TikTok Lead Generation Case Study £60 to £8 CPL in 26 Days for UK Firm
In this Pearl Lemon / Piman case study, Timmy Operations Director at Piman (part of the Pearl Lemon Group) breaks down how our team launched, tested, and optimised a TikTok Lead Generation campaign for a UK-based investment company.
Across just 26 days, we ran three sequential campaigns that:
- Generated 87 qualified leads
- Reduced cost-per-lead from £60 → £8
- Drove 252,000+ impressions
- Delivered consistent daily conversions
- Produced real results using TikTok’s in-app lead forms (no landing page required)
This case study walks through the exact structure, optimisations, creative tests, audience adjustments, and learnings that made this campaign a success even in a compliance-heavy industry like investment services.
Client Background
Industry: UK Investment Firm
Objective: Generate high-quality investor leads through TikTok
Platform: TikTok Ads (Lead Generation Objective)
Lead Type: TikTok In-App Lead Forms
Budget: £3,000
Campaign Window: 1st – 26th October
The client wanted a cost-efficient, scalable lead flow without relying on landing pages. TikTok’s built-in lead forms allowed users to submit details instantly, reducing friction and increasing conversion rates.
Campaign Goal
Generate as many qualified investment leads as possible at the lowest sustainable CPL using full-funnel creative testing and optimisation.
Campaign Overview (3-Phase Structure)
To maximise performance, we broke the campaign into three phases:
Campaign 1-Baseline Testing
- Ran from October 1-20
- Budget allocated for initial data gathering
- Goal: establish benchmarks for CPL, CTR, and conversion flow
- Result: 38 leads @ £60 CPL
Campaign 2-Mid-Month Optimised Test
- Ran from October 19–26
- Introduced new creatives + targeting variations
- Result: 26 leads CPL significantly reduced versus Campaign 1
Campaign 3 -Final Optimised Performance Campaign
- Ran alongside Campaign 2
- Hyper-focused on best-performing audiences + creatives
- Result: 23 leads @ £8 CPL
(Best CPL of the entire month)
Results Summary
|
Campaign |
Leads |
CPL |
Notes |
|
1 |
38 |
£60 |
Baseline testing, wider audience |
|
2 |
26 |
↓ Significantly |
Creative + audience improvements |
|
3 |
23 |
£8 |
Fully optimised, top-performing structure |
TOTAL RESULTS
- 87 leads
- 252,000+ impressions
- Massive CPL reduction (-86%)
- Consistent daily conversions across 3 campaigns
Strategy Breakdown
TikTok Lead Form Conversion Flow
Instead of sending traffic to a landing page, leads submitted details directly inside TikTok, reducing:
- load time friction
- drop-offs
- user effort
This is especially effective for “quick decision” industries like investments.
Audience Testing
Campaigns tested:
- broad UK targeting
- finance-interested audiences
- investment-curious segments
- lookalikes based on lead form behavior
As results came through, we narrowed audiences progressively, reducing CPL.
Creative Testing - Short vs. Long Form
We tested:
- short 6-10 second videos
- longer 15-20 second explainers
- variations in tone (educational, conversational, direct CTA)
Winner:
- Short-form creatives produced the BEST conversions and lowest CPL.
- TikTok rewards immediacy hooks in the first 1-2 seconds performed best.
Budget Reallocation
- We paused underperforming ad sets and gradually increased budget to the best-performing ones.
- This allowed us to scale leads without inflating CPL.
Data-Driven Mid-Campaign Optimisation
Between October 19-26, we:
- refreshed audiences
- replaced fatigued creatives
- adjusted bidding
- improved form completion rate by revising form fields
- added urgency in CTAs
This unlocked the £8 CPL performance.
Chapters (Video Outline)
00:00 – Introduction: Campaign overview
00:25 – About the client (UK investment firm)
00:50 – Campaign 1: Setup, budget, and initial performance
01:20 – Campaign 2: Launching second test ads and results
01:45 – Campaign 3: Achieving lowest CPL through optimization
02:15 – Testing short vs long-form TikTok creatives
02:45 – Comparing conversion and cost data
03:15 – What worked best: ad formats, targeting, and timing
03:45 – Summary of results and ROI
04:15 – Lessons learned & next steps
Why This Campaign Worked
Sequential testing (not random testing)
Running three structured campaigns allowed constant refinement and iteration.
TikTok lead forms convert FAST
Removing the landing page increased conversion volume and lowered friction.
Short-form creatives = lower CPL
The algorithm responded strongly to 6-10 sec explainers and hooks.
Rapid optimisation window
Daily monitoring meant we could aggressively reduce CPL in real time.
Clear, compelling investment offer
The client’s value proposition aligned well with TikTok’s audience.
CPL Drop Analysis
We achieved an 86% CPL reduction:
- Initial CPL: £60
- Optimised CPL: £8
This kind of reduction is only possible through:
- aggressive creative testing
- audience refinement
- multi-campaign iteration
- daily optimisation
- strong measurement discipline
Lessons Learned
- Shorter TikTok ads almost always outperform long-form versions
- TikTok lead forms are a great option for finance campaigns
- Launching multiple test campaigns is better than forcing one to work
- The algorithm optimises quickly once it has 50+ conversions
- High-frequency testing dramatically improves CPL
Next Steps for This Client
Based on performance, recommended next steps include:
- scaling the winning ad set with incremental daily budget increases
- adding new short-form creatives monthly
- building multiple lookalike audiences
- retargeting users who opened but didn’t submit the form
- testing new hooks + UGC-style ads
Work With Us
Want to generate high-quality leads using TikTok ads no matter the industry?
Start your campaign today: https://pearllemon.com
Lead Generation Experts: https://pearllemonleads.com
