The Basics of Facebook Ads, Part 1

If you have been on Facebook for longer than one minute, I am certain you have seen an ad. These ads can look different - from sponsored posts to videos and more - but they form the backbone of Facebook’s revenue. In fact, you have likely seen an ad for a product you were interested in on a completely different platform, which seems both brilliant and creepy at the same time. For business owners, this should light a spark in your mind to think about how you can capitalize on the incredible tools Facebook advertising has to offer so that you can build your business - whether product or service based.

So how do you get started with Facebook ads? Here are the steps to creating your first social media advertisement.

1) Become familiar with Ads Manager.
I’ll admit it - Facebook Ads Manager is not the most intuitive or user-friendly, and there is a learning curve to mastering this platform. Facebook does provide help and support to figuring out the available tools, but before you dive in deep I encourage you to create some sample ads. Look at the different options, write down the questions you have (even if they seem basic), and start exploring all the factors that go into creating an ad.

2) Understand Campaigns, Ad Sets, and Ads
There are a few different layers to Facebook ads, and while there is a lot to know, these are the basics.
Campaigns: This is the highest level of the ad(s) you will create. The campaign should be named to help you understand what your goals and objectives are. Campaigns can host one ad or dozens, so don’t be too specific - you’ll get there later. At the campaign level, you are choosing your marketing objective - whether traffic to your website, engagement, sales, and more - at which point you can name your campaign and select different options, such as A/B testing or Budget Optimization (for now).
Ad Sets: These ‘folders’ can also house multiple ads, but they will hone in deeper on how you are focusing your marketing efforts. The ad set name should focus on the purpose you have for the ad(s) it houses - whether a specific audience, certain creative element, or something else. After naming your ad set, you will have the option to define who will see your ad (audience), where your ad will be shown (placement), and the budget for your overall ad set.
Ads: You are finally down to what YOU probably think of as ads - all the details! This will be what your actual advertisement looks like when a potential customer sees it, whether in their news feed, on Stories, in Messenger, or elsewhere around the internet. Here you will choose graphics or videos, write your copy, and schedule the ad.

3) Start with an existing post.
There are a lot of ways to start your Facebook ad journey, but I would encourage you to start with a post you have already created on your page. This will simplify the process a bit, and you can think backwards - who was the post targeted to in the first place? Who would you like to see it, and what action will they take - whether clicking on the link, reacting to what you said, or watching the video? From there, you can create a campaign (which you can just call ‘Practice’), an ad set (which you can target to the customers you normally have, and name it accordingly, set a small budget to start out with, and use what you have already created.

I recommend setting a very small budget and pulling the trigger, then monitoring the ad often (it shouldn’t last long with a small budget!) to see the results. This will provide an invaluable learning experience for you as the Facebook Ads Manager platform becomes more familiar.

I’ve just scratched the surface of Facebook ads, and there’s a long way to go! Next up? All about the Campaign Objective. Stay tuned, and subscribe to my newsletter to make sure you don’t miss what’s coming next!

Watch more about how to understand Facebook ad campaigns here: