Local ads work when they feel local: a real photo, a real problem and a plain offer. They fail when they look like every other ad in the feed. The copy is the cheapest part to get right, and AI is good at producing the variations you need to test.
How to use it
- Choose one service and one offer per campaign. "Furnace tune-up before winter" beats "All our HVAC services".
- Run the prompt to get several hooks, texts and headlines.
- Test 2 to 3 versions against each other for a week, keep the winner, and replace the loser with a new idea.
meta-ads.txt
Write Facebook and Instagram ads for my local business. Business: [name], [what we do] in [city/area] Service and offer for this campaign: [e.g. furnace tune-up, free inspection, book before Dec 1] Ideal customer: [who, where, what they worry about] Proof: [reviews, years, number of jobs, guarantees] Landing page / action: [e.g. booking page, call, message us] Voice: [e.g. friendly, local, straightforward] Write: 1. 6 hooks (first line, under 12 words) in different angles: problem, result, local, seasonal, proof, question. 2. 3 complete ads: primary text (under 125 characters for the first lines that show, then up to 3 short paragraphs), headline (under 40 characters), description, and button choice. 3. For each ad, the photo or 10-second video to pair it with, filmable on a phone. 4. 3 audience ideas (location radius, interests or lookalikes) suited to a small budget. 5. A one-week test plan: what to compare and how to decide the winner. Rules: no invented claims, no wording that implies personal attributes of the viewer, no fake urgency. Canadian English.
What usually wins for local services
- Real photos and short videos of your team and work, filmed on a phone.
- The problem first: "Water in the basement after the storm?"
- One clear next step and a landing page that matches the ad.
- Proof in the copy: a review line, years in business, or local jobs done.
Follow Meta's advertising rules: no claims you cannot prove, no personal-attribute wording like "Are you struggling with debt?", and use the special ad category if you advertise housing, employment or credit.