Digital advertising is a dynamic realm, ever-evolving and bursting with new possibilities. We see this in the development of TikTok, for example. In recent times, TikTok hasn’t just been the hub for dance-offs and quirky trends. Now, with the introduction of TikTok Spark Ads, the platform has upped its advertising game.
Understanding TikTok Spark Ads
So, what is a TikTok Spark Ad? At its core, a Spark Ad is a native TikTok video that’s been repurposed as an ad creative. What’s unique is that brands can seamlessly integrate Spark Ads into their campaigns after getting permission from the creator via a simple Spark Ad code.
Consider TikTok Spark Ads as a symbiotic relationship between a creator’s original, unfiltered content and the strategy of a meticulously planned ad campaign.
How Spark Ads Compare To Traditional TikTok Ads
Before diving deeper into Spark Ads, let’s highlight their distinction from regular TikTok ads. Traditional TikTok ads, while being aesthetically pleasing and often brand-heavy, sometimes lack the authentic touch that users gravitate towards. And the burden is on the brand to create them.
Spark Ads address this gap. They champion authenticity by spotlighting content that’s already gaining traction on TikTok. This means brands don’t need to reinvent the wheel; they can leverage what’s already trending, optimize it, and reintroduce it to a broader audience.
At Tailwind, if we see a TikTok about our product that we like, we reach out immediately to ask the creator if we can pull it into our ads account via a Spark Post.
A Deep Dive into Native Spark Ads for Brands
Beyond merely amplifying creators’ videos, Spark Ads present brands with an unprecedented opportunity to narrate their brand stories with flair.
Choosing the Spark Ads for your TikTok ads strategy promises a ton of benefits, including:
- Richer Narratives: Because Spark Ads are created from user generated content, brands can tell their story from more angles with richer and more relatable narratives.
- Social Proof: It’s one thing to say your product is easy to use. It’s another (BETTER) thing to promote a TikTok from someone else who says they saved four hours using your tool.
- Deeper Engagement: Because they started as organic posts, these ads tend to appeal more to the audience and draw them in to comment & like the post. For example, in a recent campaign targeting traffic, the ads we created for ourselves got a CTR of less than 1%. Our Spark Post ad creatives gained CTR’s of 1.14% – 3.18%.
- Community Interaction: Unlike traditional ads, these posts reflect community interactions — comments, likes, shares — thus making them more relatable and appealing.
- Time savings: For small teams like ours, having a supply of TikToks that we can pull into ads campaigns is a lifesaver. It takes a couple of minutes to ask for a Spark Code. Making a TikTok ad consumes much more time!
An Affiliate Marketing Powerhouse
Read on for more about using Spark Post ads in your affiliate program.
Tailwind, like many forward-thinking brands, has recognized the potential of Spark Ads. We regularly include them in our advertising strategy. Here’s how we work with our affiliates to get new ad creative:
- We incentivize affiliates to create TikToks about Tailwind.
- We collect and review the videos for FTC compliance, accuracy and alignment with our brand.
- Code Generation: Once approved, affiliates produce a Spark Code and send it to us.
- We set up the campaign with our objectives, targeting, and budget, then drop in the code into the ads manager interface to supply the new ad creative.
- With objectives, targeting, and budget set, TikTok then broadcasts the affiliate content from our Tailwind ads account.
Here’s a picture of the ad creative section in TikTok ads. You can see the list of affiliate TikTok’ers who have authorized Tailwind to use their content.
“Back in the day, we thought neon windbreakers were the future. Today, it’s all about TikTok’s Spark Ads. They’re the digital windbreakers of advertising—bold, unique, and impossible to ignore!” Brian Gladu, Product marketing at Tailwind.
TikTok can also advertise a brand’s own content using a Spark post. This allows the post to be distributed more widely without losing the organic likes and comments it has already gotten. Organic posts also have differences in some features — like caption lengths. Promoting through Spark Ads eliminates the need to change the TikTok video to fit the ads platform.
PRO TIP:
Before asking affiliates for new TikTok videos that you can use as Spark Post Ads, decide what your approval criteria will be. Clearly communicate the non-negotiables in your ask to affiliates.
How to Create a TikTok Spark Code. 6 Simple Steps:
The world of TikTok Spark Ads not only benefits brands. It also creates a great opportunity.
Here’s how to create Spark Code if you’re a creator looking to try this new type of brand partnership:
- Select Your Video: Navigate to the desired video on your TikTok profile.
- More Options: Click on the ••• icon near the “comment” button.
- Ad Settings: Choose the “Ad settings” option.
- Activation: Toggle the Ad authorization to “On” and accept the given terms.
- Code Generation: Click “Generate code” to produce your unique Spark ad code.
- Partnership: Distribute this code to collaborating brands for promotional use.
(A gracious nod to thesocialsavannah.com for the walkthrough of this procedure!)
If you need a little help coming up with TikTok content, Check out Tailwind Ghostwriter. You can use it for TikTok video descriptions or to create a short video script you can use on TikTok.
No credit card required.
Spark Post Ads: Creator Benefits
Now, let’s delve into the benefits Spark Ads bring to creators:
- Monetization Opportunities: Creators can get paid for their content with Spark Ads. Brands (like Tailwind) are willing to pay creators for the right to use their organic, high-engaging videos as ads.
- Wider Reach and Exposure: When a brand chooses a creator’s content for a Spark Ad, that content gets exposed to a broader audience, expanding the creator’s reach and potentially increasing their follower count.
- Authentic Engagement: Spark Ads maintain the original content’s authenticity. For creators, this means that their original message remains unaltered, and they can engage genuinely with a broader audience.
- Professional Portfolio Expansion: Being chosen by brands for Spark Ads can be a testament to a creator’s quality of content. It can serve as a significant boost to their professional portfolio, showcasing their work’s appeal to both audiences and brands alike.
- Long-Term Collaborations: Successful Spark Ads can lead to longer-term collaborations between brands and creators. If a creator’s content resonates well as a Spark Ad, brands may approach them for more direct, customized content collaborations.
- Community Building: The interactions (likes, comments, shares) that these ads gather can help creators in strengthening their community. It’s an endorsement of their content’s value, making followers feel more connected to the creator and their narrative.
“Spark ads are an amazing way to get new eyeballs on your content, and repurposing these short form videos helps to make marketing easy, says Jen Vazquez CEO of the Jen Vazquez Media. I love how easy it is to create content about Tailwind and share a simple link with them as a creator.”
The magic of Spark Ads on TikTok happens when brands and creators sync up.
In conclusion, realness is the name of the game, and Spark Ads are leading the parade. They’re not just the flavor of the month in digital advertising. They’re setting the pace by bringing more voices and viewpoints to the advertising table for brands who want to tell the story of their product with authentic, multi-faceted content.
