Kenyan Businesses Can Now Run Ads on TikTok

For a while now, Kenyan businesses have not been able to promote their content on TikTok as they do on other social platforms. That’s now seemingly changing as Kenya, the world’s top TikTok user base, begins to see the rollout of new features allowing businesses to promote their videos. This marks a significant shift in how TikTok can be utilized for marketing within the country, offering new opportunities for businesses to engage with the platform’s vast audience. Whether you’re a content creator looking to boost your reach or a business aiming to drive sales, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know about running TikTok ads in Kenya as of now.

Understanding how TikTok Ads work in Kenya

TikTok’s new feature in Kenya allows you to promote your videos to get more viewers, increase your followers, drive website clicks, or generate more phone calls/messages. While the option to promote videos has been available in other markets, its implementation here is a bit different from other social platforms available locally.

What You Can Do with TikTok Promotions:

• Boost Your Account: Increase video views, gain more followers, or enhance your profile views.
• Get Sales: Direct traffic to your landing page, potentially driving more conversions.
• Get Leads: Encourage more phone calls or messages from potential customers.

Step-by-Step Guide to Running a TikTok Ad Promotion in Kenya

Step 1: Ensure You Have a Business Account:

To access the promotion feature, you must have a business account on TikTok. While the exact requirements to run a promotion aren’t fully disclosed, having a significant following and engagement on your content will likely increase your chances.

Strep 2: Create and Post Your Video:

Start by creating a video that aligns with your promotional goals. Whether it’s a product showcase, a creative ad, or a message to your followers, ensure the content is engaging and relevant.

Step 3: Access the Promotion Option:

• Go to your profile and select the video you wish to promote.
• Click on the three dots below the “Save to Favorites” button.
• In the menu that appears, you’ll see various options, including “Analytics,” “Save Video,” “PIN,” “Increase Views,” and more.
• Click on “Increase Views.”

Step 4: Choose Your Promotion Goal:

TikTok provides three primary goals to choose from:

• Boost Account: This is ideal if you want to get more video views, gain followers, or increase profile visits.
• Get Sales: Choose this if your goal is to drive clicks to your landing page or website.
• Get Leads: Opt for this if you’re looking to generate phone calls or messages.

Step 5: Select or Customize Your Promo Package:

TikTok offers various promo packages tailored to different budgets. As you choose your package, the app will display estimates of how many views, clicks, or calls you can expect based on your budget. You can either select a preset package or customize one to fit your financial plan.

Step 6: Payment and Notifications

You will thereafter get to pay for the promo – discussed below. Once paid, you will receive system notifications on whether your ad is approved, and from these notifications you will be able to track performance of the ad.

Payment Mechanics: TikTok Coins to Run Ads

Unlike traditional ad payment methods where you pay directly with cash, TikTok is using TikTok coins for promotions.

Understanding TikTok Coins for running Ads:

• What Are TikTok Coins? TikTok coins are like a virtual currency that users typically earn from gifts during live sessions or through comments etc.. These coins are now what you buy, and then use to pay for promotions.
• Purchasing Coins: If you don’t have enough coins to cover your promotion, you’ll need to purchase them directly in the app. TikTok offers various coin packages. For example 350 coins currently go for KES 770 or 17,500 coins for KES 38,420.

When purchasing TikTok coins for promotions, it’s important to understand the nuances of the transaction. For instance, you might see the promo cost displayed as $3, along with the service charge from Apple or Google. However, when you proceed to pay, you’re actually buying TikTok coins, not directly paying the promo cost. The coins you purchase have a value that doesn’t directly match the transaction value you paid to acquire them, which adds a layer of complexity to the process. The entire system feels unclear and somewhat jumbled, likely due to this being an early implementation phase. Hopefully, as the feature matures, these issues will be ironed out, making the process more transparent and straightforward.

Service Charges and Top-Up Process:

• When you’re ready to pay for your promotion, you’ll notice that the top-up process involves buying TikTok coins. However, this transaction is not free of extra charges.
• Apple App Store Charges: On Apple devices, if you’re supposed to pay $1, you’ll actually pay $1.66, with the extra $0.66 being the service fee charged by Apple.
• Google Play Store Charges: On Android devices, the service fee is included, but the exact value isn’t clearly indicated, making it slightly less transparent.

Challenges with the current implementation to run TikTok Ads

Ads.TikTok.com:

One of the key challenges for Kenyan businesses is that the standard TikTok ads management page (ads.tiktok.com) is still NOT accessible in Kenya. This means that the more traditional and perhaps more flexible way of running ads is unavailable, forcing businesses to rely solely on the in-app promotion method.

Implications of Using TikTok Coins:

• Unavoidable Service Charges: Since you can’t use the web to run ads and avoid these charges, businesses must factor in these additional costs when planning their promotional budgets.
• Potential Impact on ROI: The extra charges by Google and Apple could affect your return on investment (ROI), making it essential to carefully consider your budget and the expected outcome of each promotion.
• Tied to the Phone: Since TikTok’s current promotion system in Kenya is limited to in-app functionalities, you’re forced to use your phone to run ads. 

The Broader Context: Why This Matters

Kenya’s position as the world’s top TikTok user makes this update particularly significant. For a long time, TikTok in Kenya has been free of ads. The introduction of these promotion features signals a shift toward monetization, which could have far-reaching implications for content creators, businesses, and the platform itself in the region.

Why Now?

• TikTok’s Global Strategy: TikTok has been gradually rolling out monetization features worldwide, and Kenya’s massive user base makes it a prime target for these new tools.
• Market Adaptation: The method of using TikTok coins and the lack of access to the standard ads management page could be part of a strategy to adapt to the local market’s digital economy. Remember, users on Android can purchase these coins using M-Pesa thanks to Google Play Store allowing M-Pesa Xpress.

Key Takeaways:

• To run TikTok ads in Kenya, you must have a business account with significant reach and follow the in-app promotion process.
• Be prepared to pay additional service fees when purchasing TikTok coins, as this is currently the only way to fund your promotions.
• The landscape is still evolving, so stay updated on any changes TikTok might introduce in the Kenyan market.