How do I use TikTok’s Lookalike Audiences to find new customers?

Using TikTok’s Lookalike Audiences is a powerful strategy to scale your successful customer acquisition efforts by finding new users who share key characteristics with your best existing customers. At its core, it’s a tool that leverages TikTok’s algorithm to model new audiences based on a “seed” or “source” audience you provide. Done correctly, it can significantly lower your cost per acquisition and improve campaign efficiency.

The Strategic Foundation: Before You Build the Audience

Success with Lookalikes begins long before you click the “create” button in Ads Manager. It requires a foundation of data and strategic thinking, which aligns with our agency’s principle of establishing goals and building custom strategies rooted in customer empathy.

• Define Your Ideal Customer: What makes your best customers valuable? Is it a high lifetime value, frequent purchases, or high engagement? Your seed audience should be composed of these users.
• Select a High-Quality Seed Audience: The quality of your Lookalike Audience is directly tied to the quality of your source. TikTok recommends a source audience of at least 1,000-10,000 users for optimal modeling. The best seed audiences are often:
  • High-Value Purchasers: Customers from the last 90-180 days who spent above a certain threshold.
  • Engaged Video Viewers: Users who watched 75% or more of your video content.
  • App Installers or Event Completers: Users who performed a key in-app event, like adding to cart or initiating checkout.
• Clean Your Data: Ensure your customer lists (if using a Custom Audience) are current and accurate. Outdated emails or phone numbers will reduce the match rate and audience quality.

Step-by-Step: Creating and Implementing Your Lookalike Audience

Once your strategy is set, the execution within TikTok Ads Manager is straightforward.

1. Navigate to Audiences: In your TikTok Ads Manager, go to the “Assets” section and select “Audiences.”
2. Create a Custom Audience (Your Seed): Click “Create Audience” and select “Custom Audience.” You can upload a customer file (list of emails, phone numbers, etc.), use pixel or app activity (e.g., “All Purchasers”), or even use followers of your TikTok account. This becomes your source.
3. Generate the Lookalike: With your new Custom Audience selected, click “Create Lookalike.” You’ll then be prompted to:
   • Select the Source Audience: Choose the high-quality Custom Audience you just created.
   • Choose Target Location: Select the countries or regions where you want to find similar users.
   • Set Audience Size: This is the most critical tactical choice. TikTok offers a slider from 1% to 10%.
     • 1% Lookalike: The users most similar to your seed audience. This audience will be smaller, more precise, and often yields the highest conversion rates but may be more expensive to reach.
     • 10% Lookalike: A broader group that shares some traits. Larger and usually cheaper to reach, but may be less precise. It’s excellent for top-of-funnel awareness.

     We typically advise starting with a 1-3% Lookalike for direct response campaigns aimed at conversions, and testing broader ranges for reach and consideration.

4. Name and Create: Give your audience a clear, descriptive name (e.g., “LAL 1% – 90 Day Purchasers – US”) and create it. The algorithm will take some time to populate the audience.

Pro Tips for Testing and Optimization

Creating the audience is just the beginning. Our lean, testing-focused approach is vital here to prove winning strategies.

• Test Multiple Seed Audiences: Don’t rely on just one. Create separate Lookalikes from different seeds-one from purchasers, one from high-engagement viewers, one from your email list-and test them against each other in different ad sets.
• Layer with Interest Targeting: For even greater precision, you can combine your 5-10% Lookalike Audience with relevant interest targeting. This narrows the focus to users who are both similar to your customers and interested in your niche.
• Exclude Existing Customers: Always exclude your seed Custom Audience (and perhaps all website visitors) from your Lookalike ad sets. This ensures you’re purely prospecting for new, lookalike customers and not wasting spend retargeting people you already know.
• Monitor in Your BI Dashboard: As highlighted in our approach, data is essential. Track the performance of your Lookalike Audiences in a dedicated dashboard. Key metrics to watch are Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), and audience reach. Compare them to your interest-based campaigns to gauge true efficiency.
• Refresh Regularly: Customer bases and platform dynamics change. Update your seed audiences every 30-60 days and create fresh Lookalikes to ensure you’re targeting based on the most recent, relevant data.

Remember, TikTok’s platform is a unique frontier where creative is king. Even the best-targeted Lookalike Audience will underperform if paired with weak ad creative. Your ads must resonate with the platform’s native, authentic, and entertaining style-a core part of our TikTok advertising expertise. By combining a strategically built Lookalike Audience with platform-optimized creative, you create a powerful engine for scalable, efficient new customer growth.