Advertising on Facebook and Instagram has become one of the most effective ways to grow your business, build brand awareness and convert interest into real sales. But if the thought of running Meta ads makes you want to crawl under your desk and pretend the internet does not exist.
Luckily, setting up a Meta ad campaign is less intimidating than it sounds. With the right structure and a few clever decisions, you can start connecting with your ideal audience, and stop throwing money at digital platforms that do not deliver.
In this guide, you will learn how to set up a Meta ad campaign from start to finish. That includes how to define your objective, build your audience, create eye-catching ads and analyse your results. You do not need a background in marketing. You just need a bit of focus and the willingness to test what works.
What Is Meta Advertising and Why Should You Use It?
Meta refers to Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and the Audience Network, all under the one roof. When you run a Meta ad, your content can appear across all of these placements, depending on your settings.
Here is why Meta advertising stands out:
- Massive reach: Over 3 billion people use Meta apps each month
- Detailed targeting: Reach people based on location, interests, behaviour and more
- Real-time performance tracking: Measure your ROI down to the cent
- Visual storytelling: Make use of photos, videos, carousels and stories to engage
For small to medium-sized businesses, Meta ads offer a level playing field. You do not need a massive budget to get results, just smart targeting and good creative.
Step 1: Create a Meta Business Manager Account
Before you launch your first ad, you need access to Meta Business Manager. This is where you will manage pages, ad accounts, pixels and more.
To set it up:
- Go to business.facebook.com
- Click Create Account
- Enter your business name, email and details
- Once logged in, connect your Facebook Page and Instagram account
From here, you can add your team, assign roles and manage everything from a single dashboard.
Step 2: Set Up Your Ad Account and Payment Method
Once your Business Manager is live, you need to configure an ad account to run campaigns.
- Go to Business Settings in Business Manager
- Click Ad Accounts then Add > Create a New Ad Account
- Enter your time zone, currency and business purpose
- Assign people to manage the account
- Add your payment method by visiting Payment Settings
Your payment method could be a credit card, debit card or PayPal account. Without this, your ads will not run.
Step 3: Install the Meta Pixel (or Meta Pixel and Conversions API)
To track how people interact with your website after clicking on an ad, you need to install the Meta Pixel. It is a small piece of code that tells Meta when a visitor makes a purchase, signs up for a newsletter or takes another valuable action.
To set it up:
- In Business Manager, go to Events Manager
- Click Connect Data Sources > Web > Meta Pixel
- Name your Pixel and enter your website URL
- Choose Install Code Manually or use a platform integration like Shopify or WordPress
For best results, also set up the Conversions API. This works alongside the Pixel and helps you capture data even when browser tracking is blocked. Meta provides clear guidance on setting this up here: Meta Conversions API Guide
Step 4: Choose the Right Campaign Objective
Now it is time to create your first campaign. Go to adsmanager.facebook.com and click Create.
You will be asked to choose a campaign objective. Meta offers three categories:
1. Awareness
Great for increasing brand visibility and reaching a wide audience.
2. Consideration
Includes objectives like traffic, engagement, video views and lead generation. Ideal if you want people to learn more before taking action.
3. Conversions
Choose this if you want people to buy something, sign up or complete a form on your website.
If you are just starting out, try Traffic or Engagement to test content. Once you understand what works, scale up with Conversions.
Step 5: Set a Campaign Budget
You will now choose how much you want to spend.
You can set:
- A daily budget (spend a certain amount per day)
- A lifetime budget (spend a total amount over the entire campaign)
Meta’s algorithms work best with consistency. Start small, even $10 per day, and increase as you see results. Make sure to turn on Campaign Budget Optimisation if you are running multiple ad sets. This allows Meta to distribute your budget where it performs best.
Step 6: Define Your Audience
Audience targeting is where Meta shines. You can get very specific about who sees your ads.
You can build audiences based on:
- Location (e.g. Australia, Brisbane or even a postcode)
- Age and gender
- Interests (e.g. fitness, travel, vegan recipes)
- Behaviour (e.g. people who recently made an online purchase)
You can also use:
- Custom Audiences: People who visited your website, interacted with your Instagram account or watched your videos
- Lookalike Audiences: People who share traits with your best customers
Experiment with different audience types and watch how performance shifts.
Step 7: Choose Placements
Meta will ask where you want your ads to appear. The default is Advantage+ placements which automatically chooses platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and the Audience Network.
You can also customise placements by device or platform. For example, you may only want your ad to appear on Instagram Stories and not on Facebook News Feed.
If your content is vertical (like a Story or Reel), choose mobile placements. If it is landscape or square, you can use feeds across both platforms.
Step 8: Create Compelling Ad Creative
Now for the fun part, making the actual ad.
You can choose from formats like:
- Image
- Video
- Carousel (multiple images or videos)
- Collection (ideal for ecommerce)
- Instant Experience (full-screen interactive ads)
Make sure your ad includes:
- A captivating image or video
- A clear headline
- Simple, benefit-driven copy
- A strong call to action (e.g. Shop Now, Learn More)
You can upload your assets directly, or use Meta’s built-in Creative Hub to mock up and preview different designs.
Step 9: Add Your Link and Call to Action
Under Destination, you will add the URL you want people to visit. This could be a product page, blog post or contact form.
Choose a CTA button that matches your goal:
- Learn More: for content or service pages
- Shop Now: for ecommerce products
- Sign Up: for newsletters or events
- Contact Us: for lead generation or enquiries
Double-check your links and test them before launching the campaign.
Step 10: Review and Publish Your Campaign
Before you hit the big green Publish button, review every detail:
- Campaign objective: Does it match your goal?
- Budget: Are you spending what you can afford?
- Targeting: Are you reaching the right people?
- Creative: Does your ad grab attention in the first 3 seconds?
Once published, Meta will review your ad (usually within 24 hours). After approval, your campaign will go live and start collecting data.
Step 11: Monitor Results and Optimise
Do not set and forget. You should check your campaign performance every few days to see what is working.
Look at:
- Click-through rate (CTR)
- Cost per click (CPC)
- Conversions or purchases
- Return on ad spend (ROAS)
- Frequency (how often your ad is shown to the same people)
You can find all this in Ads Manager > Columns > Performance and Clicks
If something is not working, test a different image, rewrite your copy or adjust your targeting. Ads improve through iteration.
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
Even experienced advertisers make mistakes. Here are a few to steer clear of:
- Targeting everyone: Broad audiences waste money. Be specific.
- Using low-quality images: Poor visuals perform poorly. Use high-resolution photos or videos.
- Sending people to a weak landing page: Make sure the destination matches the ad’s promise.
- Not testing multiple versions: Always A/B test creatives or headlines.
- Forgetting mobile users: Most traffic comes from mobile, so optimise everything for small screens.
When to Hire a Social Media Manager
You might be thinking, “This is great, but I do not have the time to manage all this.” Fair enough. Running Meta ads can be a full-time task if you want consistent results.
Hiring a social media manager can help you:
- Develop a long-term ad strategy that aligns with your goals
- Write high-converting copy and create scroll-stopping visuals
- Run A/B tests and optimise based on performance data
- Scale successful campaigns and kill underperforming ones
- Stay updated with algorithm changes and best practices
We connect you with skilled social media managers who specialise in paid media. Whether you need help with one campaign or want someone to manage everything on an ongoing basis, we have the right fit for your business.
Ready to start seeing results?
Setting up a Meta ad campaign may feel like a lot at first, but it is one of the most powerful tools available for modern businesses. With the steps above, you can launch your first campaign confidently, and actually enjoy watching the results come in.
To recap, you now know how to:
- Set up your Business Manager and ad account
- Install the Meta Pixel for tracking
- Define your campaign objective
- Build the perfect audience
- Create eye-catching ads
- Launch and monitor your campaign
Hire a social media manager through Cemoh and turn your Meta ads into your most reliable growth engine.