TikTok has announced an early trial of a significant policy update, requiring all advertisements to be linked directly to a TikTok account. This move signals the phasing out of the "custom identity" option, which allowed advertisers to run ads with custom profile images and display names.
The platform states that this transition is designed to enhance advertising performance by leveraging organic signals. This approach aims to improve user targeting accuracy.
Furthermore, TikTok intends to provide users with a more seamless and engaging ad experience by incorporating features commonly found in organic content. The change also encourages businesses to establish and benefit from a genuine organic presence on the platform.
Internal studies conducted by TikTok have identified select businesses, including those participating in the early trial, as likely to experience significant benefits from this policy update.
Starting March 14, 2025, these businesses will observe the removal of the option to run ads without a linked TikTok account within the TikTok Ads Manager.
What Are The Benefits of Having an Organic TikTok Account?
This policy shift highlights the value of brands maintaining an active organic TikTok presence. The benefits of doing so include:
Stronger Share of Voice: Brands with active organic accounts can maintain a consistent presence, increasing visibility and brand recall among their target audience.
Building a Brand Persona: A dedicated TikTok account allows businesses to craft a distinct brand identity, making them more relatable and memorable to users.
Creating an Engaged and Entertained Community: By consistently posting engaging content, brands can foster an interactive community, encouraging meaningful conversations and brand loyalty.
Authenticity and Trust: Users tend to trust brands that share real, behind-the-scenes content rather than overly polished advertisements, enhancing credibility and connection.
Leveraging Employee-Generated Content (EGC) for Conversions: Encouraging employees to create authentic content can humanise the brand and help turn browsers into buyers. Storytelling through EGC can highlight key aspects such as:
The brand’s people, products, and services
Pricing, promotions, and exclusive deals
Customer testimonials and product reviews
Creative use cases and how-tos
How Does This Improve Advertising Performance?
Increased Click-Through Rates (CTR) and Lower Advertising Costs
Brands that promote organic content often see increased CTRs and reduced costs in their advertising campaigns. Organic content resonates better with users, leading to higher engagement rates. When promoted, such content feels more native to the platform, reducing ad fatigue and driving stronger results. Additionally, TikTok’s algorithm rewards engaging ads by lowering cost-per-click (CPC) and cost-per-acquisition (CPA), making advertising more cost-effective.
TikTok's primary objective is to significantly enhance advertising performance, offering notable benefits to advertisers. The platform will achieve this by:
Leveraging Organic Signals for Improved Targeting
By connecting ads to active TikTok accounts, the platform can utilise organic data to refine user targeting, resulting in more accurate and effective ad delivery. This leads to a higher probability of reaching the desired audience.
Enhancing User Engagement through Familiar Features
Integrating features familiar to users from organic TikTok content into advertisements creates a more seamless and engaging experience. This approach is expected to increase user interaction with ads.
Driving Increased Brand Authenticity and Organic Growth
This policy encourages businesses to cultivate a genuine organic presence on TikTok, which can amplify brand authenticity and foster stronger connections with users. This can lead to organic growth in addition to paid advertising results.
Streamlining Ad Management
By linking accounts, businesses can streamline asset management and create a more efficient workflow when advertising on the platform.
What Are The Next Steps for Businesses?
To ensure a smooth transition, TikTok advises affected businesses to:
Link their TikTok accounts to their TikTok for Business Accounts.
Integrate their Business Accounts with Business Center.
Detailed instructions are available in the TikTok Help Center, or reach out to 365 Digital for guidance.
TikTok acknowledges that this policy change represents a significant adjustment. The platform is committed to providing comprehensive support to advertisers throughout the transition, with the ultimate goal of delivering improved ad performance for both businesses and the TikTok community.
This change is designed to create a more effective and integrated advertising ecosystem on the platform.