Still Relying on Old Funnels? Here’s What's Working in Meta Ads Right Now

March 20, 2026·40 min·3 clips

Ralph Burns warns that 70% of purchases from existing customers is a massive red flag for business growth.

The audit pitch is part of the workflow. Before the analysis starts, the host says three $10,000 deep dive audits are being given away for free, with two-plus weeks of work from seven or eight team members across media buying, creative, and business metrics. Then the account screen takes over. Audience segments work like a competence check. If the team cannot see them, the host assumes they are behind. The read stays blunt: if a client is not chasing new customers, the distribution data should make that obvious. Attribution gets tested right away. The question is not only what one campaign reports, but whether another campaign already paid to build the engaged audience. The lead event gets tightened up. A lead means someone interested in buying. A subscriber means someone interested in hearing from the brand. Mixing those into the same standard event muddies the account. Spend gets traced across screens instead of trusted at a glance. The $600 spend line, the $37 figure, the $7 engagement cost, and purchase or cost-per-purchase context all get compared. The cursor matters too, sometimes awkwardly, because the segment depends on an in-person screen share. The practical read is simple enough: if engaged audiences convert below the KPI or allowable cost to acquire a customer, the account may need more spend creating that engagement. The close keeps pointing back to the video. Spotify comments, perpetualtraffic.com, and YouTube matter because the screen carries details the audio cannot fully show.

As heard by us

A practical Meta ads account check on segments, spend, new customers, and campaign structure.

Perpetual Traffic turns this Meta ads episode into a practical account check for teams still leaning on old funnel logic. The discussion centers on audience segments, new customer distribution, purchase conversion value, and the difference between a true lead and someone who…

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Why you'd press play

If ad spend is your biggest line item, this is a hard look at what your account is really saying.

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