
Adding payments on TikTok can differ slightly between Android and iOS devices:
- Android users can typically add payment information through their Google Play Store account with linked card details or use direct in-app entry.
- iOS users can add their payment information through an Apple ID account via Apple Pay. However, iOS devices can be more restrictive with third-party payments.
Make sure you’re using a secure payment method. TikTok complies with regional regulations to protect your financial data and maintain trustworthiness across all TikTok services.
Start promoting your content
With your audience defined, budget set, and payment information entered, review all promotion details to ensure accuracy. To maximize reach, produce engaging content with relevant hashtags. Make sure your video is optimized with high-quality content and relevant TikTok hashtags. Click Start Promotion to submit it for review.
Once submitted, TikTok will review your promotion to ensure it complies with TikTok promotion rules and community guidelines. This review usually takes a few hours.
After approval, the video begins running based on the schedule and budget you’ve chosen. You’ll be able to track performance in real time from the Promote dashboard, including:
- Views and reach
- Follower growth
- Clicks to your TikTok Shop or external platforms
- Audience insights (age, gender, location)
To maximize your TikTok success and growth, analyze performance trends regularly. If something isn’t performing well, experiment with a different posting time, editing tools, or CTA.
What type of content can be promoted?
Let’s explore the eligibility criteria for content and TikTok accounts to use the Promote feature effectively.
Eligibility requirements:
- Account status: Your TikTok account must be in good standing and not subject to any restrictions or bans.
- Age restrictions: You must be at least 18 years old to use Promote.
- Account type: You need a Creator or Business Account. Government, politician, and political party accounts can’t use Promote.
- Region: Promotions must be available in your geographic region. TikTok may not be available in your country yet.
- Public videos only: You can only promote content that’s set to public, not private or friends-only.
- Music rights: Promoted videos must use either your original sound or tracks from TikTok’s Commercial Music Library, which are cleared for commercial use.
- Content disclosure: When posting content that promotes a brand, product, or service on TikTok, you must turn on the content disclosure setting.
Prohibited content:
- Regulated goods: Ads involving alcohol, tobacco, nicotine products, weapons, illegal drugs, unsafe supplements, gambling, and certain financial products fall into heavily restricted or prohibited categories under TikTok’s Advertising Policies.
- Political content: Political ads, election messaging, and similar content are not allowed in Promote campaigns, and political issues are subject to additional scrutiny.
- Misleading claims: You can’t promote fake offers, unfounded health or financial claims, or other misleading schemes.
- Discrimination: Content that targets protected groups, promotes hate, or encourages dangerous activities is banned.
- Intellectual property violations: Ads must respect copyright and trademarks. You need the rights or licenses to any music, images, or footage you use.
- Counterfeit goods: The promotion of counterfeit goods is prohibited, as these also violate intellectual property rights.
- AI-generated content: Realistic AI-generated or heavily edited media must be labeled using TikTok’s AI-generated content tools, and deepfake content that misleads viewers or impersonates others is not allowed, even if labeled.
Why TikTok may not approve a promotion
TikTok reviews all promotional content to ensure compliance with its community guidelines and advertising policies. If your video is rejected, these might be some of the reasons why:
- Community guidelines: All promoted content must follow TikTok’s Community Guidelines, which prohibit explicit content, harassment, and illegal activities.
- TikTok Advertising policies: Content must comply with TikTok advertising policies, including restrictions on prohibited products and unacceptable business practices.
- Intellectual property: You must own the rights to any music, images, videos, or other content used in your promotion or have the appropriate commercial licenses.
- Missing content disclosures: If your video includes a paid partnership, sponsorship, or any form of branded content, failing to turn on TikTok’s content disclosure toggle can result in rejection. This is now a mandatory requirement for many TikTok creators and brands.
When letting users interact with any sites linked to the content, you must also ensure:
- Transparent pricing: Any promotion involving commerce must clearly disclose costs, subscriptions, renewals, or any other financial obligations involved.
- Safe payment practices: Payment methods and processes must be secure and comply with TikTok’s policies and all relevant financial regulations.
- User data safety: Adherence to data protection laws is critical, especially regarding the collection, storage, and processing of TikTok user data.
FAQ
Promote is a TikTok feature that lets you turn existing videos into ads to gain followers, get more views, or drive traffic, all directly from the app.
To cancel a TikTok promotion, go to your profile, open the Promote tab, select the active campaign, and choose Stop Promotion. You can also hit the three-dot icon on the promoted video and select Stop.
TikTok promotion services start at just $3 per day, with a standard minimum spend of $20. You can set a budget of up to $1,000 and run campaigns for up to 7 days, making it a flexible option for brands and TikTok creators.
TikTok Shop is an in-app eCommerce feature that lets users discover, purchase, and sell products directly on the platform. It connects creators and customers through short videos, livestreams, and TikTok services.
Post consistently, use relevant hashtags, provide engaging content, and experiment with Promote to reach your preferred community, get more video views, and attract TikTok followers.
Use trending music, post at optimal times, follow the TikTok algorithm best practices, and promote TikTok videos using the Promote feature to reach new audiences quickly.
Share valuable content regularly, engage with your viewers, use popular content formats, and try TikTok promotion to reach users beyond your current followers.
Yes, it can be a cost-effective way to increase visibility and engagement, especially for small businesses and creators looking to grow their following on the platform.
Final thoughts
TikTok Promote is a useful tool for expanding your content’s reach and engaging with new audiences on one of today’s most popular social media platforms. Businesses and creators can use this feature to increase traffic, followers, and sales on the TikTok platform. Create videos, experiment with how to promote TikTok video content, and track your video’s performance in real time for future efforts.
