Advertising on Facebook and Instagram

Background

Since launching in early 2004, Facebook has grown to over 2.7 billion monthly users. It's the only social platform that captures over half of all social media users globally. According to Hootsuite, it's the world's third most visited website, right after Google and YouTube, and was the second most downloaded app in 2020 after TikTok. Today, the average user spends nearly 34 minutes on Facebook every day.

Instagram launched about ten years ago and now boasts over a billion active monthly users. Its audience is split almost evenly—51% women and 49% men—who spend an average of 30 minutes a day on the app. Impressively, 81% of users use Instagram to research products or services, and nearly 130 million tap on shopping posts every single month.

The rise of paid social ads

Paid social media marketing has been around for a decade now. Advertising is a really cost-effective way to reach beyond your current followers and connect with fresh leads. It has opened up huge new business opportunities and played a major role in the boom of e-commerce.

Why advertise on Facebook and Instagram?

Advertising through the Facebook Family of Apps lets you tap into a massive user database to target the perfect audience. You can easily build audiences based on specific interests, demographics, and age groups, and then create "lookalike" audiences based on your best customers.

Lookalikes are simply users who share similar interests and behaviors with your existing audience. Once you start gathering data, you can set up a cookie pixel on your website to run smart remarketing campaigns. Your ads can help you do a lot: boost sales, drive website traffic, build brand awareness, keep customers coming back, or even recruit new team members.

Getting started with your ads

To get started, first set up a free business account in Facebook Business Manager. Next, create a company page. Once that's set up, you can create your ad account in Business Manager make sure to use the same details you used for your company page.

Before launching any campaigns, we highly recommend getting your tracking set up. This lets you see exactly how people interact with your ads. You can install the Facebook Pixel on your website to track specific actions (called events), which also allows you to run smart retargeting campaigns later.

A simple ad strategy

Here is a simple blueprint for your social ads. Below, we’ll walk you through the key steps to keep in mind when launching.

Goal: You need a clear goal so you know what you're working toward. This could be boosting sales, growing brand awareness, or getting app downloads.

Audience: Target your ideal customers based on what you already know about them—like age, location, or habits.

Content: You need eye-catching visuals and an easy-to-read message to grab attention in a busy feed.

Timing: Keep holidays and seasonal events in mind when planning. Ad costs can jump when competition is high.

Budget: Setting a budget means you're always in control. You can set a daily budget or a lifetime budget for the duration of your campaign.

Format: There are six flexible ad formats designed to look great on any device. You can choose images, videos, and more. We'll cover these in detail below.

Step-by-step: Advertising on Facebook and Instagram

Once you're in Facebook Ads Manager, you can set up your campaign and create your first ads:

Step 1 – Choose your campaign goal

Brand Awareness: Perfect for reaching a large group of people who might be interested in your brand. This step is all about introducing yourself to a cold audience.

App installs, traffic, lead generation: This step targets "warm" prospects. You want them to visit your site, download your app, sign up for info, send a message, or watch a video to spark deeper interest.

Step 2 – Define your audience

You can build your target audience using three main tools:

Core Audience: Based on basic demographics like age, geography, and interests.

Custom Audience: Targets people who have already interacted with your business, like visiting your website.

Lookalike Audience: Reaches new people who share key similarities with your current customers.

Step 3 – Choose your ad placements

Facebook recommends running ads on Instagram at the same time if your campaign goal supports it. This helps system delivery. Choosing "Automatic Placements" is usually best, as Facebook's system will automatically place your ads where they perform best to get you the most bang for your buck.

Facebook News Feed: Your ads appear on desktop and mobile feeds when users browse Facebook on their computers or through the mobile app and mobile browsers.

Instagram Feed: Ads appear in the mobile feed for users browsing the Instagram app.

Facebook Marketplace: Ads show up on the Marketplace homepage or when someone is browsing Marketplace in the Facebook app.

Facebook Video Feeds: Your video ads appear in video-only environments on Facebook Watch and the News Feed.

Facebook Right Column: Standard ads that display on the right side of Facebook, only visible to desktop users.

Instagram Explore: Ads appear when users click on a post or video in their Explore feed.

Messenger Inbox: Your ads show up directly in the Home tab of the Messenger app.

To get more eyes on your ads for less money, we also recommend including the Audience Network. This extends your reach to external apps.

Your ads will show up in partner mobile apps.

Audience Network Native, Banner, and Interstitial: Classic ad formats that display natively inside partner apps.

Rewarded Video: Ads that users can watch in exchange for rewards inside an app (like in-game currency).

Dynamic Ads

If you run an e-commerce shop with lots of products, Dynamic Ads are a lifesaver. Instead of creating hundreds of individual ads, Dynamic Ads automatically show the right products to the right people. They work just like regular ads but do the heavy lifting for you.

They are great for reaching new, cold audiences who haven't bought from you yet, but they're also perfect for retargeting people who looked at a product on your site but didn't buy.

Step 4 - Setting your budget

Daily Budget: The average amount you want to spend each day. It keeps things steady but has no hard end-limit unless scheduled.

Lifetime Budget: The total amount you're willing to spend over the entire run of the campaign. Once reached, the campaign stops.

Step 5 - Choosing a format

Depending on your message and assets, choose a format that fits best:

Image: Clean, simple visuals with a compelling call-to-action.

Video: Tell a stories and connect emotionally with movement and sound.

Stories: Immersive, vertical, mobile-first formats that feel natural.

Messenger: Start direct conversations with your audience.

Carousel: Show up to ten swipeable images or videos, each with its own link.

Slideshow: Lightweight, video-like ads made from images, motion, and sound.

Collection: Let users browse and shop your products right inside the ad.

Playable: Interactive previews of your app before users download it.

Now you're ready to create your campaign!

Step 6 - Measuring your success

To know what's working, keep an eye on a few key metrics (KPIs) that align with your business goals.

Here are the most common ones to watch:

Reach: How many unique people saw your ads?

Click-Through Rate (CTR): What percentage of viewers clicked your ad?

Cost Per Click (CPC): How much does each click cost you?

Frequency: How many times does an average user see your ad in a week?

Video Watch Time: How long are people staying hooked on your videos?

Traffic: How many visitors are the ads sending to your website?

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): What is your financial return on your ad investment?

Conversions: How many sales or sign-ups came directly from your ads?

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): What is the average cost to acquire one customer?

A/B Testing: To optimize, try testing two similar ads where you only change one small detail (like the color, the text, or the image) to see which one your audience likes best.

Summary

Getting great results with ads takes a bit of patience. Give your campaigns at least six months to gather data, get to know your audience, and find out which formats and budgets work best. Don't be afraid to experiment! The digital landscape is always changing, and what works perfectly today might need a tweak tomorrow.

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