Why TikTok Ads aren't spending and how to fix them

TikTok has become increasingly popular as a platform for businesses to broaden their brand and connect with new customers. However, some firms have expressed concerns about their TikTok advertising, specifically related to expenditure. If you are experiencing this problem, you are not alone. There are several reasons why TikTok advertising may not be producing the desired results, including ad auction competition, ad quality, targeting, budget, and ad structure. In this blog post, we will explore some of the most common causes and provide valuable suggestions to help you enhance your ad performance. By following our troubleshooting guide, you can optimize your ad expenditure and ensure that your TikTok advertising is reaching the intended audience.

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1. Ad budget problem

Out of budget

TikTok advertisers often face the problem of ads exceeding budget limits. The minimum campaign budget is $50, with ad groups starting at $20.

Solution:

• Ensure payment goes through to prevent ads from not delivering.
• ECOMDY suggests initial budget to cover at least (50*targeted CPA).

Low bidding

To ensure optimal ad placement, it's crucial to balance your bidding price with the market. TikTok's bidding methods allow users to bid for ad placements, with higher bids resulting in better placements. If your bidding is too low, your ad will be placed beneath your competitors, making it less likely to be seen. To stay competitive, it's essential to consider your competitors' bidding prices and adjust your bids accordingly.

Solution:

To ensure your bidding strategy stays in line with the market, adjust your bids according to the bidding methods and your competitors. If you're new to running ads on TikTok, consider using the Lowest Cost bidding stratery.

2. Inaccurate targeting

Targeting overlap

When different TikTok ad campaigns target the same group of people simultaneously, it creates something called "targeting overlap." This can occur when advertisers use similar targeting methods or fail to exclude people who have already been targeted by other ads. When people see the same ad repeatedly, it can result in fatigue or annoyance. Additionally, this overlap can lead to a competition among advertisers for the same audience, causing ad costs to rise and campaign effectiveness to decrease.

Solution:

It is important for advertisers to monitor their ad targeting and adjust it as necessary to avoid targeting overlap.

Over-targeting

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Over-targeting occurs when an advertiser uses too many specific criteria to target their TikTok ad campaigns. By doing this, they may end up narrowing down their audience too much and miss out on reaching potential new customers. This could lead to a smaller pool of potential customers seeing their ads, which might result in lower ad performance and higher advertising costs. Additionally, over-targeting could decrease ad relevancy as the ads may not be shown to viewers who are interested but don't meet all of the strict targeting requirements.

Solution:

To avoid over-targeting, advertisers should start by defining their target audience and determining what criteria will help them reach that audience. They should also consider using A/B testing to see which targeting criteria are most effective. It's important to strike a balance between targeting specificity and casting a wide enough net to reach a larger audience.

Broad targeting

This issue is about targeting too broadly. TikTok may show your ads to users who are not interested in your product or service and who might even find your ad offensive, leading to poor ad delivery.

Solution:

To avoid broad targeting, TikTok advertisers can:

• Advertisers should identify their ideal consumers and create audiences based on their interests, demographics, habits, and psychographics.
• Use demographics targeting: Advertisers can use demographic targeting in order to attract an audience that is more likely to be interested in their ads, such as age, gender, income, and geography. 
• Advertisers may use interest targeting to reach consumers who have indicated an interest in their products, services, or related topics. 
• Use lookalike targeting: Advertisers can use lookalike targeting to find new customers who have similar attributes to their existing customers, such as behavior, interests, and demographics. 
• Exclusion targeting: Advertisers may apply exclusion targeting to eliminate those who are likely to be interested in their ads, such as people who have previously shown interest in them.

You can learn more in the article: Mastering TikTok ad targeting: tips to reach the right audience

3. Ad creatives problem

Policy violation

If your ad violates TikTok's policy, such as the ad caption not being consistent with the corresponding ad image or video, for example, the ad caption says "Up to 50% off", while the corresponding ad image says "Up to 30% off", it will also result in your ad not spending.

Solution

You need to ensure that your advertising is in line with TikTok's Ad Creative Policy.

Poor Ad creative

Poor TikTok ad creative refers to ads that are not visually appealing, have low production value, or do not effectively convey the intended message to the audience. This can lead to low engagement and click-through rates, and ultimately, low return on investment for the advertiser. Good ad creative on TikTok should capture the audience's attention, be visually appealing, and effectively communicate the advertiser's message or call to action..

Solution

Here are some solutions to improve poor ad creative on TikTok:

• Use high-quality visuals: Use high-resolution images and videos that are visually appealing and showcase the product or service being advertised.
• Keep it short and sweet: Keep the ad short and to the point, with a clear and concise message or call to action.
• Use TikTok trends: Incorporate popular TikTok trends or challenges into the ad creative to make it more engaging and relevant to the audience.
• Experiment with different ad formats: Try different ad formats such as in-feed ads, branded hashtags, or branded effects to find what works best for the brand and the audience.
• Test and optimize: Continuously test and optimize the ad creative to improve its performance, based on metrics such as engagement rate, click-through rate, and conversion rate.

See more about creative in articles:

Discover successful TikTok Ads video formats

‍7 essential factors for viral TikTok videos - Ecomdy Blog

Understanding TikTok's Algorithm to boost your video views

Incorrect Ad creatives size

Incorrect ad creative size refers to creating TikTok ads that do not meet the specific size TikTok requirements. This can result in ads that are stretched, pixelated, or cut off, which can negatively impact the user experience and the effectiveness of the ad.

Solution:

Make sure your ad meets TikTok's video dimensions, TikTok provides a range of ad formats, such as in-feed videos, branded effects, and sponsored hashtags. Each format has specific size and length requirements that need to be met.

Double-check the size and aspect ratio of your ad before submitting it. If you're not sure, use a TikTok ad template to ensure that your ad meets the required dimensions.

4. Account problem

TikTok reviews all accounts before issuing them to ensure compliance with Advertising Policies. This process can take up to 24 hours, during which campaigns and ads will not be delivered. Additionally, ads are paused while in the review queue and must be approved if they're new or if a part of the ad has been modified.

Solution:

While your account is under review, you cannot create an ad campaign on TikTok. Advertisers must wait until the review is complete before adding ad creatives.

If your account is denied, TikTok will provide feedback on the missing or violated criteria. However, creating a new account is the only solution for penalized accounts to avoid policy violations.

To avoid this situation, consider using a TikTok Agency Ad account. Utilizing Ecomdy's account enhances your TikTok ad campaign's effectiveness by optimizing audience targeting and resolving related issues, in addition to improving ad campaign performance. It is a missed opportunity if you don't upgrade to a TikTok agency account now.

Conclusion

To sum up, there are numerous factors that may cause your campaign to not spend, such as problems with your account, bid strategy, campaign setup, and ad creatives. We trust that our blog has listed adequate common causes and presented practical solutions to aid you. If you have addressed these issues but your ad is still not spending, the proficient team at ECOMDY is available to assist you. Reach out to ECOMDY today to receive even more valuable guidance for your TikTok Ads campaign.