TikTok Spark Ads with Creator Content: Setting Up Codes, Permissions and the Agreement

Spark Ads is a TikTok format in which the ad is not a separate file uploaded to Ads Manager but an existing post from an account — yours or a creator's. When a brand wants to run a creator's video in a paid campaign, the technical side comes down to one question: who grants permission to use that post, and for how long. This guide walks through the setup step by step and shows what to agree with the creator before you ask for a code.

For a definition of TikTok as a collaboration channel, see the glossary entry TikTok in creator collaborations. If you also run campaigns on Instagram, the Meta equivalent is partnership ads, covered in our guide UGC in Meta ads. The mechanics are similar, but permissions work differently.

How Spark Ads differ from a regular ad built from a file

In a regular ad, the brand uploads a video and publishes it under its own ad identity. Spark Ads use an organic post instead: according to TikTok, views, comments, shares, likes and follows gained during the promotion are attributed to the original post (TikTok, About Spark Ads). Viewers can tap the profile photo to visit the author's profile, follow the account or open the sound.

This has two practical consequences. First, the ad looks like the creator's post, with their name and caption — TikTok says the display name and text reflect the chosen post and cannot be edited when you create the ad. Second, engagement from paid delivery stays on the creator's profile. For the creator, that is value worth raising in the fee discussion; for the brand, it is a reason to choose posts where it actually wants a visible conversation.

Two routes to creator content: a post code or account authorization

TikTok describes three sources of Spark Ads creatives: posts from accounts linked or authorized in Business Center, individual posts authorized with a code, and new content pushed from Ads Manager to a selected account (TikTok, creating Spark Ads). With an external creator, you will in practice choose between the first two.

A code for a single post

The creator authorizes a specific video and sends you a code. This is the narrowest form of permission: it covers one post and has an expiry date. It suits most one-off collaborations, tests and cases where the creator does not want to link their account to someone else's Business Center.

Account authorization in Business Center

A Business Center admin sends a request to link an existing TikTok account with the "Deliver ads" permission, and the person logged into the creator's account approves it by scanning a QR code in the app. At this stage you pick detailed permissions, including access to existing posts, publishing and managing new videos, and whether new content appears on the profile or only as ads (TikTok, linking an account in Business Center). TikTok notes that this permission is for ad delivery and does not grant broader account management.

This route makes sense for an ongoing partnership, for example with an ambassador, when you promote many of their videos or publish content to their account from Ads Manager. Because it lets the brand publish under the creator's name, agree the scope and approval rules for such content in advance, not after the fact.

How the creator generates a code — instructions you can forward

According to TikTok's help page for Smart+ campaigns, the creator's side looks like this (TikTok, Spark Ads in Smart+ campaigns):

1. Allow posts to be authorized for ads in privacy settings or creator tools.
2. Open the chosen video, tap the three dots and select "Ad settings".
3. Accept the advertising content terms and turn on the "Ad authorization" toggle.
4. Choose the authorization period: 7, 30, 60 or 365 days.
5. Generate the code and send it to the brand.

Button names may vary with the app version and interface language, so the simplest check is to ask the creator for a screenshot showing the selected authorization period.

Setup in TikTok Ads Manager

On the brand side, you add the code while creating the ad (TikTok, creating Spark Ads):

1. Create a campaign, pick an objective and complete the ad group settings.
2. In the creatives section, open the creative selection and go to the TikTok posts tab.
3. Click "Add post" and paste the code. TikTok lets you authorize up to 20 codes at once and shows the authorization period under each post.
4. Complete the ad details, destination and optional tracking, then publish.

In auction buying, Spark Ads are available for objectives including reach, traffic, video views, community interaction, app promotion, lead generation and sales. TikTok also says a post's caption cannot be changed once it has been authorized as an ad, and a private video becomes public when it is used in a campaign.

Common errors and how to avoid them

TikTok publishes a list of code error messages (TikTok, Spark Ads code errors). Several of them can be anticipated before launch:

• Authorization ends before the ad does. If the campaign runs for six weeks, a 30-day code is not enough. Choose a period with headroom or plan an extension.
• The code has expired. Only the creator can extend the authorization, so you need a working contact with them during the campaign too.
• The post is not public or has been deleted. If the creator deletes the post, it drops out of the ad.
• Check the specific post. Spark Ads eligibility depends on the post and account settings. Before putting permission terms in a contract, confirm in Ads Manager that the chosen post can be added; TikTok lists code errors and their causes in its official help centre.
• Community guidelines violation. A post blocked organically will not run as an ad either.

Agree with the creator how long the post should remain available and how much notice they will give before deleting or archiving it. Before launch, decide how such changes affect the campaign and who will check its status in Ads Manager.

What to agree with the creator before you ask for a code

An in-app code is technical permission, not a contract. It says nothing about the fee, the markets, or whether the brand may also download the file and use it outside TikTok. Put these points in the brief or contract before the creator taps "Generate":

• Period and delivery: how many days of authorization, whether extensions are possible and on what terms.
• Fee for paid delivery: whether it is included in the posting fee or charged separately.
• Scope of rights: Spark Ads use the post on TikTok; using the file in other channels is a separate question of usage rights.
• Music: a sound that works in an organic post cannot always go into an ad, so agree who checks the licence.
• Comments: who moderates the discussion under the post during delivery and how you handle product questions.
• Account authorization: if you request a Business Center link, list the permissions and the approval rules for content published under the creator's name.

From a copyright perspective, what matters is the contract, not the platform settings. For longer delivery, several markets or a large budget, review the terms with a lawyer.

Disclosure does not disappear in an ad

TikTok's branded content rules point creators to the content disclosure toggle: once it is on, the post is labelled as branded content (TikTok, Branded Content Policy). Regardless of platform settings, UOKiK, the Polish consumer protection authority, expects influencers' commercial communication to be clearly labelled and sets this out in its recommendations (UOKiK, influencer marketing). Agree that the post is labelled at publication, not only before the budget goes live. More in the glossary entry on ad disclosure. This is operational guidance, not legal advice.

How to tell whether a Spark Ad worked

Ads Manager shows paid metrics for Spark Ads, including clicks, likes, shares, comments, new followers and profile visits. TikTok counts likes, shares and follows within one day of a user seeing the paid ad. These numbers show interest, not sales. To compare creator content with your own creative, tag the link with UTM parameters and look at the result in your store — we explain how in how to measure a creator campaign.

A sensible approach is to start with a small test on a few posts and only then extend authorization for the best performers. The platform does not guarantee that a post that did well organically will perform as well as an ad.

How it works on Blogger Bank

In a Blogger Bank brief, you can state up front what you need: a TikTok post, a Spark Ads code for a set number of days and any use of the content outside the platform. The creator sees this scope before accepting, and the payment is secured until the content is approved. The commission is 5% on the brand side and 5% on the creator side.

Create an account and post a brief with clearly defined ad usage rights.