TikTok’s Top 10 Advertisers Have Spent More Than $126 Million So Far in 2022

TikTok’s users aren’t the only ones singing DJ Khaled and Migos’ “major bag alert” in 2022. Since TikTok introduced TikTok for Business, advertisers have been investing massively in the platform that has quickly become a household favorite among Gen Z users. To that point, Pathmatics data shows that the top 10 advertisers on TikTok have spent more than $126 million on the platform between January 1 and May 1, garnering over 12.6 billion impressions. Let’s dive into the top advertisers on TikTok by ad spend and how they are building engaging ad content on the app to target their audiences.

TikTok Advertisers by the Numbers

Pathmatics Explorer reveals that between January 1 and May 1, Amazon.com was the top advertiser on TikTok in the United States. The e-commerce company invested more than $22.5 million on the social media channel—190 percent more than it spent on Twitter in the same period of time—and garnered around 2.3 billion impressions for its creatives. HBO came in second, spending nearly $19 million on ads with more than 1.9 billion impressions primarily for its streaming service, HBO Max. Some companies prioritized TikTok as an ad channel, perhaps hoping to reach a younger demographic of users. Cerebral, a teletherapy and medication management company, focused most of its ad spend on TikTok (approximately $13.3 million) and Instagram (approximately $4.7 million) rather than other social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter. The company’s ads had more than 1.3 billion impressions on TikTok and 581 million impressions on Instagram between January 1 and May 1.

Advertisers in the Food & Drink Services category such as HelloFresh and McDonald’s appeared in the top 10 as well, collectively spending around $21.6 million on TikTok. Three food prep companies in the top 40 advertisers on TikTok such as HelloFresh, Every Plate, and Factor 75 have capitalized on the fact that 35 percent of users say TikTok is a source for learning something new by releasing cooking tutorial creatives.

Advertisers Focus on Personalized, Engaging Content

While TikTok is a fairly new social media platform compared to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, advertisers are now implementing the channel in their marketing mix. However, TikTok requires a different approach. A typical feed on the platform showcases a variety of trending challenges, hashtags, and audio, encouraging brands and advertisers to build communities and content that follow suit.

Brands like Cerebral have tapped into trending audio, such as Nicky Youre’s “Sunroof,'' and created a video showcasing the before and after benefits of using Cerebral for medication and therapy.

In the coming months, we’ll keep an ear to the ground—or our phones rather—to see how advertisers have been spending and engaging with audiences on TikTok. We are excited to share the upcoming release of TikTok spend and impression insights for the U.S., which will be available starting on May 17.