What is TikTok?
TikTok is a social media platform where people create, share, and watch short-form videos. The videos range from a few seconds up to 10 minutes (though it started with much shorter clips, around 15–60 seconds, and these still perform the best). Viral dances, memes, and hashtag challenges spread rapidly across the platform. The app launched with strong ties to music (hence the name and the logo mimicking a music note), and TikTok is still a major driver of song popularity worldwide.
TikTok launched 9 years ago (2016) by the Chinese tech company ByteDance, and it quickly became one of the most downloaded apps worldwide, especially popular among Gen Z and Millennials. TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users globally. Unlike older platforms like YouTube (longer videos) or Instagram (photos first, then stories/reels), TikTok emphasizes quick, engaging, and easily shareable content, making it ideal for viral trends.
Key Takeaways:
The age range and user base of TikTok is growing and changing.
Businesses have to take a serious look at advertising on TikTok.
Tips, Tricks and Creatives.
The state of TikTok and what is the outlook.
Who uses TikTok?
In the United Sates, there are approximately 170 million users, with nearly 2/3 of these users falling between the ages of 18-34.
· 18-34 combined makes up approximately 2/3 of US users
· 25-34 is the largest segment with 20-40% of users, depending on the study
· Teens-24 account for 16-27%, depending on the study.
Consumers use TikTok as a Search Engine! When asked if you have used TikTok has a search engine to find a new product, service, business, brand, or find recommendations, this is how many respondents said “yes” to that question:
o 64% among Gen Z
- 1 in 10 Gen Z users said they were more likely to rely on TikTok than Google as a search engine
o 49% among Millennials
o 29% among Gen X
o 14% among Boomers
- Source Adobe Survey
Interesting fact about user behavior on the app is that most people are watching and not creating. While nearly 65% of young adults use TikTok, barely half of them have ever posted videos visible to the public. Content creation on the platform is driven by a relatively small fraction of users. My takeaway for brands on this is that putting energy into content creation on TikTok is not needed beyond a compelling ad and proper targeting.
Why should businesses care about TikTok from an advertising perspective?
TikTok is a powerful place to get attention, drive awareness, and earn a return on paid media spend. The platform has matured from organic reach and paid in-feed ads, to include search placements, shopping, there are stronger brand‑safety controls, and AI‑assisted insights; all while inventory remains cost‑efficient.
Reach is massive with over 170 million users in the United States, with the largest demographic the 25–34-year-old consumer with strong purchasing power. The app is used across all regions and industries, giving advertisers broad reach.
Engagement is high on TikTok with users spending an average of 52 minutes per day on the app. This is more than Instagram or Snapchat and is a close rival to YouTube. The For You Page (FYP) algorithm is designed to keep people scrolling, creating high exposure opportunities, that further lead to higher engagement rates (likes, comments, shares) than on most other platforms. This reinforces that businesses don’t need to have a large following to run a successful ad campaign here.
Ignore TikTok, and your customers might scroll right past your business IRL.
How TikTok Drives Incremental Sales
· Discovery: 15% of all product discovery across all media, email, and word of mouth happens on TikTok.
· Incremental audiences: 59% of TikTok impressions on the average campaign reached unique viewers who were un-exposed to the TV portion of the campaign.
· ROAS: TikTok offers more than 2x better retail ROAS than linear TV, social media, and OLV for total retail.
· Brand building: TikTok ads outperformed digital and TV norms by 15-20% on brand difference, relevance, and persuasion.
If a target audience’s core demo is 18–34-year-olds, TikTok is a must for the media mix. Furthermore, the campaign goal is online/ecommerce sales, TikTok and Amazon are the dynamite duo to lead with.
How can we target your TikTok ads?
1. Define the geographic area you want to reach people in – cities, zip codes or state (no radius targeting on this platform)
2. Pick categories to target – TikTok category targeting shows your ads to TikTok users based on information they have provided about themselves and their viewing and posting habits.
3. Utilize hashtags, which show your ads to TikTok users who watched or interact with TikTok videos with certain hashtags.
4. Retarget website traffic when those visitors open the TikTok app and serve ads to them there, after they visit the website.
If you are a Vici partner and haven’t white-labeled the TikTok capabilities slide’s content yet – make sure you locate that resource available to you in adtini by logging into adtini and going the Resources Page > Collateral > Vici Drive > Sample Presentation Decks > Client Capabilities Presentation
In addition to that, be sure and check out these resources:
What creative formats does TikTok offer?
1. Video ads
2. Carousels ads
3. Single Image Ads (NEW!)
Video ads appear across all devices in the Feed of the TikTok user and can be :05-:60 long.
If you don’t have access to video, we can run Carousel Display Ads (also in the Feed) and need a minimum of 2 images, and a maximum of 10.
TikTok is a creative platform first, ad platform second. Winning campaigns treat production like a series—short, iterative, and relentlessly native.
Use trends as storytelling templates. Lean into TikTok’s native trends—viral sounds, challenges, and memes. This kind of content resonates: 77% of users say they like when brands incorporate trends into posts.
Create content tailored to TikTok’s style—fun, raw, and fast-paced. Vertical, high-resolution videos shot with the app or simple tools perform best. Refresh your creative regularly to avoid fatigue.
How to make your campaign stand out
Where creative can really shine and help increase ROI is when we take a holistic approach and make sure the creative matches the targeting categories, and we get clever with hashtag targeting!
A fun example of this you’ve probably heard of, even if you are not a TikTok user is the Coca-Cola Company’s “Share a Coke” campaign released labels with common names on them like Sam, Ben, Olivia, Mia, and so many more, with the advertising campaign hashtag #shareacoke to increase organic reach and participation online from consumers.
Culture trends catch fire here, for example:
· #BookTok has become its own major literary subculture with over 300 billion views across over 50 million posts
· #MomTok turned a group of Mormon moms into influencers so big that Hulu gave them their own reality show, currently in its third season.
· #smallbusiness has over 81 billion views and #shoplocal has over 900 million
We help you select the hashtags that match up with the type of person you are trying to reach on TikTok (must be 18+). Hashtag targeting can be very broad or very select depending on your campaign goals. We recommend using a mix of popular and trending hashtags along with more niche hashtags related to your business type. Check out this FAQ for more information on how hashtag or # targeting works with TikTok.
What do I need to know before recommending TikTok to as a placement to my clients?
o If they have a business TikTok profile. In May of this year, TikTok silently removed the ability to create “custom identities” to run with TikTok ads. This allowed clients to run TikTok ads without a TikTok profile. Going forward, this is no longer the case.
o If your client needs to convert a personal TikTok account into a Business TikTok account, login to adtini to access that FAQ, and follow the simple steps outlined there.
o Occasionally, TikTok will flag a business category and ask for additional information before running a campaign. Your Vici Trainer will help you navigate this, if it happens, and we have this FAQ on the matter in adtini: https://adtini.com/dashboard/faq/111b8297-business-verification-on-tiktok-what-do-i-need-to-know
o Political advertising is not allowed on TikTok. It also does not allow alcohol, cannabis, cbd, tobacco, weapons, supplements, weight loss, medical procedures, short term or high interest loans, along with other restrictions. For a full list, go into the Vici Drive and open the Ad Restrictions folder.
o Creative requirements can be found in the Pre Campaign Checklist, located in your Vici Drive (Resources Page in adtini, then Collateral tab).
o Your Vici buyer will generate a QR code to preview the TikTok ad before taking it live.
Where TikTok stands in the U.S. right now?
Yes, the regulatory environment has been noisy at both the state and federal level for years. What makes TikTok controversial is that it is owned by Chinese technology company ByteDance, and (just like all apps) TikTok collects first party data on its users, so there is concern ByteDance is sharing that data with the Chinese government. A quick timeline of the events:
· April 24, 2024, Congress passed PAFACA, more simply known as the sell or be banned law, which was signed by President Biden.
· January 17, 2025, the Supreme Court upheld PAFACA’s constitutionality.
· January 18, 2025, TikTok voluntarily suspended service in the US.
· January 19, 2025, newly inaugurated President Trump signed an executive order delaying enforcement for 75 days, and TikTok service was restored.
· Many extensions since then, with the next approaching on September 17, 2025.
Many states have executed their own regulations, Montana being the first (May 2023) with Governor Greg Gianforte attempting a total ban statewide on personal devices, but it was blocked by a federal court for being unconstitutional. Restrictions across all states who enacted local legislation on TikTok do not apply to private citizens, only to government employees or devices.
So, yes, TikTok is legal in the US for ordinary Americans.
What matters for marketers is that TikTok is a powerful, cost-effective way to reach a highly engaged audience and deliver return on ad spend. Brands need a TikTok plan, therefore media groups and agencies need an execution engine. Vici is your secret weapon!
Why agencies and media groups partner with Vici Media Inc. for TikTok
You could stitch this together yourself—hiring buyers, creative strategists, analysts, and trainers—or you can plug into a platform‑agnostic team that lives in this space daily. Here’s how Vici makes your team look like digital rock stars (under your brand):
1) White‑label everything
We operate behind the scenes under your name—sales collateral, proposals, decks, success stories, and client‑facing reporting. Your client never sees us (unless you want them too); they see you showing up with sophisticated plans and flawless execution.
2) No monthly fees or hidden costs
Our model is built to add net‑new digital dollars for partners. You get scale without risky overhead.
3) Training that sticks
Weekly live webinars, structured onboarding, and in‑market training visits turn sellers into confident digital consultants. We’ll coach your team on product positioning, objection handling, and the pitch—plus refreshers as formats evolve.
4) Sales enablement tools
From pre‑built proposals to an online proposal generator and standardized IO/RFP workflows, we streamline selling so your reps spend more time with clients and less time in spreadsheets.
5) End‑to‑end campaign execution
We plan, launch, and optimize TikTok campaigns and provide transparent reporting deliverables monthly.
6) Real reporting, real accountability
You and your clients get clear, branded dashboards and post‑flight storytelling—creative winners, cost curves, audience insights, and next steps—so renewals feel inevitable.
7) Cross‑channel ballast
If your brief expands or the landscape shifts, we fold in YouTube, Meta, Programmatic Display/Video, CTV/OTT, Mobile Conquesting, Online Audio, DOOH, SEO, and more. That gives your clients continuity and gives your revenue more places to grow.
8) Brand‑safety and compliance
We configure inventory filters and exclusions to fit your client’s risk tolerance, manage comments on Spark Ads, and document controls. For higher‑touch accounts, we’ll pre‑clear creator lists and establish escalation paths.
9) Creative that feels native
Our creative guidance emphasizes low‑lift, high‑output content: quick‑cut UGC, stitch/duet replies, micro‑demos, and live‑shopping teasers. We brief creators to nail the hook and the value prop, then test systematically.
10) A resilient plan if headlines change
We keep your TikTok pipeline moving and, if needed, pivot to social‑mirror and sister‑platform placements so you don’t lose momentum.
11) Final thought: TikTok is now table stakes
When consumers move, budgets follow. TikTok is no longer experimental, it’s essential. The agencies and media groups who keep clients winning here are the ones who combine native creative chops with rigorous buying and reporting, and who can pivot smoothly if the landscape shifts.
That’s exactly what Vici Media Inc. provides: your brand, armed with enterprise‑grade execution.
Ready to turn TikTok into a reliable revenue line for your clients?
Let’s talk about a white‑label plan that fits your market, your categories, and your team’s bandwidth.
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