TikTok has experienced phenomenal growth since its launch in 2016. Statistics indicate it grew more in four years than Facebook in seven years. That means that the short video-sharing platform is growing faster than Facebook. With TikTok adding marketing features such as branded hashtags, in-app shopping, and live streaming, it has become important for brands looking to connect with customers. 

However, with TikTok focusing more on entertainment, a common concern has been the effectiveness of its marketing. This article will look at the ROI (Return on Investment) of TikTok marketing and provide actionable tips for better results when advertising on TikTok.

Statistics on TikTok Advertising for Marketers

If you are a marketer trying to get noticed on TikTok, you must understand some key TikTok statistics. These are:

TikTok’s Personal Usage Statistics

• TikTok reached over 1.95 billion users in 2023, an increase of 16% from 2022. By the end of 2024, the app is expected to reach over 2 billion users.
• In over 40 countries, TikTok is the most downloaded app.
• TikTok is ranked number 5 as the most popular app on Playstore.
• TikTok is ranked 7th as the most trusted app.
• 18.2% of the global TikTok audience consists of women between 18 and 24 years old, while males in the same age group make up 18% of the population.
• Around 29% of the app’s users confess to visiting the app every day.
• In the United States, adults spent 4.43 billion minutes on TikTok in 2023. According to  Insider Intelligence, TikTok will overtake all other apps in the minutes spent on the app.
• ⅔ of teens in the United States confess to visiting the app daily
• TikTok data indicates that millennial followers are more likely to create branded content on the app and tag brands.
• The majority of TikTok users love the post's storytelling format. According to GenZs using the app, 2 in every 5 are attracted to content tailored to their needs.
• Most TikTok users love tutorials. 62% of users love them, while 39% of users prefer product reviews, and 38% prefer personal stories.
• 40% of TikTok users use the app as a search engine, 43% use it to get the latest news, and 53% of app visitors search for funny content.

TikTok for Business Marketing Statistics

• While TikTok was previously used as a platform for viral dance challenges or dance trends, more businesses are now using the platform to promote their brands. According to an Adobe study, 54% of businesses have experimented with TikTok marketing in 2024. On an average, businesses make around nine posts per month.
• One in every four businesses uses TikTok to sell products or services. Besides marketing their own products, businesses are also using the platform for influencer platforms. At least one in every four businesses has used TikTok for selling or promoting their products.
• Most businesses commit 15% of their marketing budget to TikTok. Further analysis of this data shows that 43% of businesses create content related to their products. Other popular types of content businesses create are product/service reviews, personal anecdotes, memes, and trending challenges.
• Statistics also show that businesses struggle to gain their foothold on TikTok.  A third of all businesses report struggling to gain their foothold on the platform, while 25% say it's a struggle to keep creating content consistently.
• Collaborating with TikTok creators produces great results. TikTok data shows that ads in collaboration with creators resulted in 26% increase in brand favorability among users of social and video platforms.
• TikTok’s advertisements perform better than traditional ads. According to one study, even though their frequency is lower than that of TV ads, they generated almost a similar amount of dollars for every 1000 impressions 
• Most people use TikTok for product discovery. Statistics indicate that 15% of all product discoveries occur on TikTok.
• Outside the non-gaming apps, TikTok is the top platform for consumer spending. The app was the first to reach $10 billion in consumer spending on the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.

TikTok vs. Facebook Advertisement: A comparison

Here is a comparison between TikTok advertising and Meta.

Cost

When considering the ROI of a TikTok advertisement, the first factor is the cost of advertising on the platform. One of the benefits of TikTok is that the usage level is growing faster than the speed at which advertisers are adopting the platform. Even better is that the CPM, which indicates the reach of an ad, is considerably lower on TikTok than on Meta: $1.95 compared to $4.89.

The same thing applies to the CPM, an indicator of the reach that is also lower on TikTok. Statistics indicate that you will pay 2.5 times more on TikTok to reach the same number of people on Meta than on TikTok.

User Engagement

When advertising on TikTok, one key consideration is the engagement level through likes, comments, and shares. Again, TikTok advertisement results in 835% higher engagement than Meta. This results from the authentic nature of ads on the platform, as they do not look like traditional ads.

When advertising on TikTok, your chances of driving engagement are eight times higher. However, users are more likely to click on Facebook than TikTok ads. But why is this so? This can mostly be attributed to the design of TikTok ads. While they often appear on the full screen, it can be hard to discern them as ads. 

This aligns with the TikTok mantra, which states “Don’t make ads; make TikTok”. Another reason could be the TikTok algorithm, which focuses on keeping users on the platform. That means they don’t like to promote directly to users.

Impact on Sales

As noted in our last point, TikTok is a cost-effective way to reach and engage your audience. However, getting users to click on an ad is usually harder than Meta. This is important as you only use these social media platforms to grow sales. So, how does TikTok perform in terms of growing sales compared to Meta?

Statistics show that Meta has a better ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) than TikTok by 26%. However, with its 11x ROAS, TikTok still offers good value for money. As noted earlier, TikTok ads are designed to keep users on the platform. That means that, with a direct comparison, TikTok has a higher cost per sale than Meta by seven times. 

However, users make decisions depending on the ads they see. A recent study shows that 49% of TikTok users will likely purchase a product or service when they see its ad on TikTok. A testament to that is the #TikTokMadeMeBuy that went viral in 2023, where people shared testaments of the things they bought after coming across them on TikTok. The hashtag received over 6 billion views and showcased a wide range of products users bought after finding them on TikTok.

Advertising Strategies for TikTok Ads

Several strategies can help you reach your target audience through TikTok advertising. One of these is using short and creative videos relevant to your brand. You should ensure that the videos are informative, attention-grabbing, and entertaining. When creating such videos, use relevant keywords and trending hashtags. You should also make them high-quality. 

Another strategy is to leverage influencer marketing. You can contact large influencers to create videos related to your niche. These videos don’t need to be promotional but can be user-generated content. You can have the influencer run contests and giveaways to their followers. This strategy can help you reach a large audience that isn’t part of your followers.

Finally, paid ads are the last strategy you can use to reach many people interested in your products or services. Brands can create ads targeting users in their demographic market. The ads can be run daily or weekly. You can also set a budget for the amount you want to spend on your campaign. 

Conclusion

Google and Meta have had the biggest grip on digital ad spend in the last decade. However, in the last few years, TikTok is giving them a run for their money. This is good as it will bring competition to the industry. Each platform will need to innovate and probably adjust their pricing to remain competitive.

One of the benefits of TikTok advertising is that it offers great value for money. Since the audience is growing more than the number of advertisers, TikTok rates are still lower than those of Facebook and Google. Besides, they are great for driving engagement and making your brand known. 

However, the platform has drawbacks, especially because users are less likely to click on an ad than on Meta or Google. Therefore, you need to find out if TikTok advertising is worth it for your brand before you can use the platform. If you are wondering if TikTok advertising will provide real value for money, our guide will help you understand the benefits, drawbacks, and possible ROI. We recommend you also read our guide on affiliate marketing on TikTok.