How we improved conversions and lowered CPC through an effective TikTok & Meta ads strategy
Fresh is a student accommodation provider that manages over 60 properties across the UK. Fresh is a subsidiary of a parent group that generates £8.4 million in annual revenue, with an estimated 250+ employees.
Fresh partnered with Trio Media to strengthen their TikTok advertising and organic social media presence. Using a combination of paid advertising and student-led organic content, we have helped to build brand awareness, drive conversions and connect with students nationwide.
How it started
Fresh wanted to make more of TikTok, both through paid advertising and organic content. Standing out was key in the highly competitive student accommodation market, so Fresh wanted to focus on building a stronger social presence and connecting with their target audience.
We started by developing a strategy that centred around the target audience: students. We wanted more student-led content that could engage the audience organically and support ad performance. Our strategy included engaging student content creators to post about student life in their city, and working with both students and the Fresh team to create content about their properties and rooms.
We also built out the TikTok Ads account, managing 30+ campaigns across separate properties, each with its own budget.
As the partnership developed, we identified opportunities to improve the ad account structure, make content planning more consistent, and bring students into the creative process. In early 2026, we expanded our work to include Meta advertising, helping Fresh reach potential future residents across more paid social channels.
What we did
As Fresh’s paid media agency, we:
- Rebuilt the TikTok ads account to improve campaign structure, tracking and performance reporting.
- Recruited and briefed student creators to produce authentic content showcasing real student life for the organic and paid TikTok strategy.
- Created a structured campaign plan aligned with key marketing dates and trained the internal marketing team in video creation.
- Increased the frequency of organic posts to capture reach and engagement during crucial periods such as clearing.
- Used TikTok SEO as part of the organic content strategy, using keywords in captions and hashtags, along with providing direction for video briefs
- Expanded into Meta advertising to reach prospective students across multiple platforms.
The results
The combination of structured paid ads and student-led organic content transformed Fresh’s social presence in 2026. We achieved the following on each platform:
TikTok Ads
- Increased conversions by 366% YoY (from 165 to 768 conversions).
- Cut the cost per conversion by 74%, dropping from £725 to £191.
Organic TikTok
- Generated 36 million video views in July 2026 alone (a 55% month-on-month increase).
- Generated 290 million post views over 12 months, demonstrating significant organic reach across TikTok.
- Drove 369K profile views, increasing visibility and interest in the Fresh brand.
- Earned 117K likes, reflecting strong audience engagement with student-led content.
Meta Ads
- Generated 29k landing page views across both ad campaigns.
- Halved the cost per landing page view from £0.35 to £0.18 by optimising the campaigns.
Together, paid advertising and student-led organic content created a powerful, complementary strategy for Fresh, combining targeted conversion-driving campaigns with authentic content that drove engagement and expanded reach. This integrated approach strengthened brand awareness, drove more efficient performance and turned social visibility into measurable results.
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