TikTok has transformed beyond just a Gen-Z hangout; now, it’s a popular traafficc source for affiliate and e-commerce marketers. When paired with creative testing, TikTok becomes a valuable asset in your flexible growth strategy, reaching a wide range of audiences.
However, don’t think you can just replicate your strategies from Facebook or Instagram on TikTok. The game on TikTok is different because TikTok’s algorithm operates in its unique way. Unlike other social channels, it continuously introduces new and relevant content, rather than primarily showcasing posts from people you already know.
So, the big question: How can you strategically implement creative testing on TikTok? Here are some tips to help you achive better results:
Micro and Macro Testing
When it comes to creative testing on TikTok, it’s beneficial to engage in both macro and micro testing. These approaches enable you to examine production and thematic style, messaging style, sound, talent, and more.
As you step into TikTok’s game, it’s wise to allocate a significant portion of your time and budget to macro tests. This broader-scale testing allows you to discern overarching creative trends, offering insights into what resonates or falls flat with your target audience.
Once you’ve pinpointed the content types that align well with your brand, you can then delve into micro creative testing. This more focused approach helps you zoom in on specific variables, allowing for incremental improvements in results.
Know Your KPIs
On TikTok, it’s crucial to maintain a continuous cycle of testing, evaluation, and learning. Making adjustments to variables and running tests must be integrated into your TikTok strategy. The budget allocated for creative testing should align with the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) under scrutiny, the chosen testing options, and the number of creative assets undergoing testing.
When determining which KPIs to test, align them with your objectives, emphasizing the importance of defining what success looks like for your campaign. For upper funnel goals, focus on reaching a broad audience and maximizing video views. “Watch time” emerges as an essential metric, clearly featured in TikTok analytics.
Moving to mid-funnel TikTok campaigns, measure post engagement by examining views, comments, likes, and shares, utilizing click-through rate (CTR) as the primary metric. Lower-funnel TikTok campaigns, aimed at website conversions, rely on CTR to evaluate creative success. A comprehensive full-funnel TikTok strategy involves maintaining consistent creative elements across the entire funnel, ensuring optimal results and effective conversion of potential customers.
Use The Creative Testing Tools in TikTok Ads
TikTok offers a range of powerful creative testing tools that can help a lot when it comes to testing your creatives. Here are some key creative tools at your disposal:
- Split Testing Tool:
This tool allows you to test two different ad versions, analyzing performance to optimize future campaigns. Test targeting, bidding, optimization, and creative elements while keeping other variables constant. It provides quick and precise insights to guide your spending and scaling decisions for the best Return on Investment (ROI).
- Automated Creative Optimization:
Streamline ad management by discovering high-performing combinations of creative assets. This tool automatically combines images, videos, ad text, and call-to-action buttons into multiple ads for your marketing campaign.
- Video Template:
Create compelling videos effortlessly with customizable templates. Upload your photos, text, and logos to save time and money on video editing, ensuring your marketing message stands out.
- Smart Video Soundtrack:
Test different background music options to understand their impact on ad delivery performance, enhancing your ability to convey your brand image or product information effectively.
- Quick Optimization:
A smart tool for creating TikTok-style ad creatives rapidly. It automatically combines visual effects, opening frames, and music to generate up to 12 pieces of creative from a single video asset.
- Dynamic Scene:
Utilizes machine learning to break videos into multiple scenes and variations, facilitating easy testing of ad variations with different audiences to identify top-performing creatives.
- TikTok Video Editor:
An all-in-one video editor allowing you to add and edit video, images, music, text, subtitles, and more. With clear specifications for aspect ratio, resolution, video length, brand name length, and product description length, you can easily create professional content tailored for TikTok.
- Asset Analysis Report:
TikTok’s Asset Analysis Report tool provides metrics to evaluate the performance of creative assets, even when used across multiple campaigns or ad groups. Customize reports, create filters, and export data to fine-tune your strategies.
Keep In Mind: Creative Testing on TikTok Takes Time
When it comes to creative testing on TikTok, it’s crucial to allocate typically about 2-4 weeks for testing. This duration allows the algorithm the necessary time to learn and optimize. Ads transition out of the learning phase after accumulating 50 events or conversions. If, within the initial 10 days, your ad group struggles to achieve a minimum of 20 conversions, it signals that it’s unlikely to successfully complete the learning phase.
This serves as a key indicator that adjustments are needed, whether it’s refining the creative elements, broadening your target audience, or exploring a different approach altogether. This strategic approach ensures that your TikTok creative testing is given the time required to yield meaningful insights and optimal performance.
Conclusion
In conclusion, as TikTok continues to evolve and attract a bigger and bigger user base, staying attuned to the platform’s creative testing tools, dedicating time for learning, and remaining adaptable in strategy are key ingredients for success. By embracing these practices, marketers can capitalize on TikTok’s dynamic landscape to create successful campaigns and achieve great success in online marketing.
