Create TikTok Ad Online: Step-by-Step Guide for First-Time Advertisers

What You Need Before Creating a TikTok Ad

Three things will block you if they're missing before you start.

Set up a TikTok Ads Manager account

Go to ads.tiktok.com and create a business account. You'll need a business name, industry, and billing details. Approval usually takes a few hours.

Prepare your ad creative (video or image)

Have your files ready before you open Ads Manager. Accepted video formats include MP4, MOV, MPEG, 3GP, and AVI. Image ads use JPG, JPEG, or PNG. Per TikTok's Business Help Center, the maximum file size for video is 500 MB.

Have a landing page URL ready

TikTok requires a functional landing page in the targeted market. A dead link fails review. Test yours on mobile before you start uploading.

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Step-by-Step: Create Your First TikTok Ad

Per TikTok's Ads Manager documentation, ads are structured into three levels: campaigns, ad groups, and ads. You build them in that order.

Log in and start a new campaign

Open your Ads Manager dashboard. Click Create ad. This starts the campaign setup flow.

Choose your advertising objective

TikTok groups objectives into three buckets: awareness, consideration, and conversion. Driving traffic to a product page? Choose a consideration objective. Want purchases? Go conversion.

Set up your campaign name and budget

Name the campaign something recognizable in reports. Set a campaign-level budget if you want a hard spending cap across all ad groups. Declare any special ad category your industry requires.

Select your ad format and upload creatives

TikTok supports three formats: Single video, Carousel (images), and Collection Ads.

• Single video: The standard in-feed format. Recommended 9:16 vertical at a minimum 540 x 960 px.
• Carousel: Up to 35 image cards. JPG, JPEG, or PNG only. Max 100 KB per image.
• Collection Ads: Combine a video with a product catalog tile.

Upload your file. Ads Manager flags any spec issues right away.

Add ad text, call-to-action, and destination URL

Fill in four fields:

1. Display Name: Your brand or product name. It must be consistent with what your landing page promotes.
2. Ad Text: The promotional message shown below the video. TikTok recommends staying under 100 characters for non-CJK languages so the full text shows before "See more."
3. Call-to-Action: Choose a dynamic CTA (TikTok auto-selects based on context) or pick a standard option like "Shop Now" or "Learn More."
4. Destination URL: The landing page you tested earlier.

Note: Non-Spark Ad captions display in white with a fixed font. You cannot customize the typeface, add hashtags, or include clickable links in the caption.

Review and submit for approval

Double-check your creative, copy, and URL. Click Submit. TikTok reviews the ad and you can monitor status in Ads Manager. Approval typically takes a few hours.

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TikTok Ad Formats: Video vs. Images

Video ads and technical specs

In-feed auction video ads run 5 to 60 seconds. Per TikTok's video ads specifications, use 9:16 vertical at a minimum 540 x 960 px. Accepted formats are MP4, MOV, MPEG, 3GP, and AVI. Maximum file size is 500 MB. Minimum bitrate is 516 kbps. Audio is required and must be clear.

Image ads and carousel options

Carousel ads support 2 to 35 images per TikTok's carousel ad specifications. Each image must be JPG, JPEG, or PNG and under 100 KB. Carousel works well for product showcases, before-and-afters, or multi-step stories.

Spark Ads (boost organic content)

Spark Ads let you run existing organic TikTok posts as paid ads. Pull creatives from a linked TikTok account or use a creator authorization code. Each Ads Manager account supports up to 10,000 Spark Ads. Note: organic videos become public once used in a campaign. You cannot change that privacy setting during promotion.

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Creative Best Practices for TikTok Ads

Recommended aspect ratios and dimensions

Use 9:16 vertical whenever possible. It fills the entire mobile screen. The minimum resolution is 540 x 960 px. If you need horizontal, use 16:9 at a minimum 960 x 540 px. Square (1:1) is also accepted with a minimum of 640 x 640 px.

Writing effective ad copy and CTAs

Keep your ad text under 100 characters. That keeps it visible without the "See more" cutoff. Use action verbs in your CTA. "Shop Now," "Get Offer," and "Download" consistently give viewers a clear next step. Vague CTAs lose clicks.

Design considerations for mobile-first viewing

TikTok is a full-screen, sound-on platform. Hook viewers in the first two seconds. Keep key messaging and branding in the center of the frame. Avoid placing critical text near the top or bottom edges. TikTok's UI elements cover both zones.

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Speed Up Ad Creation with Coinis

Coinis does not yet publish directly to TikTok Ads Manager. That is on the roadmap. But creative production — which is where most advertisers lose time — happens before you ever open Ads Manager.

Use the Image Ads workflow to generate professional ad visuals from a product URL. Use Brand Profile so every piece of copy stays consistent with your brand voice across campaigns. Use AI Copywriting to draft ad text and CTAs fast. Then download your assets and upload them straight into TikTok Ads Manager.

The platform steps are quick. The creative work is not. That is the part Coinis handles.

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