TikTok ads in Serbia: why the click is cheaper than on Instagram

The first thing everyone notices when moving from Meta to TikTok is the price. The same budget buys noticeably more impressions. It is easy to draw the wrong conclusion from that: that TikTok is the cheaper channel.

The reach is cheaper. The customer does not have to be.

Why reach is cheap

Impression pricing follows supply and demand for attention. People spend a lot of time on TikTok and watch a lot of videos, so the platform has plenty of ad space. There are still fewer advertisers than on Meta, especially local ones. More space and fewer buyers means a lower price.

That is an advantage only if your product has something to show on video. If it does not, you are buying cheap views from people who did not come to buy.

When TikTok makes sense

• The product is visible and understood within three seconds, with no explaining
• The result is visual: before and after, a transformation, the thing in use
• The audience is under forty
• You have someone who can film regularly, or the budget to have it filmed
• The sale does not require long deliberation or comparing quotes

When the budget belongs on Google

If someone is already searching for what you sell, search is a cheaper route to them than any video. TikTok creates want in people who were not considering a purchase; Google catches people who have already decided. On a limited budget, the second usually comes before the first.

What has to be in place before the first campaign

• The TikTok Pixel on the site, tested before the campaign starts
• Events that measure an enquiry or a purchase, not just a page visit
• At least three video versions, so you can see which message works
• A first frame that works with the sound off, because many people watch muted
• A landing page that loads fast on mobile data

Without measurement you know nothing except the view count, and view counts do not pay invoices.