Meta Ads Case Studies

Case Study 1

Client: Fitness/Gym in Don Mills Road and Richmond Hill

The Challenge

Fitness Connection wanted to increase gym membership conversions and attract new members through Meta Ads. The key challenge was finding the right balance between lead volume and lead quality, while maximizing return on ad spend across multiple gym locations.

The Strategy

We ran a full-year Meta Ads campaign from January to December 2024, leveraging a mix of lead generation methods, ad creatives, and offer-based retargeting. The approach was executed in phases, adjusting based on performance data.

Phase 1: Form vs. Landing Page Testing (January–May)

We began by testing Instant Forms and Landing Page lead generation campaigns side by side:

Instant Forms generated a higher volume of leads but with lower quality, often lacking intent or responsiveness.
Landing Page campaigns brought in fewer leads but had higher quality and better follow-up conversion potential.

Phase 2: User Experience Improvements (June–July)

To improve conversion performance:

We redesigned and improved the landing page to highlight gym facilities and streamline the user experience, while continuing Instant Form campaigns in parallel.
This ensured data collection from both formats to understand the tipping point between quantity and quality.

Phase 3: Full Shift to Landing Pages (July–December)

After hitting lead goals, we fully transitioned to Landing Page-only campaigns:

Lead volume remained consistent with Instant Form results.
Lead quality significantly improved, helping front desk teams convert prospects more efficiently.

We also layered in a limited-time offer strategy to re-engage warm audiences who had previously not converted.

Additional Strategies Implemented

Multi-Creative Testing: Ran various angles highlighting affordability, facility features, and community motivation.
Simplified Campaign Setup: Combined creatives with similar angles in unified ad sets to avoid audience overlap.
Data-Based Creative Refinement: Refreshed top-performing creatives with variations in hooks and visuals while keeping the core message.
Audience Testing: Evaluated multiple interest and behavior groups to expand reach and find untapped audiences.
Retargeting: Warm audiences who clicked or visited but didn’t convert were consistently retargeted with urgency-based offers.

Performance Monitoring: Underperforming ads were turned off promptly, and budget was reallocated to winners on a rolling basis.

The Results

Jan 2024 to Dec 2024 Metrics

Notable Improvements Over Time:
- Cost per lead dropped from $34.10 in February to $17.71 in July, showing the impact of shifting to improved landing page campaigns.
- July–August had the most efficient CPLs and highest lead quality.
- CTR improved from 0.42% in January to 0.60% in December, driven by stronger hooks and cleaner messaging

Key Highlight

The campaign carefully and strategically shifted from Instant Forms to Landing Page campaigns, allowing us to first hit lead volume targets, and then improve lead quality as we scaled.
Landing page campaigns proved more effective in driving higher-intent leads, especially after optimization.
Continuous creative and funnel testing helped balance both quantity and quality across the campaign lifecycle.
Using limited-time offers and retargeting kept non-converters engaged and helped push them further down the funnel.
Vigilant optimization of creatives and budgets ensured high performance throughout the year without overspending.

Case Study 2

Client: Fitness/Gym in Don Mills Road and Richmond Hill

The Challenge

Fitness Connection aimed to increase conversions for their limited-time offer: $150 OFF on a Yearly Membership Plan. The goal was to attract new members within the local vicinity of Don Mills and Richmond Hill and turn interested prospects into committed, long-term members.

The Strategy

We launched a Meta Ads campaign focused on creative testing, audience intent matching, and conversion-focused optimization. Key components of the strategy included:

Multi-Creative Testing

We developed and tested multiple ad angles and formats to allow the creative to do the heavy lifting, while maintaining a broad local audience. This approach gave the Meta algorithm enough data to optimize delivery based on real-time engagement signals.

High-Converting Video Creative

One standout video ad emerged, centered around the “Looking for a Gym Near You?” hook.

The creative was structured to maximize viewer retention and drive action:

Hook: Direct and curiosity-driven opening line: “Looking for a gym near you?”
Middle: Highlighted the gym’s amenities, clean facilities, and motivating environment.
Walkthrough: Showed what a typical experience looks like for a new member.
Call-to-Action: Clear emphasis on the $150 OFF yearly plan, both visually and in the copy.

We kept this creative fresh by continuously testing new thumbnails and opening hooks based on in-ad video metrics like hold rate and 3-second views.

Performance-Based Budget Allocation

We closely monitored creative performance, turning off underperforming ads and reallocating spend toward those with stronger CTR and lower CPL. This hands-on budget control helped maximize lead volume without increasing spend.

Dedicated Landing Page:

To support the campaign, we created a dedicated landing page focused solely on the $150 OFF offer. This ensured consistency between the ad message and the landing experience, minimized bounce rates, and helped improve conversion rates.

The Results

Moth-over-Month (Jan 2025 to Feb 2025 Metrics)

Key Highlight

A single, well-structured video ad with the right hook and user experience preview outperformed static formats.
Creative refresh cycles using thumbnail and hook testing helped keep engagement strong throughout the campaign.
Smarter budget allocation and landing page alignment delivered nearly the same lead volume at half the cost.
Even with lower ad spend, the campaign achieved a 48.5% drop in CPL, proving the impact of strategic creative testing and targeting.

Case Study 3

Client: Catering + Venue/Bellagio Boutique Event Venue

The Challenge

he client wants to promote a wedding promotion campaign: Get 10% off on wedding packages and guest minimums when you book before November 30th.The goal is to get as many bookings as possible and encourage people to take advantage of the promo.

The Strategy

We rolled out a phased Meta Ads strategy focused on testing, audience refinement, and leveraging emotional storytelling to increase lead generation:

Initial Creative Testing:

We started with low-budget campaigns using static image creatives to gauge audience response. This allowed us to gather data on which visuals and messages resonated most with potential customers.

Refined Audience Targeting:

We filtered targeting to focus on high-intent audiences, specifically individuals marked as “engaged” and aligned ad delivery with the age groups most likely to be planning weddings, based on marriage statistics in Ontario.

Creative Shift to Video:

After analyzing the performance of static ads, we identified gaps in lead generation and pivoted to video content. We leveraged authentic, emotionally driven videos showcasing the venue and real wedding moments to foster a deeper connection with our audience. This approach was designed to improve engagement and drive more qualified conversions.

Budget Optimization:

As data came in, we continuously evaluated ad performance. Underperforming creatives were turned off, and budget was reallocated toward higher-performing ads to maximize results without increasing spend.

The Results

May 2025 to June 2025 Metrics

Key Highlight

A data-driven, phased Meta Ads strategy led to significant improvements in engagement and lead generation within just one month.
Switching from static images to authentic video content played a crucial role in boosting emotional connection and conversions.
Precise audience targeting of “engaged” individuals and age groups relevant to Ontario’s wedding demographics proved highly effective.
Strategic budget reallocation toward high-performing creatives maximized ROI without increasing overall spend.
The campaign delivered remarkable results:
- 766% increase in leads
- 78% decrease in cost per lead
- 231% increase in link clicks
- 43% lower cost per click

Case Study 4

Client: Divorce Financial Consulting Company

The Challenge

The client aimed to increase bookings for her divorce financial consulting services by using a lead magnet strategy, offering a free downloadable guide to attract high-intent leads who are preparing for or considering divorce.

The Strategy

To generate quality leads and boost visibility of the free guide, we implemented a focused Meta Ads strategy. Key components of the strategy included:

Multi-Creative Testing

We tested a variety of ad angles and formats (static and video) to determine which messaging and visuals would resonate best with women navigating relationship transitions. Messaging focused on empowerment, clarity, and planning for the future.

Simplified Ad Set Structure

To prevent audience overlap and improve budget efficiency, we grouped ads with similar creative angles into the same ad set allowing Meta’s delivery system to optimize without internal competition.

Data-Driven Creative Refinement

Winning creatives were refreshed with new versions such as modified headlines, new thumbnails, or updated captions while keeping the core message consistent. This helped avoid creative fatigue and kept engagement steady..

Hyper-Targeted Audience Testing

We filtered our audiences to reach married or partnered women, ages 38 and up, who are most likely to benefit from financial preparation during divorce.

Dedicated Landing Page

We created a dedicated landing page solely focused on the free guide, ensuring a congruent experience from ad to action. This helped reduce bounce rate and increase the chances of lead submission.

Ongoing Vigilance in Optimization

We closely monitored all campaigns and quickly turned off underperforming ads, reallocating budget to high-performing ones to ensure efficiency at every stage of the campaign.

The Results

Jan 2025 to June 2025 Metrics

Notable Insights:
- CTR peaked at 0.96% in February, showing strong audience engagement early on.
- Cost per lead improved significantly from $9.28 in January to $4.50 by March and April.
- Despite limited budget, the campaign maintained consistent lead flow and improved efficiency month over month.

Key Highlight

The campaign’s highly targeted and phased approach delivered consistent and affordable leads, contributing to stronger service inquiries.
Multi-creative testing enabled us to discover winning angles and improve performance with minimal spend.
Hyper-targeting the right audience (women 38+, married or in a relationship) resulted in a higher relevance score and stronger click engagement.
Refining and refreshing top creatives based on real-time performance metrics helped keep the ads fresh and effective.
A focused landing page experience aligned with the offer significantly reduced bounce rate and increased lead submissions.
Vigilant optimization and simplified structure helped ensure efficient spend and eliminated waste—delivering high-quality leads at an average of just $6.57.

Case Study 5

Client: Mortgage and LendingCompany

The Challenge

The client aimed to increase bookings for his mortgage services through Facebook and Instagram Ads. Initially, results were limited in both lead volume and lead quality, especially when relying on lead generation form campaigns.

The Strategy

To improve lead results, the campaign underwent several strategic changes:

Shift from Lead Generation Forms to Messaging Ads

Transitioning to messaging ads in March 2025 led to a significant increase in conversions and higher quality leads, as prospects were able to directly engage and ask questions.

Platform Optimization: Focused on Instagram Placement Only

Removing Facebook and other placements improved lead quality, aligning with Jacob’s branding and target audience behavior.

Multi-Creative Testing

Tested multiple angles, formats, and even boosted existing feed posts to encourage engagement and social proof, especially effective on Instagram.

Simplified Setup for Lean Budgets

All creative tests were consolidated into one ad set to maintain cost-efficiency and reduce budget fragmentation.

Audience Testing

Compared cold targeting vs. LLA of page engagers, finding that LLAs delivered better lead quality and lower cost per lead.

Vigilant Testing & Optimization

Creatives and audiences were monitored and updated weekly to ensure only top performers remained active.

The Results

Jan 2025 to July 2025 Metrics

Notable Insights:
- CTR peaked at 0.85% in May, indicating strong engagement after shifting to IG-only placements.
- Cost per lead dropped from $264.07 in January to just $5.72 by July, reflecting dramatic improvement in campaign efficiency.
- Shifting from lead form to messaging ads starting March proved highly effective in boosting lead quality and conversion rates.

Key Highlight

The campaign carefully and strategically shifted from Lead Forms to Messaging Ads, resulting in improved lead conversion and quality starting March 2025.
Platform refinement to Instagram-only placement allowed for better quality control and alignment with audience behavior.
Creative diversification and reuse of feed content helped maintain ad freshness and built social proof.
Lean campaign structure made the most of a limited budget, avoiding fragmentation across too many ad sets.
Audience tests revealed that Lookalike Audiences of page engagers were the most cost-effective and yielded the best lead quality.
Consistent optimization and pausing underperformers ensured efficient ad spend and steady lead growth.