An honest guide to running Meta ads yourself, hiring a freelancer or working with an agency, including the questions to ask and how We Are Border works.
Running Meta Ads sits in an odd spot. It’s simple enough to start, with a few clicks and a card number, and complicated enough that plenty of people end up spending money and wondering what on earth happened.
So who should do it? You, a freelancer or an agency? Honestly, the answer depends on your time, budget and appetite for learning. Here’s a fair look at each.
Option 1: Do it yourself
What it genuinely involves
- Learning the platform, which changes regularly
- Setting up and checking tracking
- Planning, filming and editing creative
- Writing copy and testing ideas
- Replying to leads quickly
- Watching results and making sensible changes (not constant fiddling)
Good for: owners with time and curiosity, small budgets, or businesses that want to learn the basics first.
Pros
- Cheapest in cash terms
- You learn how your customers respond
- Full control
Cons
- It eats time. Be honest about how much.
- A learning curve with real money attached
- Easy to miss technical issues, such as tracking and policy problems
- Few chances for an expert second opinion
Realistic time: expect a few hours to set up and several hours a month on creative and checking, more at the start.
Option 2: Hire a freelancer
Good for: businesses that want hands-on expertise at a lower cost than a full agency.
Pros
- Direct contact with the person doing the work
- Often flexible and good value
- Can specialise in your sector
Cons
- One person’s skills, and one person’s availability (holidays, illness, workload)
- May be strong in some areas (media buying) but lighter in others (video creative, tracking, follow-up)
- Quality varies widely, so check references
Option 3: Use an agency
Good for: businesses that want a broader service and a team behind it.
Pros
- Several skills under one roof (strategy, creative, tracking, reporting)
- Cover when someone’s away
- Processes that have been tested on many accounts
Cons
- Usually costs more
- Quality depends on who actually works on your account, so ask
- Bigger agencies can treat small clients as an afterthought
Questions to ask anyone before you hire them
Whichever route you take, these are fair questions:
- Who will own the ad account, Page and data? The answer should be you.
- Who will actually work on my account, and how experienced are they?
- What’s included? Strategy, creative, tracking setup, reporting, calls?
- How do you report, and how often? Can I see the numbers myself?
- How do you measure success beyond what Ads Manager says?
- What do you need from me? (Good partners ask for plenty.)
- What’s the contract length and notice period?
- How are fees structured, and is ad spend separate and paid directly to Meta by me?
- What happens if it isn’t working? What would you change?
- Can you share relevant examples, with permission, and tell me what didn’t work too?
And a gentle reminder from: be wary of guarantees, pressure and vague answers.
How to choose
| If you… | Consider |
|---|---|
| Have time, a small budget and curiosity | DIY (with Meta’s free training) |
| Want expert help at moderate cost, with a simple setup | A freelancer |
| Want strategy, creative, tracking and reporting handled together | An agency |
| Aren’t sure | A one-off account review or audit first |
Many businesses start DIY, then bring in help once they know what they need. That’s perfectly sensible.
How Border works
We’re a small team that likes doing things clearly, without jargon or smoke and mirrors. Here’s how working with us goes.
1. A conversation first
We start by understanding your business: your customers, your numbers and what you want to achieve. If ads don’t look like a good fit yet, we’ll say so.
2. A free account review (or audit)
We look at your existing account, tracking and results, or your plans if you’re starting fresh, and tell you plainly what we see.
3. Onboarding
- Your Meta Business portfolio, Page, ad account and data stay in your ownership. We’re added as partners.
- We set up or check tracking (Pixel, Conversions API, consent).
- We agree what a good lead and a good result look like.
4. Strategy and creative
We build the plan: offer, campaign structure, messaging and a creative schedule. We can help you create the content, and the creative you will use for your ads.
5. Launch and optimise
We launch, monitor and improve steadily, resisting the urge to fiddle for the sake of it.
6. Reporting you can understand
Clear updates showing spend, leads, quality, customers won and what we’re learning, set against your real business results.
7. What we need from you
- Access to your accounts and tracking
- Fast feedback on leads (this makes a bigger difference than people expect)
- A little of your time for content, filming or approvals
- Honest numbers about what happens after enquiries
Pricing and terms
Pricing and terms will be based around your needs, but consider what your ad budget would be, in addition to developing your creative, planning your campaigns and monitoring results.
What we don’t do
We don’t guarantee results, we don’t hold your accounts hostage, and we won’t recommend ads if we don’t think they’ll work for you.
Ready for a conversation?
If you’d like an honest view on whether Meta ads suit your business, or what it would take, Get In Touch: If you’re not ready and would like to understand more, this article, What Is a Customer Worth?, is a good place to begin.
Last reviewed: 27 October 2026.
