When it comes to optimizing TikTok Ads, you’ve got two main approaches.
First up, you can try to fine-tune these ads before you even launch your campaign. Makes sense, right? Every marketer wants their ads to hit the bullseye right from the get-go.
But here’s the thing, there’s no guaranteed magic solution that’ll instantly make your ads perfect. That’s where this article comes in. We’re diving into how to optimize TikTok ads like a total pro, but with a twist. We’re focusing on what to do after your campaign is already up and running.
To help us out, we’re taking a page from Aristotle’s playbook. Yeah, the ancient Greek philosopher guy. He had this neat framework with three key elements: ethos, pathos, and logos.
These are the building blocks for persuading an audience, and we’ll break them down for you below.
1. Analyze Data
To optimize your TikTok Ads effectively, you need to understand how they’re performing in real-world scenarios. That’s where TikTok Ads Manager comes into play.
Installing it early on in your campaign creation process is key. This tool gives you insights into audience targeting, strategies, and offers valuable key performance indicators (KPIs) to track.
With TikTok Ads Manager, you can dive deep into your campaign’s performance, identifying any issues that might be holding back its efficiency. Sometimes, it’s the little things, like slightly off color tones, that can make a big difference.
Here’s how TikTok Ads Manager breaks down the data:
- Dashboard Page: Gives you the big picture overview.
- Campaign Page: Offers detailed analysis of each campaign.
- Reporting Page: Your personal report card, showing how your ads are performing.
2. Rethink Your Ethos
Ethos, in the context of persuasion, revolves around your character, morals, and ethics. It’s about making a positive impression rather than stumbling awkwardly on TikTok’s stage.
Considering that the majority of TikTok users are under 24 years old, it’s crucial to align your brand with their values and aspirations for making a difference in the world.
To analyze ethos, delve into your analysis reports and examine metrics like video views, likes, clickthrough rates, and comments. These metrics reflect people’s opinions, attitudes, and actions toward your brand. Pay attention to factors like the time of day and date to understand audience engagement better.
If you notice low engagement, consider whether you’re addressing the right audience or resonating with shared values. Micro-influencers, for instance, often outperform macro-influencers in engagement, credibility, and conversion rates.
Evaluating each ad, ad group, and campaign against your KPIs can help you refine your messaging and target audience.
Additionally, reassess if your brand is the best spokesperson for your audience. Partnering with a content creator, especially a micro-influencer, can enhance authenticity and credibility.
Finally, revisit your initial strategy, optimize your audience using TikTok Ads Manager, and consider creating lookalike audiences to reach similar profiles on the platform.
3. Redefine Your Pathos
Pathos, the emotional appeal in your communication, plays a vital role in connecting with your audience on TikTok. Analyzing emotional metrics and testing different messaging tactics are essential to create engaging content.
Emotions strongly influence decision-making, even more so in the subconscious mind. This holds true for TikTok users, given the platform’s nature and audience profile, which favors immediate attention-grabbing content.
To analyze pathos, start by assessing critical metrics like engagement rates, views, and actions taken by viewers. Then, evaluate the mood created in your ads through elements like music, special effects, colors, and trends. Strategies such as humor, controversy, or FOMO can evoke the desired emotional response from your audience.
Consider the example of Julian de Medeiros, whose posts create a reflective mood through various visual and auditory elements. While not direct ads, these posts serve to promote his business indirectly.
To leverage pathos effectively:
- Analyze data from previous A/B tests or conduct new tests.
- Pay attention to every detail that can evoke emotion, from visuals to music.
- Adjust your strategy based on the emotional response indicated by the data.
- Ensure alignment between the speaker and the emotional tone of the content.
- Keep your product or brand in focus, ensuring it shines alongside the emotional elements.
- Capture viewers’ attention quickly, as attention spans are limited on TikTok.
- End with a strong call-to-action to prompt desired actions from your audience, such as sharing, commenting, or visiting a product page.
4. Redefine Your Logos
Logos, the logical appeal, is the final mode of persuasion in Aristotle’s Rhetoric, focusing on presenting solid arguments supported by facts and evidence.
Why does it matter? Well, today’s audiences, especially Gen Z, are skeptical of traditional marketing tactics and prefer brands backed by tangible proof of effectiveness and value. Without factual support, emotional appeals alone won’t cut it in convincing them.
To analyze logos:
- Refer to your reports and assess whether the arguments in your TikTok ads are convincing for your audience’s profile.
- Revisit your audience persona and use TikTok Ads Manager to identify profiles that engage the most with your brand.
- Evaluate how your audience interacts with the facts and arguments presented in your ads, considering metrics like inquiries, agreement, and desired actions.
What can you do about it?
- Create new ads for A/B testing that utilize more convincing data, such as product tutorials, statistics, or user-generated content.
- Incorporate numbers and statistics to strengthen your arguments and captivate your audience’s attention.
- Utilize user-generated content, like product reviews, to enhance credibility and trust.
- Offer rewards, discounts, or incentives to further persuade your audience to take action, as demonstrated by James Allen’s successful discount code campaign.
By implementing these strategies, you can effectively leverage logos to bolster the effectiveness of your TikTok ad campaigns and resonate with your audience on a logical level.
5. Always Remain Flexible
The final step in your strategy is to remain adaptable, even after you’ve laid out a plan.
Continuously reassess your results, explore more effective tools, and refine your budget allocation accordingly.
While TikTok may resemble an Ancient Greek plaza in terms of its bustling activity, your budget ultimately determines your reach. For instance, premium options like Brand Takeover Ads can exceed $50,000, offering brief full-screen ads upon users opening the app.
Regularly test your ads to uncover better methods for driving engagement and sales.
Collaborate with suitable content creators and heed your audience’s feedback. Utilizing social listening and data analysis is key to crafting compelling ads.
However, it’s essential to remain receptive to new ideas and approaches.
By integrating these strategies and insights, you’ll be equipped to optimize your TikTok campaigns like a seasoned professional.
