Facebook and Instagram ads: what to spend and what to expect

Different from Google, in one important way

On Google, people are already searching for what you do. On Facebook and Instagram, they’re scrolling past friends, news and reels. Nobody opened the app looking for a plumber or a dentist.

That changes everything about how Meta ads work. Google Ads capture demand that already exists. Meta ads create it, by putting something in front of the right people that makes them stop, look and want to know more. Get that right and Meta can be one of the most cost-effective ways to grow a local business. Get it wrong and it’s an expensive way to be ignored.

If you’re still weighing up Google, our guide to how much to spend on Google Ads covers that side.

When Meta ads work best

Meta suits businesses where people can be tempted, inspired or reminded, not just those who are searched for in an emergency. It tends to work well for:

• Cafés, restaurants and bars: new menus, events, specials and that one dish people come back for
• Retail and online stores: products people didn’t know they wanted until they saw them
• Beauty, hair, fitness and wellness: visual results and limited-time offers
• Events, workshops and launches: anything with a date and a reason to act now
• Local services with a story: a builder’s before and after, a florist’s week of work

It’s usually a weaker fit when people only look for you in a moment of need. Nobody wants an emergency electrician until the power goes out. For those businesses, Google Ads and SEO normally come first, with Meta used mainly for retargeting.

What Meta ads cost

Meta runs an auction like Google, but you’re mostly paying to be seen, not for a search. Costs are usually measured per thousand people reached (CPM) as well as per click.

In Australia, clicks on Facebook and Instagram often cost around a dollar, and reaching a thousand people commonly costs somewhere between $10 and $20. That’s much cheaper per click than most Google searches, but the people clicking are earlier in their decision, so fewer of them enquire straight away.

As with Google, the number that matters is what a real customer costs you, not what a click costs.

How much to spend to start

For most Melbourne small businesses, a test of around $20 to $50 a day, or roughly $600 to $1,500 a month, for three to four weeks is enough to learn what works.

Less than that and Meta struggles to learn. Its system needs results to work out who to show your ads to. Meta’s own guidance is that an ad set needs around 50 results in a week to finish what it calls the learning phase. Most small businesses won’t hit that with sales, which is why it often makes sense to start with a goal that happens more often, like a form enquiry, a booking or a link click, then tighten up once you have data.

A few rules for the first month:

• Run one or two campaigns, not ten. Spreading a small budget thin means nothing learns properly.
• Don’t change things every day. Each big edit can restart the learning.
• Give it two or three weeks before you judge it.
• Watch cost per enquiry or booking, not likes and comments.

The creative does most of the work

On Google, your ad is a few lines of text, and the search does the targeting. On Meta, the image or video is the ad. It has to stop someone’s thumb in about a second. That’s why creative usually matters more than targeting or budget.

What tends to work for local businesses:

• Real over polished. Phone-shot video of your team, your space or your work often beats a slick graphic, because it looks like the rest of the feed.
• Lead with the hook. Show the result, the dish, the before and after or the problem in the first second or two.
• Make it work without sound. Most people scroll with the sound off, so add captions.
• Show people. Faces, hands and real customers (with permission) hold attention.
• Test a few versions. Run three or four different images or videos and let the results pick the winner.
• Refresh often. The same people see your ad repeatedly, so even good creative wears out after a few weeks.

Our team has made creative for campaigns for brands like Sony, Corona and Rains, and the lesson scales down perfectly: the idea and the first second matter more than the production budget.

Retargeting: where Meta shines for almost everyone

Even if Meta isn’t right for finding new customers in your industry, retargeting usually is. Retargeting shows ads to people who’ve already shown interest, like visiting your website, watching your video or engaging with your Instagram, but didn’t enquire.

Most visitors leave a website without getting in touch. Retargeting brings some of them back with a reminder, a review from a happy customer or a reason to act now. Because these people already know you, it’s often the cheapest way to win enquiries on Meta.

It works especially well alongside Google Ads and SEO. People find you through search, and Meta keeps you in front of them while they decide. Our guide to SEO or Google Ads explains how search and paid channels fit together.

Tracking: the Meta Pixel and Conversions API

To know whether your ads are working, and so Meta can learn who to show them to, you need tracking set up properly:

• The Meta Pixel is a small piece of code on your website that records visits and actions, like an enquiry or a booking
• The Conversions API sends the same information from your website’s server, which is more reliable now that many browsers block tracking
• Each important action, such as a form sent, a booking made or a purchase, should be set up as a conversion

Without this, Meta optimises for the wrong things, usually cheap clicks that never become customers. If you add tracking, make sure your privacy policy explains it, and set the ad account and Pixel up in your own name so you keep the data.

Your website still has to do its job

A great ad that sends people to a slow or confusing page wastes the budget. Most Meta traffic is on phones, so your landing page needs to load fast on mobile, say clearly what you offer, and make the next step obvious. Our free website check shows how your site scores in about 30 seconds, and our guide to website copy that converts covers what to put on the page.

If you run a café or restaurant, our guide to what a Melbourne café or restaurant website needs covers bookings, menus and the details that turn social traffic into tables.

The short version

• Meta creates demand, Google captures it
• It suits visual, local and offer-driven businesses best, and retargeting suits almost everyone
• Start with around $20 to $50 a day for three to four weeks
• Keep it simple, change little, and judge it on cost per enquiry
• Spend your energy on the creative, especially the first second
• Set up the Pixel and Conversions API in your own name before you spend

Want a hand working out whether Meta ads are right for your business? Our digital marketing service covers Google and Meta, or you can book a free 20 minute call and we’ll talk it through.