Facebook ads, which also covers Instagram since both run through Meta, are cheaper to start than Google search ads and work differently. You are not catching people who are searching. You are putting an offer in front of people based on who they are and how they behave. That changes what you should expect to pay and what you need for it to work.

How Facebook ads pricing works

Like Google, Meta runs an auction. You do not pay a fixed rate. You set a budget, daily or total, choose who you want to reach and what you want them to do, and Meta charges you based on the auction for that audience at that moment. You can be billed per impression or per click depending on how the campaign is set up.

The numbers

As a rough UK guide for a small business:

• Cost per thousand views, known as CPM: often somewhere between £3 and £12

• Cost per click: often between around 30p and £1.50

• Cost per lead: varies hugely, anywhere from a couple of pounds to £30 or more depending on your offer and audience

These move around a lot. Treat them as a starting expectation, not a quote.

What drives your cost up or down

• Audience. Narrow, in demand audiences cost more to reach. Broad ones are cheaper but less targeted

• Competition. More advertisers chasing the same people pushes prices up

• Your creative. A scroll stopping image or video with a clear message earns cheaper results. Dull creative costs you more for worse outcomes

• The objective. Asking for a purchase costs more per action than asking for a video view

• Time of year. Costs climb in the run up to Christmas and other retail peaks as big brands flood the auction

A sensible starting budget

For a local small business, £10 to £20 a day is enough to start learning what works, so roughly £300 to £600 a month. Run it for at least a month before you judge it. Meta needs a stretch of data to find your people, and stopping and starting resets that.

Facebook ads or boosting posts

The blue "Boost post" button is the simplest form of advertising and the least effective use of the budget. It gives you almost no control over targeting or objective. Proper campaigns built in Meta's Ads Manager cost the same in media but do far more with it.

What you need for it to work

• A clear offer, not just "check us out"

• Strong creative, ideally a short video or a genuinely good photo

• A landing page that matches the ad

• Conversion tracking through the Meta pixel, so you can see what the spend produced

• Patience for the first few weeks

Cost is not the same as value

A £15 cost per lead sounds expensive until those leads are booking £400 treatments. A £2 cost per lead is terrible if none of them buy. Always look past the cost per click to what the spend actually earns.

The takeaway

Budget around £300 to £600 a month to start with Facebook and Instagram ads, expect clicks somewhere around 30p to £1.50, and know that your creative and your offer move those numbers more than anything else. Skip the boost button, use proper campaigns, and measure leads and sales, not clicks.

Koprio runs paid social for small businesses across East Sussex as part of the paid advertising service, and can combine it with organic social media management so the paid and unpaid sides work together. Get in touch for a starting plan and budget.