With over a billion active users, TikTok offers immense opportunities for marketers but it’s also highly competitive and constantly changing. Fortunately, TikTok has created the TikTok Creative Center, an invaluable resource that can help you stand out and achieve your marketing goals.
The TikTok Creative Center features educational content, creative tools, trend intelligence, and inspiration, all designed to help you create better TikTok ads and reach a larger audience.
This article will guide you through mastering the TikTok Creative Center so you can create video ads that drive engagement, build brand recognition, and generate those all-important sales.
What Is the TikTok Creative Center?
The TikTok Creative Center is a free platform offering tools and creative resources to help marketers create effective TikTok ads. The platform helps creators:
- Get inspired by high-performing videos
- Conduct keyword research
- Learn best practices for TikTok ads
- Access data-backed insights
- Identify popular hashtags, music, and products
- Create TikTok ads using video templates and other video editing tools
This platform is an essential tool that all TikTok marketers need to be making use of.
How to Access the TikTok Creative Center
You can access the TikTok Creative Center by going to the landing page on the TikTok website. You don’t need an account but if you log in you will gain access to additional features. You can also access the Creative Center from the Ad Manager Dashboard.
TikTok Creative Center Features
The resources on the TikTok Creative Center fall into three categories: trend intelligence, campaign inspiration, and creative tools. Let’s take a closer look at all three.
Trend Intelligence
Trend intelligence helps creators discover the formats and ideas that are getting a lot of attention on TikTok in your region and industry. Creators can leverage TikTok trends to create video ads that connect with your target audience.
You can use the TikTok Creative Center to track TikTok trends across five areas.
1. Hashtags
You should always be on the lookout for trending hashtags relating to your niche. A single viral video is all you need to hit it big so make sure to be following every major new trend.
2. Songs
Using trending music is a vital part of TikTok marketing. Keeping an eye on trending songs can help you spot valuable trends to jump on.
3. Creators
The creators tab is especially useful for competitor research. Always be thinking: what are the top creators doing right that you can learn from for your strategy?
4. Videos
Naturally, keeping an eye on the most popular videos on TikTok is an important way to stay on top of the newest and hottest trends.
5. Macro Trends
Macro trends might not always be useful for your specific niche but they are still important to follow.
@tiktokcreativeexperts Want to learn more about Macro Trends? Check out our link in bio #TrendAlert #macrotrends #contentstrategy #contentplanning #tiktokcreativeexperts
♬ original sound – TikTok Creative Experts – TikTok Creative Experts
Campaign Inspiration
The inspiration tab is where you’ll find everything you need to generate creative ideas for a new ad campaign. You can spark creativity by exploring top-performing ads, keywords, and products. Let’s take a look at the features in this section.
1. Top Ads Dashboard
The Top Ads dashboard lets you view high-performing ads in your niche along with metrics like click-through rate (CTR) and conversion rate (CVR). You can also read commentary from TikTok’s creative experts (as below).
2. Keywords Insights
The Keyword Insights sections of the TikTok Creative Center allows you to search keywords or and view their popularity, popularity change over time, and click-through rate. You can enter your region and industry to view top keywords and related videos and gain additional keyword insights.
3. Top Products Dashboard
The Top Product dashboard allows you to view trending products in your region and product category, along with related videos. For example, if you filter for baby and maternity products in the United Kingdom, the top performers are playgyms and playmats.
You can view metrics like impressions, conversion rate, shares, popularity over time, and cost per action (CPA) for every product as well as audience insights like age range and related interests.
4. Creative Insights
The TikTok Creative Center breaks down creative patterns to show how effectively they drive results in specific categories. For example, in the gaming category, there are ads that show gameplay, character selection, or a fighting scene. You can check the click-through rate, view-through rate, and other metrics for each of these content strategies.
It also provides tips on best practices. For example:
- Ads using a call-to-action see 45% stronger recall.
- Ads that are lo-fi or unpolished see 33% stronger consideration.
- TikTok users are 15% more likely to skip an ad without sound.
5. Education
In the education section, you’ll find:
- courses on skills like scriptwriting
- playbooks for different industries
- tips like TikTok video dos and don’ts and how to set a budget
- community insights for different industries
Creative Tools
Creative Tools will help TikTok creators make high quality TikTok videos without the need for extensive video production qualifications or expensive video editing software. Features in the Creative Tools section include:
- a TikTok video editor
- a royalty-free music library
- video templates
- text to suit every brand
There are also tools that allow you to:
- convert horizontal videos into vertical videos
- convert text to speech
- translate audio into different languages
- add captions
- convert static images into video
Let’s take a look at some of the other Creative Tools you can use while editing videos for TikTok.
Interactive add-ons increase engagement by inviting users to physically interact with your video. For example, Superlike causes heart-shaped and custom icons to float across the screen when viewers like your video.
GenAI Beta Club is a range of new generative AI features including creative tools including an AI video generator, script generator, background enhancement feature for product images, and virtual video production assistant.
The Commercial Music Library contains music that is pre-cleared for use on TikTok videos. You can search for music by theme, genre, and mood or choose from playlists like “Emerging Artists” and “TikTok Viral”.
6 Steps to Create Better Ads With the TikTok Creative Center
With so many features, it’s difficult to know where to start. Follow these 6 steps to master the TikTok Creative Center and start achieving your marketing goals with your TikTok videos.
Step 1: Get Educated
You don’t need a degree in marketing to sell products on TikTok. The TikTok Creative Center offers educational content to help you get to grips with best practice. Hover over the Inspiration tab and select Education to access learning materials.
Start by flicking through the flashcards showing the 6 TikTok Creative Codes (under the heading “Lay the foundations”).
Navigate to Creative Strategies and look for the creative playbook for your product category. These longform guides provide practical insight into a particular vertical.
Finally, take a Creative Expert course. TikTok is developing courses to accommodate every skill level.
Step 2: Study Your Competitors
To find successful ads made by your competitors, go to the Top Ads dashboard and filter the results by your region and industry. Watch some of the videos that come up and think about what makes them successful. Useful questions include:
- What is the hook?
- How long is the video?
- What product features are highlighted?
- How does the video build brand credibility?
- What is the CTA?
On the interactive time analysis, study any spikes in the clickthrough rate to work out what is driving clicks. Look out for the “Expert’s Choice” commentary for insights on why the video performed well.
Finally, go to the TikTok Creative Assistant (which works like ChatGPT), and ask “Why does the ad on this page perform well?”. You may find the answer useful.
Step 2: Choose Winning Products
If your business sells multiple products, use this step to identify which products are most likely to generate conversions from TikTok ads.
In the Inspiration section, choose the Top Product dashboard. Filter by your region and product category. For example, if you choose the food and drink category in the United States, the most popular product is coffee.
Take a look at the following performance analytics metrics.
- Conversion Rate (CVR): The average CVR for TikTok is around 1% but ideally you want to be promoting products with a higher CVR. Coffee, for instance, currently has a CVR of almost 10%.
- Popularity change: Look for products with a positive popularity change. This means a growing number of people are including coffee in their ads.
- Cost Per Action (CPA): This tells you how much it costs to generate a conversion. A low CPA is preferable because it means you can drive results without spending a fortune.
In addition to performance analytics you can view audience demographics such as:
- Average age. Look at the average age of viewers of TikTok ads related to the product. For example, 55% of viewers of coffee ads are aged 18 to 24. Be aware that minors (under 18) are not included in audience insight data.
- Related interests. This tells you what else interests people who are interested in the product. For example, coffee ad viewers are interested in investment planning and electric scooters. You can incorporate these other interests in your TikTok ads to grab the attention of your target audience.
Finally, watch the ad examples provided for the product to see how effective creators are promoting the product.
Step 3. Get Creative Ideas
Now you have some background knowledge about TikTok ads and you’ve chosen a product that is likely to convert. It’s time to come up with some creative content ideas for an ad campaign.
You may want to leverage TikTok trends but remember that you also want your video to stand out and be true to your brand. You should also tailor your ad content to your target audience.
Go to Trends > TikTok Videos to browse popular videos. Go to Trends > Hashtags and filter by industry to explore trending topics in your product category. It’s also a good idea to scroll through TikTok as a consumer to see what grabs your eyes and what you scroll past.
Step 4. Create and Edit Videos
You can record new ad content or convert an existing audio, video, or static photograph asset into a video. Try to record vertical videos if possible as these are best suited for TikTok. Once you’ve got your raw materials, go to the video editor and upload your files.
If you’re logged in, you may choose to use a video template to get started. You could also use the AI video generator to generate your video or to write a script. If you’re editing manually, in the toolbar at the top of the video editor, you’ll see the following icons (from left to right):
- Music note: Click to upload music or choose a song from the library.
- Text icon: Select a text style. Your text will appear in the window on the right where you can reposition it on the video. Use the window on the left to edit the text, alignment, and font.
- Transition icon: Transitions are how your video moves from one clip to another. For example, clip A can slide out to the left while clip B slides in from the right. Transitions can add visual interest, especially for static images.
- Effects icon: Effects like sparkles and confetti make your products shine.
- Stickers icon: Stickers are a great way to add prices, CTAs, or holiday cheer to your content.
Once you’ve laid out your video, use the creative tools in the video editor to add captions, convert ad copy from script to speech, and (if necessary) translate your ad content. You may also choose to add an interactive add-on like Superlike.
When you’re finished, ask the AI TikTok Creative Assistant to provide you with feedback and tips for improvement.
Step 5. Iterate and Improve
Once your campaign has gone live, view performance data on your TikTok ads manager dashboard. Take note of which ads are most successful. Repeat products, formats, and strategies that perform well and drop those that haven’t driven results. Continue to check the TikTok Creative Center for new TikTok trends and insights.
Top Tips For Building Successful TikTok Ad Campaigns
- Nail the ad format. Shoot vertically at hi-res (720p or higher) and frame your ad content in a 9:16 ratio for TikTok-friendly videos. Save space on the screen for TikTok UI or your key message may be obscured. Remember that most users will see your ad on the TikTok app rather than a desktop.
- Know your audience. The more you know about your audience’s interests and scrolling habits, the better you’ll be able to engage them.
- Make it feel organic. Users are on TikTok because they love TikTok’s organic content. Take your cue from this and keep it unpolished to make ads that “stop the scroll” and engage the user.
- Hook them early. In the first seconds, give viewers a reason to keep watching. If you don’t, they’ll scroll on. Suspense and surprise make for great hooks, but simple value propositions can work too.
- Engage the senses. Sound effects, music, and voiceover drive purchase intent and brand favorability. You can create visual interest with emojis, dynamic transitions, and text overlays – all of which you can create in the video editor on the TikTok Creative Center.
- Use a strong CTA to improve brand recall and drive conversions.
- Leverage TikTok trends (with your own twist) to increase watch time and engagement.
- Collaborate with influencers – Users tend to trust recommendations from their favorite TikTok creators.
- Maintain a clear message and a consistent brand identity to build a reputation.
How to Use the TikTok Creative Center for Dropshipping
To succeed as a dropshipper, you must choose products that will grab attention with digital ads. The TikTok Creative Center is a great place to do product research. To find top-performing products in your niche, go to the Top Product dashboard.
Look for those with a high CVR and low CPA. It is best to choose small, light products (to keep shipping costs low) that can be priced under $50 (to capture impulse purchases).
Use the Top Product dashboard to study top ads in your niche. Maximize the appeal of your products by using well-lit, hi-res images and Creative Tools like effects. Use A/B testing to discover which products generate the most sales.
TL;DR: Master the TikTok Creator Center
TikTok’s one billion users represent an invaluable marketing opportunity but TikTok advertising is highly competitive and constantly changing. The TikTok Creative Center offers creators the creative tools and insights they need to meet their advertising goals.
By mastering its extensive features, you can track trends, get inspired by top-performing ads, and craft creative, engaging content that drives results.