Michael Mignogna

My Business Brain / Job 6 of 9

Meta Campaign Setup and Testing

Set up a Meta lead campaign the business owns, aimed at the area it serves, with enough different ads live to find a winner.

For contractors and agency owners10 principles7 playbook steps

This job covers the ad account, the targeting, the budget, and the first test. It sends people to a landing page. If you use Meta's instant forms instead, pick the form type that asks people to review their answers, and ask the same questions as the landing page form. Instant form leads often cost less and book less often.

Every job also follows the 12 ground rules.

How to use this page: read the principles, or copy the starter prompt into ChatGPT or Claude. Other ways

Principles

  1. The business owns its ad account, its Facebook Page, and its pixel.

    Why
    Whoever owns the account owns its history and its data. If an agency owns them, the business loses everything the day it leaves.
    How to apply
    The business opens its own ad account and pays Meta directly with its own card. An agency gets full access, not view-only access. Every lead belongs to the business.

    GoodThe contractor's ad account is in the contractor's name, and the agency has full access to it.

    BadThe ads run on the agency's account, so the contractor's results disappear when they switch agencies.

  2. Target the exact area the business serves.

    Why
    A wide radius spends money on people the business will never drive to. A wrong list wastes the first week of budget.
    How to apply
    Get the list of zip codes from the owner in writing. Before you load it, check whether Meta requires the housing special ad category for this campaign, because Meta's help pages list housing repairs as an example. With no special category, load the zip codes. With the housing category, Meta blocks zip codes, so cover the same area with location pins at the smallest radius Meta allows. Never guess the list, and never target a whole state.

    GoodA roofer serves 41 zip codes around one city, and the campaign targets those 41 zip codes only.

    BadThe campaign targets a 50-mile circle that includes a lake, a city the crew will not drive to, and a neighboring state.

  3. Aim at the people who buy the work, then let Meta find them.

    Why
    Meta finds cheap leads well when it has a clear area and a clear goal. Narrow interest targeting usually makes leads cost more.
    How to apply
    Set the age range of the people who buy this work, when the campaign's special ad category allows it. Turn off audience expansion where Meta offers it. Use automatic placements.

    GoodA campaign with no special ad category targets ages 35 and up, the business's zip codes, automatic placements, and no interests.

    BadFive stacked interests, such as home improvement and gardening, that shrink the audience to a few thousand people.

  4. Never change the offer, targeting, or budget on a live campaign to run a promotion.

    Why
    Big changes to a live campaign reset what Meta has learned. The campaign that was finding leads starts over.
    How to apply
    Give every new offer or promotion its own new campaign. Leave the everyday campaign alone.

    GoodHail hits part of the service area. The storm offer launches as a new campaign for those zip codes, and the everyday campaign keeps its budget and its ads.

    BadThe everyday campaign's offer, budget, and zip codes are all changed for a two-week sale.

  5. Run enough ads at once to find a winner.

    Why
    One or two ads is not a test. Meta needs several options to find the ad that gets leads for the least money.
    How to apply
    Divide three days of budget by the target cost per lead, and round down. That is how many ads to keep live.

    GoodThe daily budget is 300 dollars and the target cost per lead is 100 dollars. Three days of budget is 900 dollars, so the campaign runs nine ads.

    BadThe campaign runs one ad, and when it does not work, the owner decides Meta ads do not work.

  6. Test different ideas, not small tweaks.

    Why
    A new crop of the same picture tells you nothing. A different idea tells you what homeowners respond to.
    How to apply
    Make each ad in the test different in its angle, its image, or its format. Mix real photos, images with text, and video.

    GoodNine ads: three real photos, three images with the starting price on them, two videos, and one carousel.

    BadNine copies of one image with nine different headline colours.

  7. Use ordinary ads that send people to the landing page.

    Why
    Workarounds break tracking or get the ad account flagged, and a flagged account stops all the ads.
    How to apply
    Use a standard ad with one approved image or video, the copy approved with it, the landing page, and a button that matches the offer.

    GoodA single image ad with the approved headline and primary text and a Get Quote button that opens the landing page.

    BadA boosted post with a link in the comments, so Meta cannot count the lead.

  8. Name every campaign so anyone can tell what it is.

    Why
    Unclear names lead to someone changing or pausing the wrong campaign.
    How to apply
    Put the business, the service, the offer, and the launch date in the campaign name. An agency also adds its own name, and touches only campaigns with its name in them.

    GoodA name with the agency, roofing, price report, and the launch month.

    BadNew campaign 3, copy, copy.

  9. Prove the lead path with a test lead before launch.

    Why
    A broken form or a missing connection spends days of budget without anyone noticing.
    How to apply
    Submit a test lead. Confirm it reached the CRM with every field filled and that Meta counted it. Then delete the test lead so nobody calls it or pays for it.

    GoodThe test lead lands in the CRM with the address and service filled in, shows up in the ad account, and is deleted.

    BadThe campaign launches on Friday, and on Monday someone notices that no leads reached the CRM all weekend.

  10. Say the ads are live only after Meta shows them active.

    Why
    Ads can sit in review or get rejected. Telling the owner they are live when they are not breaks trust.
    How to apply
    Check the campaign, the ad sets, and every ad in the ad account. Report the launch only when they all show as active.

    GoodThe note to the owner goes out after every ad shows active in the ad account.

    BadThe owner is told the ads are live while half of them are still in review.

Agent playbook

Steps an AI agent can run in order. Each step names what it needs and what it hands to the next step.

  1. Confirm ownership and access.
    Inputs
    The business's ad account, Facebook Page, and pixel.
    Output
    Confirmation that the business owns all three and that you have full access.
  2. Collect the launch inputs.
    Inputs
    The offer sheet, the zip code list, the target cost per lead, the daily budget, and the approved ads.
    Output
    One launch sheet with every input. Anything missing is a question for the owner.
  3. Work out the number of live ads.
    Inputs
    The daily budget and the target cost per lead.
    Output
    Three times the daily budget, divided by the target cost per lead, rounded down, with the math shown.
  4. Build the campaign.
    Inputs
    The launch sheet.
    Output
    A paused campaign optimized for leads, with a clear name, the special ad category Meta requires, the zip codes or location pins, the age range where allowed, automatic placements, and the daily budget.
  5. Add the ads.
    Inputs
    The approved images and videos with their copy, and the landing page.
    Output
    One ordinary ad per approved pair, with a button that matches the offer.
  6. Send a test lead.
    Inputs
    The landing page and the CRM.
    Output
    Proof that the test lead arrived with every field and that Meta counted it. Delete the test lead afterward.
  7. Launch and confirm.
    Inputs
    The paused campaign and the test result.
    Output
    A launch note with the date, the number of live ads, the budget, the target cost per lead, and the date of the first review.

Final output

  • The campaign name
  • The zip code list
  • The daily budget and the target cost per lead
  • The number of live ads and its math
  • Each ad with its image or video and its copy
  • The test lead result
  • The launch date and the first review date
Starter prompt

Read https://byminyona.com/brain/playbook.md first and follow its Meta Campaign Setup and Testing rules and its ground rules. Plan a Meta lead campaign test for <offer> in <zip codes> with a <target cost per lead> target cost per lead and a <daily budget> daily budget.

If your AI cannot open links, paste this page's principles into the chat with the prompt. You can also paste the whole playbook or download AGENTS.md.

Next job: Optimization