How to run TikTok ads in Ukraine

INTRODUCTION

In 2024, Gradus Research reported that video entertainment had surpassed news in popularity among Ukrainians for the first time. TikTok occupied the ideal position here: its “For You” feed became a space where people could discover not only jokes and memes, but also new brands, services, and products.

And on April 23, 2025, TikTok officially brought advertising tools back to Ukraine. This means that businesses can once again launch campaigns from Ukrainian legal entities, work with VAT, and do everything legally and transparently. But there is a caveat: TikTok immediately imposed strict rules: no tobacco, weapons, or gambling.

Why businesses should use TikTok Ads

1. Reach. 17 million adult users means the opportunity to speak to almost half the country at once.
2. Time spent in the app. On average, TikTok keeps people engaged for about 35 hours per month. This is real time that users spend in the app, open to new content.
3. Algorithms. “For You” ranks videos not by the number of friends or followers, but by interests. This allows brands to reach people who were previously unaware of their existence.
4. ROI in the region. In Poland, TikTok has proven that it can deliver +58% efficiency for FMCG and +48% for retail compared to the average media mix. This is a significant figure for Central Europe, and Ukraine is no exception.
5. Native formats. Spark Ads allow you to scale live content (organic posts from brands or creators). People see ads in the form of videos with likes and comments, which builds trust in the brand.
6. Technical base. Pixel and Events API allow you to accurately track conversions, even if browsers or cookies decide to “play tricks.”
7. Transparency and regulations. TikTok is under the watchful eye of the EU, especially after scandals involving advertising transparency. For Ukrainian businesses going cross-border, it is important to take these nuances into account in order to avoid fines or blocking.

What you need to start advertising on TikTok

For advertising to work, it is important to set up the basics correctly: from your account to your payment details. So, let’s take a look at what you need to do before you get started.

TikTok Business Account

Creating a business account is not mandatory — you can run ads from a regular profile. But a business account opens up additional opportunities: advanced analytics, a link in your bio, access to legal music for advertising, and more convenient management through the Business Center. Therefore, if you want to work seriously with TikTok, it is better to switch to a business profile right away. Also, if you plan to promote your organic posts through Spark Ads, you cannot do without a business account (or permission to use someone else’s content).

How to activate a business account:

• In the app: go to your profile → menu → Settings and privacy → Account → Switch to Business Account, then select the category that corresponds to your business.
• On the web: open your profile on tiktok.com and find the Business Account option in the settings.

TikTok Ads Manager

This is the main tool for launching campaigns. It’s easy to set up: go to ads.tiktok.com, click “Create an Ad,” and enter your details.

What you need to select correctly from the outset:

• Country/Region: Ukraine
• Time zone: Europe/Kyiv
• Currency: UAH (hryvnia)

These settings cannot be changed later, so it is important to specify them correctly right away. After creation, the account undergoes verification (this usually takes less than a day).

If you work in a team or through an digital marketing agency, it is worth connecting to the Business Center right away. There you can assign roles, grant access to accounts and pixels, and add catalogs or payment managers.

Card linking, payment, and data confirmation

TikTok offers several payment methods, but only two are officially available in Ukraine:

• Manual (Pre-pay) in hryvnia — you top up your balance in advance and spend these funds on advertising.
• Monthly Invoicing in hryvnia — monthly billing, available for businesses with larger budgets.

How Manual (Pre-pay) works: you top up your balance with a card or bank transfer, and funds are debited from it when ads are shown. If the balance runs out, the ads stop automatically.

Card linking:

• You can do this in the Finance → Add payment method tab.
• TikTok may charge a test payment of about $10 (or the equivalent in hryvnia). This money will be refunded within 15 days.

What they check:

• Billing address,
• 3-D Secure,
• Card limits.

Business or personal verification

TikTok may request verification to ensure that you are a legitimate advertiser.

For businesses, you will need to provide:

• company registration documents (extract or certificate),
• tax ID number (if applicable),
• utility bill or bank statement to verify your address (not always required)

Individuals need a passport, ID card, or driver’s license in good quality (scan or photo).

All documents are uploaded directly to Ads Manager in the Account setup → Verify now section. If the documents are blurry or the data does not match, the process will freeze. So it’s better to check before uploading than to get nervous later.

Ad formats on TikTok

In-Feed Ads

This is the basic format that almost everyone starts with. Essentially, it is a native video in the For You feed with full buttons, comments, and a clickable call to action. It looks organic and does not annoy the user, so it easily blends into the usual viewing experience.

Here you can launch remarketing, test creatives, and scale a successful idea. And if you combine this format with TopView, you can get almost twice as many purchase intentions.

Technical specifications:

• Frame rate 9:16, minimum 540×960. Acceptable formats: 1:1 and 16:9.
• Duration up to 10 minutes, optimally 9-15 seconds.
• Up to 500 MB. Formats: .mp4, .mov, .mpeg, .3gp, .avi.

TopView

TopView is a format for high-profile launches. When you open the app, the first thing you see is a full-screen branded video with sound enabled. It’s impossible to miss: it’s the first thing you see and it’s highly visible.

TopView is appropriate when you have a product launch, a big sale, or need to go prime time with something big. It works as an “alarm signal” to grab the user’s attention, after which you can pick up the audience with cheaper In-Feed ads.

Please note: in Ukraine, this format can only be purchased through reservation, so you need to plan ahead and coordinate with a TikTok representative or official partner.

Branded Hashtag Challenge

This format generates a wave of UGC around a brand. People shoot videos themselves under an official hashtag, often using a specified sound or effect. The result is a snowball effect: the community picks up on the idea and creates content en masse.

Branded Hashtag Challenge works well where the product needs to be not just shown, but “tried in action”: cosmetics, clothing, food, sports, etc. The essence is in simple and understandable mechanics that encourage people to shoot their own videos: a gesture, a change of image, or an AR effect. Such campaigns are expensive, but the return on them is usually huge.

Spark Ads

This is the favorite tool of brands that already have strong content. The idea is simple: we don’t create “artificial” ads, but highlight organic posts. You can promote your own videos or take content from a creator with their consent. All social signals remain on the original video: likes, comments, and subscriptions work for it.

Spark is especially useful when there is a video with high retention and views. It allows you to scale social proof and creates the effect of real content, not an advertising insert. There is a simple scheme for collaborations with creators: they upload the video to organic, generate an authorization code, and we add this video to our campaign.

Branded Effects

These are branded AR filters, masks, or 3D effects that users apply to their own videos, thereby creating a wave of interactive content. Effects are often combined with Hashtag Challenges to make participation even easier and more fun.

Branded Effects are appropriate when you want to give people the opportunity to literally “touch” the product on camera. This could be virtual makeup, new sneakers, or even game mechanics. But again, the format is reservation-based, so planning and coordination with TikTok is a must.

Step-by-step instructions for launching an ad

Now, here is a detailed guide on how to launch advertising, with nuances and tips that will really save you time and money.

1. Register with TikTok Ads Manager

1. Create an advertiser account, specify your country, time zone, currency, business name, contact details, and payment information.
2. TikTok will verify your documents (within 24 hours).
3. If you have a team or are an agency, it is better to create a Business Center right away (to add accounts, pixels, and work with clients).
4. Top up your balance in hryvnia in Manual Pay and spend until the money runs out.

Tip: Plan your top-ups with a reserve, because TikTok likes to suddenly “freeze” campaigns if the balance drops to zero at peak times.

2. Setting campaign goals

TikTok offers several options:

• Awareness / Reach / Video Views — increases reach and brand awareness.
• Traffic — drives people to your website.
• Leads — form submissions directly in TikTok.
• Sales / Website Conversions — optimization for purchases or actions on the website via Pixel or Events API.
• App Promotion — app installs with the ability to optimize for specific in-app actions.

Secret: if you work with apps, integrate MMP/SDK and configure optimization for events within the app. TikTok has a separate guide for this, and it really helps reduce the cost of installation.

3. Audience settings: geography, interests, demographics

In TikTok, the audience is set at the Ad Group level. Here, it is important to immediately determine who exactly you want to see your ad:

• Location — you can show ads by country, region, or even a specific city (this feature works in Ukraine).
• Demographics (age, gender, language). There are restrictions for some niches, for example, for 18+ categories.
• Interests. TikTok tracks user behavior and allows you to target long-term interests.
• Custom Audiences — this is your gold mine (customer lists, website visitors, people who have already interacted with your account).
• Lookalike helps you find users similar to your existing audience.

Helpful tip: test several audiences at once. For example, one based on interests, another on Lookalike, and a third based solely on geography, to understand which one works best and avoid wasting your budget.

4. Setting a budget and schedule

Money is spent quickly on TikTok, so it’s important to understand how the budget and bidding system works right away.

The minimum thresholds are as follows:

• At the Campaign level — from $50 per day;
• At the Ad Group level — from $20 per day;
• If you set a Lifetime budget, it is calculated as follows: $20 × number of days of display.

Budget types:

• Daily — a daily limit, the system spends money evenly throughout the day;
• Lifetime — you set an amount for the entire period, and TikTok distributes it itself (sometimes throwing in more on days with better results).

Schedule: you can set the start and end dates for your campaign. There is also a dayparting feature, which allows you to show your ads only at specific times or on specific days of the week.

For example, if you deliver sushi, there is no point in running ads in the morning; it is better to turn them on in the evening.

Delivery type:

• Standard — the budget is spent more evenly;
• Accelerated — TikTok starts to “burn” money faster, suitable for short promotions or limited offers.

Bidding strategies:

• Maximum Delivery — the best option for tests and initial launches, when you get maximum results within your budget.
• Cost Cap — the system tries to keep the cost per conversion closer to the target, but on the condition that the budget is ten times greater than the target CPA (otherwise, the campaign may simply not launch).

Practical advice: start with Maximum Delivery to collect statistics and understand your actual cost per action. Only then should you switch to Cost Cap, once you have a clear understanding of your average CPA.

5. Creating creatives

The best format for TikTok is vertical 9:16, with a duration of about 10-15 seconds and simple text of up to four lines. The main thing is to hook the viewer in the first three seconds, create subtitles, and add a clear call to action: “Buy,” “Order,” or “Learn more.” And always test several versions, because even a small change in the first sentence can increase your CTR.

6. Launch and moderation

Advertisements are usually reviewed within 24 hours. The status can be “In review,” “Approved,” or “Rejected.” Advertisements may be rejected due to policy violations, third-party content, incorrect website, or prohibited topics. But if something goes wrong, you can file an appeal with arguments and evidence.

Practical tip: don’t leave everything to the last minute. If you plan to launch on Friday morning, submit your ad for moderation on Thursday.

Common mistakes and what to consider

Many people launch advertising campaigns “on a whim” and end up with negative results… So let’s take a look at the four most common mistakes to avoid.

1. Advertising without a clear message

It’s simple: if the user doesn’t understand what you’re offering them, you’ve just funded TikTok, not your own business.

According to TikTok For Business, 90% of the impact on ad memorability occurs in the first 6 seconds.

In other words, your “hook” should grab attention from the very first seconds, without long introductions: immediately explain what the product is, what benefits it offers, and what the person should do next.

A subtle detail: adding text overlays increases recall by 58% and likes by 31%. But the pace is important here — 5-10 words per second (if you write an “epic,” the user will just swipe on.

So, the working formula is: Hook → essence → CTA. Show the product in the frame from the very beginning — this increases brand likability by +65%. And keep the timing within 21-34 seconds.

2. Creatives without considering the TikTok format

TikTok is a vertical world with a “vibrant vibe,” but it is structured and has a well-thought-out message.

According to statistics, TikTok-first videos attract the attention of 74% of users and generate 3.3 times more actions than universal videos.

What is important:

• Format — 9:16;
• Quality — minimum 720p;
• Sound is mandatory;
• Use trends, filters, titles, voice-overs, and green screens.

3. Too narrow audience

Targeting only those who are 100% likely to buy seems logical. But on TikTok, the opposite is true: too narrow targeting makes advertising too expensive.

According to statistics, broader audiences yield a 15% lower CPA and 20% more conversions.

The algorithm needs space to learn: it achieves stable results after approximately 25 events or 7 days. Therefore, if you immediately narrow down your audience, the system will not be able to optimize impressions properly.

4. Lack of testing

On TikTok, creatives burn out quickly, and without testing, advertising drains your budget. Therefore, prepare several options at once (3-5 different videos per ad group) and give yourself at least a week to get honest statistics.

Test different approaches: change the first few seconds, the style of presentation (UGC or studio shooting), the offer, the call to action, the first frame, etc. (you can check all this in Split testing in Ads Manager).

And prepare new videos in advance. “Creative fatigue” is when metrics drop not because of the product, but because the video has become stale, so as soon as you see a decline, change the creative.

Why you should entrust your ad campaign to an agency

TikTok Ads is a complex kitchen where you can easily “burn” your budget if you cook without a recipe. It is safer and more profitable to entrust the launch of advertising to an agency, and here’s why.

First, it saves money and time. Everything on TikTok is built on a learning phase: if you drastically change your budget or targeting, the system starts learning all over again. This means that impressions become chaotic and money is wasted.

The agency takes care of all the technical details:

• ensures that changes to the campaign do not reset the algorithm;
• sets the correct attribution settings (for example, counting the result within 7 days after a click or 1 day after a view) so that the numbers truly reflect effectiveness;
• knows that data from the first 5 days in Search Ads cannot be taken seriously because the system is still “looking”;
• understands which payment type is right for you: manual top-up, auto-debit, or business invoices.

As a result, you immediately see accurate figures and don’t have to worry about “leaked” budgets.

Secondly, it is adaptation to TikTok trends and algorithms. In TikTok, it is important to make videos tailored specifically for this platform.

• The first 2 seconds determine whether a person will continue watching.
• Within 6 seconds, 90% of memorability is already formed.

Agencies know these rules, constantly monitor new trends and formats, and immediately build creativity in such a way as to hook the viewer from the first frame.

Thirdly, it is A/B testing, optimization, and analytics. The agency works clearly:

• it tests campaigns for at least a week,
• changes one parameter at a time to understand what worked,
• gives the algorithm time to learn calmly,
• uses analytics that show real effectiveness.

And instead of “pretty numbers” in the report, you get a clear picture of what works and what doesn’t.

And fourthly, the agency creates content according to TikTok’s proven rules:

• it adheres to Creative Codes (correct structure, sound, trends),
• uses Spark Ads: advertises ready-made videos from creators that look “authentic”,
• regularly updates videos so that they don’t become stale.

As a result, the advertising becomes similar to the content that people really want to watch, and that’s why it works.

Instead of a conclusion

So, TikTok is one of the strongest growth points for business today: here you can quickly build recognition, capture the attention of a new audience, and get real sales if you work smart and systematically.

Do you want your TikTok ads to not just run, but have a tangible effect? At Comon Agency, we will help you set everything up so that your brand is seen by those who are ready to take action.

Submit your application, and together we will make your TikTok about a successful business, not random expenses.