Taking the first steps on TikTok Ads Manager A quick guide to choosing the right goal, getting set up and launching with confidence.
Watch it. Love it. Want it. Start it.
Start with what you want to achieve Advertising on TikTok starts with one question: what do you want people to do?
Maybe you want more people to discover your brand. Take action on your website. Submit their details. Download your app. Or buy a product.
Your campaign objective tells TikTok what success looks like. TikTok then uses that objective, alongside your audience settings and campaign signals, to help deliver your ads to people most likely to take that action.
How do you reach the right people? Core targeting
Define your audience using signals such as location, demographics, interests and behaviours.
Custom Audiences
Reconnect with people who have already interacted with your business.
Lookalike Audiences
Reach new people who share characteristics with an existing audience.
The simple rule: Start with the outcome you want. Then give TikTok the right signals to find the people most likely to deliver it.
Think of your customer journey Different business goals call for different campaigns. Think about where you want to influence your audience - from first discovering your business to eventually taking action.
AWARENESS Get discovered Reach new audiences and build familiarity with your brand.
CONSIDERATION Build interest Give people a reason to engage, explore and learn more.
CONVERSION Drive action Turn interest into leads, installs or purchases.
Where do your ads appear?
TikTok ads appear alongside the content people already enjoy in the For You feed, designed for a full-screen, vertical experience.
Four steps
to get ready
01
Set up your TikTok account
Create the TikTok presence your business will use.
02
Set up TikTok Ads Manager
Create the account where you'll build and manage campaigns.
03
Connect your accounts
Bring your TikTok and ad accounts together so your team can manage access and use your TikTok identity in ads.
04
Connect your data
Share website events with TikTok so you can measure actions and optimise towards the results that matter.
First: choose your TikTok account setup Business
Account A public TikTok profile for businesses, with access to performance insights and creative tools.
Organization
Account Designed for businesses that need secure, role-based access across multiple team members.
Choose the setup that best reflects how your business manages its TikTok presence.
Set up Ads Manager and connect your accounts Set up TikTok Ads Manager TikTok Ads Manager is where you create, run and manage your paid campaigns.
01. Sign up
Create your account using your email or phone number. 02. Add your business information
Enter your business details, country/region, industry, time zone and currency. 03. Set up billing
Add the tax, billing and payment information required in your market. 04. Account review
Your account will be reviewed automatically. You can start building campaigns while you wait, but ads won't run until your account is approved.
Working with a
team or agency? Connect your accounts through Business Center. Business Center helps you manage TikTok accounts, ad accounts and permissions in one place.
TikTok Account + Ads Manager
→ Business Center
Connecting them makes it easier to: Manage access across teams and agencies
Maintain clear account ownership
Use your TikTok identity and eligible organic content in paid campaigns
Need detailed setup instructions?
Visit the TikTok Business Help Center.
Help TikTok understand what works To measure and optimise your campaigns, TikTok needs signals about the actions people take on your website. That's where TikTok Pixel and Events API come in.
TikTok Pixel
Shares browser-based website events with TikTok — such as viewing a product, submitting a form or completing a purchase.
Events API
Shares events directly from your server to TikTok, providing another connection for the data you choose to share.
Pixel + Events API
= Stronger signals Together, they can support: Better measurement
Understand actions across the customer journey. Better optimisation
Give TikTok more reliable signals to inform ad delivery. Better audience building
Use event data to create and reach relevant audiences.
Getting started
01
Choose your setup method
02
Track the actions that matter
03
Strengthen your matching
04
Test your
events
Use a supported partner integration or connect directly with TikTok.
Start with meaningful events across your TikTok Pixel customer journey.
Shares browser-based websit For ecommerce, for example:
eView events with TikTok — such as viewing a Content → Add to Cart
product, submitting a form or completing → Complete Payment a purchase.
Turn on Advanced Matching where appropriate.
Confirm your events are being received correctly in Events Manager.
Ready to build your first campaign? Start with your business goal and choose the right campaign objective.
Choose the right campaign objective Start with the business result you want. Your objective tells TikTok what success looks like and helps optimise your campaign towards it.
Want more people to discover your brand?
→ BUILD AWARENESS Build reach, visibility and familiarity.
Want to drive actions or sales on your website?
→ DRIVE WEBSITE SALES Optimise towards website purchases and other conversion events.
Want to capture customer interest?
→ GENERATE LEADS Collect enquiries, registrations or contact details.
Want more app installs or in-app actions?
→ GROW YOUR APP
Acquire, engage or re-engage app users.
Want to drive purchases within TikTok?
→ DRIVE TIKTOK SHOP SALES
Turn product discovery into in-app purchases.
Define the
outcome first. Choose the objective second.
*Objective and feature availability may vary by account and market.
Build awareness Reach new audiences, make your brand more memorable and build familiarity before asking people to take action. Awareness campaigns can help you: Get discovered
Introduce your business to new audiences. Build recognition
Use memorable, TikTok-first creative to help people remember your brand. Support future action
Build familiarity that can support consideration and conversion later.
Choose what matters most Reach: Show your ad to as many relevant people as possible. Video views: Reach people more likely to pay attention to your video. ommunity Interaction: Grow engagement with your TikTok presence. C
Before you launch, ask: What does awareness mean for us: reach, views or interaction?
Who do we want to reach?
Does our creative have a strong hook?
What budget and campaign duration make sense?
of TikTok users discover new
71%
brands “all of the time” or “frequently” on TikTok.¹
Ready to start?
Head to TikTok
Ads Manager.
Source:
TikTok Marketing Science Global Long-Term Value of a TikTok User Study 2025.
Drive website sales Turn product discovery into meaningful actions on your website.
Website Sales can help you:
Drive valuable actions
Optimise towards purchases and other meaningful website events.
Learn what drives conversion
Use your website signals to understand the customer journey and improve performance.
Re-engage interest
Reconnect with people who have already interacted with your business.
Selling multiple products? Scale with Smart+ Catalog Ads
Use your product catalog to help match relevant products and creative with potential customers.
→ Personalise products to shoppers
→ Prospect and retarget
→ Use your existing product feed
→ Combine with Pixel + Events API signals
Before you launch, ask: What product or action are we promoting?
Who are we trying to reach?
Is our website fast and mobilefriendly?
Does our creative clearly communicate the product and benefit?
Ready to start?
Head to TikTok Ads Manager & choose Sales
→ Website.
Generate leads Make it easy for potential customers to raise their hand — directly on TikTok or through your website. Lead Generation can help you: Capture customer interest
Collect contact details from people interested in your product or service. Build your pipeline
Generate leads your team can follow up with and nurture. Choose the right lead journey
Capture leads on TikTok for a lowerfriction experience or direct people to your website when you need more information.
Choose your lead journey TikTok Ad → Instant Form → Lead TikTok Ad → Website Form → Lead You can also use Messaging Ads to start conversations directly with potential customers, and CRM integrations to help sync and follow up with your leads.
Before you launch, ask: What qualifies as a good lead?
Who are we trying to reach?
What information do we actually need?
Does our creative have a clear CTA?
TikTok users are more likely to
1.3x
sign up for something within an ad than on other social media and traditional search platforms.¹
Ready to start?
Head to TikTok Ads Manager & choose Lead Generation.
Source:
TikTok Marketing Science Global Lead Gen Consumer Journey Survey via AYTM, October 2023.
Grow your app Reach people likely to install your app, take valuable in-app actions or come back and engage again.
App Promotion can help you: Acquire new users
Drive installs and reach people likely to engage with your app. Drive valuable actions
Go beyond installs and optimise towards meaningful in-app events or value. Re-engage users
Bring previous or dormant users back into your app.
Think beyond the install Depending on your goal, you can optimise towards:
Installs → In-app actions
→ Value → Re-engagement
Before you launch, ask: Are we optimising for installs, actions or value?
Who is most likely to use our app?
What makes our app useful or distinctive?
Does our creative communicate that benefit quickly?
39%
59%
lower uninstall rate
more time spent in
for TikTok-driven app
the first week by
installs vs. other
TikTok-driven app installs
platforms.¹
vs. other platforms.¹
Ready to start?
Head to TikTok Ads Manager & choose App Promotion. Source:
Adjust, 2023 for TikTok SKAN install.
Drive TikTok Shop sales Bring product discovery and purchase together, allowing people to discover and buy without leaving TikTok.
TikTok Shop Ads can help you: Create a seamless shopping journey
Let people discover and purchase products within TikTok. Drive more Shop sales
Use paid media to amplify your TikTok Shop activity. Automate optimisation
Use GMV Max to optimise products, creative and delivery to help
maximise sales.
How do you sell? PRODUCTS - Product GMV Max
For always-on product sales. Automate products, creative and delivery to help maximise TikTok Shop sales.
LIVE - LIVE GMV Max
For businesses using LIVE shopping. Optimise traffic to your LIVE sessions to help maximise sales.
Before you launch, ask: What are we trying to sell?
Are our product details and assets ready?
Can our Shop handle increased demand?
Which content and shopping format best fits our audience?
of TikTok users exposed to a
78%
Shop Ad agree they would be likely to purchase from the advertised brand in the future.¹
Ready to start?
Head to TikTok Seller Center. *TikTok Shop and feature availability varies by market.
Source:
TikTok Marketing Science Global TikTok Shop Research conducted by Material, December 2023.
Ready to launch? One final check before you start your first campaign.
Your first campaign checklist Before you get started, make sure you’ve got the essentials in place. Know your goal
Be clear on what you want people to do.
Set up your accounts
Make sure TikTok Ads Manager and the relevant business accounts are ready.
Connect your signals
Set up the data connections you need to measure and optimise performance.
Choose your objective
Select the campaign objective that best matches your business goal.
Know your audience
Think about who you want to reach and the signals that can help TikTok find them.
Get your creative ready
Use TikTok-first creative with a strong hook, clear message and CTA. Set your budget
Choose a budget and campaign duration that give your campaign room to learn. All checked? You’re ready to start.
Watch it.
Love it.
Want it.
START IT. Start advertising in minutes
Create your TikTok Ads Manager account and unlock ad credits to supercharge your first campaign.
Get started https://ads.tiktok.com/business