Niall Sherry, Head of Paid Social at Dentsu, takes a close look at Search-On-Social and how to take advantage of TikTok Search Campaigns.

As of September 2024, TikTok have launched Search Ads Campaigns.

While ads could previously be toggled to be eligible to appear as a search result, this is the first time that advertisers have been able to specifically target the TikTok search results page.

This comes alongside other moves by Social platforms to bulk up their Search options as well as Search engines increasing their leveraging of Social inputs.

What’s driving this trend?

Social platforms are increasingly challenging Search Engines as the place where users go to seek out information, particularly among Gen Z consumers.

Social platforms, especially TikTok, are for most Gen Z consumers the primary place where they seek out & learn about new brands, products, services & experiences.

There are a number of underlying drivers of this:

• Younger consumers are seeking easily digestible information – they consume information as entertainment, and short-form videos align well with how they prefer to get that entertainment
• There’s an increased perception of authority and transparency, reinforced by community interaction – likes & comments on a TikTok act as a kind of social proof that Google results lack, as seen in trends like the viral #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt hashtag
• Algorithmic feedback loops are also key – social platforms like TikTok can personalise content better based on the hours of videos that users have watched on them, as well as preferences of users that they’ve interacted with, which means that search results can be more personalised (which means that irrespective of the accuracy of those search results, they feel more correct to the user)
• The hours spent on Social platforms is also key in a more simplistic way – search results on social meet a user where they live, without requiring them to leave the app or navigate different websites based on different results on a Google SERP. Effectively, the answers come directly to you

There’s also a case to be made that Google’s utility as a search engine is getting worse. Google’s response to the advent of AI has been shaky, with poor quality control on image searches and questionable outputs from Google’s own AI overviews.

Ex-Googlers have spoken out about the company’s strategic direction & approach to AI, which is perhaps unsurprising in the wake of layoffs, but nevertheless provides some insight into the consumer shift to seeking alternative sources of information.

How does this impact advertisers?

At the most basic level, a joined-up approach to digital marketing is more important than ever – learnings from SEM channels can be applied to TikTok Search campaigns to give businesses a headstart on maximising the efficiency of these ads.

Advertisers need to be conscious in general of the shifting mindset of Social users, and of the increasing shift on Social platforms of showing users algorithmically-dictated content.

Using tools like Advantage+ rather than relying on traditional audience targeting, for example, means that you can leverage Meta’s algorithm to get your ads in front of the right user at the right time, rather than trying to work against it.

Most of all, this trend needs to be reflected in an advertiser’s creative strategy.

For a long time, the “one hero asset that gets rolled out everywhere” approach has been increasingly unviable in the face of consumers who expect a more personalised and authentic experience.

Now there’s an additional layer of being conscious of the “discovery” aspect of Social platforms – the content that you show in your TikTok Search campaigns shouldn’t be the same 30-second video you’re showing in a Snapchat story ad or on an Instagram feed.

Search-oriented Social creative should have a distinct tone & style – e.g. starting with a clear hook that gives the core point of the video, using relevant keywords in your caption, and leading where possible with influencer and community-driven content to reinforce the social proof of your creative.

How can dentsu help?

Our award-winning Paid Social team have years of experience & can help you optimise your Social builds to ensure you’re taking advantage of the right ad formats and getting the right creative in the right place.

Our Storylab team can link you up with the right influencers to properly champion your brand, and ensure your discovery-oriented content resonates with your key audiences.

And as a full-service agency, we can leverage knowledge and insights from our Paid Search team to ensure you’re ahead of this key trend.