How much should I spend on Facebook ads?
TL;DR
Start with $20-$50/day for 14 days to gather data. Most small businesses end up spending $500-$3,000/month on Meta ads. Below $300/month rarely produces useful learnings. Scale only what's profitable.
Detailed answer
- 1.Minimum viable test budget: $20/day × 14 days = $280.
- 2.Typical small business spend: $500-$3,000/month.
- 3.Cost per click averages $0.50-$2.50 for local businesses.
- 4.Cost per lead: $5-$30 for service businesses.
- 5.Never scale a campaign by more than 20% per week (resets learning phase).
Common mistakes
- 1. Boosting posts instead of running structured campaigns from Ads Manager.
- 2. Killing ads at day 3 before the learning phase completes.
- 3. Targeting too broadly or too narrowly without testing.
What to do instead
Set up the campaign in Ads Manager (not boost). Use a clear objective (purchases, leads) and let it run untouched for 7-14 days.
Pair paid ads with a customer-marketing program. Ads bring in cold traffic; customer marketing converts that traffic into long-term advocates at a fraction of the cost.
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