How to choose effective audience targeting in TikTok Ads

In TikTok Ads, choosing the right audience targeting is the decisive factor for campaign success, helping optimize budget and significantly increase conversion rates. Did you know that up to 80% of advertising budget is wasted due to targeting the wrong audience? This is why deep understanding and accurate application of audience targeting not only helps improve ad effectiveness but also creates sustainable competitive advantages for businesses..

From DPS.MEDIA's perspective, a strategic consulting unit for hundreds of SMEs in Vietnam, determining the target audience on TikTok is not simply “choosing age or gender.” It is a sophisticated combination of behavioral data, interests, geography, and even the time users are active, aiming to create the right communication message to the right person, at the right time, and in the right context. Additionally, TikTok provides a range of smart targeting tools such as Lookalike Audiences, Interest Targeting, or Custom Audiences – which SMEs advertisers need to leverage to flexibly expand or narrow the reach according to the specific goals of each campaign. By enhancing personalization in advertising, you not only save costs but also increase brand recognition effectiveness.

Therefore, building a well-planned audience targeting strategy is the foundation that helps you capture hidden potential customer groups on TikTok, avoid “wasting money unnecessarily,” and create sustainable growth momentum through each advertising campaign. An effective campaign starts with accurately selecting the right viewers for the ads, and DPS.MEDIA is always ready to accompany you to provide the most suitable solutions.

Understand the target customer profile on TikTok

Identify behavioral and psychological characteristics of users on TikTok

Capture the target customer profile is not only about understanding age, gender, or geographic location but also requires deep analysis of interests, consumption habits, and how users interact with content on the TikTok platform. For example, according to Nielsen's 2023 research, TikTok users show high interaction levels with short videos containing entertainment or educational elements, especially in the 18-34 age group.

Analyzing how customers respond to each type of content will help advertisers select demographic and psychological factors more accurately, instead of relying only on basic criteria. That is also why at DPS.MEDIA, we apply the "Audience Micro-segmentation" behavioral analysis model to extract more detailed data and optimize conversion rates.

Combine quantitative & qualitative data to select audience targeting

It is not uncommon for businesses running TikTok Ads to fall into the situation targeting too broad or too narrow, leading to budget dispersion or missing potential customer groups. The key to solving this problem lies in using quantitative data from TikTok Analytics combined with in-depth qualitative surveys about user insights.

• Interaction analysis data: Viewing time, interaction frequency, prioritized content types.
• Customer feedback: Understanding needs and concerns through comments and messages.
• Competitor comparison: Observing how competitors build profiles and adjust strategies accordingly.

This not only helps save costs but also increases the ability to reach the right customers, as a recent DPS.MEDIA project supported an organic cosmetics brand to grow revenue by 371% with a CTR (Click Through Rate) increase of over 201% thanks to precise audience targeting strategies.

Analyze user behavior to optimize target audience

Deeply understand behavior to personalize access targets

DPS.MEDIA Always emphasize the importance of analyzing user behavior as a solid foundation to select effective audience targeting on TikTok Ads. Not only stopping at basic metrics like age or gender, exploiting behavioral data from real interactions helps clearly define potential customer groups.

For example, according to research by Journal of Digital Marketing (2023), users who habitually watch health-related videos more in the morning tend to respond positively to wellness product ads aired during this time frame.From there, advertising strategies can focus on "early viewers" to significantly increase conversion rates.

Behavior segmentation techniques and real-time data application

Applying advanced behavioral analysis tools such as heatmaps, tracking pixels, and AI from TikTok helps establish highly personalized audience groups, for example:

• Users interacting with videos longer than 75% duration – indicating deep interest and high purchase potential.
• Customer groups quickly scrolling through content – need more attractive, eye-catching ad content.
• Users interacting with specific topics on TikTok – helps develop suitable content and increase brand touchpoints.

Thanks to real-time data tracking, real-time, DPS.MEDIA's consulting team implemented a case study for a young fashion brand in Vietnam, focusing on customers who usually watch product review videos on weekends. Results showed a 251% ROI increase after only 2 weeks optimizing campaigns based on actual user behavior.

Use TikTok Audience Insights tool to exploit accurate data

Analyze customer segments with real data and updated trends

TikTok Audience Insights is a powerful tool that helps SME advertisers exploit accurate data about user behavior and preferences on this platform. Instead of relying on guesses or data with unclear origins, the data provided by Audience Insights is highly representative, continuously updated in real-time, and optimized for each specific industry.

For example, based on DPS.MEDIA's analysis for a cosmetics industry client, using this data helped identify a female audience group aged 18-24 with an interaction rate 35% higher than other age groups. This helps optimize advertising budgets and significantly increase ROI, instead of evenly distributing or running multiple inefficient campaigns.

Detail customer characteristics through TikTok Audience Insights

DPS.MEDIA notes that combining Audience Insights data with detailed reports from the TikTok Ads Manager platform creates a deep analytical system applicable to many business types. According to industry experts, “Understanding target audiences clearly goes beyond traditional demographic data; it requires deep analysis of real behavior on the platform, helping campaigns become more personalized and effective.”

Combine demographic and interest criteria flexibly

Leverage multidimensional demographic power in TikTok Ads

Demographics Always an important foundation for audience targeting, however, relying solely on age, gender, or geographic area is no longer sufficient to create effective campaigns on TikTok. At this point, DPS.MEDIA it is recommended to combine these criteria with preference data to create a more comprehensive “audience map,” reflecting habits, shopping preferences, and digital consumption behavior of users.

For example, a young fashion brand may target the 18-24 age group in Hanoi, while filtering users interested in streetwear, fashion events, or famous street fashion influencers on TikTok. This approach helps make advertising messages more personalized and increases conversion potential.

Flexible methods in coordinating criteria

Flexible combination of criteria depending on campaign goals will significantly improve advertising performance. DPS.MEDIA has observed that:

• Open combination: Apply demographic criteria as a basic filter, then experiment with diverse preference groups to discover potential segments.
• Tight combination: Once effective target regions are identified, combine multiple detailed criteria such as occupation, shopping behavior, and platform activity time to optimize costs.
• A/B testing: Quickly test different sets of criteria to measure actual ROI and adjust strategies based on quantitative data.

Comparison table of effectiveness from each criteria combination

This method is not only based on DPS.MEDIA's practical experience but is also supported by research from Journal of Advertising Research (2023), showing the potential to increase interaction rates by up to 351% when TikTok ad campaigns flexibly combine demographic and interest criteria. This is especially important for SMEs, whose resources are limited but still want to expand their market effectively and sustainably.

Develop effective remarketing strategies based on real interactions

Understand interactions to optimize remarketing audience groups

Real interactions from customers are not only indicators of interest but also a golden foundation to build effective remarketing strategies. DPS.MEDIA recognizes that not all interactions create equal value, so classifying interaction data by behaviors such as video views, ad clicks, or adding products to cart helps you accurately identify the most potential audience segments.

Applying the model AIDA (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action) in interaction analysis has proven effective; combined with advanced filters in TikTok ads, it helps segment target groups precisely according to each stage of the customer journey.

Remarketing strategy based on diverse interaction levels

We propose identifying 3 main remarketing audience groups corresponding to interaction levels on the platform:

• Initial Reach Group: Users who have watched videos or interacted lightly but have not yet taken purchase actions.
• Strong Interest Group: Users who have deeply interacted such as clicking product links or saving videos but have not completed conversions.
• Potential Conversion Group: Users who have added products to cart or interacted multiple times, ready to be strongly influenced to convert.

This strategy not only helps save advertising budget but also increases conversion rates by personalizing messages based on specific behaviors. DPS.MEDIA once helped an SME fashion brand in Ho Chi Minh City apply layered remarketing and increased conversion rates by 351% after 3 months of testing.

Experiment with diverse audience groups to find the most potential segment

Errors and values of multi-group audience experiments

Diversifying audience groups is a strategy that cannot be ignored when building audience targeting on TikTok Ads. At DPS.MEDIA, we have observed that focusing only on one potential segment can overlook other customer groups with outstanding growth potential. Multi-segment testing allows businesses to clearly identify which segment delivers the highest conversion rate and the most reasonable cost.

Method table A/B test combined with demographic factors, interests, and user behaviors, the testing process saves more time and budget than guesswork. According to Harvard Business Review research, campaigns optimized by diversifying audience groups increase conversion efficiency by 151%-251% while reducing interaction cost per click by 201%.

Case study: SME retail group renews audience to increase ROI rate

An SME consumer goods client of DPS.MEDIA tested 5 different audience groups in a TikTok Ads campaign: from age, region to online shopping preferences. Results showed that the female group aged 25-34 who liked beauty content had a 301% increase in interaction rate and doubled ROI compared to the previous general targeting period.

This strongly confirms the importance of not hesitating to test multiple segments simultaneously. Otherwise, you may miss out on high-value customer segments even if initially they are not clearly defined choices.

Continuously monitor and adjust based on campaign performance

The importance of continuous campaign metric monitoring

The monitor and adjust campaigns do not just stop at the initial audience targeting selection step but also need to be maintained throughout the advertising process on TikTok. According to DPS.MEDIA's consulting experience with many SMEs, understanding key metrics such as CTR (click-through rate), CPA (cost per action), or ROAS (return on ad spend) helps quickly identify the most effective target groups, while simultaneously eliminating or adjusting less effective segments.

Priority steps in optimizing audience targeting

• Real data analysis: Regularly exploit advertising reports to identify user behavior, interaction times, and conversion metrics.
• Conduct A/B testing: Compare different audience groups to find the target audience that brings the best results in terms of cost and conversion rate..
• Adjust according to market trends: Effective target groups today may not necessarily be suitable in the future, so updating to target groups that match changes in TikTok users' preferences and behaviors is essential.

Practical example from DPS.MEDIA case study

In a recent project supporting a clean food brand, DPS.MEDIA continuously monitored and adjusted audience targets to optimize performance. Initially, ads targeted the 25-34 age group in major cities, but after 2 weeks, data showed that the 18-24 group and suburban provinces brought natural interaction volume and significantly lower conversion costs. Results after adjustment:

Thus, continuous optimization helps campaigns not only save budget but also improve advertising effectiveness, clearly demonstrating the power of closely monitoring and flexibly adjusting audience targeting in TikTok's dynamic advertising environment.

Final Thoughts

Optimizing audience targeting in TikTok Ads is not just about selecting the right people to convey messages, but also a deep understanding of behaviors, preferences, and motivations of target customer segments. As DPS.MEDIA shared, an effective targeting strategy requires a balance between data, creative thinking, and practical experimentation through each campaign.

We encourage you to start by experimenting with different audience groups, from custom audiences, lookalikes to broad and narrow interest groups. Don't hesitate to use TikTok's analytics tools to measure effectiveness and adjust strategies promptly. Let data lead and market insights inspire.

If you want to explore more potential of TikTok Ads, learn about A/B testing in advertising, building conversion funnels, or smart retargeting combinations to optimize budgets. These advanced strategy layers become increasingly necessary as your business scales or diversifies products.

With experience supporting many SMEs in Vietnam, DPS.MEDIA understands that each brand has its own voice and community that must be reached at the right time and in the right way. We are always ready to accompany you to turn data into results in every campaign. Have you tried building audience targeting for TikTok Ads yet? Share your experiences or questions in the comments below – DPS.MEDIA looks forward to exchanging and developing new perspectives with you!