Your Guide to Remarketing Audiences on TikTok
August 4, 2023
Smart marketing is about making the most of your investment. In order to do that, you need to know who you’re marketing to and where to connect with them.
Is TikTok the right place to connect with your audience?
When most small business owners think of social media marketing, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter naturally come to mind, but they don’t often think about social media channels that may seem less mainstream, like TikTok.
But, the fact that it’s not super mainstream is part of the reason why marketing on TikTok is a great idea for many small businesses. Less competition means that you have more of an opportunity to make a big impact.
It’s also important to note that just because TikTok may seem less mainstream to marketers, that doesn’t mean that people aren’t using it. According to Hootsuite, TikTok has 150 million active users in the US (that’s more than Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat and even Twitter!), and many of them are young and engaged.
With so many young, active users, TikTok is an especially powerful tool for businesses looking to connect with a younger audience. And, since TikTok is ideal for authentic marketing strategies that young people connect with, like user-generated content and nano-influencers, it’s effective.
Learn more about the many benefits of TikTok marketing.
Maximize your ROI by remarketing on TikTok
There’s an old, widely known marketing principle called “The Rule of 7” that says a prospect needs to be exposed to your message at least seven times before they will take action by purchasing a product or booking a service.
The Rule of 7 is exactly why remarketing on TikTok is a smart, effective way to drive up your ROI and get more out of your social media marketing budget. Remarketing is about connecting with people who have already shown an interest in what you have to offer.
Combining the might of TIkTok with remarketing makes for a powerful, cost-effective social media marketing strategy.
Remarketing on TikTok starts with creating Custom Audiences
When creating your ad groups, TikTok allows you to select Custom Audiences to target based on a number of factors.
There are four different ways you can create Custom Audiences on TikTok — Website Traffic, Engagement, App Activity and Customer File. Most small businesses retargeting on TikTok will benefit from selecting Custom Audiences based on Website Traffic or Engagement.
Website Traffic
Under the Website Traffic option, you can target users who have visited your website, or who have performed a wide range of actions, including:
- Visiting a specific page
- Clicking a button
- Adding a product to the cart
- Registering as a user
- Submitting a form
- And more
Website Traffic Custom Audiences are ideal for targeting people who have shown an interest in your brand or products but haven’t made a purchase. Website Traffic audiences are automatically refreshed.
Learn more about Website Traffic Custom Audiences and how to set them up.
Install the TikTok pixel on your website
In order to target Website Traffic audiences on TikTok, you will need to install the TikTok pixel and collect data for a set period before you launch your campaign.
According to TikTok:
“TikTok pixel is an HTML code snippet that gets loaded whenever a user visits a website. When a user gets to your site, the pixel fires and will track the user’s behavior and conversions.”
With the TikTok pixel, you can track TikTok users who visit your website and use the data to build Custom Audiences for your remarketing ads. This allows you to target users who are most likely to take an action, like making a purchase or registering an account.
Another reason to install the TikTok pixel is that it allows you to monitor the performance of your ad campaigns on TikTok. It also removes users who have already converted, so you’re not spending money on redundant impressions.
Learn more about the TikTok pixel and how to set it up.
In order to use your TikTok ad for retargeting, you’ll need to give the TikTok pixel enough time to collect data. Your audience size will need to be a minimum of 1,000 users when targeting users based on website traffic.
Engagement
Under the Engagement option, you can target users who previously engaged with your ad content in a specific way, including:
- Clicking your ad
- Viewing your ad
- Watching your ad for at least two seconds
- Watching your ad for at least six seconds
- Watching more than 25% of your ad
- Watching more than 50% of your ad
- Watching more than 75% of your ad
- Watching your ad in full
Engagement Audiences only capture users who have engaged with your app on TikTok (or TikTok’s family of apps). Engagement Audiences are auto refreshed.
Learn more about Engagement Custom Audiences and how to set them up.
App Activity
Under the App Activity option, you can target users who have completed specific events in your app, including:
- Installing the app
- Launching the app
- Adding a product to the cart
- Viewing content
- Searching
- Logging in
- Clicking
- Subscribing
- Rating the app
- Unlocking achievements
- And more
If you want to engage further with TikTok users who have used your app in the past, App Activity is the ideal Custom Audience type. App Activity audiences are auto-refreshed.
Learn more about App Activity Custom Audiences and how to set them up.
Important note: In order to build Custom Audiences based on App Activity, you’ll need to have third-party tracking set up on your app, with the in-app events option turned on. Learn more about third-party tracking and the partners supported by TikTok.
Customer File
With the Custom File Custom Audience type, you can upload a customer file and match your customers with TikTok users.
File types include IDFA/GAID Original Value, IDFA/GAID – MD5 Encrypted and IDFA/GAID – SHA256 Encrypted, and any IDFA and GAID data should be from the geographical location you’re targeting.
Please note, Custom File Custom Audiences are not useful for most small businesses marketing on TikTok.
Learn more about Customer File Custom Audiences and how to set them.
Need help building the right Custom Audiences for your TikTok retargeting campaign? Do you want a professional to install the TikTok pixel on your website? Are you looking for expert ad design?
Originally published on 12/7/20
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