How to set up TikTok Ads Manager (and launch a first campaign)

Step by step

1. 01

   Create the Ads Manager account

   ads.tiktok.com → Sign up → pick your country and currency carefully (you can't change them later).

2. 02

   Install the TikTok Pixel + Events API

   Assets → Events → Web Events → Manage → install the base code + your key events (purchase, lead, sign-up). Add Events API for iOS-resilient tracking.

3. 03

   Create the campaign

   Campaign → Create → choose objective. Most beginners want 'Conversions' (after the pixel has data) or 'Traffic' (if pixel is brand new).

4. 04

   Set up the ad group

   Auto-targeting on (TikTok's algorithm is genuinely strong), age 18+, your country, $20-30 daily budget, lowest cost bidding.

5. 05

   Use a Spark Ad

   Spark Ads boost organic posts as paid ads — they outperform pure ads 2-3×. Get the post creator's code from their video → Settings → Ad Settings → Spark Ads → enable.

6. 06

   Launch and let it learn

   TikTok needs ~50 conversions in 7 days to exit learning. Don't pause, don't edit. Judge results after day 7.