What should you ask before hiring a TikTok ads agency?
When hiring a TikTok ads agency, test three areas: creative production capacity, measurement setup and account ownership. Video drives most TikTok results, so settle in the first call how many new creatives the agency will deliver monthly, how it will set up Pixel and Events API, and whether the ad account will be in your name.
TikTok is a different job from Meta or Google. Targeting is largely handed to the algorithm; what moves results is the video that makes someone stop scrolling in the first seconds. An agency that is strong on Google Ads is not automatically strong on TikTok. If you are not yet sure the channel fits your brand, read our guide on how to run TikTok ads for ecommerce first; this post is about choosing the agency once that decision is made.
How do you verify an agency's TikTok experience?
TikTok's Marketing Partners program has an Agency category. According to TikTok, badged agency partners are recognised for proven expertise across creative, media and measurement, and you can search them in the partner directory on TikTok for Business. A badge is a useful first filter but not enough on its own; ecommerce experience and work in your category matter more.
In the meeting, ask for specifics rather than general references:
- An anonymised screenshot of a TikTok campaign they run for an ecommerce brand
- A few videos they produced, and the metric used to judge them
- A test that failed and what it taught them. Teams that answer this one clearly usually do run real tests.
The 10 questions to ask
- How many new videos will you produce each month, and who shoots them? The agency, creators, or your team? Volume and responsibility should be in writing from day one.
- How do you structure creative tests? Are hook, format and offer tested separately? What data decides when a video is switched off?
- Who sets up Pixel and Events API? The browser Pixel alone can undercount orders; there should be a server-side plan.
- Whose name is the ad account in? The ad account and Business Center should belong to the brand, with the agency given access.
- Which campaign types do you use? Do they have a view, specific to your brand, on sales campaigns, Spark Ads and catalog use?
- Which metric defines success? Platform ROAS only, or GA4, order data and blended efficiency too?
- What does the first 90 days look like? Are the learning period, test budget and scaling criteria written down?
- How and how often do you report? Creative-level insight, or just a spend table?
- How do you check compliance with TikTok's ad policies? Rejection risk is high in cosmetics, supplements and before-and-after claims.
- What is your pricing model and what does it cover? Fixed fee, spend-based or a mix; always ask whether creative production is included.
Which answers are red flags?
| Topic | Good sign | Red flag |
|---|---|---|
| Creative | Monthly video volume and test plan in writing | "Send us the videos and we'll run them" |
| Measurement | Pixel plus Events API, checked against order data | Platform ROAS only |
| Account | Ad account and Business Center in the brand's name | Account opened under the agency |
| Expectations | Clear test period and decision criteria | "We guarantee this ROAS in month one" |
| Reporting | Creative-level insight and next steps | Spend and click tables only |
| Policy | Flags risky claims up front | Treats rejected ads as bad luck |
A guaranteed result is the clearest red flag. Results on TikTok depend on product, price, creative and your site's ability to convert, and no agency controls all of those.
How much creative does TikTok need?
A fixed number would be misleading, because it depends on budget and catalogue size. The logic is simple, though: videos tire faster on TikTok than on most channels, and the algorithm needs different angles to learn. Take an example: a fashion brand starting at 2,000 TL a day cannot run a meaningful test without putting several new videos live each week. Running one video for a month and deciding "TikTok doesn't work" tests your creative process, not the channel.
That is why how an agency produces creative matters as much as its media buying. Some work with creators, some shoot in a studio, some train the brand's own team. Which fits you depends on budget and product.
A TikTok specialist or one agency for every channel?
Both can make sense. A dedicated TikTok specialist may go deeper on creative. A single ecommerce agency manages budget across channels as a whole, avoids counting the same customer twice and moves a message that works on Meta over to TikTok quickly.
To decide, ask one question: what share of your monthly ad budget will go to TikTok? If it is small and the channel is still being tested, coordinating a separate agency may cost more than it returns. If TikTok is your main sales channel, specialist depth carries more weight.
What should you check in the first month?
Signing the contract is not the end of the selection. The first month is when you can see most clearly whether the agency does what it described in the pitch. Look at:
- Was Pixel and Events API setup finished in the first two weeks, and did test orders show up correctly?
- Did the promised number of new videos go live, or are the two launch videos still carrying everything?
- Does the report explain why a video won, not just what was spent?
- Do you have admin access to the ad account and Business Center?
If the answer to two of these is no, raise it before month three. Fixing an agency relationship is far easier before problems pile up.
What should you prepare for the first meeting?
So the agency can ask you the right questions, bring: spend and sales by channel for the last three months, gross margin by product, your existing video and image library, your target customer profile and why you want to try TikTok. Without these, every proposal is a guess.
If you want TikTok planned alongside your other channels, see our performance marketing service.
Key takeaways
- Creative makes the difference on TikTok; get the agency's monthly video volume and test plan in writing.
- Pixel plus Events API is the foundation for measuring sales correctly.
- The ad account and Business Center should be in the brand's name.
- A partner badge is a good signal, but ecommerce experience decides more.
- An agency that guarantees results is the clearest red flag.
- Specialist versus single agency depends on TikTok's share of your budget.
As a TikTok Partner, Performetic plans TikTok together with Meta and Google. To see where you stand today, request a free growth audit.