TikTok Spark Ads
What are TikTok Spark Ads?
TikTok Spark Ads are ads made from an organic TikTok post that is already live — on the brand’s own account or, with an authorisation code, on a creator’s. They are set up in TikTok Ads Manager. The ad keeps the post’s likes, comments and link to the profile, and whatever it gathers is added to the same post, so it looks like any other post, with a label marking it as an ad.
Example
A furniture shop posts two TikTok videos a week. One of them, a corner sofa unfolding into a bed in ten seconds, draws far more views and comments than the rest, with people asking about sizes and colours. Instead of filming a separate ad, the shop runs that very post as a Spark Ad, with a button to the product page. Viewers see the questions and answers under it, and new followers land on the shop’s own account.
A month later, a local creator assembles one of the shop’s wardrobes on camera, posts the video on their own account and gives the shop an authorisation code for a period they choose. The ad carries the creator’s name, the comments stay under their video, and the button leads to the shop’s site. The post is labelled as a paid partnership, as every paid post in influencer marketing must be.
Why it matters for a business
An ad built on a new video, uploaded to TikTok Ads Manager for the campaign, starts from zero, with no likes or comments. A Spark Ad backs a post people already watch and comment on, so the video that gets the budget is chosen by their reaction, not by a guess. Its likes and comments work as proof, and the followers it brings stay after the campaign ends. Nor is it a boosted post: Spark Ads run in TikTok Ads Manager like any campaign, with an objective, an audience, a budget and a report.
Spark Ads are worth it when your buyers are on TikTok and the account is kept up: there are posts to choose from, and whoever opens the profile finds more videos. On an empty account, or for a video that drew no reaction on its own, start with regular posting or an ad built on a video shot for the purpose. The comments under the promoted post are public, so someone has to answer them.
What to ask
- Which post are we promoting, and what picked it: views, comments or profile visits?
- If the post is a creator’s, is there an authorisation code, for how long, and is the paid partnership labelled?
- Is the sound in the video cleared for advertising, or does it need replacing?
- Does the button lead to the profile, or to a page where the order or enquiry is counted?
- Who answers the comments under the post while the ad runs?
We post organic TikTok videos and run the best of them as Spark Ads as part of social media management.