In today’s marketing landscape, capturing your audience’s attention on social media platforms can be considered a huge accomplishment.
Why?
The competition is fierce and people’s attention is divided.
At the same time, you need them to give you attention as that’s the only way they can eventually start using your products or services.
So the question now is:
“How do I grab my audience’s attention?”
There are several ways to do that and one of them is through whitelisting influencer content on TikTok.
We’ll share more details about this below.
And at the end of this piece, you’ll know:
- What TikTok whitelisting (Spark Ads) is
- Its benefits
- How to whitelist on TikTok
Sounds good?
Let’s go!
What is TikTok Whitelisting (Spark Ads)?
TikTok whitelisting (also known as Spark Ads) is the process where a creator or influencer gives brands advertising permission to use their content and run ads from their accounts.
What does that mean?
You’re taking an authentic organic post and turning it into a sponsored ad.
Essentially, brands can promote their products or services as authentic considering the ad creative they will use is organic.
When you publish creator licensed ads or Spark Ads, users get to interact with the content.
In other words, they can comment, share, and like which in turn, increases your brand reach.
Here’s an example of a brand that used Spark ads: it looks like this:
Isle of Paradise wanted to increase product sales and partnered with creators to produce organic content.
They went on to launch a Spark Ads campaign using the creators’ content and saw a 500% return on investment (ROI), 68% increase in weekly revenue, and 48 million video views.
Really good, right?
Let’s continue!
TikTok Whitelisting Requirements
TikTok whitelisting (Spark Ads) is a very straightforward process but only if you meet all the requirements.
What conditions are to be met?
Let’s briefly look at them.
Requirements for brands
As a brand, here’s what you need:
- A TikTok ads manager account: You need to sign up or log in to the ads manager so you’ll be able to run ads on TikTok. This is the starting point for any of your ad campaigns on the app.
How do you create an account?
- Visit the ads manager and fill in basic information about your business to sign up
- Input your business information once you’re in
- Choose a payment method
- Submit the account for approval
When that’s completed, TikTok will review your request and inform you within 24 hours if your ad account has been approved or not.
- Creator(s) to collaborate with: What’s a whitelisting campaign without a creator to provide authentic content and grant advertising access?
As such, you need to know which creators will be providing you with content.
Don’t worry we will show you how to find creators in a short while.
Requirements for creators
Creators also need to meet certain conditions and they include:
- Enabling account sharing: This allows you to share your videos with brands. It involves sharing authorization codes too.
This is a simple step and we’ll also explain how to get it done below.
- Being prepared for the partnership: We know that sounds cheesy, but you do need to be prepared especially if it’s your first time giving permission to a brand to use your content.
Brands will want to talk about different things from pricing to performance metrics and more.
You want to be ready to respond like you’re up to the task so that you get the compensation you deserve.
Let’s move on!
4 Key Benefits of Whitelisting (Spark Ads) on TikTok
We know you’re pumped and can’t wait to see how to run creator licensed campaigns on TikTok, but why should you invest in it?
Is it not better to continue with regular ads?
Let’s look at the reasons why you should use spark ads for your digital marketing campaigns.
Benefit #1: You can improve ad engagement and performance
Running campaigns with creator-produced content can really improve your ad performance.
How?
Well, you’ll be partnering with TikTok creators who have followers who trust and look forward to their posts.
As such, their audience will want to engage with almost anything they upload.
A 2020 study showed that 58% of consumers rely on creators and celebrities to get ideas on which product to buy.
There’s more!
A TikTok study reports a 112% higher 2-second view rate for TikTok ads created in collaboration with creators.
…and a 93% high engagement rate for ad content created.
We’ve added a screenshot below for you that confirms our point.
If you’re able to get whitelisting permission from the creator, you’ll both benefit from this social ad because it will be launched in their name.
It’s a win-win situation for both parties.
Benefit #2: Reach new audiences
You’ll also be able to reach new audiences when you launch an influencer marketing campaign on TikTok.
Here’s why:
When people see your ad, they instantly think it’s coming from their favorite creator or influencer.
As such, they’ll be more inclined to engage with it as we talked about already.
The more engagements the content gets, the more chances it appears on other people’s For You Page (FYP).
Also considering you’ll be launching the ad from the TikTok ads manager, you can set it to target:
- Audiences who are engaging with your business (custom audiences)
- Lookalike audiences that share similar interests and behaviors as your existing customers
Benefit #3: You unlock valuable insights
Aside from getting more views and engagements, TikTok influencer whitelisting provides metrics that give you insights into campaign performance.
You’ll get to know if your ads are effective and what type of content your audience responds to.
More specifically, you’ll see:
- The number of views and engagements the post gets before you boosted it
- Its performance after promoting it
- Its post-campaign performance
Benefit #4: Less expensive whitelisting (compared to Facebook and Instagram)
Advertising on TikTok is still quite cheap when compared to the Meta platforms.
So, it will be a smart business move if you include this as part of your social media marketing strategy.
The reason is simple.
The competition is low and getting traffic is easy.
On average, the cost per click (CPC) and cost per mile (CPM) are way less than what you’ll normally get when using Facebook ads.
That means you’ll get a good return on ad spend (ROAS) from your campaigns.
According to a Digiday report, CPM was about $1 in 2020 and CPC was $0.19.
Another study showed that CPM was 0.29 euros on TikTok and 1.28 euros on Facebook.
Simply put, there’s little to no need to stretch your influencer marketing ad spend to get the kind of results you want.
Now, it’s time for the fun part!
How to Whitelist Creator Content on TikTok: A 7-Step Guide
We’ve thrown the word ‘straightforward’ around a lot in this guide and that’s because the processes we’ve talked about are actually direct.
…including whitelisting creators’ content.
In this section, we’ll show you step-by-step how to whitelist on TikTok.
Let’s get started!
Step #1: Find a suitable influencer or creator
Creators and influencers are the backbones of whitelisting campaigns and as such, you need to find the right ones to collaborate with.
This decision isn’t one you make fast because of how crucial they are to your campaigns.
You need to ensure that the creators you choose suit your brand’s style and values.
As promised, there are three basic ways to find the right influencers or creators on TikTok. You can find them using:
- TikTok search feature: Here, you can leverage TikTok’s algorithm to find creators using relevant keywords.
- TikTok Marketplace: The TikTok creator marketplace is a platform that allows you to search for creators based on their audience size, reach, and more.
- Relevant hashtags: You can search for relevant hashtags in your niche on TikTok or those you’ve seen in viral challenges.
Now if you want to find creators fast and without stress, we’ve got an alternative you’ll enjoy.
And enter Insense!
Insense is also a platform that helps brands find creators that are the right fit for you.
All you have to do is:
- Sign up or log in to get started
- Fill out a creative brief describing what you need in your campaign
Then, we’ll match you with creators who can handle your tasks.
Another option is to visit our creator marketplace and apply different filters such as location, gender, age, price, and more to find creators.
Let’s continue!
Step #2: Ask the creator to post the video organically
Once you’ve found a creator or influencer to collaborate with, the next thing to do is choose the video you want to promote.
To do that, the creators need to create user-generated content (UGC) and post it.
Why do they need to do that?
Because that way, you’ll know if the video is suitable content for your ad.
And by suitable we mean it:
- Has authentic engagement rate
- Highlights your products
- Is trending
Plus, you can only boost content that’s been posted organically.
So, let them post the organic content and see how well people respond to it.
What’s next?
Step #3: Choose the TikTok video you want to boost
The next step is to select the content you’d like to promote.
If you’ve viewed videos from the creator featuring your product, it becomes easy to know which one can be transformed into an ad.
How do you choose?
If you’re partnering with creators, you can just visit their profile and take it up from there.
Otherwise, you’ll need to visit the Discovery page to search for video content mentioning or featuring your product or service.
Include your brand name or branded hashtag in the search tab to be more specific.
Step #4: Ask the creator to enable the authorization code and share the video postcode
Aside from creating and uploading the video on TikTok, there’s one more task that involves your creator.
You need them to enable the authorization code and share it with you.
Here’s how they can do that:
- Go to your profile on TikTok
- Click the three lines at the top right corner
- Select Creator tools
- Toggle Ad Settings on
- Go to the video post and click the three dots below
- Tap Ad Settings
- Turn on Ad authorization
- You will be asked to select a time frame and then click Authorize
On the same page, you’ll be given a video code to share with the advertiser (brand) so share it with them.
It’s a combination of special characters, letters, and numbers.
Over to you brand owners and marketers…once they’ve shared the postcode with you, their role in this process is completed.
Step #5: Use the video postcode to authorize the video
To authorize the video, you need to have the video code.
Here’s how to do that:
- Go to TikTok’s ads manager
- Click Assets > Spark ad posts
- Tap the Apply for authorization red button
After clicking the button, you’ll be asked to enter the video postcode. So, input it and continue.
Once the search is complete, a preview will pop up showing you some information about the video.
Select confirm to proceed.
If the video is authorized, you’ll be notified and can go ahead to create your Spark Ad.
Step #6: Set your campaign’s settings
It’s time to set up your ad campaign.
You can either use the Simplified or Custom mode.
What’s the difference?
The Simplified mode is fast while the Custom mode allows you to fine-tune your ad properly.
To set up your Spark ad campaign, you need to:
- Choose your ad objective (video views, engagement, traffic, app installs, conversions, reach, and more)
- Set your ad budget
- Fill in your ad details such as copy, website, call-to-action (CTA), etc.
- Define your target audience
Let’s continue.
Step #7: Submit your ad
If you can see the ad details section, you’re on the right path.
And we’re almost done!
Now, here’s what you should do next:
- Under the Identity section, mark the checkbox showing ‘Use TikTok account to deliver Spark ads’
- In Ad Details, choose Ad format and select your creative as Single video
- Choose Use other authorized account or post
The influencer’s account should be seen after this.
Click on their profile and select TikTok post.
You can then look through the creator’s posts to find the one you want to promote.
Then, select Confirm.
Finally, you can preview the ad so you’re sure everything is in order and select Submit.
That’s it, you’re done!
See why we said straightforward?
Let’s wrap this up!
Now Over to You
If you’ve decided to start TikTok whitelisting (Spark Ads), we’re confident that your business is about to take a new turn.
We’ve provided you with everything you need in this guide so getting started will be easy.
Well if you feel you need more assistance on this, you can always reach out to us.
We’ll be happy to help you.
Also, don’t hesitate to download our eBook on TikTok Spark Ads. It’s a guide you’ll find useful when creating your campaign.
Thanks for stopping by and good luck!
