TikTok Ad Performance Dips Following 14-Hour Shut Down

TikTok’s dramatic 14-hour shutdown in the U.S. has left some advertisers grappling with a noticeable dip in user engagement, impacting campaign performance.

In a memo sent to advertisers this week and reviewed by ADWEEK, TikTok stated that the app is available to “the majority of U.S. users” but warned of “temporary instability” that could affect the app’s features and user access.

“We’ve seen a decrease in all of our metrics and communicated to our clients that their profile health has come down,” said Harriet Riley, social strategy director, Pereira O’Dell, though she wouldn’t share specifics. “There’s a lull in activity because there is a whole user base that has not returned immediately,” she added.

Pereira O’Dell tracks metrics such as likes on TikTok videos to establish daily engagement baselines, primarily influenced by the platform’s discovery and search features.

TikTok’s disruption, though brief, created chaos for both advertisers and users. At press time, TikTok remains unavailable for download from the Apple and Google app stores.

“There is going to be a delta in data specifically to the performance of live and active paid campaigns,” said Riley. She noted that when platforms go down, ad delivery pauses, resulting in reduced reach and engagement for campaigns in progress.

According to the memo, because the campaign was paused for fewer than seven days, TikTok will not re-enter the platform’s “learning phase” when resumed. Typically, platforms such as TikTok and Meta notify advertisers that campaigns will enter a learning phase when launched or after significant changes, during which the platform recalibrates and optimizes ad delivery.

At performance agency Tinuiti, 70% of clients who paused ads last week—either by choice or due to the app outage—have resumed campaigns this week. CPMs have dropped 29% compared to the previous week, according to the agency.

“This indicates that there could potentially be overall performance woes in either how the algorithm is finding users or those users’ likeliness to convert,” said Jack Johnston, senior social innovation director, Tinuiti.

Additional figures from ecommerce and analytics platform MikMak, which works with 2,000 brands and has a view into $3 billion of digital U.S. ad spend, shows paid media on TikTok plummeted to zero during the platform’s brief shutdown. While ad spend is gradually returning to the app, some brands are shifting their advertising dollars to Google and Pinterest.

From MikMak’s vantage point, click-through rates spiked when TikTok came back online, as users showed an eagerness to shop amid a lack of brands providing avenues to capture paid traffic. MikMak CEO Rachel Tipograph explained the sharp rise in purchase intent stemmed from “more demand than supply.”

Some advertisers will look for refunds following lagging performance

Exverus Media, anticipating service disruptions, paused all client campaigns on Saturday evening. Although campaigns will resume automatically, Ryan Schuster, director of search and social at Exverus, cautioned that audience sizes may be affected.

“It’s a tumultuous time to be on TikTok, and for those getting back on it,” Schuster said.

While TikTok has confirmed it will honor refunds for reserved inventory in the event of a shutdown, such commitments are not formalized in contracts. Schuster added, “That would be our course of action if we detect any issues with ad deliverability or viewability.”

Some industry executives, however, are skeptical about TikTok’s willingness to offer compensation for disruptions.

“It’s unlikely that TikTok would offer compensation for advertisers who stay on the platform despite the Supreme Court’s ruling. Their response might echo the sentiment: ‘If you’re willing to be there, then the experience and performance are what they are,’” said Tamara Alesi, ceo, Mediaplus North America.

TikTok did not respond to media request.