TikTok has been in the spotlight lately. In addition to the potential ban in the U.S., it also plans to lay off a significant portion of its operations and marketing teams, according to The Information.
However, the short-form video giant is still seeking to attract advertisers, and at the TikTok World product summit, the company unveiled a new set of advertising tools, some of which focus primarily on generative artificial intelligence and automation. These tools signify the company’s ongoing effort to remain relevant to advertisers, as well as to competitors like Meta, which continue to develop new advertising products and embrace AI.
What are the new tools exactly?
TikTok debuted two new hubs: TikTok One and TikTok Symphony. The first brings various creative tools, including the existing TikTok Creator Marketplace, into one place where brands can access creators and agency partners. TikTok Symphony, meanwhile, is a suite of various AI-driven creative tools that can assist with tasks like scriptwriting.
To further help brands leverage TikTok’s creator base, the platform also added a Duet feature to its Branded Mission advertising product, allowing brands to invite TikTokers to collaborate on video content. TikTok also launched Interactive Add-Ons for TopView, which introduces pop-out elements and countdown stickers. Other new advertising tools focus on automating ads.
TikTok’s full-funnel advertising tools “are starting to meet other platforms like Meta,” said Danielle Schultz, director of paid social services at PMG.
The platform’s new offerings may be able to support PMG’s work in various ways, she noted. TikTok One could be particularly useful in streamlining the agency’s talent discovery process for nano- and micro-influencers, as “it’s just hard to know who is out there.” TikTok One could make more of these creators visible to more advertisers. The new features could also benefit media planning and new business opportunities, she said.
Regarding the new Duet feature of Branded Mission, she expects that there could be greater interest from PMG’s clients in the tool. Before this update, “the Branded Mission offering sounded theoretically very good,” she said, but “didn’t always necessarily include… some of the other more organically native elements that could go viral on TikTok.” This meant that many brands in PMG’s portfolio chose not to participate in the official Branded Missions in the past, she added.
TikTok Symphony is the latest in a series of AI-supported advertising updates coming to the platform. During TikTok’s NewFronts presentation earlier this month, the company announced new features in the Pulse Premiere offering, including Pulse Custom Lineups, which advertisers can use to leverage creative AI to find trending content tailored to their specific brands. Another tool introduced then, Pulse Premiere Tentpole Moments, will allow advertisers to access major events like the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
TikTok’s larger social competitors are also investing heavily in creative AI tools. Earlier, Meta released some of its own advertising tools aimed at generating text and images with AI support, available in the Advantage+ creative section of Meta Ads Manager. The AI will also enhance advertising capabilities in Reels, the company stated during the recent NewFronts presentation.
