Boosting posts is not a marketing strategy. Here represents the difference between burning cash and building a pipeline.
You’ve probably tried it before. You finish a great job, snap a photo, upload it to Facebook, and hit "Boost Post". You spend £50, get a few likes, maybe a comment from your aunt, but zero actual enquiries. Then you think, "Facebook ads don't work for trades."
The truth is, they do work. But "Boosting" is not advertising. It's a donation to Mark Zuckerberg.
The "Boost Post" Trap
When you boost a post, Facebook optimizes for engagement, not leads. It shows your ad to people who like clicking buttons, not people who need a bathroom renovation. You are paying for vanity metrics that don't pay the bills.
Facebook's algorithm is smart. If you ask for likes, it gives you likes. If you ask for leads, it gives you leads. Boosting a post is asking for likes. It defaults to the "Engagement" objective, which is useless for a plumber or builder looking for booked jobs.
How to Actually Get Leads
To make Facebook ads profitable, you need to stop boosting and start using the Ads Manager. Here is the simple formula that works for trades:
1. Targeting: Don't Guess
Don't just blast your ad to everyone in your town. Target homeowners in your specific postcode area. If you do high-ticket renovations, exclude renters. You can even target interests like "Home Improvement" or "DIY", but often, keeping it broad in a local area works best and lets the algorithm find the buyers.
2. The Offer: "We Do Plumbing" Is Not an Offer
If your ad just says "Smith & Sons Plumbing - Call Us", you will fail. People don't care about your company name; they care about their problem.
A good offer solves a specific pain (immediate) or fulfils a desire (renovation). examples:
- "Boiler broken? We'll be there in 2 hours or your service is free."
- "Get a fixed-price quote for your bathroom renovation in 24 hours."
- "Winter Boiler Service: £60 (usually £90) for local residents only."
3. The Creative: Ugly Works Better
Stop using stock photos of smiling American builders in clean hard hats. Nobody trusts them. They look like ads.
Use real photos of your team, your vans, and your finished work. A photo of a muddy van or a half-finished extension often outperforms a polished graphic because it looks real. It stops the scroll because it looks like content from a friend, not a company trying to sell something.
"If your ad looks like an ad, people will scroll past it. If it looks like a story, they will read it."
The Follow-Up is Key
Facebook leads are "interruption" leads. They weren't looking for a plumber when they saw your ad; they were looking at cat videos. This means they are colder than Google leads, who are actively searching for you.
You must call them within 5 minutes. If you wait 24 hours, they have already forgotten who you are. Speed is the only variable you can control that doubles your conversion rate instantly.
The Numbers Game
Don't expect every lead to close. If you get 10 leads for £200, and you close 2 of them for £1,000 profit each, you have turned £200 into £2,000. That is a 10x return. Ignore the 8 who didn't pick up the phone; they are just the cost of doing business.
Stop focusing on the cost per lead, and start focusing on the return on investment. If you can spend £1 to make £5, how many times would you spend that £1?
