To run a TikTok Spark Ad from a post that is already on your account, link that TikTok account to TikTok Ads Manager, create an ad, turn on "Use TikTok account to deliver Spark Ads" in the ad's Identity section, and pick the post — no code needed. To promote a creator's post instead, the creator turns on ad authorization in the TikTok app and sends you a code, which you add in Ads Manager. Adstudio runs a Spark ad from a post on your TikTok account straight from a chat: you name the post, the objective and the budget, approve the card, and it builds the campaign for you.
TL;DR
- A Spark Ad is a paid boost of a real TikTok post. Likes, comments, shares and follows it earns stay on the original post, per TikTok's About Spark Ads page.
- Your own posts need a linked account, not a code. Link the TikTok account in Business Center or Ads Manager, then select posts directly (Spark Ads creation guide).
- Creators' posts need an authorization code that runs for 7, 30, 60 or 365 days and has to outlast your ad's end date.
- Custom Identity is being phased out. TikTok says new campaigns must be linked to a TikTok account from January 2026 (How to link TikTok account), so every new campaign needs a real account anyway.
- "Post not available" almost always means an expired or deleted code, a private post, or authorization that ends before the ad does.
What are TikTok Spark Ads?
Spark Ads are TikTok's native ad format: instead of uploading a video that only exists as an ad, you promote a post that lives on a real TikTok account. TikTok's About Spark Ads page says the views, comments, shares, likes and follows a post gains while it is promoted are attributed to that organic post, and that running it as an ad does not reduce the views the post gets organically.
The ad behaves like the post. People can like, comment and share it, and swiping left or tapping the handle or profile picture opens the account's profile. The call-to-action button and the caption are what send people to your landing page, per TikTok's CTA placement page.
There are two ways to get a post into a Spark Ad:
| Route | Whose post | What you need | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linked account (pull or push) | Your brand's own TikTok account | The account linked to Ads Manager or Business Center | Boosting your own posts, or publishing a new video as a post and an ad at once |
| Authorization code | A creator's or another account's post | A code the post owner generates in the TikTok app | Creator and UGC partnerships |
How do I run a Spark Ad from a post on my own TikTok account?
This is the fastest route, and the one most brands should set up first.
1. Link your TikTok account to Ads Manager
TikTok's help pages describe two ways to link, in How to link TikTok account:
- Through Business Center (recommended for teams and agencies). Add the TikTok account as an asset, request ad delivery permission, and give your ad account access. TikTok's ad delivery permissions page covers the request.
- Directly in Ads Manager. Quicker, but TikTok notes that an account linked this way is only available to the person who linked it and can't be shared with teammates or an agency.
If several people manage the account, use Business Center. A directly linked account that belongs to one person is the classic reason a colleague "can't see the posts".
2. Create the campaign and ad group as usual
Pick the objective and set up the ad group as you normally would. TikTok's About Spark Ads page lists the auction objectives that support Spark Ads, including Reach, Traffic, Video views, Community interaction, Lead generation, App promotion and Sales.
3. Turn on Spark Ads in the ad's Identity section
At the ad level, turn on Use TikTok account to deliver Spark Ads and select your linked account. Then choose the content:
- Pull an existing post. Under + TikTok post, pick one or more posts from the account. With a linked account, TikTok's creation guide says no video code is needed.
- Push a new video. Upload or create a video in Ads Manager and publish it under the linked account. TikTok says a pushed video is published to the account in private mode once it passes ad review; you can make it public in the TikTok app later. If you don't want it on the profile grid at all, TikTok's Show through ads only setting keeps it off the profile, and it is available for pushed Spark Ads only (ads only mode).
4. Add the button and destination
Set the call to action and the landing page URL. The destination link for a Spark Ad has to be set in TikTok Ads Manager and, per TikTok's Destination Links page, can't be added to a Spark Ad after it already exists. Decide the URL before you publish. Add URL parameters at the same time so the traffic is labelled when it reaches GA4.
5. Submit for review
Spark Ads go through the same ad review as any TikTok ad. TikTok's Ad Review FAQ says most ads are reviewed within 24 hours, so submit launch-day ads a day early.
How do I get a Spark Ads code from a creator?
When the post belongs to someone else, such as a creator you've partnered with, the creator has to authorize it. TikTok's code error page and creation guide describe the flow:
- The creator turns on ad authorization. In the TikTok app: Settings and privacy → Creator tools → Ad settings, and turn the toggle on.
- The creator generates a code for the post. They open the post, choose ad settings, turn on ad authorization, pick a period of 7, 30, 60 or 365 days and copy the code.
- You add the code in Ads Manager. In Tools → Creative library → Spark Ads posts, choose Apply for authorization and paste the code. TikTok supports authorizing up to 20 codes in one batch.
- You pick the post in the ad. In the Identity section, choose to use another authorized account or post, and select it.
Two details save a lot of back-and-forth:
- Match the authorization period to the flight. TikTok refuses a Spark Ad whose authorization ends before the ad's end date, and an authorization can only be extended before the code expires. For an always-on campaign, ask for 365 days up front.
- Duets and Stitches need two codes. A post that involves two creators needs a code from each, entered in the order TikTok asks for.
Why is my Spark Ad code or post not available?
TikTok lists the causes on its Spark Ads code error notifications page. The common ones:
| What you see | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Authorization expired | The code's 7/30/60/365-day window has passed | Ask the creator for a new code |
| Code not found | The creator deleted the code | Ask for a new code |
| Incorrect code | The code doesn't match a post that can be sparked | Check you copied the right code |
| Authorization ends before the ad | The code expires before your ad's end date | Ask the creator to extend before it expires, or shorten the flight |
| Post isn't public | The post is private or friends-only | Ask the owner to make it public |
| Post unavailable or removed | The post was deleted or taken down for a guideline violation | Choose another post |
Two more rules from TikTok's About Spark Ads page: a post longer than 10 minutes can't be sparked, and a post being used as a Spark Ad has to be un-authorized before it can be deleted from the account.
If the code is fine but the ad still isn't delivering, the cause is usually budget, bid or review, not the post; work through why are my TikTok ads not spending.
Spark Ads vs regular in-feed ads: which should I use?
| Spark Ads | Regular in-feed ads | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the video lives | A post on a real TikTok account | Only inside Ads Manager |
| Likes, comments, follows | Stay on the organic post | Not attributed to an organic post |
| Swipe left / tap handle | Opens the account's profile | Counted as a paid click |
| Paid clicks counted | CTA button and caption only | CTA, caption, nickname, profile picture and swipe left |
| Needs a TikTok account | Yes | Yes for campaigns on the TikTok placement, after the Custom Identity phase-out |
The click definitions come from TikTok's About Spark Ads page. They matter when you compare the two: a Spark Ad's click-through rate counts fewer kinds of taps, so a lower CTR is not automatically a worse ad. Compare on cost per result and on the conversions your pixel records instead.
Our opinion: with Custom Identity going away on the TikTok placement, default to Spark Ads and keep a library of posts you are willing to promote. The real decision is no longer Spark vs non-Spark, but which posts to put money behind. Start with posts that already earned above-average organic engagement for the account, and give each new Spark ad group enough budget to clear learning; see how long the learning phase lasts on Google, Meta and TikTok.
How do I see what my Spark Ads did for the post and the account?
Because engagement stays on the post, TikTok reports Spark Ads with paid engagement metrics alongside the usual delivery metrics. TikTok's reporting metrics glossary defines paid profile visits as profile visits the ad drove during the campaign, and counts paid followers, likes, comments and shares within one day of someone seeing the ad. Organic engagement on the same post keeps accruing in the TikTok app's own analytics.
For website results, the attribution glossary is explicit: you need the TikTok Pixel installed on the site, and an app needs an Events Manager app connected to a measurement partner. If you want followers rather than site traffic, the Community interaction objective optimizes for follows or profile visits directly.
How do I run Spark Ads with Adstudio?
Adstudio connects to your TikTok ad accounts, and to Google Ads and Meta if you run them, so a Spark Ad becomes one request instead of a walk through four Ads Manager screens:
- "Run this post from our TikTok account as a Spark ad on Traffic, 50 a day, to our sale page." Adstudio runs the Spark ad from the post on your TikTok account, with the button, landing page and URL parameters you name, and the account pixel as tracking.
- Approve before anything is created. Adstudio shows the full plan on a card first: campaign, ad group, audience, budget, schedule and the ad. Nothing is sent to TikTok until you approve, the campaign is created paused so nothing spends until you turn it on, and every setting is read back from TikTok afterwards.
- Six objectives from the same chat: Reach, Traffic, Video views, Community interaction, Lead generation to a website and Sales to a website.
- Add to what's already running. Ask for a new ad group or a new Spark ad in an existing campaign, and Adstudio adds it without touching the campaign's other ad groups.
- Adjust after launch. "Raise this ad group's budget to 80 a day" or "pause the Spark ad group" shows a before → after card and changes nothing until you approve.
To compare your TikTok Spark campaigns with Google and Meta spend in one view, read how to see Google, Meta and TikTok spend in one report, or see how Adstudio ranks among the best AI tools for TikTok ads. Plans start at $19/month.
FAQ
Do I need an authorization code to Spark my own TikTok post?
No. When your TikTok account is linked to TikTok Ads Manager or Business Center, you pick your own posts directly in the ad's Identity section. Codes are for posts on accounts you don't control, such as a creator's.
How long does a Spark Ads authorization last?
The post owner chooses 7, 30, 60 or 365 days when generating the code. The authorization has to last until your ad's end date, and it can only be extended before it expires.
Can I use a creator's TikTok video as a Spark Ad?
Yes, with the creator's authorization code. The creator turns on ad authorization in the TikTok app, generates a code for the post and sends it to you; you apply it in Ads Manager under Creative library → Spark Ads posts.
Do Spark Ads comments and likes stay on the original post?
Yes. TikTok says views, comments, shares, likes and follows gained while a post is promoted are attributed to the organic post, and promoting it does not reduce its organic views.
Can I run a Spark Ad without it showing on my profile?
Yes, for Spark Ads created with the push method. TikTok's Show through ads only setting keeps the video off the profile while it runs as an ad.
Why can't I use my post as a Spark Ad?
The usual reasons are an expired, deleted or incorrect code, a post that isn't public, an authorization that ends before the ad, a post longer than 10 minutes, or a post removed for a guideline violation.
Steps and requirements reflect TikTok Ads Help Center pages as of November 3, 2026.