How to unlock performance with data connections

Data connections are essential to delivering high-performing ads. They open up a more holistic view into your customer journey and allow you to optimize your campaigns so that the right ads reach the right users.

What are data connections and why do they matter?

Data connections are the secure links that connect your brand's marketing data with TikTok Ads Manager. The signals received through these connections allow our systems to learn from the actions that people take on your website or app. This not only gives you a clearer view into campaign effectiveness, but also enables TikTok Ads Manager to better determine when and where to serve your ads, maximizing the chances of a conversion.

When you connect your data in TikTok Ads Manager, you gain access to:

• Improved measurement: Easily measure campaign performance and return on ad spend (ROAS), with insights combining the customer journey and the user experience on TikTok.

• Advanced solutions: Unlock more sophisticated solutions like Video Shopping Ads, Value-Based Optimization, and Smart Performance Campaign, which are dynamically powered by connected data to optimize your ads for specific actions and outcomes.

• Audience customization: Data connections allow you to create custom audiences based on actions users have taken, re-engage previous visitors, and build lookalike audiences. This allows TikTok Ads Manager to deliver ads that resonate with people who are more likely to convert.

TikTok was built in a privacy-first world, so our solutions were all created with safety and privacy at their core. In accordance with industry standards, all matchkeys shared with TikTok are securely encrypted prior to transmission. Before establishing a data connection with TikTok, we also require that you obtain consent from users, and let them know exactly what kind of data is collected and how it will be used.

TikTok Pixel and Events API

There are two main ways to connect your data in TikTok Ads Manager: using the TikTok Pixel and Events API. To strengthen the reliability of your data and boost performance, we recommend using both together. On average, advertisers using both TikTok Pixel and Events API see 19% more events captured and a 15% improvement in cost per action (CPA).¹

• TikTok Pixel is an industry-standard solution: a piece of code added to your website to safely and seamlessly share event and optimization data. It allows easy or automatic setup, requires minimal maintenance, and has options to customize event codes.

• Events API is a server-to-server (S2S) integration that allows you to connect web, app, and offline visitor events. Through server-side integration with TikTok, it provides a more reliable connection to your website, app, server, or CRM. It also allows more granular customization of what you share. Events API is a future-proof solution that will ensure your data connections remain secure and reliable in a cookieless world.

Setting up data connections

There are four core elements to data connection setup.

Connection type refers to the way of integrating your data, either through TikTok Pixel, Events API, or both. In addition to building direct integrations with these platforms, you also have the option to connect through a third-party partner that you work with. See our list of commerce partners and data partners for more information.

Events refer to the actions that people take on your website, such as viewing a product or adding to cart.

Parameters are contextual information related to the event which enables dynamic ad delivery — for example, indicating which specific product was added to cart.

Match keys are identifiers that help you tie events to users who engaged with ads. Our Advanced Matching tool enables you to better match customer events from your website with people on TikTok.

How to implement Advanced Matching

Manual Advanced Matching requires installing code on your website (unless using a partner-integrated pixel). This takes some technical know-how. You can customize how information is shared.

Automatic Advanced Matching does not require coding and can be turned on and off through your pixel settings. We recommend one-click activation in TikTok Events Manager for advertisers without technical resources. With this setting, information sharing is automatically managed by TikTok code.

Best practices for web and commerce campaigns

• Use both TikTok Pixel and Events API together to allow seamless integration between our platform and your systems.

• Create an event for each action a customer takes on your website, and enable event optimization. Share full-funnel events including view content, add to cart, initiate checkout, and complete payment.

• Enable the right parameters to best understand your campaign outcomes. Key parameters for web and commerce include value, currency, content_id, content_type, external_id, and event_id (for deduplication)

• Enrich your data connections with Advanced Matching; use both manual and automatic matching for Pixel, and Manual for Events API.

• We recommend an attribution window of at least 7 days for click-through attribution, and 1 day for view-through attribution

To learn more, read our article about data connections for e-commerce.

Best practices for app campaigns

• Use Events API, and work with a TikTok-approved mobile measurement partner (MMP) for the optimal setup.

• Share events relating to app activity, such as download, registration, subscription, and in-app purchase. For best results, post back full-funnel attributed data and unattributed opt-in data. You can map these events to TikTok's standard events within the MMP's dashboard.

• Post back parameters related to value, currency, content_id, content_type, event_id

To learn more, read about app campaign measurement and our dedicated iOS 14+ solution.

Ready to supercharge your conversions?

With your data connections set up, it's time to start building a performance marketing strategy that is fueled by actions your customers take and optimizes towards the outcomes that matter for your business. Follow our recommended campaign frameworks to activate the right mix of TikTok solutions for specific goals and types of conversions.

1. Source: TikTok Web Events API Incremental Performance Benefit Analysis, Nov 2022 - Feb 2023