TikTok Ads That Open WhatsApp: Send Tappers Straight Into a Chat

Many small businesses close their sales on WhatsApp rather than on a website. Dental clinics, hair salons, real estate offices and car repair shops talk to customers in a chat first and settle the price and the appointment there. For these businesses, the goal of an ad is not to send a visitor to a website but to start a WhatsApp conversation directly.

With Opus Growth you can now build exactly this ad on TikTok. A person who taps the ad skips the website, opens a WhatsApp chat with you and finds a message you prepared waiting in the text box. This post explains how the ad is set up, which settings TikTok requires, the two ways to connect WhatsApp, how to write the prefilled message, and the most common mistake.

How this ad works

The ad appears in the TikTok feed as a normal video ad. The difference is what happens when someone taps it. Instead of a website, the user is sent to WhatsApp on their phone and a chat with your number opens. A message you chose, such as "Hello, I would like information about dental implants," is already in the text box, so the user only has to press send.

Because no page loads in between, there is no extra step where the user might give up. This works especially well if your website is slow, does not look good on mobile, or if you do not have a website at all.

How to set it up with Opus Growth

You can ask your assistant something like: "Set up a TikTok WhatsApp ad for people aged 25 to 45 in London. Use the number +44 7700 900000, make the prefilled message 'Hello, I would like information about dental implants,' and set a daily budget of 30 pounds." The assistant builds the campaign, the ad group and the ad with the settings TikTok requires, and shows you a preview at every step.

Give your number with its country code, for example +44 7700 900000. Opus Growth turns it into the WhatsApp link that opens the chat when tapped, so you do not have to build the link yourself. A number written in national format, such as one starting with 0, cannot be tied to a country, so Opus Growth asks you to add the country code. After it is created, the ad waits in a paused state and starts running only when you review it and switch it on.

For video ads TikTok also requires a cover image. If you do not provide one, Opus Growth uses the video's own cover, so you do not have to prepare a separate image.

The settings TikTok requires

If you prefer to build this ad by hand in TikTok Ads Manager, these are the settings to use. Opus Growth selects them for you.

1. Campaign objective: Lead generation.
2. Ad group destination: Instant Messaging App. Besides WhatsApp, this type also supports Messenger, LINE and Zalo.
3. Budget: TikTok sets the daily minimum per ad group from a base of 20 US dollars, converted into each currency at its own rate. In Turkish lira accounts, for example, this comes to 200 TRY. If your budget is below the minimum, TikTok's error message states the exact amount in your account currency.

Two ways to connect WhatsApp

TikTok's documentation describes two separate ways to send people to WhatsApp. Which one you choose depends on how much setup you want to do.

Chat link. A WhatsApp chat link (wa.me) is used as the ad's link. No extra setup is needed; you only give your number and Opus Growth builds the link. With this method, click is the only optimization goal available. It is the most practical route if you want to start quickly.

Native WhatsApp setting. The number is entered on the ad group and TikTok creates the chat link itself. According to TikTok's documentation, the number must be connected to TikTok's messaging management tool for this method. Opus Growth can set this up as well and reminds you that the number needs to be connected.

TikTok's "conversations" optimization goal is currently available only to accounts TikTok has allowlisted.

How to write the prefilled message

The prefilled message does two jobs. First, it makes starting the chat easier, because the user does not have to think about what to write. Second, it tells you which ad the message came from.

That is why you should not leave the message generic. Instead of "Hello," write a sentence that mentions the offer or service in the ad, for example "Hello, I would like information about the October teeth whitening offer." If you run several ads, give each one a different prefilled message. Looking at the first line of an incoming chat, you can then see which ad is working.

The most common mistake: a link to your website

If you accidentally give this kind of ad group your website address, the ad sends people to your site instead of WhatsApp, and the whole point of the setup is lost.

Opus Growth prevents this mistake. If a website address is given instead of a chat link in an ad group that points to a messaging app, the tool refuses it and explains why. If you want to send traffic to your website, create a separate ad group that targets the website for that purpose.

How to measure the results

The results you see in the ads dashboard are clicks on the ad. Whether a chat actually starts, and whether it turns into a sale, happens in WhatsApp. So for the first few weeks, note every day how many new chats arrive and how many of them turn into an appointment or a sale.

Even if the cost per click is low, what you really need to measure is how much a chat and a customer cost you. After keeping these numbers for a few weeks, it becomes clear which video and which prefilled message work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a TikTok ad send people directly to WhatsApp?

Yes. When you choose lead generation as the campaign objective, set the ad group destination to Instant Messaging App and give the ad your WhatsApp link, anyone who taps the ad opens a WhatsApp chat with you directly.

Do I need any extra WhatsApp setup?

Not if you use the chat link (wa.me) method; giving your number is enough. If you want to use the native WhatsApp setting, TikTok's documentation requires the number to be connected to TikTok's messaging management tool.

What is the minimum budget?

TikTok's base is 20 US dollars per ad group per day, converted into each currency at its own rate. In Turkish lira accounts this comes to 200 TRY per day.

Can I use this ad without a website?

Yes. The ad takes the user directly to WhatsApp, so it does not need a website.

How can I tell which ad brought a chat?

Write a different prefilled message for each ad. The first message of an incoming chat then shows you which ad it came from.