Facebook and Instagram
Meta ads are bad at catching someone the moment they need you and good at two other things: staying in front of people who already know you, and putting one useful piece of local content in front of a tight radius. Most local accounts fail because they are asked to do the first job, with a boosted post, and judged by likes.
Who this is for
So the work here is narrow on purpose. An always-on retargeting campaign for people who visited the site or called, a seasonal campaign with a real offer and a real date, creative that looks like the owner made it because the owner did, and a lead path that lands in the follow-up system within minutes. Then the only numbers that get reported are calls, forms and what they cost.
- Have boosted posts for a year and cannot name a customer who came from one
- Have a seasonal push or an offer with a date on it
- Get traffic to the website that leaves without calling
- Sell something people need to see to want: a venue, a renovation, a treatment
- Can follow up on a lead form within the hour
What's included
Pixel and audiences
The Meta pixel and conversions API set up properly, with website visitors, past customers and lookalikes built as audiences you own.
Always-on retargeting
A small, steady campaign that keeps you in front of everyone who visited the site or called and did not book. The cheapest customers Meta will ever give you.
Seasonal local campaigns
One campaign per season or offer, aimed at a tight radius, with a start date, an end date and one measurable action.
Creative that is actually you
Owner-on-camera clips, real photos of real jobs, plain words. We script it, direct the shoot and cut it; nothing is stock.
Lead forms wired to follow-up
Instant forms or landing pages, either way landing in your CRM or inbox with an alert, so the reply happens in minutes.
Reporting that ignores likes
Cost per lead, cost per booked job and what the retargeting saved, on one page a month.
How it runs
- 01
Wire
Pixel, conversions API, audiences, and the follow-up path tested end to end before any spend.
- 02
Retarget
The always-on campaign goes live first, at a budget small enough to keep running all year.
- 03
Push
The seasonal campaign with its offer, radius, creative and dates.
- 04
Read
Monthly: what a lead cost, what a booking cost, and whether to scale, hold or stop.
Numbers to know
Only the figures an article on this site cites a source for. Your own numbers beat any of them, which is what the tools are for.
The 2026 all-industry median in WordStream's Facebook benchmarks. Home and home improvement runs about $43; dentists, the highest, about $62.
The 2026 median across industries (WordStream). In our experience plain creative with a real person in it beats polished stock.
Replying within an hour made firms about seven times as likely to qualify a lead as waiting an hour longer (Harvard Business Review). A lead form that sits until Monday is money burned.
What changes in 90 days
Meta ads management is a monthly retainer sized to the account, never a percentage of spend. Creative production is scoped separately when a campaign needs a shoot. Pricing is discussed plainly on the first call.
What marketing help costs, and how to compare quotes- A retargeting campaign that runs all year at a budget you stop thinking about
- A seasonal campaign with a result you can state in bookings
- Audiences you own: visitors, customers, lookalikes
- A clear answer on whether Meta deserves more of the budget
Run your numbers
Free, no email, and every result has a link you can send.
Before you ask
The short versions. Anything else, put it in the message.
For two jobs, yes: retargeting people who already know you, and a seasonal local push with a real offer. For cold lead generation they are weaker than search, because nobody opens Instagram with a burst pipe. Run them for the two jobs, judge them by calls and forms, and the answer is usually yes at a small budget.
Meta ads, honestlyGo deeper
Often paired with
Let's talk
Tell me what's going on with your marketing. I'll reply within a business day, and we'll find the constraint together on a 30-minute call. No pitch, no deck.