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TikTok Ads to WhatsApp

TikTok Lead Generation Ads → WhatsApp message

This guide shows you how to create a TikTok ad that sends people to a WhatsApp conversation, using the Lead Generation objective.

1. Create a new campaign

  1. Go to TikTok Ads Manager

  2. Open the Campaigns tab

  3. Click + Create at the top right

2. Choose the advertising objective

On the Create New Campaign page:

  1. Select the Lead Generation objective

  2. Click Continue

Objective used: Lead Generation

3. Set the campaign budget

On the Campaign Settings page:

  1. Enter a Campaign Name

  2. Set the Campaign Budget

    • Daily Budget or Lifetime Budget

    • Adjust it to your campaign's goals and needs

  3. Click Continue

Example:

  • Daily Budget: IDR 400,000

4. Set up the ad group

Ad group name

Give the ad group a name that's easy to recognize.

Example:

Tiktok x Cekat (CTWA) Ad Group

Optimization goal

Under Optimization and Bidding:

  1. Choose Conversations as the Optimization Goal

Optimization location

Under Optimization locations:

  1. Choose Instant messaging apps

  2. Under Select your app, choose WhatsApp

  3. Under Message event set, choose the matching WhatsApp event set

Example message event set:

WhatsApp_62xxxxxxxxx_551685

Don't choose:

  • TikTok Direct Messages

That's because the goal of this campaign is to bring people into WhatsApp.

Bid strategy

Choose the bidding strategy that fits your campaign.

Example:

  • Target cost per result

  • Set the Target cost per result to the cost you're aiming for per conversation

When you're done, click Continue.

5. Set up the ad

TikTok account

Under Identity:

  1. Choose the TikTok Business account that will receive incoming messages.

  2. Make sure it's the account you want to use to talk with your leads.

Message template

Under Destination → Message Template, choose one option:

Create New

Create a new message template that appears when someone taps your ad.

Example:

Choose Existing

Use a message template you've already created.

6. Upload your creative

Add:

  • A TikTok video

  • A caption

  • A CTA (call to action)

Make sure your creative encourages people to send you a message.

Example CTAs:

  • Chat now

  • Free consultation

  • Contact us

  • Get a quote

Turning TikTok ads on and off

TikTok Ads Manager has an On/Off toggle at every level:

  1. Campaign: controls the whole campaign

  2. Ad Group: controls every ad group in the campaign

  3. Ad: controls individual ads

Changes usually take effect within a few minutes once TikTok saves them.

Turning a campaign on or off

Turn off a campaign

  1. Open Campaigns

  2. Make sure the Campaign tab is selected

  3. Find the campaign you want to stop

  4. In the On/Off column, click the toggle until it turns Off (grey)

When a campaign is off:

  • Every ad group in the campaign stops running

  • Every ad in the campaign stops showing

  • The campaign budget is no longer spent

Turn on a campaign

  1. Open the Campaign tab

  2. Find the campaign you want to run again

  3. Click the On/Off toggle until it turns On (green)

The campaign becomes active again, and its ads can start showing once everything meets the requirements.

Turning an ad group on or off

Turn off an ad group

  1. Open the campaign you want to manage

  2. Choose the Ad Group tab

  3. Find the ad group you want to stop

  4. Switch the On/Off toggle to Off

When an ad group is off:

  • Every ad in that ad group stops running

  • Other ad groups in the same campaign keep running

Turn on an ad group

  1. Go to the Ad Group tab

  2. Find the ad group you want to turn on

  3. Switch the On/Off toggle to On

The ad group becomes active again as long as its parent campaign is also on.

Turning an ad on or off

Turn off an ad

  1. Open the campaign

  2. Choose the Ad tab

  3. Find the ad you want to stop

  4. Switch the On/Off toggle to Off

When an ad is off:

  • Only that ad stops showing

  • Other ads in the same ad group keep running

Turn on an ad

  1. Open the Ad tab

  2. Find the ad you want to run again

  3. Switch the On/Off toggle to On

The ad starts showing again when:

  • The campaign is on

  • The ad group is on

  • The ad has passed TikTok's review

  • There are no budget or delivery issues

How ad statuses stack up

The key rules:

  • Campaign OFF → every ad group and ad stops

  • Ad group OFF → every ad in that ad group stops

  • Ad OFF → only that ad stops

  • For an ad to show, the campaign, ad group and ad all need to be ON

When to use each

Turn off the campaign if you

  • Want to stop the whole promotion

  • Are pausing spend for a while

  • Have finished the campaign

Turn off an ad group if you

  • Want to stop targeting one particular audience segment

  • Are running an A/B test

Turn off an ad if you

  • Want to stop one particular creative

  • Want to swap out the video or ad copy

  • Are comparing how several ads perform

Troubleshooting

The toggle is ON but the ad isn't running

Check that:

  • Campaign status = ON

  • Ad group status = ON

  • Ad status = ON

  • There's still budget available

  • The campaign schedule is still active

  • TikTok has approved the ad

  • There are no delivery errors in Ads Manager

If any level is still OFF, the ad won't show, even if the other levels are ON.

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