This post was updated in October 2024 to provide you with the latest information.

A Guide To DMA Geo-targeting On TikTok: Reaching Location-based Audience

Like other social media giants, TikTok has adopted Nielsen’s DMA, giving advertisers the advantage of targeting specific regions or cities within the U.S. for more localized campaigns.

This guide will walk you through the basics of using TikTok’s DMA geo-targeting and provide a list of over 100 DMAs for your next marketing strategy.

What is DMA Geo-targeting?

Geotargeting is a marketing strategy that allows you to focus your paid content on a selected consumer’s DMA. With this, TikTok can target app users by matching behavior data on current and recent location visits.

You can target specific demographics when running a video ad campaign on TikTok. This is done by choosing an available area from the drop-down menus in the “location” section. TikTok will show your video ad to users in a particular city based on the IP addresses of their mobile devices.

Why Use TikTok DMA Geo-targeting?

TikTok’s ad targeting has traditionally focused on audience behavior, such as the content users engage with and the creators or brands they interact with or purchase from. With DMA geo-targeting, brands can take targeting a step further, honing in on specific geographic areas to ensure they’re reaching the most relevant audience.

Beyond this, geo-targeting will enable brands to tap into TikTok’s highly engaged organic content, creating more action for the ad.

TikTok DMA location targeting is most effective when: 

• Your business has one physical store and location-specific offers
• Each store location has different landing pages

Where To Locate TikTok Location Targeting Options

1. Create a campaign on TikTok Ads Manager.
2. Under Targeting, go to Demographics > Location
3. Type in a location, and then all the options for that location will come up.
4. You will see County, State, Market (DMA). Note: Some locations have trademarked “DMA” after them, and you can click to target them. 

How To Create An Effective Plan When Targeting By Location

A good advertisement targets the right people so that it appeals to their interests and behaviors. However, advertisers can also go wrong by setting their parameters too broad or too narrow.

Setting the parameters too broad runs the promotion to many unnecessary viewers. In other words, serving the ad to people with no interest can quickly drive up ad costs.

Second, if you set your parameters too narrowly, you may miss an opportunity to learn what works, and at the same time, campaigns may not run consistently due to the small size of the audience pool.

List of Available US TikTok DMA Geo-targeting

We’ve compiled a list of DMAs you can use for geo-targeting on TikTok. You can use these DMAs to reach a broader audience in a specific region.

Available TikTok DMA Geo-targeting by US City

Available TikTok DMA Geo-targeting by US County

Available US TikTok DMA Geo-targeting by Market 

Search among the list of available DMA targeting found inside TikTok Business Manager.

Tips for Creating Effective Geo-targeted Content

To successfully geo-target on TikTok, you’ll want to create content that appeals to the market in your specific target location.

1. Tailor your content to make it more relatable to the people in a particular city or area because
2. There are often many different market trends in each US state. 
3. When crafting a marketing strategy, it is essential to consider your audience’s demographics rather than looking at them state-by-state.
4. Using relevant hashtags can reach new consumers on TikTok
5. Laying down DMA regions on top of your existing targeting allows you to prioritize local audiences, focusing on the top market rather than a more general audience.

When to choose State, City, and DMA

• Target State if you want to cover a larger area
• Pick City if you wish to target a particular city in a State
• Choose Market if you want to target everyone in that area. For example, exclude Oklahoma City and Sherman if you wish to target Wichita Falls and Tulsa in Oklahoma on your TikTok ads campaign. You can geo-target each city by choosing the appropriate DMA.

TikTok offers great tool brands can use to deliver more personalized advertising messages, thanks to DMA geotargeting option. Marketers can find more opportunities for audiences across different demographics and geographies by including a more granular location targeting in their media plans. Matching target consumers’ location and the right messaging, campaigns are becoming relevant and exciting, resulting in a more desirable outcome.

You can scale your TikTok campaigns without compromising the efficiency and capabilities of your advertising team. Share your paid social media advertising needs with us, and we’ll guide you through our SWAS (Software with a Service) approach to help you achieve your goals.