Spark Ads - Creative Playbook
Welcome to the Spark Ads Creative Playbook!
This playbook is designed to inspire and guide advertisers who want to use Spark Ads to advertise with more native and authentic creative materials, and includes some key observations and suggestions from our Creative Expert team. Through this playbook, we aim to help you develop good, compelling Spark Ads content on TikTok and share tips on how to bring them to life.
What is Spark Ads
This unique format lets you publish ads:
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Using your own TikTok account's posts
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Using organic posts made by other creators – with their authorization
Unlike Non-Spark Ads (regular In-Feed ads), Spark Ads use posts from real TikTok accounts, which ensures that all views, comments, shares, likes, and follows gained from boosting the video during the promotion are attributed to your organic posts. There's no limit to how many times you can use the same organic TikTok posts as creatives in your ads.
The Spark Ads format has the following benefits:
Authentic and unique brand experiences
- Spark Ads provides an opportunity to build and cement your brand image and brand trust by allowing you to add organic TikTok pages and posts to your ads.
Increase in ad performance
- We are seeing overall positive campaign results of using Spark Ads on Video Views, Engagement Rate, CVR, and CPM (Completion Rate +30%, Engagement Rate +142%, CVR +43%, CPM -4%, source: Spark Ads performance comparison with Diversion In-Feed Ads, Q4 2020-Q2 2021, TikTok Internal Data) compared to Non-Spark Ads. With Spark Ads, you can also reduce unintended clicks to achieve higher CVR.
Innovative features
- Spark Ads support Duet, Stitch, and Sticker features, and allow viewers to click on the post's music.
Long-lasting marketing impact and improved ROI
- All of the Spark Ads post engagement will be attributed to the original organic post and can have a positive impact on this organic post's engagement in the future.
- Spark Ads can help to improve customer retention and loyalty and drive new lead generation and re-purchase.
What Successful Spark Ads Look Like
How to create spark ads that really work? We've broken down and analyzed the top 200 most successful Spark Ads to identify the unique characters of Spark Ads, especially those that make the story compelling and selling. Here we list some key findings and best practices to help you create better Spark Ads content!TikTok readiness
Next Level Best Practices
OK, you have a story now by following our basic rules. But what are the magic components that make the story work?
1. Balance products and people
a. In general, showing a product saw a 138% uplift in ad recall. Showing a person (face + body) lifted purchase intent +72% but also saw a negative impact on recall.
- Recall usually refers to how strongly you memorize the ads you've seen in TikTok.
- Source: TikTok Marketing Science US Creator Ads: Elements of Attention Study 2022, conducted by Lumen.
b. People need to have in-depth interaction with the product to make the product the hero and really highlight the product selling points and get the audience's interests and buying intentions.
c. People can be everyday people, staff or creator
examples
Unboxing
Ads that featured people unboxing products were watched significantly longer and saw stronger consideration
Try it out
When asked what types of ads they enjoy watching on TikTok…
- 1 in 3 said ads that show someone trying on a product or service or show the product in use
- Examples: product tests, product review, step-by-step tutorials, numbered ideas, comparison with competitors, successful user stories etc.
- Source: TikTok Marketing Science US Creator Ads: Elements of Attention Study 2022, conducted by Lumen
Show Product Throughout When people show off products at different points of an ad, users remember the brand and want to buy
2. Leverage TikTok's entertainment value
a. Entertaining elements means funny or interesting stories, plots or personal experiences that make the video more entertaining than only advertising.
b. Entertaining ads on TikTok hold viewers' attention 1.3x longer and can guide people down the funnel: 15%+ higher purchase rate, 17%+ higher likelihood to recommend.
Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global Entertaining Ads Study 2022 conducted by Marketcastexamples Uplifted/inspired
- (vs Low Entertainment), High Entertainment TikTok ads are 1.7x more likely to make viewers feel inspired/uplifted
- Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global Entertaining Ads Study 2022 conducted by Marketcast
Creative/amusing
- (vs Low Entertainment), High Entertainment TikTok ads are 1.5x creative, 1.3x fun, 1.7x cool
- Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global Entertaining Ads Study 2022 conducted by Marketcast
Taught me something new
- (vs Low Entertainment), High Entertainment TikTok ads are 1.7x more likely to teach me something new
- Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global Entertaining Ads Study 2022 conducted by Marketcast
3. Use TikTok trends
a. as off-the-shelf templates that help you integrate with TikTok communities and culture.
b. Influencing shopping - keeping up with trends acts as a purchase motivation for 41% of TikTokers. Source: TikTok MarSci, The Impact of Culture Study, US, 2022.
c. Impact on purchase - a brand’s cultural involvement makes up a full 25% of a consumer's purchase decision. Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global Retail Path to Purchase Study 2021 conducted by Material.
d. Engaging with brands - brands that come up with challenges, trends or memes see 77% of TikTokers respond positively towards them. Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global Community and Self-Expression Study 2021 conducted by Flamingo.
examples
Evergreen Trends
Buzzy Trends
4. Sound
a. When it comes to sound, speech is the most effective at hooking viewers. Speaking directly to the camera can increase the hooking power of an ad by 50%， Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global How to Hook Study [US, UK, GCC] 2023, conducted by Metrixlab.
b. If music is included, it should be energetic (1.7x more likely to hook vs. Music that is not energetic) Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global How to Hook Study [US, UK, GCC] 2023, conducted by Metrixlab.
c. Use our Commercial Music Library to discover more energetic music.
examples
5. Create with TikTok native features
a. Stitch function is a great way to add an extra layer of information to the creative video and makes the video look very authentic at the same time
- +70% longer view time, Source: TikTok Creative Expert Center Analysis Results of Top 200 Spark Ads, 2023
b. Reply to comments help hook the audiences to stay in the video at the very beginning and can also give them reasons to watch till the end.
examples
Creator Content Strategy
87% of the top 200 high-spending Spark Ads have involved creators. And creator Spark Ads outperformed non-creator spark ads in ARPM, CTR, VTR, Engagement. Source: TikTok Creative Expert Center Analysis Results of Top 200 Spark Ads, 2023 By allowing posting from the brand's or creator's own TikTok account, Spark Ads creates a perfect scenario for brand&creator collaboration to really make your story sparkling and selling. Here are some tips specifically for how to make successful creator content.
1. Work with creators to increase your successful chance
a. Creators don’t just create content, they create a sense of belonging.
- More than 1 in 3 viewers say TikTok inspired them to buy something recommended by a Creator on the platform.
- 71% of viewers indicated qualities related to a creators'/influencers' authenticity motivated them to buy a product/brand.
b. The top defining traits of a TikTok Creator are: Likeable (62%), Easy-going (61%), Cool (56%), Relatable (55%). All core traits that are highly correlated with brand liking & purchase.
Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global Creators Like Me Study, 2021, conducted by Hotspex2. Ditch the script
a.When content is delivered in a creator's own natural voice, it can drive a stronger engagement rate, since being real is crucial on TikTok; 47% of viewers agreed that creator content on TikTok felt "authentic". Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global Creators Drive Commerce Study 2022 conducted by Material.
b.The dos and don'ts of "scripting" your content
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❌ DON'T use prescriptive language. Let creators speak in their own words. Viewers can tell if someone else wrote the lines for them, and it takes away from the authenticity of a video.
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✅ DO share enough information so the creator seems knowledgeable. A creator’s knowledgeability is the #1 motivating attribute that drives a consumer’s likelihood to buy a product they see on TikTok.
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✅ If you need to include lengthy CTAs, DO put them in the caption. Hearing a creator say "link in bio" or "use my code" might take away from the entertainment value of a video. Putting those prompts in captions allows interested users to find them without feeling pressured.
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❌ DON'T try to force a hook where it doesn’t make sense. Ask your teammates and the creator, honestly, if the hook seems convoluted. If it feels off to them, it'll feel off to viewers, too.
Case Study
This video from Peech, a text-to-speech app, is a great example. They ran content with @aminasnotokay, in which she used her typical conversational tone to talk about how the product works:
3. Choose the right trends that make sense both for your brand and the creator you're working with
a. When you do, the resulting content feels the most organic and honest, and it allows you to show that you're trend savvy (which users love: 77% of viewers like brands better when they create or participate in trends on TikTok). Source: TikTok Marketing Science Global Community and Self-Expression Study 2021 conducted by Flamingo
b. The dos and don'ts of using trends (strategically)
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✅ DO ask creators to leverage big trends they've used before. Tapping into super-popular trends, like dances, is a great way to speak users' language. But if your creator makes a dance video for the very first time as a part of your campaign, it may not feel sincere to viewers.
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❌ DON'T feel boxed in by trends that follow a specific style or tone. 78% of users agree that the best brands on TikTok create videos on all sorts of topics and interests.
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✅ DO think both "evergreen" trends and "buzzy" trends. Examples: evergreen trends (ASMR, satisfying, dance, lip-syncing, transitions, what's in my bag), buzzy trends (trendy movies, songs, filters)
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✅ Want to learn more about the different types of TikTok trends and explore some of the most popular ones on the platform? Check out the trends hub in TikTok's Creative Center and the research reports.
Case Study
In a recent campaign, family-owned bread brand King's Hawaiian tapped into the #CookWithMe trend as a part of its Slider Sunday initiative. The brand partnered with creator @wereennistogether, who put his own spin on the prompt and demonstrated how King's Hawaiian buns can take Sunday meals to the next level.
4. Video duration should be flexible
a. From the analysis of the Top 200 Spark Ads we can see, a certain number of creator-made successful materials are longer than 30s or even 60s. And the videos with longer (greater than 38s) duration outperform the ones with shorter duration (less than 38s). Source: TikTok Creative Expert Center Analysis Results of Top 200 Spark Ads, 2023
b. The suggestion is, no need to avoid longer videos, as displaying both creators' own charm and the product's selling points need more time than just advertising, e.g. Storylines like product testing or tutorials cost naturally much more time than just showcasing or introducing the product.
