Editable vs Locked Fields
Campaign Level
| Field | Editable After Publishing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign Name | ✅ Yes | Can be changed anytime |
| Objective | ❌ No | Cannot be changed after creation |
| Budget | ✅ Yes | Can increase or decrease |
| Special Industries | ⚠️ Limited | Can only remove, not add new ones |
| App Promotion Type | ❌ No | Cannot be changed after creation |
| Smart Performance Campaign | ❌ No | Cannot be changed after creation |
| Status | ✅ Yes | Can pause, activate, or archive |
Ad Group Level
| Field | Editable After Publishing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ad Group Name | ✅ Yes | Can be changed anytime |
| Budget | ✅ Yes | Can increase or decrease |
| Schedule Start Time | ⚠️ Limited | Only editable if scheduled for the future |
| Schedule End Time | ✅ Yes | Can be added, removed, or changed |
| Bid Price | ✅ Yes | Can be adjusted |
| Conversion Bid Price | ✅ Yes | Can be adjusted |
| Targeting | ✅ Yes | Demographics, interests, locations can be changed |
| Placement Type | ❌ No | Cannot be changed after creation |
| Placements | ❌ No | Cannot be changed after creation |
| Optimization Goal | ❌ No | Cannot be changed after creation |
| Optimization Event | ❌ No | Cannot be changed after creation |
| Pixel ID | ❌ No | Cannot be changed after creation |
| App ID | ❌ No | Cannot be changed after creation |
| Promotion Type | ❌ No | Cannot be changed after creation |
| Status | ✅ Yes | Can pause, activate, or archive |
Targeting changes: You can modify most targeting options on existing ad groups. However, significant changes may reset the ad group’s learning phase, temporarily affecting performance.
Ad Level
| Field | Editable After Publishing | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ad Name | ✅ Yes | Can be changed anytime |
| Primary Text | ✅ Yes | Can be edited via patch update |
| Headline | ✅ Yes | Can be edited via patch update |
| Ad Text | ✅ Yes | Can be edited freely |
| Call-to-Action | ✅ Yes | Can be changed |
| Landing Page URL | ✅ Yes | Can be changed |
| UTM Parameters | ✅ Yes | Can be modified |
| Identity ID | ✅ Yes | Can be changed |
| Identity Type | ✅ Yes | Can be changed |
| Video ID | ✅ Yes | Can be replaced with new video |
| Image IDs | ✅ Yes | Can be replaced with new images |
| Music ID | ✅ Yes | Can be changed |
| TikTok Item ID | ✅ Yes | Can be changed |
| Ad Format | ⚠️ Limited | Cannot change if Carousel or Catalog Carousel |
| Status | ✅ Yes | Can pause, activate, or archive |
How to Edit Existing Campaigns
Load Existing Campaign
Use the Load Existing feature to fetch your published TikTok campaign into the Whathead canvas.
Make Your Changes
Edit the fields you want to change. Whathead will highlight which fields are editable and which are locked.
Review Changes
Before publishing, review the changes you’ve made. Whathead shows a diff of what will be updated.
What Happens When You Edit
Update Behavior
When you edit and republish an existing campaign:- Changed fields are updated on the existing campaign
- Unchanged fields are skipped (not sent to TikTok)
- Campaign IDs remain the same (no new campaigns are created)
- Performance history is preserved
Learning Phase Impact
Significant changes to ad groups may reset TikTok’s learning phase: Changes that reset learning:- Major targeting changes (e.g., changing from US to Asia-Pacific)
- Changing bid strategy significantly
- Changing creative significantly
- Pausing for extended periods
- Minor budget adjustments (less than 20% change)
- Small targeting expansions
- Text edits without creative changes
- Brief pauses (less than 24 hours)
Common Editing Scenarios
I want to change my campaign objective
I want to change my campaign objective
Problem: Campaign objective is locked after publishing.Solution: You cannot change the objective on an existing campaign. Instead:
- Create a new campaign with the desired objective
- Copy your ad groups and ads to the new campaign
- Pause or archive the old campaign
I want to update my ad creative
I want to update my ad creative
Problem: Need to refresh ads with new videos or images.Solution: TikTok allows creative updates on existing ads:
- Load the existing campaign into Whathead
- Open the ad you want to update
- Replace the video or images with new creative from your media library
- Publish the update
I want to change my optimization goal
I want to change my optimization goal
Problem: Current optimization goal isn’t delivering desired results.Solution: Optimization goal is locked after creation. You must:
- Create a new ad group with the correct optimization goal
- Copy your ads to the new ad group
- Pause the old ad group
I want to expand my targeting
I want to expand my targeting
Problem: Current targeting is too narrow and limiting reach.Solution: You can expand targeting on existing ad groups:
- Load the existing campaign
- Open the ad group and modify targeting (add more locations, interests, or age ranges)
- Publish the update
I want to increase my budget
I want to increase my budget
Problem: Need to spend more on a performing campaign.Solution: Budget increases are fully supported:
- Load the existing campaign
- Increase the budget at campaign or ad group level
- Publish the update
I want to change my placements
I want to change my placements
Problem: Need to add or remove placements like TikTok, Pangle, or Global App Bundle.Solution: Placements are locked after creation. You must:
- Create a new ad group with the correct placements
- Copy your ads to the new ad group
- Pause the old ad group
Bulk Editing Existing Campaigns
You can edit multiple existing campaigns, ad groups, or ads at once:Multi-Select Entities
Hold Shift or Cmd/Ctrl and click to select multiple campaigns, ad groups, or ads of the same type.
Bulk Edit
Click Bulk Edit to open the bulk editor. Make changes that will apply to all selected entities.
Best Practices for Editing
- Make one change at a time: Test the impact of each change before making additional edits
- Avoid frequent changes: Let campaigns run for at least 3-7 days before making significant changes
- Increase budgets gradually: Sudden large budget increases can disrupt performance
- Monitor learning phase: Check if your changes reset learning and plan accordingly
- Keep notes: Document what you changed and when, so you can correlate changes with performance shifts
- Test with duplicates: If unsure about a change, duplicate the ad group and test the change on the duplicate first
Limitations and Workarounds
Cannot Change Objective
Limitation: Campaign objective is locked after creation. Workaround: Create a new campaign with the desired objective and copy your ad groups and ads to it.Cannot Change Optimization Goal
Limitation: Ad group optimization goal is locked after creation. Workaround: Create a new ad group with the correct optimization goal and copy your ads to it.Cannot Change Placements
Limitation: Ad group placements are locked after creation. Workaround: Create a new ad group with the desired placements and copy your ads to it.Cannot Change Pixel or App ID
Limitation: Pixel ID and App ID are locked after ad group creation. Workaround: Create a new ad group with the correct pixel or app ID and copy your ads to it.Cannot Add Special Industries
Limitation: You can only remove special industry designations, not add new ones. Workaround: If you need to add special industries, create a new campaign with the correct designations.TikTok vs Other Platforms
TikTok has more restrictive editing policies compared to Meta:| Feature | TikTok | Meta |
|---|---|---|
| Change Objective | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Change Optimization Goal | ❌ No | ⚠️ Limited |
| Change Placements | ❌ No | ⚠️ Limited |
| Update Creative | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Edit Targeting | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Adjust Budget | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
TikTok’s stricter editing policies mean you need to plan your campaign structure carefully before publishing. Consider testing with small budgets first to validate your settings before scaling.