In this campaign, our ad sets started at ₩83,000 ($58) and ₩30,000 ($21) cost per result in September. By October, they dropped to ₩71,000 ($50) and ₩27,000 ($19). And by November? ₩12,000 (~$8.50).
That’s an 85% cost reduction in just 8 weeks—purely from letting the algorithm learn and making strategic optimizations along the way.
Even as Facebook ads specialists, we tell clients: expect 1-2 months of learning and optimization before you see consistent results around month 3.
5. LTV vs CAC: Think long-term, not just cost per lead
LTV = Lifetime Value
CAC = Customer/Client Acquisition Cost
Many people obsess over CAC. But if you only focus on acquisition cost, you’re chasing short-term, temporary results.
Here’s why this matters for Meta ads: if you know your customer’s LTV is $5,000 but you’re only willing to spend $50 to acquire them, you’re leaving money on the table. Understanding your LTV gives you the confidence to invest more in ads because you know the long-term return justifies the upfront cost.
Think like Starbucks. They’ve shared that their average customer LTV is around $14,000–$15,000. That’s why they can afford to spend generously on customer acquisition—they’re playing the long game.
Here’s the basic formula:
LTV = Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) / Churn Rate
Calculating your LTV requires its own deep dive (I’ll cover that in another post), but the principle is simple: focus on the long-term value, not just the upfront cost.
6. Optimization frequency: Monitor weekly, but give it time
We recommend monitoring your performance weekly.
But in the beginning, give your campaigns at least 2-3 weeks before making major changes. The algorithm needs time to learn.
When you do optimize, here’s what you can adjust to lower your cost per lead:
- Change creatives (text or images)
- Tweak captions or CTA buttons
Each decision should be based on objective data. But if you’re not a marketer, it can be hard to know what the data is actually telling you.
If you want to learn the process, I’ve created a free Meta Ads Bundle to guide you through it. Download here
7. When to scale up? When should you retarget?
I don’t recommend scaling in the first 1-2 months—unless you’ve run ads before and already know what works.
Scaling means:
- Adding more ad groups/campaigns (e.g., expanding to new regions)
- Increasing budget on well-performing ads
But here’s the key: if you increase your budget by more than 20% at once, Meta’s system will essentially restart the learning phase.
So when you scale, do it gradually—less than 20% at a time.
Running Meta ads globally is complex—but you don’t have to figure it out alone.
If you’re ready to run high-performing campaigns that reach the right people in the right markets, my team and I can help. We work in English, Japanese, and Korean to support your global growth.
Apply to work with us
