The Simple Way to Run a Facebook Ad Campaign

Are you a small business looking to increase traffic to both your website and your door?
It is not easy. While it may be a bit overwhelming at first, you have to know how to run a Facebook ad if you want to increase your traffic significantly.

Why?

Over one billion people use Facebook, so no matter what your industry is, your target audience is on the social media giant. If you are ready to get started with your Facebook ad, follow these 13 simple steps to learn how to run a Facebook ad that successfully brings you traffic.

1. Start on Your Business Page

First, log in to your personal Facebook page. Business pages connect to personal accounts and you have must have administrator privileges on the business page to run the ad. If you are running it for someone else, you must request that they make you an admin on their page. You should then see the icon and link to the business page in the top right corner. Click on your business name to go to the business page.

2. Navigate to Ads Manager

Once you are on the business page, you need to navigate to your ads manager section.
Click on the downward facing arrow on the top right corner of your page, and choose “ads manager” from the drop down menu.

3. Select Your Account

Although you have a business page for your business, ads are made through personal accounts (Why? We have no idea!) If you have other employees working on your account as well, it can get confusing. The best solution is to add everyone to a single account and run the ads through that account so that everyone can see and edit the ad in progress. Click on the name of the ad account that you will use.

4. Open the Power Editor

After navigating to your desired account, click on the ads manager on the top left of the page.
Then, select the power editor from the drop-down menu.

5. Create a New Campaign

Once you are in the power editor section, select the button that says +Create Campaign.
You will find this option on the top left side of the page under the name of your account.

6. Narrow Down Your Objective

There are many different reasons to run a Facebook ad, so you have to know what you hope to achieve through this. If your goal is to sell your product, choose either “send people to your website” or “increase conversions on your website.” Since you are running your first Facebook ad, you may want to choose the easier option.

“Send people to your website” (also called Website Clicks) is a more natural choice because the options are much more straightforward. “Increase conversions on your website” will give you more precise results and analytics, but is more complicated and requires adding a Facebook pixel into the code of your website.

Once you have selected your objective, give your campaign a unique name that you will remember. Then, click the blue “create ad account” button on the bottom of the page.

7. Enter Account Information

Set your time zone, currency, and country. Click continue.

8. Build Your Audience.

A clear audience is the most important aspect of your ad campaign. It will determine whether or not people click through on your ad. When targeting your audience, you want to be as precise as possible. You can choose the age, gender, and any other demographics you can think of to target your desired audience.

You can also create a “lookalike” audience to target users who may have liked a relevant page in your industry. As you play around with your audience, keep an eye on the meter on the right side of the page. Narrow down your audience until the meter reads “your audience is defined.”

When you finish, save your audience to use for future ad campaigns.

9. Choose Placement

Select desktop newsfeed, mobile newsfeed, and Instagram (if you have an Instagram account.)
The other selections are not nearly as useful as these three placements.

10. Choose Budget and Set Schedule

How much you spend on advertising is completely up to you and your budget.

You can choose a daily amount to pay and schedule the start, finish, and length of your ad campaign on the calendar. We recommend starting with $10-$20 a day until you know what ads work best for your brand. Click continue.

11. Build the Ad

Ad building is the creative part so that you can have a little bit of fun. You have a variety of ways to connect with readers. You can upload a video that you have made, a photo of your products, or you can use the slideshow feature to include up to five photos. Next, write your ad text that will be on top and describes what you are promoting (ex: free shipping, 20% off) for each photo, you upload you can write a header and a description. Fill in the destination URL to the specific product page on your website that you are picturing. Choose a “call to action button,” and preview your ad on the right side of the page. If you are using Instagram, you have to upload another picture to fit their size restrictions.

12. Finish Your Ad!

Now that your ad is perfect click the green button that says “Review changes” on the top right side of the page. It will save your work and allow anyone else on the account see the changes you made. After you complete the billing information, wait 10 to 15 minutes for Facebook to approve your ad.

13. Review Analytics

The final step is to track your ad’s performance. Tracking analytics will help you monitor how effective your ad is. On the right-hand side of your Facebook page, Facebook lists “Today’s Results” and your ad name.
Click on it to see all ad analytics. Analytics will tell you which genders and demographics are most responsive, how much you are paying per click to your website, and which ad placement is receiving the most views. If you have a long-running ad and notice trends in the analytics, you can edit your audience or ad placement to get it in front of more of the right people.

Building a Facebook ad for your small business may seem like a daunting task, but the boost in web traffic is certainly worth the work. Now that you know how to run a Facebook ad, you are set to make your mark on the social media platform. Please send a comment should you have further questions. 

Overwhelmed? Simply cannot find the time on your calendar to begin or maintain your social media campaigns?

We can help!

At J.E.R. Marketing we can help you achieve your desired social media presence as well as become your full-service virtual marketing office. We provide unique, innovative marketing strategies, which are tailored to reflect the look and feel of your organization. From branding, public relations, digital marketing, to social media strategist, we will create charismatic pieces to impress your clients and give you an edge over your competition. We strive to promise less and deliver more. 

You have goals, and we are here to help you meet them. Let us help you “Be Brilliant.”