It’s probably one of the questions we get asked most by local cafes and coffee shops.
“Can I actually get results on Facebook and Instagram with only £5-10 per day?”
The simple answer is yes.
You don’t need a huge budget to get your business seen locally. In fact, we’ve seen some really good results from businesses spending as little as £10 per day across two simple campaigns.
Before you spend a penny on advertising though, you need to make sure the groundwork is done properly.
Get Your Facebook & Instagram Setup Right First
There’s no point running ads if the foundations aren’t in place.
Before launching any campaign make sure you have:
- A Facebook Business Manager account setup
- An active Ads Account
- A Facebook Page and Instagram account connected together
- A website linked correctly
- Regular social media content already being posted
- All assets connected and working properly
If you’re selling products online or offer online ordering, you’ll also want to make sure:
- Your products are synced with Meta Commerce Manager
- The Meta Pixel is installed on your website
- Conversion tracking is setup correctly
- Website events are firing properly
If any of this sounds confusing, speak to us. We help local businesses get this setup right all the time.
The £10 Per Day Strategy
Rather than throwing all your budget into one campaign, we’d suggest splitting it across two.
£5 per day on awareness.
£5 per day on conversions.
This gives you a really good balance between building local recognition and driving actual sales.
Campaign #1: Instagram Giveaway Competition (£5 Per Day)
This is all about getting your name out there locally.
Start by creating a giveaway post on Instagram and posting it organically first.
Leave it running for around a week without spending any money behind it.
Once you’ve got some initial engagement, boost the post for the final 3 weeks using a Profile Visits objective.
The goal isn’t just entries.
You’re building local awareness, increasing profile visits and introducing your business to people who might not know you exist.
Example Competition Entry Rules
- Follow our Instagram account
- Like this post
- Tag a friend in the comments
- Each tag counts as one entry
This works particularly well because every tag introduces your business to another local person.
Competition Disclaimer Example
This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed, administered by or associated with Instagram or Meta. By entering, participants confirm they are 18+ and release Instagram from any responsibility related to this competition. Winner will be selected at random and contacted directly via Instagram.
Always check Instagram’s latest promotion guidelines before running a competition.
Campaign #2: Sales & Conversion Campaign (£5 Per Day)
Now comes the important bit.
Once your giveaway has been running for a few weeks, you’ll have built up an audience of people who have engaged with your content.
These people already know who you are.
They’ve visited your profile, liked your content or interacted with your competition.
Create an Engagement Audience inside Meta Ads Manager and target these people with a second campaign.
This campaign should focus on a simple offer with clear value.
Examples could include:
- Free takeaway coffee with every sandwich purchased
- Buy one get one free
- 10% off selected drinks
- Loyalty card promotions
- Free cake with any large coffee
The goal isn’t always to generate an instant sale.
Sometimes it’s simply getting someone through the door.
Once they’re in your cafe you’ve got the opportunity to upsell, cross-sell and deliver a great customer experience.
If your coffee is genuinely great and your service is consistently excellent, that’s what turns a one-off customer into a regular customer.
Don’t Skip The Ad Setup
One mistake we see a lot is businesses rushing through the ad creation process.
Take the time to complete every field available when creating your ads.
Add:
- Primary text
- Headline
- Description
- Call-to-action button
- Website URL
- Tracking parameters
- Relevant images or videos
The more complete your ad setup is, the better chance Meta has of optimising delivery effectively.
It’s also worth aiming for the highest optimisation score possible before launching.
What Results Can You Expect?
Every business is different and results will vary. That said, we’ve personally seen campaigns like this:
- Increase local footfall by around 18% year-on-year
- Improve visibility of products during off-peak periods such as milkshakes, smoothies and iced coffees
- Increase website sales and enquiries by more than 20%
For a budget of only £10 per day/£300 per month, that’s often a really worthwhile return.
Final Thoughts
If you’re a local cafe or coffee shop owner and you’ve been avoiding Facebook and Instagram ads because you think they’re expensive, don’t.
You don’t need hundreds of pounds per month to see results.
A well planned campaign with a small budget can still make a noticeable difference.
Get the setup right, build local awareness first, then retarget people with a valuable offer.
Keep it simple, measure your results and improve as you go.
If you’d like help setting up your Facebook and Instagram advertising properly, get in touch with Exist Digital and we’d be happy to help.
