Creative Intelligence
62% of small businesses fail with Facebook ads. The fix starts with your hook. Heista decoded 88+ high-performing video ads and ranked 20 hook types by whether the ads using them keep running. This data applies directly to dentists, contractors, salons, and any local service provider.
Ranked by Hook Scaling Rate across 88+ decoded ads. These hooks apply to testimonial-style ads, before/after project videos, and local service content.
Local businesses spend hours configuring Facebook ad targeting: radius, demographics, interests, lookalike audiences. Then they run an ad with a logo, a stock photo, and "Call us today." The targeting finds the right people. The creative fails to stop them.
The highest-performing local business ads lead with the customer experience, not the business. "My kitchen was a disaster until I called [company]" stops the scroll because it creates recognition. The viewer sees their own kitchen. Their own problem. Their own frustration.
You do not need a production crew. A smartphone testimonial from a happy customer, filmed in front of the finished project, with a clear hook in the first 3 seconds, will outperform any polished brand video that leads with "We have been serving [city] for 20 years."
Decode any local business ad to see its exact formula.
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