How to run Meta ads that actually book local customers
Local businesses waste significant budget on boosted posts. Here is the campaign structure that fills calendars.
Why boosted posts do not work
Boosting a post instructs Facebook to show it to people who are likely to engage: like, comment, or share. That is not your customer. Your customer is a specific person in a specific location with a specific problem. Boosted posts reach a broad audience. Properly structured ads reach the right one.
The campaign structure that fills local calendars
Start with one campaign, one ad set, one audience: people within 15km of your business, aged 25 to 65. One creative: a specific result you have achieved for a similar customer. One call to action: book, call, or message, whichever you can follow up on most quickly.
Creative that earns attention
A photograph of a real result, a completed installation, a before-and-after, a finished project, consistently outperforms designed graphics. Shoot it on your phone. Authenticity performs because it is credible.
What to measure
Cost per lead is the only metric that matters at the outset. Not impressions, reach, or link clicks. If your cost per lead is under $30 for a job worth $500, you have a viable acquisition channel. If it exceeds $100, you have a creative or targeting problem. Both are correctable.