Introduction

Facebook advertising remains one of the most cost-effective ways for local businesses to reach customers in their area. For Western Sydney businesses—from tradies in Blacktown to cafés in Parramatta—Facebook ads can generate leads, bookings, and foot traffic at budgets that make sense for small business.

This guide covers the practical steps to create Facebook ads that work for local business.

Is Facebook Advertising Right for Your Business?

When Facebook Ads Work Well

Local service businesses:

  • Plumbers, electricians, cleaners
  • Beauty and wellness services
  • Fitness and personal training
  • Pet services

Local retail and hospitality:

  • Restaurants and cafés
  • Retail stores
  • Event venues

Professional services with local focus:

  • Accountants and financial advisors
  • Legal services
  • Real estate agents
  • Healthcare providers

When Other Channels Might Be Better

Immediate intent searches: If people search Google when they need you (“emergency plumber now”), Google Ads might generate faster results.

B2B services: LinkedIn often works better for business-to-business.

Very niche audiences: If your target market is tiny and specific, Facebook’s broad approach may not be efficient.

Best approach: Most local businesses benefit from both Facebook (building awareness) and Google (capturing active searchers).

Understanding Facebook Ads Manager

Campaign Structure

Facebook ads have three levels:

Campaign: Your objective (what you want to achieve) Ad Set: Targeting, budget, schedule (who sees your ads) Ad: Creative (what people see)

This structure lets you test different audiences with the same creative, or different creative for the same audience.

Campaign Objectives for Local Business

Lead Generation

  • Collect contact details directly in Facebook
  • Good for: service businesses wanting enquiries
  • Users fill out a form without leaving Facebook

Traffic

  • Send people to your website
  • Good for: businesses with strong websites
  • Useful for bookings, menus, detailed information

Messages

  • Start conversations in Messenger
  • Good for: businesses that convert through conversation
  • Personal, immediate engagement

Awareness (Reach)

  • Show ads to as many people as possible
  • Good for: new businesses, events, brand building
  • Less focused on immediate action

Store Traffic

  • Drive visits to physical locations
  • Good for: retail, hospitality
  • Uses store visit tracking if available

For most local businesses starting out, Lead Generation or Messages campaigns deliver measurable results.

Setting Up Local Targeting

Location Targeting

Radius Targeting Draw a circle around your business or service area:

  • Set your address as centre point
  • Choose radius (e.g., 15km)
  • Good for: retail, restaurants, service areas

For a café in Parramatta, 5-10km radius captures local customers without wasting budget on distant suburbs.

Postcode/Suburb Targeting Select specific areas:

  • Add individual postcodes
  • Choose suburbs by name
  • More precise than radius

For a business serving specific suburbs (e.g., only Hills District), this is more efficient than broad radius.

Exclusion Areas Remove locations you don’t serve:

  • Exclude postcodes outside service area
  • Exclude areas with different competitors
  • Reduce wasted spend

Audience Targeting

Demographics

  • Age: Match your customer base
  • Gender: If relevant to your business
  • Detailed demographics: homeowners, parents, etc.

Interests Facebook categorises users by interests:

  • Home improvement (for tradies)
  • Fitness and wellness
  • Food and dining
  • Specific hobbies and activities

Behaviours Actions people have taken:

  • Recently moved (great for services new residents need)
  • Small business owners
  • Frequent travellers
  • Online shopping behaviour

Example Targeting for Western Sydney Businesses

Hills District Dentist:

  • Location: 10km radius from Castle Hill
  • Age: 25-65
  • Interests: Health and wellness, parenting
  • Exclude: People interested in competitor clinics

Parramatta Restaurant:

  • Location: 8km radius from Parramatta CBD
  • Age: 21-55
  • Interests: Dining out, food and drink, specific cuisine type
  • Behaviours: Frequent diners

Blacktown Plumber:

  • Location: Postcodes 2145-2155, 2760-2770
  • Age: 30-65
  • Interests: Home improvement, homeownership
  • Demographics: Homeowners

Budgeting for Local Campaigns

What to Expect

Local Facebook advertising costs vary, but typical ranges:

Cost per click (CPC): $0.50 - $2.00 Cost per lead: $5 - $30 (depending on industry) Cost per thousand impressions (CPM): $10 - $25

These are guides—your results will vary based on targeting, creative, and competition.

Starting Budget Recommendations

Testing phase (first 2-4 weeks): $10-20 per day minimum This gives Facebook enough data to optimise delivery.

Ongoing campaigns: $300-500/month minimum for meaningful local reach More competitive industries may need higher budgets.

Budget Allocation

When running multiple campaigns:

  • 60-70% to best-performing campaigns
  • 20-30% to testing new approaches
  • 10% to brand awareness (optional)

Don’t spread budget too thin. Better to do one campaign well than three poorly.

Creating Effective Ad Creative

Images That Work

What performs for local business:

  • Real photos of your team (authenticity)
  • Before/after images (tradies, beauty)
  • Your actual location/food/products
  • Happy customers (with permission)

What doesn’t perform:

  • Obviously stock photos
  • Cluttered images with too much text
  • Low-quality or dark photos
  • Images that look like every competitor

Writing Ad Copy

Structure that works:

Hook (first line): Grab attention, speak to their need Body: What you offer, why you’re different Social proof: Reviews, experience, credentials Call to action: Clear next step

Example for Parramatta Electrician:

”⚡ Lights flickering? Switches sparking?

Parramatta’s trusted family electrician for 15 years. We arrive on time, quote upfront, and clean up after every job.

★★★★★ “Best sparky we’ve used. Fixed our safety switch in an hour.” - Sarah, North Parramatta

📞 Call for a free quote or book online”

Video Ads

Video typically outperforms static images:

  • Keep under 30 seconds for best results
  • Front-load the message (many won’t watch to end)
  • Add captions (most watch without sound)
  • Show real work, real people, real results

Simple videos work well:

  • Quick tour of your business
  • Time-lapse of a job
  • Customer testimonial (with permission)
  • “Day in the life” content

Ad Formats for Local Business

Single Image

  • Simple, fast to create
  • Works well for most businesses
  • Easy to test variations

Carousel

  • Multiple images in one ad
  • Showcase different services
  • Before/after sequences
  • Different products or menu items

Collection

  • Product catalogue format
  • Good for retail with multiple products
  • Requires product feed setup

Lead Generation Best Practices

Facebook Lead Forms

Lead Generation campaigns use instant forms that open within Facebook:

Keep forms short:

  • Name
  • Phone number
  • Email (optional for some businesses)
  • One qualifying question (optional)

Every additional field reduces completion rate.

Use pre-filled fields: Facebook can pre-fill name, email, and phone from user profiles, making form completion nearly effortless.

Add context: Include a headline explaining what happens next: “Get your free quote within 24 hours”

Following Up on Leads

Speed matters enormously:

  • Contact leads within 1 hour if possible
  • Maximum 24 hours
  • After 24 hours, conversion rates drop dramatically

Set up notifications:

  • Email alerts for new leads
  • Connect to CRM if you have one
  • Consider integration tools (Zapier) to automate

Track what happens: Know which leads converted to customers to measure true ROI.

Measuring Results

Key Metrics to Track

For Lead Generation:

  • Cost per lead (CPL)
  • Number of leads
  • Lead quality (do they convert to customers?)

For Traffic Campaigns:

  • Cost per click (CPC)
  • Click-through rate (CTR)
  • Website actions (bookings, calls, form fills)

For All Campaigns:

  • Reach (unique people who saw your ad)
  • Frequency (how often each person saw it)
  • Return on ad spend (if tracking purchases/revenue)

Calculating Return on Investment

Example Calculation:

  • Monthly ad spend: $500
  • Leads generated: 25
  • Cost per lead: $20
  • Leads converting to customers: 5 (20%)
  • Average customer value: $300
  • Revenue generated: $1,500
  • ROI: 200% ($1,500 / $500)

Track this monthly to understand true performance.

When to Adjust

Increase budget when:

  • Cost per lead is within target
  • Lead quality is good
  • You can handle more enquiries

Change creative when:

  • CTR drops below 1%
  • Frequency exceeds 3-4
  • Performance plateaus

Adjust targeting when:

  • Cost per lead is too high
  • Lead quality is poor
  • Reach is exhausting audience

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Targeting Too Broad

“Everyone in Sydney” wastes budget. Be specific about who your actual customers are.

Targeting Too Narrow

Under 10,000 people in your audience limits Facebook’s optimisation. Find balance.

Not Testing

Run 2-3 ad variations simultaneously. Let data show what works, not assumptions.

Expecting Instant Results

Facebook needs 3-7 days to optimise delivery. Don’t judge too quickly or change too often.

Neglecting Mobile

80%+ of Facebook usage is mobile. Ensure your website works perfectly on phones.

Ignoring Comments

Respond to comments on ads promptly. Engagement improves performance and demonstrates responsiveness.

Getting Started: Week-by-Week Plan

Week 1: Setup

  • Create/access Facebook Business Manager
  • Set up Facebook Pixel on website
  • Connect Instagram (if applicable)
  • Prepare images/videos

Week 2: Launch

  • Create first campaign (Lead Generation recommended)
  • Set up 2-3 ad variations
  • Start with $15-20/day budget
  • Set up lead notifications

Week 3: Monitor

  • Check results daily
  • Respond to leads within hours
  • Note which variations perform
  • Don’t make major changes yet

Week 4: Optimise

  • Pause underperforming ads
  • Increase budget on winners
  • Test new creative variations
  • Calculate preliminary ROI

Ongoing: Refine

  • Weekly performance review
  • Monthly strategy adjustments
  • Quarterly targeting refresh
  • Continuous creative testing

Getting Help

Facebook advertising can be managed in-house, but many Western Sydney businesses find that expert management improves results while freeing up time. At Cosmos Web Technologies, we manage Facebook advertising for local businesses across Parramatta, the Hills District, and greater Western Sydney.

Whether you want hands-on management, training for your team, or a one-time setup and strategy, we can help you make Facebook advertising work for your business.

If your customers need a dedicated app alongside your website, Awesome Apps specialises in Flutter and React Native development for Australian businesses.

This article is brought to you by Ganda Tech Services — Sydney’s complete digital solutions provider covering cloud, web, and mobile.