TikTok has added another string to marketers’ bows and created a new way to encourage engagement with in-stream ads called Interactive Add-Ons.

Interactive Add-Ons incorporate interactive elements to adverts that could tempt viewers to click on your ad. Let’s say you’re a brand that sells beauty products; you could show a video that heavily features a certain makeup brush. At the end of the clip, you can display an animated pop-up that directs customers to that specific product in your store.

Or you could include a voting sticker to your ads, which is an easy way to encourage audience participation.

Battle for ad money

Interactive Add-Ons have been launched to offer marketers another way to engage viewers with pop-ups, stickers and other visual elements. And, as TikTok notes, grabbing your customer’s attention is far easier with creative, fun enhancements to your adverts.

Plus, we’re very much in the middle of a war for advertising dominance that’s being fought between nearly every social media network. As TikTok conjures up a new ad format, you can be sure that Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, or Snapchat will hit back with a fresh way to convince brands and creators to move their empire to a different platform.

But back to this shiny new ad format.

TikTok for Business

“Interactive Add-Ons capture the undivided attention of your audience in a full-screen, sound-on environment to boost brand engagement and encourage interaction. You can enhance your In-Feed Ads with either Standard or Premium add-ons, depending on your needs.”

Standard or Premium add-ons don’t relate to the cost of each application – rather they relate to the goals you have in mind.

Standard add-ons are perfect for driving clicks and conversions, while premium add-ons are great for building brand awareness and community building.

Six new tools

There are six different Interactive Add-Ons, all built to tickle audiences in unique ways. They are:

• Pop-out Showcase. The pop-out showcase is currently in testing, and isn’t available for all accounts. But the accounts it is available for can use it to spotlight products within TikTok and allow users to engage with it. Pop-out elements are clickable and can drive traffic to a landing page.
• Users can swipe on a Gesture Add-On to unveil rewards or to find out more information. Viewers who do not perform the gesture will still see the full video, but will not receive the reward. Gesture is incredibly inviting for users as it comes packed with its own call-to-action.
• Display Card. Using Display Card, you can include cards within your in-feed video ads and use them to highlight messages, share offers and drive traffic.
• Gift Code Sticker lets you add an exclusive promo code to your video ad. The Sticker will appear in ads for the whole time, and people can redeem the code in app or via the landing page you direct them to. The size and location of the sticker can be changed in Ads Manager.
• Voting Sticker. With this Add-On, you can add a vote to your video – this will help drive engagement and could be useful for gathering customer feedback!
• Countdown Sticker. The Countdown Sticker lets you add a timer to your video ad, which will create a feeling of urgency and grab viewer’s attention. The sticker will appear in ads the whole time, and if viewers click on it, they will be directed to your landing page.

An effective marketing device

Interactive Add-Ons are great for catching audience’s attention in new and exciting ways.

TikTok for Business

“Our research shows that 57% of viewers are more likely to search for brand information online when they connect with businesses on TikTok.”

Interactive Add-Ons offer ways to encourage customers to get involved with your brand whenever they see your ad. And people who like, share and comment on brand videos are invaluable – and are more likely to end up purchasing your product.

Encouraging user engagement and participation can be lucrative – as Sour Patch Kids Display Card campaign proved. Using a Display Card add-on with In Feed Ads, cost per impression improved by 12%, cost-per-click by 30% and the campaign achieved a 136% click-through-rate!

Sour Patch Kids did this by putting together an ad that let viewers pick their favourite flavours and customise the package design to create their ultimate product.

While there’s no guarantee that you’d see the same return, these new tools should definitely be experimented with and leveraged as part of your marketing campaigns for the second half of 2022.