The short answer: Meta ads work when four things line up: tracking Meta can trust, the right campaign goal in a simple account, varied creative, and the same message from ad to booking. This series takes them one at a time, about a minute each, with the full detail on each page.
Media buying in 60 seconds is the paid social part of our “in 60 seconds” series. SEM in 60 seconds covers Google Ads. This one is James, who runs Meta and paid media at Pixelated Bubble.
The episodes
- What does a media buyer do? Where your ad budget goes, and who keeps checking it works.
- Media buying on Meta: setup, configuration, content, alignment. In that order.
- Your creative is your targeting. Why different ideas beat ten versions of one photo.
- Fix the tracking first. Pixel, Conversions API and Event Match Quality.
- Better leads, not more leads. Higher intent forms, one good question, and telling Meta who booked.
- Traffic campaigns, the right way. Cheap visitors first, then retarget them.
- Meet James. Who he is, how he works, and his free audit.
The checklist in one table
| Fix | Quick check | Episode |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking | Pixel and Conversions API both on, Event Match Quality 8 or more | 4 |
| Objective | Sales or Leads when you want bookings, not Traffic or Engagement | 2 |
| Creative | 3 to 4 genuinely different ideas, made for the phone, captions on | 3 |
| Lead forms | Higher intent, one question that matters, reply the same hour | 5 |
| Traffic | Landing page views, feeding a retargeting campaign | 6 |
Who is it for?
Irish small business owners running their own Facebook and Instagram ads: cafés, restaurants, B&Bs, trades, salons, gyms and shops. No jargon without a plain English version.
Want a hand?
James offers a free, no commitment look at your Meta ads, tracking and content. See how we do media buying for Irish businesses, or book a call with James.