A comprehensive guide to setting up effective Meta advertising campaigns specifically designed for photographers looking to attract and book clients.
Step 1. Choose Buying Type
Auction
Always choose this. You compete for impressions with other advertisers, and it's flexible.
Reservation
For large brands that buy placements in advance (expensive, not needed for photographers).
👉 For photographers: always choose Auction.
Step 2. Choose Campaign Objective
Meta offers 6 main objectives. The one you pick determines who sees your ad.
Awareness
Shows your ad to as many people as possible.
Main metric: reach, impressions.
Best for: big brands with huge budgets.
❌ For photographers → useless. Many views, few clients.
Traffic
Sends people to your website/landing page (Durable, Gamma, or TidyCal).
Main metric: link clicks (CPC).
✅ Good if you have a clear landing page with pricing and booking options.
⚠️ Pitfall: Facebook optimises for "clickers," not for people who actually book.
Engagement
Goal: likes, comments, shares.
❌ For photographers → a trap. Nice vanity numbers, but no clients.
Only useful for warming up audiences if you have a very large budget.
Leads
Shows your ad to people who often fill in forms.
Uses Meta's built-in Lead Forms.
✅ Can work if you want to collect emails directly inside Instagram/Facebook.
⚠️ Pitfall: often brings "cold" or low-quality leads, since people click by accident.
App Promotion
For app downloads.
❌ Not relevant for photographers.
Sales / Conversions
Shows your ad to people most likely to take action on your site (e.g., book a session through TidyCal).
✅ Perfect if you have a Pixel installed and events set up ("Schedule," "Lead").
⚠️ Pitfall: Pixel setup may feel complicated at first. But this is the objective that delivers the highest-quality clients.
🔑 Boostie's Recommendation for Photographers
If you don't have a Pixel or a booking site yet → start with Messages (subcategory under Leads/Traffic).
Ad sends people into Instagram DM, where ManyChat answers with "SESSION" or "BRAND."
If you already have a landing page + TidyCal → test Traffic first.
Once you install the Pixel → move to Conversions (Sales).
Step 3. Pro Tips for Photographers
Don't choose objectives just for likes (Engagement). It's wasted money.
For first tests, keep the budget small (€5–10/day).
Always ask yourself: what do I want from this ad? → "I want people to book" → then choose Messages or Conversions, not Awareness.
This was just one example of how your ad campaigns and monetization pathway can be structured.
If you’d like help launching clear, effective ads — with the right objectives, safe budgets, and scaling strategies — BOOSTLAB will guide you through every step.