Meta ads that actually pay for themselves
By ORA
"We tried Facebook ads and they didn't work" usually means one of three things: the offer was weak, the creative was ignored, or the money was spent in the wrong place. Fix those and the maths changes fast.
Lead with the offer, not the logo
Nobody scrolls Instagram hoping to meet your brand. They stop for something they want. Start with a genuinely good offer — a free consult, a first-visit deal, a useful guide — and the rest gets easier.
Creative is the targeting now
Meta's algorithm is good enough that your creative does most of the targeting for you. The job is to make thumb-stopping content that speaks to one person with one problem.
- Shoot vertical, native-feeling video — not polished TV ads
- Put the hook in the first second
- Test five angles, not five colours of the same angle
A simple funnel that works
You don't need a complex setup. Three stages is plenty for most local businesses:
- Attract — broad, interest-led video to cold audiences
- Remind — retarget video viewers and site visitors with the offer
- Convert — hit engaged people with social proof and a clear call to action
Judge the machine on cost-per-lead and show-up rate, not on likes.
Give it room, then read the data
Kill the instinct to fiddle daily. Let campaigns gather enough data to learn, then cut what loses and double what wins. Done patiently, a well-built local campaign doesn't cost money — it prints it.
