How to save budget testing new content

Here's a simple trick to radically optimise your testing budgets...

We’re in the midst of a recession. TikTok Advertisers have to make a lot of tough decisions, because every penny is a prisoner. This is compounded by the impact SKaN has had on our industry, and many are rightly worried that reduced testing budgets may cause them to fall short of the Privacy Thresholds. 

Failing to reach these thresholds (of approximately 100 installs per day per campaign) blocks you from understanding post-install performance, making it near impossible to effectively optimise towards those vital CPA actions on TikTok.

We can’t avoid SKaN’s parameters and limitations, but we can learn how to extract maximum value from the available options. Since the advent of SKaN - here at Yoke Network - we have been testing and iterating on a wide variety of loopholes, exploits, and tactics to remain ahead of the competition. 

My favourite breakthrough was discovering how we could test content in a more cost-effective manner.

It all starts with a deceivingly simple and common setup, using TikTok’s maximum available allowance of 2 Ad Groups per Campaign. Ad Group A is our dedicated testing ground, with Ad Group B reserved for only the proven best performers. For the below example we are testing on a live campaign, with Ad Group B starting with three of our previously best performing content.

Privacy Thresholds are set at the campaign level, so this technique allows us to push the majority of spend through best performers. This allows a proportionally smaller testing budget to access vital CPA data. As content in Ad Group A reaches its allocated test budget we manually pause it. Only the best performers are upgraded to join Ad Group B, and this allows us to drastically decrease the minimum spend required to pass both Privacy and Optimisation Threshold. Reducing testing wastage during a time when every cent spent is under the microscope.

If you are looking to test different audience segments, we advise that you run them as separate TikTok Campaigns and ensure they don’t include any overlapping audiences. When multiple Ad Groups are aimed at the same audience, you are likely bidding against yourself and driving up the costs. It also allows you to more effectively attribute performance to specific demographics in a way that isn’t available with wider targeting.

For a more comprehensive structure on how to develop a long term user acquisition strategy, I discussed this last week in the blog SKAN Campaign Strategies On TikTok. 

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be revealing more behind-the-scenes knowledge, strategies, tactics, and observations as TikTok’s most successful App Marketing Network. Tricks that have allowed us to remain profitable and growing at a time when our competitors are downsizing and folding.

Subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter to be one of the first to receive our upcoming article, covering:

• Q5 Campaign Strategies and Caveats 
• Creative Fatigue no, it’s creator fatigue!
• How to find your Audience on TikTok
• Users want Benefits not Product Features
• And many more (but feel free to message us with your own suggestions)!

It takes a lot of years, blood, sweat, and tears, to become a true content specialist, and not everyone has the time, desire, or skills needed to succeed.

If you would like to leverage our network of 4,000+ creators and your own dedicated team of User Acquisition specialists, then please schedule a meeting today to discover more.

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