TikTok Spark Ads: What They Are & How They Work

If your brand is active on TikTok or plans to be, TikTok Spark Ads are one of the most effective ways to boost visibility without disrupting the platform's native feel. Instead of creating ads from scratch, you can promote real posts from your account or creators (influencer partnerships). The result? Ads that feel organic, build trust, and drive real engagement.

In this blog, we’ll walk you through exactly how Spark Ads work, what makes Spark Ads different from non-Spark Ads, and how to make them perform for your brand.

What Are Spark Ads?

TikTok Spark Ads are popular among eCommerce brands, and for good reasons. Spark Ads are a unique TikTok ad format that allows you to promote real, organic TikToks from your brand’s account or creators you work with. 

Unlike traditional ads, Spark Ads keep all the original video’s engagement: views, likes, comments, shares, and even the creator’s handle stays visible. That makes them feel more trustworthy and familiar to app users.

For brands, this means you can amplify content that’s already working, instead of starting from scratch or relying on polished ad creatives. If you have a solid organic and paid TikTok strategy and a TikTok Shop account, Spark Ads can be an integral part of your holistic strategy.

Spark Ads vs. Non-Spark Ads

While both TikTok ad formats live in TikTok’s feed, Spark Ads and traditional (non-Spark) ads behave very differently. This is especially true for visibility, trust, and performance.

Spark Ads

With Spark Ads, you’ll use an existing TikTok post as your ad. Whether that post is from your or an influencer partner’s account, you can natively turn it into a Spark Ad on TikTok.

Non-Spark Ads

Non-Spark Ads require you to create your video for advertising use. You can use a video you’ve already posted on TikTok, but you’ll have to upload it separately into the ad platform. Unlike TikTok Spark Ads, the ad video is not connected to the corresponding video on your profile.

‍

‍

If you’re already posting organic content or working with creators, Spark Ads are an efficient way to boost what’s already performing, while still benefiting from TikTok’s ad targeting tools.

How to Set Up a TikTok Spark Ad

You can easily set up a Spark Ad, especially if you already have content that’s performing well.

Step 1: Choose the Post You Want to Promote

You can use:

• A video from your brand’s TikTok account
• A creator’s post (with their authorization)

Step 2: Request the Video Authorization Code

If it’s from a creator, they’ll need to enable ad authorization and give you a code. This connects their post to your ad account.

Step 3: Go to TikTok Ads Manager

• Create a new campaign and select your objective (e.g. conversions, traffic, app installs).
• In the ad group, choose “Use TikTok Post” instead of uploading a new video.
• Enter the video’s Spark code or select a post from your connected account.

Step 4: Add Your Targeting & Budget

Set your audience targeting (age, interests, lookalikes, etc.) and budget as you would with any ad.

Step 5: Launch and Monitor

Once the ad is live, you’ll start seeing performance data (impressions, views, conversions, etc.) all tied to the original post. 

Download “The Enterprise Brand Playbook: Scaling TikTok Shop & Social Commerce in 2025”!

How Do TikTok Spark Ads Work?

Within the feed, TikTok Spark Ads appear similarly to organic posts. From the ad, users can view your landing page (if applicable), follow your account, view your profile, or view the music page associated with your audio. With non-Spark Ads, anything users click on the ad will take them to your landing page.

Spark Ads can help you with a variety of advertising objectives, including:

• ​Reach
• Video Views
• Community Interaction
• Traffic
• App Installs
• Conversions
• Lead Generation
• Shop Purchases 

Because the video is connected to your original TikTok post on your account, you can more easily reach your video views and engagement goals for a specific video. You can also take advantage of already-viral content by boosting influencer posts (with their permission).

Common Spark Ads Mistakes to Avoid

Even though Spark Ads are simple to launch, there are a few easy missteps that can hurt your results. 

Here’s what to watch out for:

Not Getting Creator Permission

If you’re boosting a video from a creator, you need their official ad code. Without it, you won’t be able to run Spark Ads, or you risk violating platform rules.

Making Videos Too Polished

TikTok users don’t expect slick, commercial-looking videos. Spark Ads work best when they feel native, like someone genuinely sharing something they love. Skip the heavy editing.

Ignoring Mobile Behavior

If your message doesn’t land in the first few seconds or your text is hard to read, people will scroll right past. Keep it quick, clear, and vertical-first.

Top 5 Benefits of TikTok Spark Ads for Brands

1. They Feel Native and Build Trust

Spark Ads appear nearly identical to organic content within a user’s feed, which can make them feel more native and less intrusive. And, because it’s the original video from your profile or a creator’s profile, comments and likes are consistent across the boosted post and the original video.

Users can take actions from the video like they would on an organic post (follow your account, view the audio page, etc.).

2. You Can Boost What’s Already Working

Instead of guessing what content will convert, you can double down on posts that are already getting attention, either from your account or a creator’s. It’s low-risk, high-reward.

3. Creator Content Scales Fast

Spark Ads make it easy to turn influencer or UGC posts into ads. With proper permission, you can use their content in paid campaigns while still driving traffic to your profile or product.

Influencer and UGC content reign on TikTok, as these natural, relatable content types tend to see success on the platform. Because of this, many brands partner with influencers on TikTok to create hauls, reviews, and more. Boosting influencer content with TikTok Spark Ads is a great way to capitalize on viral content.

Blue Wheel’s Social Media Director, Dayna Henninger, provides further insights into how our Organic Social Media and Paid Ads teams leverage TikTok Spark Ads.

Blue Wheel’s Approach

“The Organic Social team utilizes Spark Ads for follower growth campaigns and to increase views and engagement on our clients’ organic posts. We create Community Interaction campaigns where the goal is new followers, and target our clients' demographic with our organic videos. Note that for these campaigns, you have to spark only the brand's videos to increase the brand's following; if you spark an influencer video, it'll add followers to the influencer's account.”

“Our Influencer team negotiates the usage of creators’ ad codes. Once received, these codes are given to our Paid Ads team to be used in their campaigns. The Paid Ads team can insert any destination URL they are trying to drive consumers to so that the ad works for each specific campaign. A major benefit of sparking influencer videos is that users typically trust influencers more than brands. The sparked videos appear to be coming from the influencer's handle, not the brand's, which can lead to better performance.”

4. Better Engagement Signals

Since users can like, comment, follow, and share from the ad itself, Spark Ads often outperform traditional ads in terms of social actions, which helps TikTok’s algorithm push them further.

5. Integrated With TikTok Shop and Lead Gen

If your brand uses TikTok Shop or lead gen forms, Spark Ads can directly drive conversions without users ever leaving the app.

Get Your Copy of “The Ultimate Guide to TikTok Shop” Today!

Best Practices for High-Performing Spark Ads

Use Creator-Driven Content Whenever Possible

TikTok audiences respond best to real people. Partner with creators or influencers whose audience aligns with yours, and use their organic posts for Spark Ads.

Keep the First 3 Seconds Tight

Grab attention quickly. Use strong hooks, expressive faces, movement, or bold text to stop the scroll early.

Test Different Objectives and Audiences

Try campaigns with goals like conversions, video views, or app installs. Test cold vs. warm audiences (especially people who engaged with past content).

Match Your CTA to the Content Style

Make sure the CTA (Shop Now, Learn More, etc.) feels native to the video. A hard sell on a casual creator video can lower performance.

Refresh Creatives Weekly

Even high-performing posts can lose traction. Rotate Spark Ads regularly to avoid ad fatigue or test new ones alongside proven content.

Spark Ads Performance Metrics

Tracking the right data will help you understand your Spark Ads’ performance and know when to scale or adjust your strategy. Here are the key metrics to consider:

View-Through Rate (VTR)

It shows how many people watched your ad without scrolling through. A high VTR typically indicates strong creative and audience relevance.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of users who clicked your call-to-action. CTR helps you assess how compelling the video and CTA are in prompting action.

Scroll Stop Rate (Thumb Stop Rate)

This key metric for Spark Ads indicates the percentage of viewers who stopped scrolling and watched your video for at least 2 seconds. Having a strong hook at the start of your video can enhance the SSR.

Conversion Rate

It shows how many people completed a desired action, like purchasing, signing up, or downloading, after clicking the ad. This is critical for evaluating your campaign’s ROI.

Engagement Rate (Likes, Comments, Shares)

Because Spark Ads retain all the organic interactions from the original post, high engagement often boosts delivery and reduces cost per result.

Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)

A vital metric for any performance-driven campaign. Spark Ads that deliver significantly higher ROAS than standard ads are worth scaling.

Final Thoughts: Are Spark Ads Right for Your Brand?

If you’re already investing in organic TikTok content or working with creators, Spark Ads are a smart next step. They let you amplify what’s already working, maintain authenticity, and drive real results for your brand. Done right, Spark Ads don’t feel like ads.

Need help launching TikTok Spark Ads that convert? Reach out to the team at Blue Wheel. We’ll build a strategy tailored to your brand and goals.