Expert Strategies for TikTok Lead Generation Campaigns
When many brands think of TikTok, they picture viral videos, dance challenges, and product sales for eCommerce. However, TikTok’s potential extends far beyond just product promotion. For businesses in all sectors, including insurance, education, financial services, and home services, TikTok can be a powerful tool for lead generation.
Lead generation, typically associated with platforms like Google or Facebook, can thrive on TikTok with the right approach. The app’s massive, engaged user base, combined with creative ad formats, offers unique opportunities for companies aiming to capture leads quickly and efficiently.
This article will explore expert strategies to help brands generate high-quality leads on TikTok, from targeting the right audience to crafting the perfect creative strategy.
What Makes TikTok Unique for Lead Generation?
TikTok’s High Engagement Levels
TikTok isn’t just another social media platform—it’s one of the most engaging. On average, users spend more time on TikTok than on Facebook or Instagram, which means brands have more opportunities to capture attention.
The app’s immersive, user-driven feed creates a highly engaging environment that can be leveraged for lead generation across industries.
For brands traditionally focused on platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn, TikTok may seem like unfamiliar territory.
However, its unique combination of short-form video, powerful algorithms, and high engagement offers a fresh way to generate leads, whether you’re targeting young professionals looking for education programs or homeowners seeking insurance.
TikTok Users Span Generations
While TikTok is known for its younger audience—especially Gen Z—it has expanded to include users across all age groups. This broad demographic reach makes TikTok an effective platform for a variety of lead-generation campaigns.
For example, an insurance company might initially hesitate to advertise on TikTok, thinking its audience is too young. However, as more Millennials and even Gen Xers flock to the platform, TikTok’s user base now includes potential customers for a wide range of industries.
The key is to adapt your messaging to fit the platform while maintaining the brand’s voice and values.
TikTok’s Instant Form Feature
One of TikTok’s standout features for lead generation is its Instant Form. This fast-loading form allows users to submit their information without leaving the app, reducing friction and boosting conversion rates.
Instant Forms are ideal for businesses looking to capture leads quickly, such as insurance companies gathering quotes or education institutions collecting applications.
However, while Instant Forms help increase conversions, it’s essential to note that not all leads generated may be highly qualified. Many businesses using this feature often choose to qualify leads later in the sales funnel, after capturing basic information upfront.
Audience Targeting Techniques for Lead Generation on TikTok
Start Broad and Optimize
When launching a lead generation campaign on TikTok, especially if your business is new to the platform, it’s best to start broad. Keep your targeting open to maximize the reach and allow TikTok’s algorithm to gather data and optimize over time.
You can exclude any age groups or geographic areas that are irrelevant to your product or service, but otherwise, keep restrictions to a minimum. This approach ensures your campaign gains traction quickly, allowing the algorithm to learn and improve the results.
Broad targeting also helps reduce creative fatigue. Since TikTok’s user base is vast, keeping your audience open means your creative is seen by different segments, extending its lifespan and effectiveness.
Interest and Behavior Targeting
Once your campaign gains momentum, refining your targeting becomes essential. TikTok allows advertisers to target users based on their interests and behaviors.
For example, if you’re in the home services industry, targeting users who engage with content related to DIY projects or home improvement can help you reach those most likely to convert.
Behavior targeting is another powerful tool. TikTok tracks user behavior, such as video interactions and likes, allowing advertisers to tap into specific actions that indicate interest in a product or service.
These refined targeting options ensure that your lead generation ads are served to the right audience, increasing your chances of conversion.
Utilizing Lookalike Audiences
TikTok also offers Lookalike Audiences, which function similarly to Meta’s Lookalike Audiences.
This targeting option allows businesses to use existing customer data (from pixel data or customer lists) to find new users who share similar behaviors and interests.
When creating Lookalike Audiences on TikTok, there are three main categories to choose from:
- Broad: Reaches a large audience, but with less precision.
- Balanced: Provides a balance between reach and relevance.
- Narrow: Delivers the most relevant leads but limits the overall reach.
For brands just starting with TikTok, it’s usually best to begin with broad or balanced audiences to gather more data and optimize later. As you learn which audience segments convert best, you can fine-tune your targeting to focus on high-quality leads.
Creative Strategies for TikTok Lead Generation
Authenticity is Key
TikTok users expect content that feels authentic and native to the platform. The key to successful lead generation ads is creating videos that blend into the user’s “For You” feed, rather than standing out as obvious ads.
Ads that are overly polished or corporate can feel out of place and may be less effective.
Instead, focus on user-generated content (UGC)-style ads that showcase real people or creators discussing your service in a casual, relatable way.
For example, a financial services company could use creators to share personal stories about how the service helped them achieve a financial goal.
This approach makes the ad feel more like a recommendation from a friend than a traditional commercial.
Effective Hooks and Trends
The first few seconds of your TikTok ad are crucial. To succeed in lead generation, you need to create a compelling hook that stops users from scrolling.
This is especially important for TikTok, where attention spans are shorter, and users move quickly from one video to the next.
Using trending sounds and formats is one of the best ways to capture attention early. For example, participating in popular TikTok challenges or utilizing trending sounds can help your content feel more integrated into the TikTok experience.
Formats like the “Put a finger down if you…” trend or “Get ready with me” videos are easy to adapt for different lead gen campaigns, whether it’s education, home services, or insurance.
Leveraging TikTok’s Tools
TikTok provides several tools to help advertisers create engaging content for lead generation.
Spark Ads allow you to promote organic content, whether it’s from your business’s TikTok account or a creator who has posted about your brand. Since Spark Ads feel more like native content, they tend to perform better than traditional ads.
Another valuable tool is the TikTok Creator Marketplace, which allows brands to connect directly with TikTok influencers.
Partnering with creators who resonate with your target audience can amplify your lead generation efforts and lend credibility to your brand.
Real-World Examples of Successful TikTok Lead Generation Campaigns
BetterHelp: Lowering Costs with Authentic Creatives
BetterHelp, an online mental health services provider, used TikTok’s lead generation tools to reduce their cost per sign-up by 75%.
By partnering with TikTok creators to produce authentic content and leveraging Spark Ads, BetterHelp was able to reach a wider audience in a relatable way.
The creators spoke openly about mental health challenges, making their content feel native to TikTok’s user-driven feed.
By using real people and real stories, the brand was able to foster trust and encourage users to sign up for its services, showing how effective genuine, relatable content can be in driving leads on TikTok.
Solar Energy Partners: Driving Leads with Instant Forms
Solar Energy Partners, a company focused on sustainable energy solutions, needed to hire qualified sales consultants. To attract the right talent, they ran a recruitment lead generation campaign on TikTok.
The campaign used Spark Ads alongside Instant Forms, which allowed users to apply for positions directly within the TikTok app.
This approach led to a 72% lower cost-per-lead than their goal, with Instant Forms enabling faster lead collection without sacrificing quality.
Solar Energy Partners’ campaign highlights the effectiveness of combining TikTok’s Instant Forms with compelling creative content for efficient lead generation.
Measuring Success: KPIs for TikTok Lead Generation Campaigns
Cost Per Lead and Conversion Rates
When running lead generation campaigns on TikTok, the two most important KPIs are Cost Per Lead (CPL) and conversion rate, and TikTok provides detailed analytics that make it easy to track these metrics.
Your CPL should ideally fall within a predetermined range that aligns with your business goals. Similarly, conversion rates will indicate how effectively your ads are turning clicks into leads.
However, TikTok’s high engagement levels offer additional metrics worth tracking. For example, thumbstop ratio (how often users stop scrolling to watch your video) can provide insights into how well your content grabs attention.
High engagement metrics like video views, likes, comments, and shares are also valuable for understanding how users are interacting with your ads.
Engagement Metrics Beyond Conversions
Lead generation on TikTok isn’t only about immediate conversions. Even if users don’t become leads right away, high engagement signals that your content resonates with them.
These interactions, including comments and shares, can amplify your reach and build brand awareness, setting the stage for future leads.
It’s also essential to ensure alignment between TikTok’s platform and your business’s source of truth for attribution.
This will streamline the optimization process and provide clear insights into campaign performance, allowing you to adjust your strategy as needed.
Avoiding Common Pitfalls in TikTok Lead Generation
Failing to Create TikTok-Native Ads
The number one mistake brands make is treating TikTok like any other ad platform. TikTok ads must feel native to the platform—this means leaning into the trends, sounds, and authenticity that TikTok users love.
Ads that are too polished or feel out of place often fail to gain traction.
Instead, think of TikTok ads as an extension of the user-generated content that already exists on the app.
Expecting Immediate Results
Brands should be patient when launching lead generation campaigns on TikTok, especially if it’s their first time on the platform.
Since TikTok operates differently than other social platforms, it may take time to understand which creatives, targeting strategies, and bidding tactics work best for your specific goals.
TikTok offers a variety of tools to help optimize your campaigns. You can use the TikTok Creative Center to see what’s trending or participate in the TikTok Creative Challenge to source fresh, user-generated content from creators.
TikTok’s Symphony AI tool can also assist with script writing and brainstorming creative ideas, ensuring your ads stay relevant and engaging.
Optimizing TikTok Lead Generation Ads for Conversion
Understanding Ad Metrics and Iteration
Optimization is key to improving conversion rates. Start by analyzing your ad metrics to see where improvements can be made. If a video has a high thumbstop ratio but a low conversion rate, it’s a sign that while your creative is grabbing attention, the message may not be clear enough to drive users to the next step.
Once you identify a successful creative, create different iterations of the ad to combat creative fatigue.
Even small tweaks, such as changing the call-to-action (CTA) or testing different headlines, can keep your campaign fresh and improve long-term performance.
Refining Targeting and Bidding
If your campaign is struggling with delivery issues, consider broadening your targeting.
Alternatively, if performance is an issue, tightening your audience segments and focusing on more granular targeting might make sense.
Testing different bidding strategies, such as lowest cost vs. highest volume, can also have a significant impact on your CPL and conversion rates.
Leveraging TikTok’s Algorithm for Lead Generation Success
TikTok’s algorithm prioritizes user engagement. To succeed, brands should focus on creating interactive content that encourages likes, comments, and shares.
Regularly launching new creatives, incorporating trending sounds, and using native features like duets and stitches keeps your ads fresh and aligned with the algorithm’s preferences.
Learning Phase Best Practices
During TikTok’s learning phase, the algorithm optimizes your campaign based on early performance.
Aim for 50 conversions within 7 days to exit the learning phase.
Ensure your budget allows for the necessary spend—typically 10-20% above the minimum required.
Avoid major adjustments during this time, as it can disrupt the optimization process. Once you’re out of the learning phase, key metrics like CPL should stabilize.
Maximizing Success with TikTok Lead Generation
For businesses across sectors, TikTok provides a unique and highly engaging environment for capturing leads.
Your key takeaway should be that, with the right strategy, TikTok can be an incredibly powerful tool for lead generation. From leveraging its algorithm to utilizing creative tools and ad formats, the opportunities to drive meaningful engagement and collect high-quality leads are vast and growing.
Brands that experiment with TikTok’s unique offerings now and focus on authentic, engaging content will find themselves well-positioned to succeed on this burgeoning platform.
About the Author: Kaitlyn Greene is a Sr. Media Strategist at adQuadrant. She was raised in North Carolina but has lived in San Diego, NYC, and Sydney, Australia. With almost 10 years of experience in digital advertising, she brings a diverse set of skills from multiple platforms and strategies. When not wading through the data waters, she can be found reading a book or traveling somewhere she’s never been.
