Home Service Direct · Growth plan · October 2026

The Tree Company Attention Plan

How we get more tree company owners to know us, trust us and book a call, across Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. Built on what is running today, the always-on content and retargeting system from Mike's video, and our own organic content.

3 campaigns on Meta Same 2 on YouTube Runs every day, no end date

Most tree owners are not ready to buy the day they see an ad. When they are, they call the company they already know. Our job is to be that company: teach them every week, show them proof, and keep the offer one tap away.

Where we are today

Every ad we run is an offer

Pulled from Meta, YouTube and our own logs on October 8 and 9. Strong offers, a growing organic library, and nothing yet that collects the people who watch.

2
Offer campaigns live
Meta Offer and LSA Offer, both to a landing page. Plus 5 pay-per-lead client campaigns.
0
Value or retargeting campaigns
Nobody who watches our content is followed up with.
~7,000
Tree companies on our list
Already loaded in Meta (6,500 to 7,600). Our best cold audience.
1,491
Facebook page followers
Instagram @homeservicedirect: 20 followers, 10 posts.

Retargeting pools today

  • Landing page visitors (90 and 180 days): too small to use. Meta shows the minimum.
  • Lead form openers (90 days): about 1,000.
  • Video viewers and page/Instagram engagers: not built yet. This is the big one we are missing.
  • Funnel exclusion list (fake and under $30K leads): about 1,000, kept out of every ad.

What organic is telling us

  • YouTube and Instagram beat Facebook for the same videos (David).
  • Top YouTube Shorts: "Why a $65 Lead Cost $2,700 Per Job" 1.3K views, "Why No Reply Doesn't Mean No" 1.3K, "Facebook Ad Library" 1K, Tree Business Mistake #6 536.
  • Long-form "Tree Service Leads" has 41K views and still pulls.
  • Comment outreach works: Seattle Tree Care called for a proposal after one of our comments.
Our direct offers

The offer ads stay on. They get warmer traffic.

These keep running exactly as they are. The new campaigns feed them people who already know us, so every offer impression is worth more.

On-Track 2.5M ad, grapple truck at a stump
On-Track-2.5MReal-footage cut, back on Oct 8
Arizona Script A ad
AZ Wrong Leads (A)"Big Removals, Not Small Trimming Jobs"
Arizona Script C ad
AZ Big Equipment (C)"Keep Your Big Equipment Busy"
Arizona Script B ad
AZ Truck In The Yard (B)Paused, saved for retargeting
Ad (live ad set "Video Ads Testing - Angles")StatusLifetime spendWebsite leadsCost per lead
V-On-Track-1.5MOn$1,03010$103
V-On-Track-2.5M (old footage)On, new cut$8505$170
V-AZ-Wrong-Leads / V-AZ-Big-EquipmentOn since Oct 8new--
Best past ads: KC-Fleet / Booked CalendarPaused$526 / $2408 / 3$66 / $80

Website leads = form completions Meta reports. Booked-call quality comes from GHL and is checked separately.

The system

Teach, prove, then offer. All three at once, every day.

From Mike's video: one cheap campaign that puts our best content in front of tree owners, and one always-on retargeting campaign that keeps us in front of everyone who watched. Our offer ads are the third layer.

Layer 1 · Cold

Teach

Tree owners who don't know us

Tree Mistake videos and our best how-to Shorts as video-view ads. The goal is a watch, not a click.

Layer 2 · Warm

Prove

Everyone who watched or engaged

Client testimonials, case-study ads, more Tree Mistakes, and an offer every few days. About 2 times a week each.

Layer 3 · Ready

Offer

Owners ready to talk

The offer ads already running, to the landing page and a booked call. Unchanged.

Campaign 1

Teach (cold video views)

Objective
Engagement, video views (ThruPlay)
Who
Our ~7,000 tree company list + the two 1% lookalikes
Where
Instagram Reels and Feed first, Facebook Feed second
Budget
$5 to $10 a day per video, 3 videos to start
Runs
No end date. Review every 2 weeks.
Layer 1 · Facebook + Instagram

Put our best teaching in front of tree owners, cheaply

We promote content that already proved itself organically, not new ads. Start with the videos that pulled the most views:

  • Why a $65 Lead Cost $2,700 Per Job (1.3K on YouTube)
  • Why No Reply Doesn't Mean No, the follow-up text (1.3K)
  • Tree Business Mistake #6 (536, the best of the series so far)

Every two weeks: add budget to the video with the cheapest 50% views, swap out the weakest, add the newest Tree Mistake if it beats the others organically.

Why Instagram first: the same videos do better there and on YouTube than on Facebook. Meta lets us weight the placements, and its delivery will lean where the views are cheapest.

Why not page likes: a like campaign buys a number. Followers still only see a small slice of what we post. A 50% video view is a person who spent 20+ seconds with us, and they land in the retargeting pool automatically.

What to expect

  • Views cost cents, not dollars. set the real benchmark in week 1
  • The pool of 50%+ viewers grows every day the campaign runs, and that pool is the whole point.
  • Followers and comments rise as a side effect. Few direct leads from this layer, and that is fine.
  • Judge it on cost per 50% view and pool size, never on leads in the first 30 days.
Campaign 2

Prove (always-on retargeting)

Objective
Awareness, maximize reach
Frequency
About 2 times every 7 days
Who
50%+ video viewers, page and Instagram engagers, landing page visitors, lead form openers (365 days)
Never
Booked calls, clients, the funnel exclusion list
Budget
$10 a day, raise only when Meta says budget is the limit
Layer 2 · the relationship bridge

Stay in front of everyone who watched, for months

Mike's point: owners buy on trust and timing. Something happens in their business, they need help, and they call the name they already know. This campaign makes sure that name is ours. It rotates:

Proof

Client testimonial videos: Troy (New Horizon), Jeremy (Allscape), Joe (Cut Rite) and Brandin. Real owners, real numbers.

Case studies

AZ Script B (held back for this), On-Track, the $895K and 179-leads cuts, the Arizona jobs board.

More teaching

The next Tree Mistake episodes, so the feed is never just a pitch.

Soft offers

Every few days: book a 10-minute call, see if your market is open, or a free territory check.

What to expect

  • Small at first. Meta will not even spend the $10 a day until the pool grows. That is normal.
  • Leads from people who already watched us start as conversations, not cold pitches. The sales calls get easier.
  • Measure cost per booked call from this audience against the cold offer ads, monthly.
Layer 3 · the offers

Two pages, matched to the ad

Live

meta.homeservicedirect.net

"80+ Leads A Month" system page. Right for the volume angle (On-Track-1.5M and 2.5M).

Built, not hooked up

meta.homeservicedirect.net/big/

"Get The $2K To $15K Removals Your Equipment Was Built For", Arizona jobs board first. For the three Arizona ads once David signs off.

One open question: the guarantee. The ads say 30 qualified leads in 30 days, the main page says 60. Both pages and every ad should say the same number.

YouTube

The same two campaigns on YouTube

YouTube is where our videos already do best, and it lets us retarget channel viewers. It runs through Google Ads (video campaigns), not Meta.

YT 1 · Teach

Promote the Shorts and the 41K video

In-feed video ads (the "suggested" slot) for the top Shorts and "Tree Service Leads". Aim at people searching tree business topics (tree service marketing, tree removal leads, how to get tree jobs) and watching tree-work channels. $5 to $10 a day.

YT 2 · Prove

Retarget channel viewers

Once the channel is linked to our Google Ads account, everyone who watched a video or subscribed becomes an audience. Show them the testimonials and case-study ads. $5 to $10 a day.

Organic

Every Short gets a next step

Pinned comment and description link to the matching page, related-video link on every Short to the long video, and a "Tree Business Mistakes" playlist so one view turns into five.

What to expect

  • Paid views also push the organic numbers, so YouTube suggests the videos to more tree owners on its own.
  • Subscribers become a channel audience we own, the YouTube version of the Meta retargeting pool.
  • Setup step for David: link the YouTube channel to the HSD Google Ads account (one-time approval in YouTube Studio).
Ideas that tie it together

Make organic and paid work as one machine

1. Promote the winners, weekly

Any organic post that beats our average in its first 48 hours gets added to Campaign 1 at $5 a day. Organic finds the winners for free, paid gives them reach.

2. "Comment LEADS" on the best Tree Mistakes

End the strongest episodes with a keyword ("comment LEADS and I'll send you the checklist"). Every comment is an engager, a DM conversation, and a signal to Meta that the post is good.

3. One free tool to trade for an email

A "Tree Company Lead Cost Calculator" (what a $65 lead really costs per job, from the 1.3K-view Short). Offer it in retargeting and in Short descriptions. Builds an email list we own.

4. Weekly email to the tree list

The same Tree Mistake video, sent to the tree company owners in GHL by email. Same message in the inbox and the feed is Mike's "newsletter plus ads".

5. Comment outreach feeds the funnel

The HSD page already comments on 20 tree companies a day on Facebook and 10 on Instagram. They click our page, watch a video, and drop into Campaign 2. Seattle Tree Care already called.

6. Monthly "client numbers" post

One real client screen a month (leads, booked jobs, average job), posted organically and added to retargeting. Fresh proof every month beats old proof forever.

7. Fix the Instagram link

@homeservicedirect is not connected to the Home Service Direct Facebook page (the page is linked to @homeservicedave). Connecting it lets us promote Instagram posts directly and count Instagram engagers in retargeting.

8. Same video, every channel, same week

Each Tree Mistake goes out on YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels and Facebook the same week, so the owner who sees it on one channel sees it again on another. Repetition is the point.

What to expect, and when

The first 90 days

Week 1

Set up

  • Build the viewer and engager audiences (free)
  • Campaign 1 with 3 videos
  • Campaign 2 with proof ads
  • Link YouTube to Google Ads
Weeks 2 to 4

Fill the pool

  • Real cost per 50% view known
  • Viewer pool large enough for Meta to spend
  • Swap the weakest video
Month 2

Warm leads

  • First calls from people who watched first
  • Compare their booked-call cost to cold offers
  • YouTube retargeting live
Month 3

Scale what works

  • Raise budget on the best videos
  • Retire weak proof ads
  • Decide on the free tool and email
LayerDaily budgetWatch this numberNot this
1 · Teach (Meta)$15 to $30Cost per 50% view, pool sizeLeads in month 1
2 · Prove (Meta)$10Reach, frequency near 2 a week, booked calls from the poolCost per click
YT 1 + YT 2$10 to $20Cost per view, subscribers, channel audience sizeSame-day leads
3 · Offer (running)unchangedCost per booked call, close rateWebsite leads alone

New spend for layers 1, 2 and YouTube: about $35 to $60 a day. Starting numbers, adjusted after the first two weeks of real data.

Decisions for David

What we need to start

  • Go on building the audiences and both Meta campaigns (built paused for your review)
  • Which videos lead Campaign 1 (default: the three above)
  • Budget for the new layers (suggested $35 to $60 a day total)
  • Guarantee: 30 or 60 qualified leads in 30 days
  • Instagram: connect @homeservicedirect to the Facebook page
  • YouTube: link the channel to the HSD Google Ads account
Numbers pulled from Meta Ads (account act_905897089608545), the HSD Facebook page, Instagram and public YouTube view counts on October 8 to 9, 2026. Items marked as estimates get their real benchmark in week 1.