Want your ads to feel like natural TikTok content? TikTok Spark Ads offer a powerful way to promote real posts with real engagement, without disrupting the user experience.
Quick Summary: What, What’s New & Why It Matters
- Spark Ads let brands boost existing TikTok posts, either from their own account or a creator’s, for native, high-engagement promotion.
- 2025 updates: Support for Duet, Stitch, clickable music, videos up to 10 mins, and new goals like Lead Gen and TikTok Shop Purchases.
- Why use it: More organic feel, stronger CTR, scalable with up to 10,000 ads per account, and better creator collaboration.
What are TikTok Spark Ads?
Spark Ads are a native ad format on TikTok. It allows brands to either promote existing organic posts from their own TikTok accounts or use authorized content made by other creators. Like TikTok In-feed Ads, Spark Ads appear naturally like any other organic content on the TikTok For You Page.
Spark Ads are TikTok’s way of blending ads into the platform’s organic content. This ad format lets you amplify existing TikTok content.
Spark Ads are labeled as “Sponsored” and will include a CTA of your choice, account name, caption, and audio. These ads are unique in that they have all of the standard engagement drivers, such as commenting, sharing, and liking.
Why Use TikTok Spark Ads?
TikTok Spark Ads stand out because they feel less like traditional advertising and more like the content people already enjoy on the platform. By promoting real, published TikTok posts, either from your own account or a creator’s, you can build trust, drive authentic engagement, and scale campaigns with content that already resonates. Let’s see why Spark Ads are worth using:
- Authentic engagement with real content: Spark Ads promote actual TikTok posts from your account or creators, making the ad feel native and trustworthy to users.
- Full interaction features: Unlike traditional ads, Spark Ads support likes, shares, comments, follows, and even Duet and Stitch, helping boost organic reach and visibility.
- Multi-goal optimization: Whether your focus is follower growth, conversions, app installs, or TikTok Shop purchases, Spark Ads supports a range of ad objectives.
- Stronger creator collaboration: Easily amplify influencer content without re-editing or uploading, authorize the original post, and run it as an ad.
- Advanced ad performance tracking: Access deeper metrics like paid followers, profile visits, and paid shares, allowing for more accurate optimization.
Spark Ads Specs & Creative Requirements (updated)
To run successful TikTok Spark Ads, your content must meet certain creative and technical specifications. These ensure that your ad not only complies with TikTok’s policies but also performs well across devices and placements. Below are the key requirements you need to consider:
| Category | Specification |
|---|---|
| Video Aspect Ratio | Recommended: 9:16 Also supported: 1:1 and 16:9 |
| Resolution | Minimum: 540 × 960 px Optimal: 1080 × 1920 px |
| Length | Up to 10 minutes |
| File Size | Up to 500MB (Recommended: under 100MB for faster load time) |
| Caption | Pulled from the original post Cannot be edited after promotion |
| Audio | Must use TikTok Commercial Music Library Copyrighted music is not supported |
| Interactive Features | Supports likes, comments, shares, follows, clickable hashtags, Duet, Stitch, music, and stickers |
| Ad Label | All Spark Ads are marked as Sponsored |
| Identity Shown | Displays the original creator’s or brand’s username |
| Visibility Requirement | Video must remain public throughout the campaign |
Tip: If you’re promoting a creator’s video, ensure they don’t alter or remove it mid-campaign.
How Much Do TikTok Spark Ads Cost?
The cost of running TikTok Spark Ads in 2025 depends on several factors, including your campaign objective, bidding strategy, audience targeting, and competition in your niche. While there’s no fixed price, TikTok provides average benchmarks to help you estimate your ad spend.
Average TikTok Spark Ads Costs
| Cost Metric | Estimated Range |
|---|---|
| CPC (Cost per Click) | Around $1.00 per click |
| CPM (Cost per 1,000 Impressions) | Around $6.00–$7.00 |
| Minimum Daily Budget | $50/day at the campaign level |
| Minimum Ad Group Budget | $20/day at the ad group level |
What Affects Your Spark Ads Budget?
Several key variables can increase or decrease your total ad cost:
- Campaign objective: Conversion-focused campaigns (like TikTok Shop sales or App Installs) usually have higher CPCs than awareness or traffic goals.
- Bidding model: You can choose between Auction (flexible pricing) or Reach & Frequency (fixed CPM).
- Audience targeting: Narrow targeting or competitive niches tend to raise bid prices.
- Content quality: High-performing creative (e.g., videos with high engagement) usually lowers cost over time by improving relevance and click-through rate (CTR).
- Placement and ad type: Spark Ads sometimes cost more than standard in-feed ads due to their higher engagement and performance.
Tip: You can reuse top-performing organic posts or creator content through Spark Ads often leads to better results at a lower cost, thanks to higher engagement and native appeal.
How to Run Spark Ads on TikTok?
TikTok Spark Ads combine TikTok-provided organic content with creative advertisements. Creators must consent to the usage of their posts in advertising campaigns in order for these advertisements to run.
So, below are all the things you need to do.
Method 1: Linking accounts
Step 1: Enable Spark Ads Feature
- Go to the TikTok Ads Dashboard
- Select the advertising objective
- Complete settings in “Campaign” and “Ad Group”
- Enable “Use TikTok Account to deliver Spark Ads”
Step 2: Choose your advertising account
Add your owned account to directly use existing posts or create/upload new videos from the “Ad Manager”.
- For using existing videos:
- Access “Ad Details”, select “TikTok Posts”, then choose the post you want to use in Spark Ads
- After selecting the video, click “Confirm”
- Complete advertising settings options and click “Submit” to publish Spark Ads
- For creating/uploading new videos:
- Click on “+ Video” to upload the video
- After uploading, select “Display as an ad” if you want the video not to be suggested, searched, or displayed on your profile page
- Click Submit when your ad is complete. Now, you’ll have to wait for your ad to be approved
Method 2: Authorized Accounts or Post
With this method, businesses and content creators need to cooperate. Businesses that want to use authorized posts must have content creators authorize their videos for advertising purposes.
Step 1: Choose Videos and Generate Authorization Code
- Click on “Me” to go to your TikTok channel, then tap the three-dot icon in the upper right corner
- Choose “Privacy”
- Turn on the toggle “Ad authorization”
Step 2: Authorize Video
TikTokers select videos for authorization, or businesses contact TikTokers to discuss authorized videos. After selecting the video, content creators need to:
- Access the selected video
- Click the three-dot icon
- Choose “Ad settings”
- Turn on “Ad authorization” and choose “Agree with Advertising Terms of Service”
Step 3: Create a Video Code
If your business collaborates with TikTok Creator Marketplace’s influencer, you can skip the code creation step and synchronize their videos with the TikTok ad manager for use in Spark Ads campaigns.
However, if your business does not work with creators on the TikTok Creator Marketplace, the content creator must generate a video code to share with your business. This code allows you to promote their content.
- Select “Generate Code” and choose one of the three allowed time frames: 7 days, 30 days, or 60 days
- Click “Authorize”
- Tap “Copy Code” to share the code with the business.
Step 4: Input the Authorized Video Code into TikTok Ads Manager
After copying the video code, the content creator will send it to the business, and you will need to input the code into the TikTok Ads Manager:
- Access “Assets”, then select “Creative”
- Choose “Spark Ads” and click “Apply for Authorization”
- Paste the authorization code into the search bar and click “Search”
- If the displayed video is the selected authorized video, click “Confirm”
Step 5: Run Spark Ads Campaigns
After completing all the steps, the business can convert natural videos to Spark Ads on TikTok by following these steps:
- Create a campaign and set up an ad group
- In the “Ad level” section, select Spark Ads
- Choose “Select posts from Library” in Upload
- Select the video you want to advertise
- Turn on the toggle “Use TikTok account” for advertising authorization and select the account you want to advertise
- Click “Submit” when your ad is ready. Now, you will have to wait for your ad to be approved
Best Practices to Optimize TikTok Spark Ads
Certainly, businesses do not want their campaigns to encounter obstacles or issues such as videos being deleted due to policy violations, videos being muted, or videos receiving a lot of negative comments resulting in poor advertising results.
Therefore, you should immediately refer to some useful tips below to optimize your Spark Ads:
Define the campaign’s objectives
You need to identify goals to devise appropriate strategies to achieve them. Additionally, when the campaign ends, you should compare the results with the objectives to assess the effectiveness of Spark Ads advertising. Based on this, you can implement measures to improve future campaigns.
For example, Mango, the global fashion brand, launched Spark Ads to drive traffic for its Camille Charrière capsule collection. By aligning its campaign with a clear landing page view objective, Mango achieved a 533% increase in web sessions, while cutting cost per session by 83%.
Develop a specific plan
After identifying the campaign objectives, you should build a plan for the Spark Ads advertising program, including these factors:
- Target audience
- Advertising budget
- Advertising formats
>>> Read more: All TikTok Ad Types You Need to Know [Update 2025]
Evaluate the effectiveness of various videos
To deploy Spark Ads on TikTok, you can select videos from your TikTok channel or use videos from KOC/KOL. So, how do you choose suitable videos that yield results? Evaluate videos based on the following indicators:
- The created video content must ensure the requirements:
- Video duration
- Language
- Hashtags
- Use of music in the TikTok Commercial Sounds library
- Views: Select videos with high natural views to ensure good popularity.
- Interactions: Including the number of likes, comments, and shares. A higher interaction rate indicates that the video attracts audience attention.
- Conversion rate: Indicates the video’s ability to convert audiences into customers. Evaluate and measure this indicator to select videos that yield the highest conversion rate and focus on optimizing your campaign
- For example, Isle of Paradise, a vegan skincare brand, repurposed customer testimonial videos with great natural performance. By turning these creator posts into Spark Ads, the brand achieved a 500% ROI, 45M views, a 1.1% CTR, and a 68% weekly revenue lift, all during their off-peak season.
TikTok Spark Ads vs. Non-Spark Ads: What’s the Difference?
The main difference between TikTok spark ads vs non-spark ads is the level of control and customization that businesses have over their ad campaigns.
Here’s a quick comparison of Spark ads and non-Spark ads to highlight their differences:
| Feature | Spark Ads | Non-Spark Ads |
|---|---|---|
| Connection to organic content | Linked to organic accounts (brand’s or creator’s account) | Not linked to an organic account |
| Engagement | Higher engagement due to native, authentic content | Lower engagement as ads feel more commercial |
| Click-through rate (CTR) | CTR driven by intentional clicks, increasing brand presence | Higher CTR driven by multiple touchpoints to the landing page |
| Follower growth | Increases followers and brand presence organically | Does not directly impact follower growth |
| Creative tools | Utilizes existing organic content, more authentic approach | Uses creative tools available in the TikTok Ads marketplace |
| User experience | Feels more natural, like regular posts in the feed | It can feel more like traditional, disruptive ads |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about TikTok Spark Ads
Yes. With the creator’s permission, you can promote their organic video through Spark Ads by requesting ad authorization. They’ll generate a video code that you can input in TikTok Ads Manager to activate the ad.
Not necessarily. While Spark Ads sometimes have a slightly higher cost per view or impression, they typically result in higher engagement, longer watch times, and better ROI, especially when using high-performing creator content.
No. Spark Ads pulls content exactly as it appears in the original post. This ensures authenticity but means you can’t change the caption, audio, or video content after selecting it. If you need more flexibility, use Non-Spark Ads.
Yes. As of 2025, Spark Ads fully supports TikTok Shop with product tag integration, allowing you to promote shoppable content directly through creator videos.
>>> Read more: TikTok Auction Ads: A Complete Setup Guide and 6 Winning Tips
Wrap-up
TikTok Spark Ads have just transformed the way brands can advertise for the better. Remember that your Spark Ads will be much more effective when you partner with content creators who can churn out great UGC. Hopefully, this post has provided you with a broad understanding of how Spark Ads function and how they may benefit brands.
