Paid ads have their place, but plenty of trades get a steady run of new work without spending a penny on them. It comes from doing the same simple loop properly on every job, not from anything clever.

The loop

  • Finish the job
  • Take a proper before-and-after photo
  • Post it to Facebook and Instagram, tag the area if it makes sense
  • Ask for a Google review while you’re still on site or that evening
  • Repeat on the next job

That’s genuinely most of it. No budget, no targeting, no ad account. Just doing the same five steps on every job that’s worth showing off.

Why this works without ad spend

Every post is free reach to whoever already follows your page, and to their friends if it gets shared or commented on. Every review is free proof sitting on your Google profile for anyone searching your trade and area. None of it costs money, it costs consistency.

Where people drop the loop

  • They finish the job and forget the photo
  • They mean to ask for a review and the moment passes
  • The page goes quiet for a few weeks and the habit breaks
  • They only post the big, impressive jobs and skip the everyday ones that most customers actually relate to

When ads are worth adding in

Once the loop’s running and your page has a decent amount of real work on it, a small amount of ad spend aimed at your own towns can speed things up. Ads pointed at an empty, quiet page don’t convert nearly as well as ads pointed at one that already looks busy and trusted.

The honest version

This takes a phone, two minutes per job, and someone to turn it into posts and chase the reviews. That’s the job I do. The photos and the asking for reviews still has to come from you, because it’s your job and your customer standing in front of you.

Quick answers

Do I need to spend money on ads to get more leads?

Not necessarily. A consistent loop of photos, posts and reviews brings in work without any ad spend for plenty of trades.

What’s the minimum effort this takes from me?

A couple of photos and asking for a review on each job. Everything after that can be handed off.

When should I start using paid ads as well?

Once your page has a solid run of real work and reviews on it, ads tend to perform better aimed at a page that already looks established.

Written by Tony Flynn, who runs Toflin from Carluke and works with trades across Lanarkshire. Want a hand with any of this? Call 01698 598763 or see the prices.