Meta Ads Are Not Delivering Like They Used To, And No One Wants to Say It

We have an unpopular opinion:

Meta ads are not delivering the way they used to.

A few years ago, we were spending Ksh 80,000+ a month on ads for clients and getting 200%+ returns, sometimes from Meta ads alone.

Now?

That kind of performance is rare.

Something Has Changed

This didn’t happen overnight.

But over the past few years, results have been slowly dropping.

Think about it:

• How many times do you see the same ad again and again?

• How often do you click an ad and nothing comes out of it?

• As a business, how many low-quality leads are you getting?

This is happening across the board.

Let’s Talk About Meta and AI

A big part of this shift is how much Meta now relies on AI.

Tools like Advantage+ are supposed to make things easier.

But in reality:

• If you don’t use them, your ads struggle

• If you do use them, you lose control

We’re seeing:

• More bot traffic

• Poor quality leads

• Campaigns that are harder to predict

Even worse, some of the suggestions Meta gives actually make your ads perform worse.

And with Meta planning to fully automate ads using AI by 2026, it raises a real question:

Will this actually improve results, or make them worse?

Right now, it’s not looking great.

What’s Working Right Now

Instead of putting all your money into ads, we’re seeing better results from other approaches.

1. Micro-Influencers

This has been working surprisingly well.

We’ve worked with clients where we spend Ksh 15,000 – Ksh 30,000 on one micro-influencer.

They post on Instagram or TikTok, and we actually get:

• Sales

• Real leads

• Conversations with customers

In many cases, this is performing better than ads.

2. Google Ads

Google Ads are not cheap.

But they still work , especially because people are already searching for what they want.

If done properly, they can be very profitable.

3. Google Business Profile (Local SEO)

If you haven’t set this up, do it.

It helps your business show up when people search for you or your service.

It’s simple, and most businesses in Kenya are still not using it properly. Very very effective on foot traffic/ sales.

4. Organic Marketing

Don’t ignore this.

And it’s not just Instagram.

It includes:

• Email marketing

• SEO

• LinkedIn

• Even platforms like Pinterest and Reddit

Most brands here only focus on social media ads.

But there’s a lot more you can use.

Meta ads are not useless.

But they are not as reliable as they used to be.

The businesses doing well right now are not relying on just one channel. If your whole strategy depends on ads…

You’re in a risky position.