Guide 10 of 13 in Level 4: Run it as an ad

How to create a TikTok ad campaign

To create a TikTok ad campaign with Blackbox (blackbox.plus), connect a TikTok Ads account to your brand, click + in the Inbox and choose New Campaign. Under Or skip the plans, pick a goal such as Sell on the website, and check that TikTok Ads is on under Where it runs. Under Who should see it, add the places and ages, then open the TikTok only block. For Sell, Win back or Get leads, pick your TikTok pixel and the event TikTok optimises for, such as Complete payment or Submit form. For website visits, choose Clicks or Landing page views. Keep Lowest cost, or pick Cost cap and enter the most you will pay per result; Fastest delivery needs a cap. Leave URL parameters empty for our UTMs, or write your own. Then add a 9:16 video or picture, set the budget and dates, and run the checks. Draft it: nothing is created until you approve, and nothing spends until you start it.

You'll need
Time
About 10 minutes 13 steps Updated
You'll end with
A TikTok campaign that optimises for your pixel’s event, drafted as a proposal in your brand’s thread
Do it in Blackbox Open the Inbox, after you sign in
Example
A campaign set up in New Campaign, checked on Review and drafted

How to create a TikTok ad campaign in Blackbox

  1. Step 1:Open New Campaign

    In the Inbox, click the + button, then New Campaign.

    You'll see: What is this campaign for?, with goals to start from under it.

    Open this in Blackbox

  2. Step 2:Pick a goal

    Under Or skip the plans, click Sell on the website.

    You'll see: Preset, with Sell on the website under Gets you in the Summary.

  3. Step 3:Check TikTok is on

    Under Where it runs, check that TikTok Ads is on with your ad account, then click Continue.

    You'll see: Who should see it, with Places and a TikTok only block.

  4. Step 4:Choose the places

    Under Places, search for a country or city and click it.

    You'll see: The place as a chip, and under Who in the Summary.

  5. Step 5:Pick your pixel

    In the TikTok only block, under Pixel and event, pick your pixel from the list.

    You'll see: The events that pixel tracks, as chips under the list.

  6. Step 6:Pick the event

    Click the event that counts as a sale, like Complete payment.

    You'll see: The event highlighted, with a line saying TikTok counts it as a result.

  7. Step 7:Choose how TikTok bids

    Under Bidding, keep Lowest cost, or click Cost cap and enter the most you’ll pay per result.

    You'll see: A line under the choice saying how TikTok will bid.

  8. Step 8:Choose the delivery

    Under Delivery, keep Smooth, or pick Fastest for a short sale.

    You'll see: Smooth or Fastest highlighted, with what it does under it.

  9. Step 9:Check the URL parameters

    Under URL parameters, leave it empty for our UTMs, or type your own.

    You'll see: Our UTMs greyed in the box, or yours with a line saying they replace ours.

  10. Step 10:Add a 9:16 creative

    Click Next: creatives, then New and From a Studio post.

    You'll see: Your finished posts, each with Use this post.

  11. Step 11:Set the budget

    Click Next: budget, pick Lifetime or Daily, and enter the amount.

    You'll see: What it spends a day on average, under the amount.

  12. Step 12:Run the checks

    Click Next: review, and fix anything marked Block.

    You'll see: A passing Tracking check naming your pixel and the event it tracks.

  13. Step 13:Draft it

    Click Draft the campaign.

    You'll see: Your brand’s thread, open on the Campaign proposal.

Good to know

  • On TikTok, Sell on the website, Win back and Get leads run as website conversions: TikTok shows the ads to people likely to do the event you pick, counted by your pixel. Get website visits and Get video views need no pixel.
  • The events offered are the ones your pixel tracks and the goal can use: Complete payment, Place an order, Initiate checkout, Add to cart or Add payment info for sales; Submit form, Complete registration, Contact or Subscribe for leads.
  • Get leads on TikTok sends people to your website. TikTok’s own instant forms aren’t in New Campaign yet, so a Native form lead destination Blocks on TikTok.
  • Win back on TikTok reaches your past buyers only: pick one of your TikTok audiences of past buyers in the same block, or Review Blocks.
  • Lowest cost is TikTok’s own default: it bids to get the most results for the budget. Cost cap keeps the average cost per result near your amount, and starts from your target cost per result when the brief has one. Too low a cap and the ads may hardly spend.
  • For Get website visits, Clicks usually gives the cheapest visits; Landing page views gives fewer people who wait for your page, and needs your pixel on it.
  • Fastest delivery spends as quickly as TikTok can and is offered with a cost cap only. Smooth spreads the budget across the day.
  • URL parameters replace our UTMs (utm_source=tiktok, utm_medium=paid_social and the campaign name) on every TikTok ad’s landing page. TikTok macros like __CAMPAIGN_NAME__ are kept as written.
  • Only TikTok reads the TikTok only block. The places and ages above it are shared with any other channel you switch on.
  • Drafting creates nothing on TikTok. Approving the proposal creates the campaign, ad groups and ads paused, and only Start spends — see Approve a campaign proposal and start it.

Official docs

If something doesn't work

TikTok Ads isn’t under Where it runs

The brand has no TikTok ad account yet. Connect one under the brand on the Data page, then open New Campaign again.

It says This ad account has no pixel yet

Set up a pixel in TikTok Ads Manager under Tools → Events and put it on your site, then open New Campaign again. Sell, Win back and Get leads need one; Get website visits and Get video views don’t.

The event I want isn’t offered

Your pixel doesn’t track it yet. Set the event up in TikTok Events Manager, or pick one it tracks. Review Blocks an event the pixel doesn’t have.

Fastest is greyed out

Fastest delivery runs with a cost cap only. Pick Cost cap and enter the amount, then Fastest can be picked.

I’m worried drafting spends money

It doesn’t. Draft makes a proposal. Approving it creates everything paused, and nothing spends until you click Start ads.

Stuck at any step? Send us a message and we'll do it with you on a call. All of Level 4: Run it as an ad