If you want to improve your sales and scale your business, TikTok lead generation ads are a great way to do it. With millions of active users using the social media platform daily, many potential sales await. In this blog, we’ll cover what TikTok lead generation ads are, why you should care about them, and how businesses can generate leads through TikTok. Lastly, we’ll cover the best TikTok lead generation strategy to implement.
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What Are TikTok Lead Generation Ads?
Lead generation attracts and converts potential customers on TikTok by capturing their interest and contact information through various marketing efforts, like a lead generation form. This typically involves offering incentives to encourage them to share their details, ultimately building a pipeline of leads that can be nurtured and converted into sales.
On TikTok, tapping a lead ad's call to action button will direct you to one of three places.
- Your website
Direct prospects to contact forms where they can leave their information with you. - Instant form
It is a native TikTok lead generation contact form, but it has several advantages, like fast loading speeds and the ability to pre-populate fields based on available information. - Direct messages and instant messaging apps
Send prospects directly into your TikTok Inbox or instant messaging apps like WhatsApp or Messenger.
But why should businesses care about using TikTok lead generation ads?
Why Should You Care About TikTok Lead Generation Ads?
TikTok is one of the largest social media platforms in the world with over 1.5 billion monthly active users.
For marketers, TikTok represents a massive opportunity to increase the number of sales.
82% of TikTok users first discovered an SME on TikTok, while 52% of those went on to make a purchase. With those amazing figures, you don’t want to miss out on another channel to increase your revenue.
If you’re convinced that TikTok lead generation ads are a viable way to generate leads, let’s look at how you can set it up using TikTok Messaging Ads.
3 Easy Steps to Set Up TikTok Messaging Ads for Lead Generation
Before setting up TikTok Messaging Ads, you should be aware that there are two types of ads - TikTok Direct Messaging Ads and TikTok Instant Messaging Ads. This step-by-step guide applies to both types of ads.
Step 1: Create a Campaign
On your TikTok Ad Manager dashboard, click Create Ad, select Lead Generation and name your campaign. Then click on Continue.
Step 2: Set Up the Ad Group
Name the Ad group. Then define your target audience, set your budget and choose the placement for your ads.
You can lead users to TikTok Direct Messages or redirect users to messaging apps like WhatsApp or Messenger.
Step 3: Create the Ad
Design your ad creative, keeping in mind TikTok’s preference for authentic and engaging content. You can select either a video or carousel image ad format. Use videos or images that resonate with your target audience and include a clear call to action.
Review your ad settings and ensure that they comply with TikTok’s policies. Once you’re done, you can submit your ad for review. Once approved, your ad will go live, and you can start engaging with your audience through direct messages.
Now that you know how to set up a TikTok Messaging Ad campaign, let’s look at how you can make the most of it.
4 Tips for Successful TikTok Lead Generation Ads
In this section, we’ll go through best practices when setting up your TikTok Messaging Ads for lead generation. Here are four tips that you can implement with ease.
TikTok Lead Gen Ads: Combine Organic and Paid Strategies
To maximize your TikTok lead generation efforts, combine organic and paid strategies. While high-quality content may appear polished, authentic and unfiltered videos often resonate more with TikTok's audience.
Leveraging your organic content as part of a broader ad strategy allows you to create a genuine connection with your viewers. Then, you can promote organic content through paid ads, amplifying its reach.
This approach is great for small and medium-sized businesses with limited advertising budgets. Instead of pouring resources into creating a brand-new campaign, brands can use their existing organic content as the backbone of their advertising efforts.
When combined strategically, organic and paid content can effectively drive brand awareness, engagement, and ultimately, conversions.
TikTok Lead Gen Ads: Experiment With Different Settings and Content
Experimenting with different content combinations and targeting is key to identifying the most effective strategy for your TikTok lead generation campaign. Perform A/B testing to refine your strategy, reduce costs, and increase return on investment.
Regularly analyze and tweak your settings, such as age, interests, and behaviors, and experiment with various ad formats to discover what works best for your brand.
This approach enables you to identify what resonates best with your target demographics. Begin with a broad audience to gather insights, then refine your targeting based on performance data to focus on segments with the highest engagement.
TikTok Lead Gen Ads: Optimize Your Contact Form
A well-optimized contact form is crucial for effective lead generation on TikTok. Include visuals like customized logos and header images to create a cohesive and professional look. To maintain user engagement, limit your form to no more than six questions and use advanced settings, such as conditional logic, to make the experience more dynamic and personalized.
This approach not only makes it easier for users to complete the form but also improves the quality of the leads you capture.
<call-out> Always include a link to your privacy policy to build trust and ensure compliance with regulations. <call-out>
Adding a review screen allows users to verify their details, reducing errors and enhancing the experience. Conclude with a thank you message to leave a positive impression and reinforce your brand’s professionalism.
TikTok Lead Gen Ads: Integrate Your CRMs
Never miss opportunities in every part of your marketing funnel by integrating a CRM into TikTok. By connecting TikTok Instant Forms with your CRM, you can automate the process of nurturing leads, ensuring they are promptly followed up.
This integration allows you to manage leads more effectively by syncing them directly into your sales or marketing workflows, reducing manual data entry and speeding up the response time.
Automation also enables personalized communication and follow-ups, improving lead conversion rates. With a seamless connection between TikTok and your CRM, you can gain deeper insights into campaign performance, monitor lead quality and make data-driven decisions to optimize your strategy further.
Still not convinced that you can make lead generation work on TikTok? Then check out the businesses that won big with it.
Businesses Win Big With TikTok Lead Generation Ads
TikTok has helped many businesses boost their lead generation capabilities while maintaining or driving down costs. Here are two businesses that made the most out of TikTok lead generation ads.
Onlyfy
Onlyfy aimed to promote e-book downloads among job seekers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland by debuting on TikTok. Lacking an organic presence, they used TikTok's Instant Forms to generate leads.
It used TikTok’s automated ad targeting to reach relevant users in their target regions without manual intervention while partnering with creators and using 'Instant Forms' to capture lead information. The TikTok Creative Center guided their content strategy, tailoring ads to the platform's trends.
As a result, it reduced their cost-per-lead by 84% and increased lead volume by eight times. The campaigns enhanced brand recognition, boosted positive brand association, and significantly increased e-book downloads and inquiries.
Systemized Media and Topline Heating & Air
Systemized Media used TikTok’s Lead Generation tools to help Topline Heating & Air acquire over 6.6k high-quality leads. They leveraged the TikTok Creative Challenge (TTCC) to produce cost-effective, high-performance ads through vetted creators, while TikTok Ads Manager and Pixel tools enabled efficient tracking and targeting.
This strategy maximized lead conversions, allowing the agency to expand its customer base while maintaining creative and operational efficiency.
TikTok Messaging Ads are just one avenue to generate leads. By using our Conversation Led Growth Framework, you can learn how to increase the opportunities to generate leads, convert them and retain them as paying customers. Try respond.io for free to start your click-to-chat ad campaign journey.
Frequently Asked Questions
What instant messaging channels are supported on TikTok Messaging Ads?
WhatsApp Business Platform, Messenger, LINE and Zalo are the supported channels.
How can I track the performance of a TikTok Messaging Ad lead generation campaign?
You need to go to TikTok Ads Manager to view and track the performance of your ad campaigns.
Get Started with TikTok Messaging Ads Today
Exciting news! TikTok Instant Messaging Ads is now available in Beta for LATAM. Businesses can now connect with TikTok leads via WhatsApp and Messenger to provide consultations, book appointments and close sales — all in one chat.
Access is available via whitelisting for select LATAM countries. To apply, fill out the appropriate form:
Special Offer: Receive 50% off TikTok Instant Messaging Ads spending from December 1, 2024, to March 31, 2025, when you integrate with respond.io and optimise your campaigns toward conversations.
🌏 For APAC: Integration is open to all countries — no whitelisting required. Download our TikTok Ads E-Book to know more, or book a consultation to get started today.
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Further Reading
Did you enjoy reading this blog? Check out our other blogs on TikTok and lead generation:
- Ultimate Guide to TikTok for Business
- TikTok Ads: Harness TikTok Messaging Ads to Boost Sales
- Generate Leads and Boost Sales with WhatsApp Ads: A Practical Guide to WhatsApp Advertising
