Complete Guide to Facebook Ads

In this guide to Facebook adverts, you'll find out all the information you need to know about advertising on the popular social media platform, from starting an advertising campaign to evaluating its effectiveness

Using Facebook for advertising is an effective method of establishing contact with potential and current customers. It's simple to create Facebook adverts and they can be effective, regardless of your budget. In this guide to Facebook ads, you'll find out all the information you need to know about advertising on the popular social media platform, from starting an advertising campaign to evaluating its effectiveness.

What are Facebook Ads?

Before we delve into the specifics of Facebook ads, let's first explore some basics to establish a solid foundation.

What are Facebook ads?
Facebook ads are online campaigns that companies place through Facebook's ad platform, the Ad Manager, or by improving a post on a Facebook page. Facebook ads can be shared on Meta's other platforms, which include Messenger and Instagram.
Most Facebook ad formats consist of text copy combined with images or a video and a call to action, usually presented as a button. The adverts are marked as ‘Sponsored’ to distinguish them from organic posts.

Why should you use Facebook ads?
Business owners find Facebook ads valuable for marketing because of the platform's large audience, easy access and cost-effectiveness.

Audience: By using Facebook ads, you can reach 25% of the global population, given that there are 2 billion monthly active users on the platform, 1.6 billion of whom interact with small businesses;
Ease of use: Setting up Facebook adverts is simple and doesn't involve a long-term commitment, unlike traditional advertising methods;
Cost-effective option: Advertising on Facebook can be as cheap as a few dollars a day.

What is the process of creating a Facebook ad campaign?

This is a brief tutorial on how to create an advertising campaign on Facebook. We'll provide more details on these steps in the rest of the Facebook advertising guide.

Set up an advertising account in the Facebook Ads Manager
Set up a campaign by giving it a name and selecting a campaign objective:

Brand awareness focuses on maximising impressions, which refers to the number of times people view your ad;
Objective: Make sure your adverts are seen by as many people as possible;
Drive traffic to your website by directing people to visit it.
Engagement: Present adverts to individuals who are expected to interact with the advert;
Application installs: Getting your application downloaded;
Video views: Viewing a video in your advert;
Lead generation: Facebook users fill in a contact form;
Communication: Facebook users communicate with you via Messenger;
Conversions involve persuading individuals to complete a specific action, such as making a purchase or registering for a service.

Establish the budget for the campaign. Select a budget for the daily and lifetime expenses of the campaign;
Personalise your target audience;
Select the location for your adverts: Facebook, Messenger, Instagram and other platforms;
Create your advert;
Start your campaign.

Creating and designing your Facebook Ads

Are you ready to start your campaign? In this part, we'll look at the artistic factors to take into account when creating your adverts.

What types of adverts are available on Facebook?

There are different ad formats on Facebook, such as:

Ad with an image and a short description to increase the presence of your business;
Carousel adverts allow users to see and scroll through several images or videos;
Video adverts: Boost your business with a video and a short description;
Advertisement via Facebook Stories or Instagram Stories;
Lead adverts: Facebook users' contact details automatically fill in a form that generates leads on your advert;
Messenger adverts: Promote using the Messenger app with engaging and automated functions;
Create slideshow adverts by combining several photos to create a video-style advert at a lower cost;
Advertise a range of products and allow Facebook users to make purchases directly from your advert;
Interactive advert: Allow users to try out your game before installing your application.

What criteria do you use to select a Facebook ad format?

Choose an advertising style that will help you achieve your campaign objectives in the most effective way. If your aim is to increase sign-ups to your email list, consider using a lead advert. Alternatively, if you want to present your latest spring collection, carousel, photo or video ad formats are the most suitable choices.

Is outsourcing the design of your Facebook ad a worthwhile investment?

Fortunately, creating successful Facebook adverts doesn't require any design skills. Instead of graphics, you have the option of using photos, stock images or videos in your adverts. In fact, Facebook restricts the amount of text allowed in an ad image, so using a photo or video is recommended. If you're not confident in your photography skills, you can hire a freelancer or a member of staff to take on the job.

Are there any guidelines for designing Facebook ads for mobile and desktop?

For a Facebook advert, the smallest acceptable size is 400 x 400 pixels, while the ideal size is 1,080 x 1,080 pixels. The Facebook Ads Manager includes a cropping tool that allows you to crop your creative content for different ad placements.

Facebook suggests optimising ad creative for mobile users, using vertical images and videos to maximise visibility on mobile screens.

Defining the Facebook Ads budget

Here's a guide to setting and maximising your budget to ensure you get the best results on Facebook.

How much does it cost to advertise on Facebook?

You have the flexibility to spend as little or as much as you like on a Facebook advert. Facebook sets a minimum budget for advertisers, taking into account various factors. Facebook states that...

‘When setting up a campaign or ad set, we ask you for a minimum budget to ensure consistent delivery of your ads.’ When setting minimum budget requirements and suggestions, we take into account your sector of activity, budget category, buying approach, bidding strategy, optimisation, currency and timing to avoid under-delivery.
Sometimes the budget can be as little as 1 euro per day.

Managing your Facebook ad campaign budget using different types of bidding strategies

Facebook uses ad auctions to specify which ads are shown to individual users and at what time. You have the option of bidding manually or choosing a different bidding strategy tailored to your objective.

Billing based on the amount spent

Facebook prioritises the use of your entire budget with spend-based billing, to help you maximise a high volume of results or a high value of results, such as selling the most expensive piece in your spring collection section.

Invoicing based on achieving specific objectives

Target-orientated invoicing determines the price to be paid for achieving specific values or costs. A cost-per-result objective seeks to control expenditure at a specific level, while a return-on-expenditure objective aims to maintain a fixed average cost per ROI.

Manual invoicing

Manual invoicing allows you to regulate the amount you can bid on ad auctions. You can set a bid limit to limit the amount Facebook bids for your adverts. Experienced advertisers are recommended to use this type of bidding.

Determine Facebook Ads audiences

You want to ensure that your adverts are reaching the right target audience. In this section, we'll explore how to carry out precise audience targeting for your adverts.

What's the best way to select your target audience?

There are three ways to target Facebook's 2 billion users through ads: core audiences, custom audiences and lookalike audiences. Select your target audience according to your advertising objectives. Here is a summary of the characteristics of each type of audience and the situations in which each is appropriate:

Primary viewers: Establish the criteria and characteristics of the individuals you want to reach with your adverts. The Ads Manager allows you to choose criteria such as location, education, age, hobbies and other factors. Using key audiences is beneficial for familiarising your company with potential new customers;

Target individuals with your ads by sending an email list to a personalised audience. Facebook will use their email addresses to direct Facebook users to your adverts, matching them up. Use a specialised audience to reconnect with current customers. For example, if you own an HVAC company, you might consider targeting ads to current customers as a reminder to schedule duct cleaning in the spring;

Lookalike audiences: Facebook forms a group of individuals who are highly likely to engage with ads because of common interests and behaviours with your core customers. Lookalike audiences are more effective for targeting potential customers with a high probability of making a purchase.

Monitoring Facebook Ads campaign performance

What people say is true: what gets measured gets managed. Here's how you can monitor your campaign's performance so that you can fine-tune your adverts to get the best results.

What is the method for evaluating the effectiveness of a Facebook ad campaign?

Facebook Ads Manager offers analyses of the performance of campaigns, ad sets and individual ads, allowing users to comprehensively evaluate and measure the effectiveness of ads. Success is determined by the objective you set. For example, if your goal is to increase brand awareness, you'll evaluate effectiveness based on how often your ad was viewed. If your goal is to market shoes, your success will be determined by the number of shoes bought.

It is also important to take into account the expenses incurred to achieve these objectives in order to determine the success of the campaign. Take note of the metrics listed below.

CPC is the price for an individual to click on a link in your advert;
CPA, which stands for Cost Per Action, refers to the cost of convincing people to take a certain action, such as making a purchase on your site;
CPL: Cost per page is a metric that calculates the cost of acquiring Facebook page likes through adverts;
CPE: Cost per page engagement measures the expenditure of individuals who engage with your Facebook page after exposure to your advert.

Evaluate these expenses against the objectives you set for your campaign. For example, if your objective was to sell shoes with a maximum CPA of 10 euros and your campaign's CPA was 20 euros, you haven't reached your objective.

FAQ

What are Facebook Ads?

Facebook Ads are paid adverts displayed on Facebook and Instagram. They allow companies to reach their target audience effectively, using various targeting options.

How do I create a Facebook Ads campaign?

To create a campaign, you need to access the Ads Manager, define your marketing objective, choose your audience, create the ad content and set the budget.

What is the average cost of a Facebook Ad?

The cost can vary depending on factors such as target audience, competition and type of advert. You can set a daily or lifetime budget to control spending.

How do I choose the right target audience?

Facebook offers various targeting options, such as age, location, interests and behaviours. Define your audience based on the profile of your ideal customer.

Can I measure the results of my adverts?

Yes, Facebook Ads offers analysis tools such as the Ads Manager, where you can track metrics such as reach, clicks, conversions and return on investment (ROI).

What's the best strategy for increasing conversion?

A/B testing, attractive visual adverts, clear calls to action and precise targeting are some of the best practices for increasing conversion rates.

Is Facebook Ads worth it for small businesses?

Yes, Facebook Ads can be highly effective for small businesses, as it allows you to start with a small budget and precisely target your audience.

How long does it take to see results (Facebook Ads)?

Results can start to appear within a few days, but it's important to monitor performance and continually adjust adverts for best results.

Can I only advertise on Instagram using Facebook Ads?

Yes, you can create adverts on Facebook Ads and choose to run them exclusively on Instagram, adjusting the format and settings according to the platform.

What types of adverts are available on Facebook Ads?

Facebook Ads offers various types of ads, including carousel ads, videos, static images, slideshows, lead collection ads and much more.

Summary

Main Steps for Adjusting Your Facebook Ads:

Define your Marketing Objectives;
Choose the Ideal Target Audience;
Create Attractive and Relevant Ads;
Test Different Formats and Creatives;
Adjust your Budget and Bids;
Monitor Ad Performance;
Adjust Campaigns Based on Results;
Use Facebook Pixel to Track Conversions;
Re-evaluate and Refine Your Strategies Regularly;
Take advantage of Advanced Reports and Analyses.

By using Facebook ads, you can easily reach a global audience of 2 billion people and achieve your business goals with just a few clicks. Facebook ads can be an effective tool for small businesses.

Whether you're ready to grow your business or need specialised assistance, our social media promotion and advertising services, especially on Facebook, can provide you with the support you need. With continued efforts and a strategic approach, you can expect a gradual increase in traffic and overall long-term success.

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