How to advertise on Facebook (a guide for non-marketers)

Facebook (and Instagram, which run on the same Ads Manager) can put your message in front of the exact people you want, by location, interests, behaviors, and more. Entering the realm of Facebook paid ads can be intimidating, but you don’t need a big budget or a full-time team to get results. With a clear goal, simple targeting, and scroll-stopping visuals you can make in Adobe Express, you can create Facebook ads and launch effective campaigns in days, not weeks.

Key takeaways

Pick one goal (traffic, leads, sales) and let it drive every choice — audience, creative, and budget.

Make thumb-stopping visuals with Adobe Express templates. Design for vertical first for phone viewing (4:5 and 9:16) and keep copy short.

Start with broad targeting plus strong creative; narrow only if results demand it.

Use the Meta Pixel (and Conversions API if possible) so the algorithm can learn who buys, not just who clicks.

Summary/Overview

Levels

What is Facebook advertising?

Facebook ads are paid placements that appear across Facebook and Instagram properties: Feed, Stories/Reels, Marketplace, and more. You set a campaign objective, define your audience, upload creative (images/video), choose placements and a budget, and Meta’s delivery system shows your ads to people most likely to take your chosen action.

Why should small businesses advertise on Facebook?

Facebook ads have massive reach and growing delivery. As of January 2025, Meta’s planning tools (via DataReportal) estimated Facebook ad reach at about 2.28 billion people. And in Q3 2025, Meta reported a 14% year-over-year increase in ad impressions across its Family of Apps — evidence of expanding inventory in placements like Feed, Stories/Reels, and Marketplace.

What Facebook advertising offers:

Precise reach: Target by location, interests, and lookalikes of your best customers.

Creative flexibility: Run static images, carousels, short video, and Reels.

Fast feedback: Quickly see which headlines, visuals, and audiences perform — then iterate.

Affordable testing: Start with a small daily budget and scale the winners.

Examples of businesses who grew as a direct result of Facebook advertising campaigns:

MeUndies — apparel (DTC)
Results from Facebook ads: After a controversial creative awareness push, MeUndies retargeted new visitors with Facebook ads that converted 3 to 5x higher than its typical direct-response ads, driving a surge of first-time buyers.

Brooklinen — home goods (DTC)
Results from Meta ads: Using Meta’s Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns, Brooklinen achieved 12% lower CPM, 8% lower CPC, and 45% higher conversion rate versus their business-as-usual conversion campaigns (Cyber Week test).

Living Proof — haircare (DTC & retail)
Result from Meta ads: After switching to Meta’s Advantage+ shopping campaign approach, Living Proof saw an 18% increase in total purchases and improved efficiency versus its business-as-usual setup

What are the components of a solid Facebook ad program?

Goal & KPI: Traffic, leads, sales, or awareness; pick one and measure it.

Tracking: Meta Pixel on your site to capture add-to-carts, purchases, form submits.

Audiences: Broad (age/location), interest stacks, custom audiences (site visitors, email list), and lookalikes.

Creative system: Image/video variants, headlines, primary text, and CTAs — produced fast with Adobe Express.

Budget & bidding: Daily or lifetime budget, typically optimized for the conversion you want.

Testing & iteration: Small controlled tests on creative and audience; weekly reviews.

How do you advertise on Facebook? Here are 7 essential steps

Step 1: Define one outcome

Before you create a Facebook ad, choose a single objective for your first campaign:

Sales / Conversions: Track purchases or booked calls.

Leads: Form submissions, newsletter signups.

Traffic: Quality site visitors to a key page.
Write a one-line brief like: “Get 40 add-to-carts in 14 days for our spring candle launch at <$5 per add-to-cart.” This becomes your north star.

Step 2: Set up tracking (Pixel) before spending

Install the Meta Pixel on your site (most platforms have a plug-and-play option). Configure key events (ViewContent, AddToCart, Purchase, Lead). If you can, add Conversions API for more reliable server-side tracking. Test events with Meta’s diagnostics so you know your data flows before launch.

Step 3: Build your audiences

Start simple:

Broad core: Location + age + language, no interests. Let the algorithm find buyers using your Pixel (site tracking) signals.

Interest set (optional): 3–6 tightly related interests to your product.

Warm audiences: Website visitors (last 30–180 days), Instagram engagers, customer email list (hashed).

Lookalikes: Based on purchasers or high-value leads once you have enough data.

Begin with 1–2 ad sets (e.g., Broad + Warm). Avoid over-segmentation; too many tiny audiences slow learning.

Step 4: Create scroll-stopping ads with Adobe Express

Formats & sizes

Feed: 1080×1080 (1:1) or 1080×1350 (4:5)

Stories/Reels: 1080×1920 (9:16) — design vertical first

Use Adobe Express to:

Start from social ad templates; swap in your photos, brand colors, and logo.

Use Background Remove to isolate products; add a subtle shadow for realism.

Make benefit overlays (3–6 words): “Smokeless burn,” “Machine-washable,” “Ships in 24 hrs.”

Build carousels that tell a micro-story: problem → product → benefits → social proof → CTA.

Export multiple variants (colorways, headlines, image crops) so you can test cheaply.

Step 5: Set up the campaign in Ads Manager

Objective: Choose Sales/Leads/Traffic (avoid “Boost” for serious testing).

Campaign budget: Start small (e.g., $10–$30/day per ad set).

Ad set: Select your audience and Advantage+ Placements (let the system test inventory). Set optimization event (Purchase/Lead/AddToCart).

Ad level: Upload your image/carousel/video variants, write 2–3 primary text lines, 1–2 headlines, and pick the CTA button. Turn on Advantage+ Creative if you’re comfortable with minor automatic variations.

Step 6: Launch, then let it learn

The first 3–5 days are the learning phase. Resist rapid edits. Watch:

CTR (link): Are people clicking? If low, iterate creative (first).

CPC / CPM: Expensive clicks can mean weak creative or audience mismatch.

Add-to-cart / Purchase rate: If clicks are fine but conversions lag, fix the landing page (speed, clarity, social proof).

Frequency: If >3–4 quickly, refresh creative.

Step 7: Iterate weekly (one lever at a time)

Creative first: Swap in new images/hooks.

Audience next: Try broad vs. interest; add a warm retargeting ad with testimonials.

Budget last: Scale winners by 20–30% increments to avoid resetting learning.

Retargeting: Show social proof or a time-bound offer to people who viewed but didn’t buy (7–14 days window).

Facebook ads best practices

Message-market match: The clearer the promise, the lower the costs.

Vertical wins: Prioritize 4:5 and 9:16; repurpose to square for Feed.

One promise per ad: Don’t cram 10 benefits; pick the strongest.

Landing page continuity: Headline and image should match the ad to reduce bounce.

Compliance matters: Avoid before/after claims, personal attributes (“you are”), and misleading promises.

Document learnings: Keep a simple log: audience, creative, results, next test.

Glossary of marketing terms

API (Application Programming Interface)
A set of rules that lets one app or service talk to another. In ads/analytics, APIs pass data (events, costs, conversions) between platforms so reporting and automation work.

CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)
How much you pay, on average, to get one desired action (e.g., a purchase or lead).
Formula: Total ad spend ÷ Number of acquisitions.
Goal: Lower is better—so long as lead/sale quality stays high.

CPC (Cost Per Click)
Your average cost each time someone clicks your ad.
Formula: Total ad spend ÷ Total clicks.
Use: Helps judge how compelling your ad is and how competitive the auction is.

CPM (Cost Per Mille)
What it costs to show 1,000 impressions (views) of your ad.
Formula: (Total ad spend ÷ Impressions) × 1,000.
Use: A pricing lens for reach; doesn’t indicate clicks or sales by itself.

CTR (Click-Through Rate)
The percentage of impressions that turned into clicks.
Formula: (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100.
Goal: Higher is better—signals that your creative and headline are earning attention.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
The primary metric you choose to judge success (e.g., CPA for lead gen, ROAS for ecommerce, CTR for early creative tests). Keeps teams focused on what matters most.

Quick launch checklist

✅ Install Meta Pixel and test events.
✅ Define one goal and KPI (e.g., cost per add-to-cart).
✅ Build 1–2 audiences (Broad + Warm / Interest).
✅ Create 3–6 ad variants in Adobe Express (vertical + square).
✅ Set campaign with Advantage+ Placements; pick conversion event.
✅ Launch at a small daily budget; let it learn 3–5 days.
✅ Review CTR, CPC, CPA; change creative first, then audience, then budget.
✅ Add retargeting with testimonials/UGC once traffic builds.

A successful Facebook ad campaign isn’t magic; it’s matching a clear promise with the right people and showing it beautifully. Use Adobe Express to create sharp, consistent visuals, keep your objective narrow, and let the data tell you what to do next. Improve one lever each week, and you’ll turn small daily budgets into reliable, repeatable results.

FAQs

How much should I spend to start?

Enough to get data without stress. Many small businesses begin at $10–$30/day per ad set. Review results weekly and only scale what works.

Is “Boost Post” bad?

Boosting is fine for quick awareness, but Ads Manager gives better control over goals, audiences, placements, and testing. Use Ads Manager for anything performance oriented.

Do I need video?

Not required, but short motion often outperforms static. In Adobe Express, turn a few product photos into a 6–10 second Reel with simple text beats and a logo end card.

Why were my ads rejected?

Common reasons: too much text in a misleading way, personal-attribute language (“you have anxiety”), prohibited content/claims, or non-functional landing pages. Edit the copy to be factual and re-submit.

What’s a good CTR or CPA?

Benchmarks vary by niche. Focus on trend: if creative A has 2× the CTR and lower CPA than creative B, shift budget to A. Track your own baselines and improve them.

Do I need the Pixel if I’m only driving traffic?

Yes. Even for traffic, Pixel data helps the system find people who behave like your best visitors and unlocks retargeting and lookalikes later.

How to place an ad on Facebook Marketplace?

There are two paths:

Free listing: Create a Marketplace listing inside Facebook (best for one-off/local sales; limited ad controls).

Paid ad in Marketplace placement: In Ads Manager, create a campaign (e.g., Sales/Traffic), choose Advantage+ Placements, or manually include Marketplace. Upload your creative, set budget, and publish. Your ad will appear in Marketplace feeds (subject to availability and policies). Note: Certain categories (services, restricted items) may be ineligible.

How much are Facebook ads?

FB advertising costs are auction-based* and depend on your objective, audience competition, seasonality, and ad quality. You control spend via daily or lifetime budgets. Typical small tests start at $10–$30/day per ad set; actual CPMs/CPCs vary widely. Improve creative relevance and landing-page quality to lower costs over time.

*Auction-based pricing means every time someone could see an ad, Facebook runs a quick auction among all advertisers targeting that person, and the best combo of bid, predicted performance, and ad quality wins the impression. Because competition and relevance change moment to moment, your actual cost fluctuates with who else is bidding and how strong your ad is.

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