
Building a consistent flow of pre-qualified residential repaint leads can be a challenging task, especially if your painting business relies on word-of-mouth advertising. But where do you start?
If you’re searching for the best source of quality painting leads at a reasonable price point, look no further than Meta Ads (Formally Instagram and Facebook Ads).
Yes, Social Media Ads have been drilled into our minds as a low-quality lead source, but this is a fallacy due to a lack of understanding of what ad types and demographics produce the best results on this medium.
So I’m giving away our secret sauce to building a high-volume residential repaint lead generation system using social media advertising.
Before we dive into the weeds, let’s start with a simple question…
Do Facebook Ads Work For Painters?
Yes! But it requires a little more effort and knowledge compared to running ads on Google. Ad types, content, and images will all determine how your ads will preform on social media.
Now let’s jump in!
Social Media Marketing: Facebook Ads 101 for Painting Contractors

According to Statista, Facebook is still the dominant social media network, with approximately 2.93 billion active users every month. Facebook is also the platform on which Americans spend the most time with an average of 33 minutes per day ????
While Facebook caters to all ages from 18-65+, Instagram is primarily the domain of ages 18-34. Both platforms will reach homeowners, but Instagram is more likely to target first-time home buyers.
As a residential painting contractor, you probably know what your ideal customer profile (ICP) looks like.
For instance: A dual-income household earning over $250k per year with a home valued over $500k.
If you haven’t developed an ICP yet, start here — Ask yourself what characteristics do the customers that are easiest to close all have in common? Build a persona around these demographics, and stick to them.
Now let’s review how do you use this information.
How Do Facebook Ads for Painters Work?
Since the majority of users on Facebook or Instagram are not actively looking for your painting services, you have to get creative to capture buyer intent.
Buyer Intent (or Purchase Intent): The probability of how close a consumer is to completing a purchase of a product or service.
While we don’t have a search query to target as we do on paid search (Google Ads/PPC) we do have user data.
Have you ever seen an ad and felt like your phone must be monitored by Facebook? Hint: It’s not, Meta’s algorithm is just REALLY good at leveraging your user data and social interactions. This is ultimately why Meta has run into so many privacy issues — your data is essentially sold to the highest bidder.
Consequently, Instagram and Facebook Ads for painters are actually among the most effective ways to generate new residential painting business on a budget.
Note that commercial painting leads are best acquired on Google.
How Much Do Painting Leads Cost on Social Media?
The short answer: It depends, but $30-$60 per lead is a good target.
We recommend a daily budget between $40-50 (roughly $1200-$1500/month). The primary factor that determines your CPA (cost-per-acquisition) is your cost-per-click (CPC). Factors that can impact your CPC include: