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CJ Digital Marketing

Meta Ads · Cork

Social media advertising campaigns that create demand, not just likes.

Google Ads catches people who already know they need you. Meta ads reach the far bigger group who do not know yet. A well-built social media advertising campaign puts the right offer in front of the right person on Facebook and Instagram before your competitors even exist to them.

A badly built one buys you likes from strangers. I build the first kind. From €65 per week, billed every 4 weeks.

Charlie Johns running Meta ads campaigns for Cork businesses

Realistic timeline

How long it takes.

Meta needs longer than Google to prove itself out because the learning phase is doing serious work. Real numbers by month two.

Meta ads timeline

Weeks 1-2

Foundation

Pixel and CAPI installed. Creative and offer built. First campaigns live.

ROI Investing

Month 1

Learning

Meta stabilises. First conversions in. Creative fatigue tests started.

ROI Returns starting

Months 2-3

Optimisation

Winning creatives found. Retargeting layered. Cost per lead falling.

ROI Profitable

Month 6+

Scale

Predictable pipeline. Multiple angles running. Ready for budget expansion.

ROI Scaling up

The Fit Test

Who Meta ads are right for.

Right for you if

  • Your offer is visual, local, or impulse-adjacent: trades, clinics, gyms, restaurants, e-commerce, events
  • You can spend €300-600/month on ad spend minimum. Below that, Meta never optimises
  • You want to create demand, not just capture existing demand
  • You have a clear offer — a consultation, discount, or lead magnet with real value
  • Your audience scrolls Instagram or Facebook and your offer can be understood in three seconds

Not for you if

  • You sell narrow B2B where the buyer is a specific job title. LinkedIn ads suit better
  • You want €50/month campaigns. Meta learning phase will never finish
  • You expect "brand awareness" without conversion tracking. I do not run vanity campaigns
  • Your landing page is a homepage or a broken funnel. Fix the landing first

What's included

How I run a social media advertising campaign.

Offer before audience

The biggest lever in Meta ads is what you promote, not who you target. We build a real offer first — consultation, discount, lead magnet with actual value.

Creative that stops the thumb

Plain, honest creative consistently beats polished agency gloss. UGC-style video where it suits, static images where they earn the click.

Pixel and Conversions API

Post-iOS14, sloppy tracking means Meta optimises blind. Meta Pixel plus server-side CAPI installed properly on every account.

Full-funnel structure

Cold reach, warm retargeting, follow-up path. One-campaign wonders stopped working in 2021.

20% testing budget

A fifth of every budget goes on deliberate experiments. New hooks, new formats, new audiences. Creative fatigue is real.

Reporting in plain English

Cost per enquiry, cost per customer, ROAS. Not CTR, not CPM. Business metrics, not diagnostic ones.


Campaign objectives

Which Meta ads campaign type is right for you.

01

Leads campaigns

For service businesses. Free assessments, consultations, first-visit offers. Lead form ads or off-platform landing page ads depending on your funnel.

02

Sales campaigns

For e-commerce. Product catalogue integration, dynamic retargeting to browsers who did not buy, Advantage+ shopping for scaled accounts.

03

Engagement campaigns

Overused. Likes and comments do not pay your rent. I use these sparingly, mostly for warming a retargeting audience before running conversion campaigns.


Pricing

What it costs.

Management fee

From €65

Per week

Billed every 4 weeks. Three-month minimum, month-to-month after. 90-day money-back guarantee.

Ad spend (paid to Meta)

From €300

Per month, minimum

Paid directly to Meta, never marked up. €300-600/mo is the workable local floor.


FAQ

Things people ask.

How much should I spend on a social media advertising campaign?

€300-€600 a month of ad spend is a workable floor for local Cork campaigns. Below that, Meta's learning phase never finishes and results stay noisy. I would rather tell you to wait and save than take a fee on a budget that cannot work.

Facebook or Instagram?

Both, usually — it is one auction. Placement follows where your buyers scroll. In most Cork accounts, Instagram wins on cost per click and Facebook wins on cost per enquiry, but the split varies by industry.

How fast will I see results?

Lead campaigns can produce enquiries in the first two weeks. Give it 30 to 60 days before judging cost per lead — the first fortnight is Meta learning who buys.

Do Meta ads work for B2B?

Sometimes, for retargeting and brand. For direct B2B lead gen, LinkedIn ads or Google Ads usually earn the euro first. I will say so if that is you.

What about organic social alongside the ads?

Organic social is different work with a different objective. Meta ads produce enquiries this month; organic social builds trust that closes those enquiries. That is my Social Media Management service, and running the two together is the way to compound.


Two ways to start.

Option 1. Book a 20-min call.

We talk. I learn about your business. You learn about how I work. No pitch deck, no pressure. If it is not a fit, I will tell you and point you at someone who is.

Book a call

Option 2. Get the free audit.

Tell me your website and your industry. I spend an hour on it and come back with a report telling you exactly where you are leaking enquiries online. No call required. No follow-up unless you want one.

Get the free report