by Jordan Atchison | Feb 1, 2023
What are the Average TikTok Ads Metrics You Should Benchmark Against with a TikTok Advertising Campaign?
With any business, staying ahead of the competition is crucial – and that’s never been more true than with social media. This means being knowledgeable about the latest trends and social innovations in digital marketing, like running ads on TikTok. TikTok has rapidly gained popularity, with a massive user base of over 1 billion active users, making it a promising platform for businesses to reach their target audience. In fact, in early 2022 TikTok overtook YouTube as the most viewed video platform in the US by hours of video consumption.
This is a platform that marketers and businesses can’t ignore.
To get the most out of your TikTok Ads campaigns, it’s important to have a deep understanding of TikTok Ads reporting and budgeting. Your top questions as a business owner may be, “How much do TikTok ads cost?”, “How Do I know if they are working?” and “What are the types of TikTok ads?” Let’s explore the essential metrics to track, how to effectively manage your ad spend, and tips to help you make informed decisions when it comes to your TikTok Ads campaigns.
TikTok Advertising Step 1: What do budgets look like?
TikTok, like many other social media and digital advertising platforms, allows for flexible budgets that can be based on campaign duration or daily amounts, depending on whether it is set at the Campaign or Ad Group level.
What is the minimum daily TikTok Advertising budget?
TikTok allows for the lowest minimum daily ad spend of $20. Daily ad spend is set at the Ad Group level. If you’re interested in the maximum daily ad spend allowed, TikTok does note that this is $10,000,000 dollars per day!
What is the minimum TikTok advertising budget at the campaign level?
On TikTok, campaign level ad spend must be at least $500 which cannot go below $50 per day, which means the $500 campaign budget can be at a 10 day. For a 30-day campaign, the minimum campaign-level spend would be $1500. If you want a lower budget than this over a 30-day period, you’ll have to change your advertising to daily spend which can get you to about a $600 monthly advertising spend.
Understanding Important TikTok Ads Benchmarks & Metrics:
Whenever you are trying to put together a TikTok ad campaign, it is important to pay close attention to benchmarks and key metrics, especially if you are investing time money, and energy into this platform. These will clue you in as to how the TikTok ads are performing and where you may need to adjust your strategy.
Some important TikTok Ad Benchmark & Metrics include:
- TikTok Cost Per Impression (CPM)
- TikTok Cost Per Click (CPC)
- TikTok Click Through Rate (CTR)
- TikTok Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
What To Know About TikTok Ads Cost Per Impression (CPM):
The Power of Impressions and TikTok CPM
Impressions and cost per impression (CPM) are two of the most valuable TikTok metrics to track when it comes to tracking a performing ads campaign. Impressions refer to the number of times your ad has been displayed, while CPM refers to the cost of reaching 1000 impressions.
The importance of tracking impressions and CPM lies in the ability to determine the reach and exposure of your ad. By understanding the number of impressions and the cost per impression, you can make informed decisions about adjusting your ad spend to maximize your reach and minimize your cost.
What is the Average CPM for a TikTok Campaign?
TikTok CPMs can change wildly from $2 per thousand impressions to $20+ per thousand impressions and this is based on many factors, including time (think Q4 media blitzes), target market, optimization strategies, and more. Now, some averages can be looked at and they are as follows:
November 2023 update:
- Average CPM: $5.57 per thousand impressions
- Reach/Awareness Campaigns CPM: $2-$5 per thousand impressions (We’re internally seeing about a $3.15 CPM with moderate audience size at a DMA level)
- Traffic Campaigns CPM: $5-$12 per thousand impressions (we’re seeing about a $10 CPM on traffic campaigns, but this optimization tactic lines up better with CPC)
- Community Interactions Campaign CPMs: $8-$18 per thousand impressions (We’re seeing about $16.00 internally for this)
- Conversion-Based/Lead Generation: $15+ per thousand impressions (We’re seeing about $16 CPMs for on-TikTok lead generation campaigns in the automotive industry)
What To Know About TikTok Ads Cost Per Click (CPC):
The Importance of Clicks and TikTok CPC
One of the most critical metrics to track when it comes to TikTok Ads is the number of clicks and cost per click (CPC). This will give you a clear understanding of how well your ads are performing, and how much you are spending to acquire each click.
For reference, TikTok does NOT charge on a CPC basis. Instead, TikTok charges on a CPM basis, which CPC is then calculated against based on the number of clicks generated by the campaign.
To effectively track clicks and CPC, it’s essential to have an understanding of the target audience you are trying to reach and the type of content that will resonate with them. You can then use this information to create ads that are highly targeted and relevant to your target audience, increasing the chances of generating more clicks and lowering your CPC.
CPC will differ based on industry, target audience, advertising objective, and creativity. It is best to monitor the CPC and try to trend down while receiving more positive metrics based on your advertising objective.
What is the Average Cost Per Click (CPC) for a TikTok Ad Campaign?
What is the Average Cost Per Click (CPC) for a TikTok Ad Campaign?The average CPC of a TikTok ad campaign is $.50 to $1.00, but many factors may impact this.
The average cost per click, like everything with TikTok advertising, varies based on many different factors. Our team sees the CPC of TikTok campaigns from as low as $.25 per click to $4 CPC.
Our Traffic-based campaigns are seeing about a $2.00 CPC on average, while our Reach-based campaigns are actually seeing about a $1.70 CPC.
What To Know About TikTok Click Through Rate (CTR):
What is a Good CTR for TikTok Ads?
The average CTR of a TikTok Ad campaign is generally within .50% and a 1% CTR, but again may vary based on many outside factors.
This is an average CTR for Social Media advertising campaigns, but significantly higher than that of programmatic display campaigns. When it comes to a better click-through rate on TikTok, creativity and targeting are key. Make sure the message compels action and make sure the audience is appropriate for the message.
The best CTR for your TikTok campaign is one that is constantly progressing and getting higher! Try to aim for a .5% and then climb from there!
What To Know About TikTok Return on Ad Spend (ROAS):
Maximizing Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Return on ad spend (ROAS) is a valuable metric to track when it comes to digital marketing and is especially true with TikTok Advertising campaigns. ROAS calculates revenue generated from your ad spend (similar to most other digital marketing platforms), giving you clear insight into how effective your ad spend is.
To maximize ROAS, you have to track your revenue and ad spend regularly, and make necessary adjustments to ensure that your ad spend is effectively driving revenue.
What are the different TikTok Ads Reporting Metrics?
TikTok provides a list of different reporting metrics, which include:
- Clicks (Destination): Number of clicks leading users to specific destinations, like websites or apps.
- Conversions: Instances where your ad achieved a selected objective.
- Cost per 1,000 Unique User Accounts Reached: Average cost to reach 1,000 unique user accounts.
- CPA: Average spending per conversion, calculated as Cost/Conversion or Install.
- CPC (Destination): Average cost per destination click – fairly self explanatory (calculated by total cost divided by number of clicks).
- CPM: Average spending for 1,000 impressions.
- CTR (Destination): CVR is the percentage of ad views leading to clicks to specified destinations.
- CVR (Impressions): Percentage of results achieved out of all ad impressions.
- CVR (Clicks): Percentage of results achieved out of all ad clicks.
- Frequency: Average times a unique user saw your ad.
- Impressions: Count of times your ads appeared on screen.
- Paid Likes: Likes received within a day of users seeing paid ads.
- Reach: Estimated count of unique user accounts viewing your ads.
- Real-time Conversions: Conversions based on objectives and settings, when they occurred.
- Real-time CPA: Average cost per conversion when they occurred.
- Real-time CVR (Impressions): Percentage of results achieved when they occurred.
- Real-time CVR (Clicks): Percentage of results achieved from clicks when they occurred.
- Total Cost: Estimated total spent on campaigns, ad groups, or ads during their schedule.
- Clicks (All): Overall ad engagement, including likes, comments, shares, follows, and various clicks.
Concluding On TikTok Ad Metrics
Understanding TikTok Ads benchmarks and metrics is critical to the success of your TikTok Ads campaigns. By tracking the appropriate metrics and managing your ad spend, you can make the informed decisions needed that will help you reach your target audience, drive revenue and stay ahead of the competition.
If you need help getting started, reach out to Corkboard Concepts! We have a comprehensive team that is ready to assist you with any TikTok advertising support you may need. To get connected with a TikTok Advertising Specialist today, press the link below.
Interested in other social media metrics? Learn more about Snapchat metrics here with ECPSU and Swipe Ups.
Jordan is the dedicated CMO for Corkboard Concepts. His career in marketing and media has gone through various twists. Spending the first couple years as a digital nomad, Jordan took his “marketing wits” on a tour of the globe starting online businesses in the US, United Kingdom and Asia. From eCommerce to digital publications, freelance marketing to local media, variety and change have been constants in Jordan’s marketing world.
