Do You Need a TikTok Account to Run Ads?

Are you looking to promote your business on TikTok, but are wondering if you need an account to run ads?

You're not alone. Many businesses are exploring TikTok as an advertising platform to reach its massive, highly engaged user base without necessarily wanting a TikTok account. Luckily, advertising on TikTok without opening a personal account is possible, although you will need a business account. 

In this article, we'll discuss TikTok ads, explaining what they are, the different ad formats available, and how you can get started with TikTok advertising, even without a personal TikTok account.

Can you run TikTok ads without an account? Please keep reading to find out. To get started, let’s define TikTok ads.

What are TikTok Ads?

TikTok Ads are paid advertisements that allow businesses to promote their products, services, or brand to TikTok's vast user base. These ads appear in users' feeds, perfectly blending with the platform's organic content.

TikTok Ads provide an opportunity to reach a highly engaged audience, boost brand awareness, drive website traffic, and increase sales. 

With TikTok's advanced targeting options, you can ensure your ads reach the right people at the 

right time. With over one billion monthly users, it’s one of the best advertising platforms for reaching as many people as possible. 

Before discussing running TikTok advertising without an account, let’s look at some examples of leading TikTok Ads. 

Examples of TikTok Ads

TikTok offers various ad formats, such as in-feed ads, brand takeovers, content ads, branded hashtag challenges, and branded effects, to suit different business goals and creative preferences.

Here are some of the most common TikTok advertisement formats: 

In-feed ads

These are the most common types of TikTok Ads. They appear in users' "For You" feeds and resemble regular TikTok videos. In-feed ads can be up to 60 seconds long and include a call-to-action button that links to your website or landing page.

The example below shows how Auri uses a full 59-second TikTok Ad to promote its nootropic mushroom gummies. The story of how they consistently run out of stock because the product is so popular entices the viewer. The main message here is that if the product is selling out so quickly, then it must be good. 

▶️ View Full Video Ad

Brand takeover ads

Brand takeovers are full-screen ads that appear when a user opens the TikTok app. These ads are highly immersive and grab users' attention immediately. To ensure maximum impact, brand takeovers are limited to one advertiser per day in each country.

As the McDonald’s ad below shows, brand takeover ads are big, bright, and designed in such a way to immediately grab attention. They don’t have to be overly complicated, but they certainly need to be visually appealing. 

▶️ View Full Video Ad

Content ads

Content ads are designed to provide compelling reasons for users to take action, such as making a purchase or exploring a product. These ads typically highlight key benefits or features of a product concisely and persuasively. 

By focusing on clear and direct benefits, content ads encourage users to quickly understand why they should be interested in the product. In the example below, we see a simple 24-second video advertising the three main benefits or features of a specific brand of pork dumplings, thus enticing viewers to make a purchase. 

▶️ View Full Video Ad

Branded hashtag challenges

Branded hashtag challenges encourage user participation and engagement. You create a themed challenge with a branded hashtag, and users create and share videos using that hashtag. This format taps into TikTok's community-driven nature and can generate significant user-generated content. 

▶️ View Full Video Ad

Ads with branded effects

Branded effects are custom filters, lenses, or stickers that users can add to their videos. These effects are a fun and interactive way to promote your brand and encourage user participation. 

The example below shows an advertisement where the woman has a rapid succession of images flashing above her head. 

If you look closely, you’ll see that it’s an interactive ad which has the “app” rotating through characters from Stranger Things. It’s one of these classic “which character from the show are you” interactive elements. It’s the exact kind of interactive element that branded effects are all about. 

▶️ View Full Video Ad

Do you need a TikTok account to run ads?

The short answer is no; you don't need a personal TikTok account to run ads on the platform. TikTok offers a separate platform called TikTok Ads Manager, where businesses can create and manage their ad campaigns without having a dedicated personal TikTok account. 

This means you can use TikTok's massive user base and engaging ad formats without creating and maintaining a separate brand presence on the app, where you must constantly make posts and engage with users.

It’s a fantastic way to run an advertisement campaign on a leading social media platform without actually having to engage in the social media side of things. 

That said, what about the Ads Manager? Do you need a TikTok Business account to run ads? 

The answer is yes. You need a TikTok Business account to run advertisements. Although you don’t need a personal account to run TikTok Ads, you do need the TikTok Ads Manager, which requires a TikTok Business account, so let’s move on and discuss how to set this up. 

Setting up the TikTok Ads Manager

To get started with TikTok advertising, you'll need to create a TikTok Ads Manager account, which involves several steps, starting with visiting the appropriate site. 

Here's how:

Create a TikTok For Business account

To begin, visit the TikTok For Business website and click "Get Started." This will take you to the account creation page, where you must enter your email address and create a password. Once you've filled in these details, click "Sign Up" to proceed.

Provide your business information

After creating your account, you'll be asked to provide some basic information about your business. This includes your business name, contact details, and industry. Be sure to fill in all the required fields accurately, as this information will be used to verify your account and ensure you receive relevant updates and support from TikTok.

Set up your payment method

You'll need to add a valid payment method to your account to run ads on TikTok. TikTok Ads Manager supports various payment options, including credit cards, debit cards, and PayPal. Navigate to your account's "Billing" section and follow the prompts to add your preferred payment method. You'll be charged based on the budget you set for your ad campaigns.

Create your first ad campaign

With your account set up and payment method added you're ready to create your first TikTok ad campaign. In the Ads Manager dashboard, click "Create" to start a new campaign. You'll need to choose your ad objective, such as driving traffic to your website, increasing app installs, or boosting video views. From there, you can fine-tune your campaign to meet your needs. 

Speaking of creating your first TikTok ad campaign, let’s cover some valuable tips on how to do just that. 

Creating your first TikTok Ad campaign

From choosing your campaign objective and setting your budget to selecting your ad placements and creating your ad content, this step-by-step tutorial will walk you through creating your first TikTok Ad campaign. 

Here’s how:

1. Choose your campaign objective

The first step in creating a TikTok ad campaign is to select a campaign objective that aligns with your marketing goals. 

TikTok offers several objectives, such as driving website traffic, increasing app installs, generating leads, boosting video views, or enhancing brand awareness. Your chosen objective will determine the optimization and bidding strategies TikTok uses for your campaign. 

For example, if you select "App Installs," TikTok will focus on delivering your ads to users more likely to download your app. Choosing the right objective ensures your campaign meets its desired outcomes.

2. Set your budget and schedule

Once you've chosen your campaign objective, the next step is to set your budget and schedule. 

TikTok allows advertisers to set a daily budget (the maximum amount you are willing to spend per day) or a total budget (the maximum amount you are willing to spend over the entire campaign duration). 

You can also decide on your campaign's start and end dates or let it run indefinitely. Moreover, TikTok provides options for accelerated or standard delivery, where you can choose how quickly you want your budget spent. 

Setting a proper budget and schedule is essential to ensure your ads reach the right audience at the right time without exceeding your financial limits.

3. Define your target audience

Defining your target audience is one of the most critical steps in creating a successful TikTok ad campaign. TikTok's targeting options allow you to narrow your audience based on age, gender, location, interests, and behaviors. 

You can also use custom audiences to target users who have interacted with your brand before or lookalike audiences to reach new users who share characteristics with your existing customers. 

Effective targeting ensures that your ads are shown to users who are most likely to engage with your content, maximizing your campaign's effectiveness.

4. Select your ad placements

TikTok offers various ad placements that allow you to choose where your ads will appear on the platform. Each ad format serves different purposes and comes with its creative guidelines and pricing models. Choosing the right ad placements based on your campaign goals and budget can significantly impact your ad's visibility and engagement rate.

5. Create your ad content

Creating compelling ad content is at the heart of any successful TikTok ad campaign. Your ad content should be engaging, visually appealing, and aligned with your campaign objective. 

TikTok ads typically combine video, images, text, and a call-to-action (CTA) that encourages users to take the desired action, such as visiting a website or downloading an app. 

The content should resonate with TikTok's audience, which favors authentic, creative, and entertaining videos. Utilizing TikTok's creative tools, such as effects, music, and text overlays, can help make your ads more captivating and effective.

6. Submit your ad for review

After creating your ad content, the final step is to submit it for review on TikTok. TikTok has a set of advertising policies and guidelines that all ads must comply with, so it's essential to ensure that your content adheres to these standards to avoid rejection. 

The review process usually takes 24 to 48 hours. Once your ad is approved, it will start running on TikTok according to your set budget and schedule. If your ad is not approved, TikTok will provide feedback, allowing you to make necessary adjustments and resubmit it for review.

Although you need a TikTok Business account to run ads, you don’t need an account to explore the TikTok Ad Library. 

We mention this because finding inspiration for your ad creative can be difficult, but that’s exactly what resources such as the TikTok Ad Library are for. Let’s move on and discuss how to use the TikTok Ad Library to your advantage. 

How to use the TikTok Ad Library

The TikTok Ad Library is a powerful tool for researching competitors' ads and gaining inspiration for your campaigns. You can access the Ad Library without a TikTok account, making exploring the platform's advertising landscape easy.

To get started, visit the TikTok Ad Library website and browse the featured ads. You can filter ads by country, industry, and ad format to find relevant examples for your business. When you find an ad that catches your eye, click on it to view more details, such as its runtime, engagement metrics, and the advertiser's profile.

As you browse the Ad Library, note the creative elements that make each ad effective. Pay attention to the video content, music, text overlays, and calls to action. Consider adapting these techniques to your ads while staying true to your brand's unique voice and style.

However, if you don’t have the right tools, finding the best ads to examine can be time-consuming. 

Using Foreplay to easily find and save the best TikTok Ad inspiration

With Foreplay’s Discovery feature, you can streamline this process by accessing a vast community ad library with over ten million curated ads from over 200,000 brands. 

Instead of manually searching through individual ads, Foreplay allows you to save, organize, and analyze your favorite ads in a personalized Swipe File. This tool helps you efficiently gather creative inspiration across platforms, including TikTok, allowing you to spot trends and successful ad strategies quicker than ever.

In addition to providing inspiration, the TikTok Ad Library and Foreplay’s Discover feature can help you identify trends and best practices in your industry. Look for patterns in the ads that perform well and consider how you can incorporate these insights into your campaigns.

Tips for running successful TikTok Ads

Now that you've started your TikTok campaign, let’s bring it home with some of the most important tips for running successful TikTok Ad campaigns, including creating platform-native content and taking advantage of TikTik’s creative tools. 

Here’s how to run a successful TikTok Ad campaign:

Create engaging, platform-native content

To maximize the impact of your TikTok ads, focus on creating content that feels authentic and native to the platform. TikTok users are drawn to short, snappy videos that entertain, educate, or inspire. When developing your ad creative, consider the types of content that perform well on TikTok, such as challenges, how-to videos, and user-generated content.

The example below shows a short, 20-second video that says, “Did you know that you can get your pets’ annual vaccines covered with a pet wellness plan?” It’s short, to the point, and uses a cute dog for visual appeal, making it quite engaging. 

▶️ View Full Video Ad

Aim to create ads that blend seamlessly with the organic content users see in their feeds. This means embracing TikTok's vertical video format, using popular music and sounds, and incorporating trending hashtags and challenges when appropriate. The more your ads feel like genuine TikTok content, the more likely users are to engage with them.

Remember, TikTok is all about creativity and authenticity. Don't be afraid to let your brand's personality shine through in your ads. Users appreciate brands that are relatable, humorous, and honest. 

By creating engaging, platform-native content, you'll be well on your way to running successful TikTok ad campaigns. To make your content even more engaging, you should also use TikTok’s creative tools. If you’re short on inspiration and don’t know where to start, use Foreplay’s Discovery feature to see what other companies’ successful TikTok Ads look like.  

Utilize TikTok’s creative tools

TikTok offers a range of built-in creative tools that can help you make your ads more engaging and interactive. These tools include filters, effects, stickers, and text overlays, which can add visual interest and help your ads stand out in users' feeds.

When creating your ad content, experiment with different tools to see what resonates with your audience. For example, you might use a popular filter or lens to give your ad a trendy look or add a catchy text overlay to highlight your key message.

In addition to using TikTok's creative tools in your ad content, consider creating branded effects that users can apply to their videos. Branded effects, such as custom filters or stickers, can encourage user participation and help your brand gain exposure on the platform.

By taking advantage of TikTok's creative tools, you can make your ads more engaging and memorable, increasing the likelihood that users will interact with your brand and take action.

Test and optimize your campaigns

Running successful TikTok ad campaigns requires continuous testing and optimization. Once your ads are live, closely monitor their performance using the metrics in TikTok Ads Manager. These metrics include impressions, clicks, conversions, and cost per action.

Use this data to identify which ad formats, targeting options, and creative elements drive your campaigns' best results. For example, you might find that certain ad formats, like In-feed ads, perform better than others or that targeting a specific age group or interest yields higher engagement rates.

Based on these insights, make data-driven optimizations to your campaigns to improve their performance over time. This might involve adjusting your targeting criteria, tweaking your ad creative, or reallocating your budget to higher-performing ad sets.

Additionally, consider running A/B tests to compare the performance of different ad elements, such as video content, text overlays, or calls-to-action. By continuously testing and refining your approach, you can identify the best strategies for your brand and optimize your TikTok ad campaigns for maximum impact.

Final Thoughts

While TikTok Ads Manager offers a straightforward way to run ads without needing a personal TikTok account, the real key to success lies in the creative process behind your campaigns. 

Crafting ads that truly connect with the platform’s audience requires understanding TikTok’s unique style, trends, and user behavior. This is where tools like Foreplay come in. They help you organize and analyze creative assets to ensure your content aligns with what performs best on TikTok.

By using Foreplay to gather inspiration, track competitor strategies, and streamline your creative workflow, you can build ads that capture attention and drive meaningful results. 

Whether you are just getting started with TikTok ads or looking to refine your approach, having the right tools and insights will enable you to stay ahead of the competition and maximize the impact of your campaigns.

‍Start optimizing your TikTok ad strategy today with Foreplay! 

Frequently asked questions

Can you run TikTok ads on a personal account?

No, TikTok ads require a TikTok Business account, but you do not need a personal TikTok account to run ads.

What is the TikTok Ad Library, and how can it help in creating ads?

The TikTok Ad Library is a tool for exploring successful ads on the platform. It helps businesses gain inspiration and understand effective ad strategies.

How can businesses ensure their TikTok Ads reach the right audience?

By using TikTok's advanced targeting options, businesses can reach potential customers by defining audiences based on age, gender, location, interests, and behaviors.

What are some best practices for creating engaging TikTok ad content?

Focus on creating authentic, creative, and visually appealing content that aligns with TikTok's style. Use TikTok's creative tools, effects, and popular trends to capture attention.