Meta ads for the customers who are not searching yet
Google Ads catches people who already know they need you. Meta reaches the ones who do not — the homeowner scrolling past a photo of a job you finished on their street, the parent who has been meaning to book a tour. Different intent, different creative, different measurement.
Demand capture versus demand creation
On search, the keyword tells you what the person wants. On Facebook and Instagram nobody asked for anything, so the creative does the work the keyword does on Google: it has to stop the scroll, say who it is for, and make the offer obvious in the first second.
That changes what matters. Audiences are broad and the algorithm does much of the targeting. Testing is constant, because creative fatigues in weeks. And the conversion is often softer — a lead form, a message, a quote request — which means the follow-up process matters as much as the ad.
Run together, the two feed each other: Meta builds the audience that later searches for you by name, and search catches them when they do.
Campaign types that work for local businesses
Lead generation
Instant forms or landing pages for quotes, estimates and consultations, with the qualifying questions that keep the wrong leads out.
Local awareness
Reaching a radius around your service area with work you have actually done — before and after, the truck, the team, the room.
Retargeting
Site visitors, video viewers, engagers and past customers, shown a different message from a cold audience.
Offers and seasonal
A specific reason to act now: a seasonal service, an event, a limited slot. Vague brand ads do not convert on this platform.
Recruiting
For trades that are short of technicians. Often cheaper than a job board, and it uses the same creative library.
Catalogue and bookings
For restaurants, retail and venues where an item or a date is the thing being sold.
The ads are the targeting
We plan a creative rotation rather than one advert: a handful of angles tested against each other, refreshed before they fatigue. Your own photography and video does better than anything staged, which is why we shoot it for clients who need it under content creation.
Every ad gets a clear first line, a visible offer, and a destination that matches it. If the ad promises a free estimate, the form asks four questions and no more.
- Three to five angles live at once, so the winner is found rather than guessed
- Real photos and short vertical video before stock
- Copy that names the service area and the offer in the first line
- Refreshed on a schedule — creative fatigue is measurable and predictable
- Lead forms with qualifying questions, or a landing page built for the ad
- Instant follow-up: a lead that waits an hour is usually cold
What we report
Meta reports conversions inside its own platform and tends to flatter itself. We reconcile against your calls, forms and bookings, and report the number you can verify.
Who this works for — and who should start elsewhere
Good fit
- Visual work: remodels, roofing, landscaping, restaurants, venues, salons, childcare
- Services with a considered purchase where people plan ahead
- Businesses with photos and video, or willing to have them made
- Owners who can follow up on a lead within the hour
Better to fix first
If you have no photography, no follow-up process, or you need work this week, start with Google Ads and your Google profile. Meta is patient money: it builds demand rather than harvesting it, and it rewards businesses that answer quickly.
Meta ads questions
How much should we spend?
Enough that the algorithm gets data — a starving budget never leaves the learning phase. We recommend a starting figure after looking at your service area, offer and follow-up capacity, and we never take a percentage of ad spend.
Do you charge a percentage of spend?
No. A flat monthly management fee. The ad account stays in your name and you pay Meta directly.
Facebook or Instagram?
Usually both, with the placement decided by where the results come from rather than by preference. The creative is made for vertical first either way.
Who makes the creative?
We do, from your photos and video. If you do not have any, we shoot it — that is often the highest-return part of the engagement.
Will these leads be as good as Google leads?
Usually cheaper and usually softer, because the person was not searching. Qualifying questions and fast follow-up close most of the gap, and we report quality honestly rather than only volume.
Can you run both Google and Meta?
Yes, and they work better together. The monthly report covers both so you can see where each lead came from.
Get a free ads review
Already running Meta ads? We will review the account for wasted spend, tired creative and untracked leads. Not yet? We will tell you whether it fits your business before you spend anything.