Spark Ads
What are TikTok Spark Ads?
Spark Ads are TikTok's ad format for running an existing organic TikTok post as a paid ad, either from the brand's own account or from a creator's account with the creator's permission. The ad keeps the creator's name, caption and sound, and the views, likes and follows it earns count toward the original post. To run one on a creator's post, the creator turns on ad authorization and shares a code with the advertiser, valid for a period the creator chooses.
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Spark Ads are TikTok's version of paid amplification. Instead of uploading a separate ad, the advertiser puts budget behind a post that already exists, so the ad keeps the creator's handle, voice and comments and looks like the rest of the For You feed.
How TikTok Spark Ads work, step by step
- The video is posted organically, on a creator's account or the brand's own.
- The creator turns on ad authorization for that post in TikTok's ad settings and accepts TikTok's advertising terms if prompted.
- The creator generates a Spark Ads code and chooses how long it stays valid, from 7 days up to a year.
- The brand enters the code in TikTok Ads Manager and links the post to its ad account.
- The brand builds the campaign: objective, audience, budget, call-to-action button and landing page.
- The ad stops when the code expires or the creator revokes it, so long campaigns need a code that outlasts them or a renewal.
Spark Ads differ from regular TikTok in-feed ads
| Spark Ads | Regular in-feed ads | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | An existing organic post | A video uploaded only as an ad |
| Shown as | The creator's or brand's real account | The advertiser's ad identity |
| Engagement | Views, likes, comments and follows count toward the original post | Engagement stays with the ad |
| Profile tap | Leads to the real account, so viewers can follow | Leads to the advertiser's ad identity |
| Permission | An authorization code when the post belongs to someone else | None needed |
Spark Ads compared with creator ad tools on other platforms
| Platform | Tool | How the creator gives permission |
|---|---|---|
| TikTok | Spark Ads | An authorization code for one post, valid for a period the creator chooses |
| Instagram and Facebook | Partnership ads | A partnership ad code for one post, or account-level access |
| YouTube | Partnership ads through YouTube Creator Partnerships, in Google Ads | The creator's video is linked to the brand's Google Ads account |
| Thought Leader Ads | The member approves the brand's request and can revoke it |
On Instagram and Facebook, running ads from a creator's account is also known as whitelisting.
What TikTok Spark Ads cost
A Spark Ad has two costs. TikTok charges for the media through its ad auction, usually by impressions (CPM), by click or optimized toward a conversion. The creator usually charges a fee for making the post plus a fee for the authorization code, priced by how long the brand can run it, since that's a form of usage rights. Longer codes and exclusivity raise the creator's fee.
Spark Ads on a sponsored post still need a disclosure
If the creator was paid for the post, it should carry TikTok's branded content disclosure, which adds a paid partnership label, as well as a clear FTC disclosure in the video or caption. Running the post as an ad doesn't remove that obligation. Ads in regulated categories also need their required disclaimers.
How to get better results from TikTok Spark Ads
- Amplify posts that already did well organically, since early engagement is the best sign an audience will respond.
- Ask for a code that outlasts the campaign, leaving room for testing and scaling.
- Test several creators and [hooks](/glossary/hook), then move budget to the ones that convert.
- Track past the click with the TikTok pixel or app attribution, and judge each ad by its cost per acquisition.
Spark Ads vs. performance-based creator partnerships
Spark Ads buy reach for a creator's post on TikTok: the brand pays the creator for the content and the code, then pays TikTok for the media, and learns afterwards whether it worked. In a performance-based creator partnership, also called performance-based influencer marketing, the brand sets a price per result, such as a sign-up or funded account, and pays only when a creator's ad produces one.
On Panel, creators in Panel's network run your ads to their own audiences, you approve every ad before it goes live, and you're billed only for results tracked to their ads.
Pay for results, not posts.
With Panel, you pay creators per sign-up, quote or deposit. Tell us what you sell and we'll show you what it would cost.