TikTok search ads are here

TikTok has now launched its latest feature for digital marketers, search ads. Many in digital marketing will be familiar with search ads, but often only associate the term with Google and other search engines. It seems though that social media is stepping into the search world.

Social media and search ads

Social media has leant into being treated as a search engine, with platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Twitter (X), and Facebook all having search features that will then display relevant posts, accounts, tags, and even locations. Even LinkedIn can be used to this extent. 

Search being a big part of how we find the things that we like online has always been cross-platform, and has resulted in some misattributed sales. When a user makes a purchase through a Google search, the sale is attributed to Google search, but this journey most likely started with a social search or discovering the product on social media. Where the social search function has not previously gone beyond being a useful tool, it has not reached its full potential in the customer sales funnel. 

Now, with TikTok bringing in search ads, this can bring further clarity to the sales funnel and speed up the process.

What are TikTok search ads?

It’s nothing new for digital marketers to learn – you pay to show up in a search, it’s that simple. This allows brands to reach users in a high-intent moment and target users more directly. TikTok, like Google, will allow for keyword and negative keyword targeting to better refine ads. So as long as you’ve done your demographic and keyword research, then you should adapt fairly easily.

How are TikTok search ads different from Google search ads?

TikTok as a platform is very creative-driven. A unique aspect of TikTok’s Search Ads is the ability to use video ads. Being a video-first platform means that brands can get creative and put together some dynamic and visually appealing content. Engaging users through content is always a challenge, but engaging high-intent users with creative content is the perfect eye-catching marketing trick.

There are 3 billion TikTok searches annually, which is nothing on the 2 trillion Google searches. However, when you consider that TikTok has been the fastest growing social media platform, it’s not ridiculous to think that the gap in searches shrinks dramatically in the coming years. 

So, are TikTok search ads the future of social media advertising?

TikTok search ads are an interesting concept, combining social media style ads with typical digital marketing search ads. The crossover of two of the most commonly used advertising methods can be revolutionary to social media advertising, and even digital marketing in general. 

Still relatively new, time will tell on the success of TikTok search ads. Will they dent Google? Will they push the evolution of search engines and their use of AI? Or will they be a nice-to-have marketing gimmick that bumps up sales figures just enough to be worth putting in the extra research. Whatever the answers are to those questions, we can guarantee that you will be in a meeting where you are asked to double sales by using TikTok, and as an ‘ elder marketer’ you’ve stayed away from the platform, so the familiarity of search ads will be your saving grace.