Facebook Ads Manager: how to create, set up and launch effective advertising

Facebook Ads Manager is one of the most powerful internet marketing tools, allowing companies to launch targeted advertising on Facebook, Instagram, and Meta’s partner networks. It helps attract customers, increase brand awareness, and boost sales through precise audience targeting and advanced analytics.

*‘Facebook/Instagram is a project of Meta Platforms Inc., whose activities are prohibited in Russia.’

Who is Facebook Ads Manager suitable for?

• Small and medium-sized businesses — attracting customers and developing your brand
• Online stores — promoting products and increasing sales
• Bloggers and experts — monetising content and promoting your personal brand
• Advertising agencies — managing campaigns for clients

What is Facebook Ads Manager?

Facebook Ads Manager is a universal platform for setting up and managing advertising campaigns within the Meta ecosystem (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Audience Network). It helps companies attract customers, increase audience engagement, and boost sales.

Key features of the Ads Manager:

• Set up targeted advertising based on various audience parameters
• Manage your budget and bids
• Create different ad formats (photo, video, carousel, lead generation)
• Analyse campaign performance in Ads Manager
• Connect Facebook Pixel to track conversions

Who needs a Facebook Ads Manager?

Facebook Ads Manager is a universal tool for attracting audiences through the Meta platform. It is particularly relevant for the following categories:

• Small and medium-sized businesses — provides access to a wide audience on a limited budget.
• Online stores — allows you to effectively promote products and increase online sales.
• Expert and personal brands — bloggers, coaches, and course authors use Ads Manager to promote their services.
• Advertising agencies — use it for centralised management of client projects and campaigns.

Example:

An online store launches advertising on Facebook and Instagram to increase sales. It selects an audience (women aged 25-45 who are interested in cosmetics), creates a video ad, and shows it to users who are highly likely to make a purchase.

What does the Facebook Ads Manager look like?

The Facebook Ads Manager includes:

• Home panel – statistics for all active campaigns
• Campaigns section – a list of all active ads
• Audiences section – creation and management of target audiences
• Billing section – payment settings and transaction history

How to set up a Facebook Ads Account

To start using Facebook Ads, you need to create an ad account in Meta Business Manager. This process is free and takes just a few minutes.

Step 1: create a business account in Meta Business Manager

How to register a Business Manager account:

1. Go to business.facebook.com
2. Click “Create Account”
3. Enter your company name, email address, and other details
4. Confirm your email – your Business Manager account is ready!

Why you need Business Manager:

• Manage multiple ad accounts in one place
• Access advanced Facebook tools and analytics
• Add team members and partners with different permissions

Step 2: Add an Ad Account

How to create a Facebook Ad Account:

1. In Business Manager, go to “Business Settings” → “Ad Accounts”
2. Click “Add” → “Create a New Ad Account”
3. Enter the account name, currency, and time zone
4. Confirm the creation

Important: You can’t change the currency after the account is created. Choose the same currency as your payment method.

Step 3: Assign Roles and Manage Access

If you’re working in a team, Facebook Ads allows you to add people with different access levels:

• Admin – full control over the ad account
• Analyst – view-only access to reports
• Advertiser – can launch campaigns but can’t manage billing

How to add a team member:

1. In Business Manager, go to “Business Settings” → “People”
2. Click “Add” and enter the person’s email address
3. Select their role (Admin, Advertiser, Analyst)
4. Confirm the invitation

Key features of the Facebook Ads Manager

Facebook Ads Manager is a powerful tool that allows you to create, manage, and analyze advertising campaigns. To work effectively with Facebook Ads, it’s important to understand the platform’s core capabilities.

Setting Up Ad Campaigns

Here are the main steps involved in creating an ad in Facebook Ads Manager:

• Choose a campaign objective (e.g. traffic, conversions, lead generation, reach, etc.)
• Define your target audience (based on age, location, interests, behavior)
• Set your budget and ad schedule
• Create the ad itself (text, images, video)
• Launch the campaign and optimize performance over time

Example:
If you run an online store, selecting the “Conversions” objective helps you target users who are more likely to make a purchase.

Creating advertisements

Facebook Ads supports various advertising formats, including:

• Image – static advertisements with photos or graphics
• Video – videos to engage the audience
• Carousel – several images or videos in one advertisement
• Collection – a format for online stores with products
• Lead generation form – collecting customer contacts without redirecting to the website

Which format should you choose?

• For online stores – Carousel or Collection
• For expert services – video ads or lead forms
• For quick sales of products – static images with a CTA button

Targeting: finding the right audience

Facebook allows you to precisely tailor your audience, making your advertising as relevant as possible.

Types of targeting:

• Demographic – age, gender, location
• Interests and behaviour – hobbies, purchasing activity
• Retargeting – advertising to users who have already interacted with the brand
• Lookalike audiences – finding people similar to your customers

Example:

if you sell sportswear, you can target people who are interested in fitness, running and healthy lifestyles.

Advertising analysis and optimisation

To get the most out of your advertising, it is important to analyse its effectiveness in Ads Manager. Key metrics:

• CTR (Click-Through Rate) – how clickable your ad is
• CPC (Cost Per Click) – how much each click costs
• CPA (Cost Per Action) – the cost of a target action
• Reach and frequency – how many people saw the ad.

How to optimise advertising?

• Stop ads with low CTR
• Test different creatives and audiences
• Use dynamic advertising for personalised displays

How to set up advertising in the Facebook Ads Manager?

Launching advertising on Facebook Ads involves several mandatory steps, from selecting a goal to analysing campaign effectiveness. Let’s take a step-by-step look at how to properly create, set up, and launch an advertising campaign.

Step 1: Selecting the goal of your advertising campaign

Before launching an ad, Facebook asks you to select a goal that determines how the system will display your ads.

The main campaign goals are:

• Traffic – attracting users to a website or app
• Conversions – aimed at actual purchases or applications
• Leads – collecting contact information (email, phone number)
• Reach – maximum number of ad impressions
• Engagement – likes, comments, reposts
• Video views – increasing views of your content

Example:

If your goal is to collect requests for consultation, choose the ‘Lead Generation’ goal.

Step 2: Audience and targeting settings

Targeting options in Facebook Ads

The Facebook advertising platform provides precise targeting tools that allow you to show ads only to interested audiences.

Key audience settings:

• Geographic targeting — select a country, region, city, or specific location on the map.
• Demographic characteristics — set by age, gender, and language preferences.
• Interests and behaviour — targeting based on hobbies, purchase history, subscriptions, and activity.
• Retargeting — showing ads to users who have previously interacted with the site or content.
• Lookalike audiences — automatically finding new users similar to current customers.

Example:

If you are advertising a fitness club, you can set up an audience of men and women aged 20-45 who are interested in sports and healthy lifestyles.

Step 3: Set your budget and ad schedule

You can choose between two budget options:

• Daily budget – how much Facebook can spend per day
• Total budget – how much you are willing to spend for the entire campaign

How to choose the right budget?

• Test launch – from £5-10 per day
• Budget optimisation – Facebook automatically redistributes funds between ads
• Manual configuration – allows you to control spending

Tip: if you have a limited budget, start with small amounts and optimise your ads after testing.

Step 4: Creating an ad

Facebook Ads Manager offers various ad formats.

The main ad formats on Facebook are:

• Image – static ads with photos
• Video – short or long videos
• Carousel – multiple images or videos in one ad
• Collection – a catalogue of products with the option to purchase
• Lead form – allows you to collect contacts without redirecting to the website.

How to create an effective ad?

• Use high-quality images and videos
• Write short but catchy text
• Add a clear call to action (CTA).

Step 5: Launch and analyse your advertising campaign

Once your ad is live, it’s important to analyse its effectiveness.

Key Facebook Ads metrics:

• CTR (Click-Through Rate) – how clickable your ad is
• CPC (Cost Per Click) – how much each click costs
• CPA (Cost Per Action) – price per target action
• Reach and frequency – how many people saw the ad.

How to optimise your campaign?

• Disable ads with low conversion rates
• Test different creatives (images, videos, texts)
• Use retargeting to bring users back.

Mistakes when working with Facebook Ads

Even experienced marketers can encounter problems when setting up ads in Facebook Ads. Let’s take a look at the main mistakes that can lead to ineffective campaigns and high costs.

Incorrect choice of advertising campaign goal

Mistake:

Choosing the wrong goal can result in your ad being shown to the wrong audience and not delivering the expected results.

How to fix it:

Define the main goal of the campaign (sales, lead generation, brand awareness)

Choose a relevant goal.

Too broad or narrow targeting

Error:

• If the audience is too broad, the ad is shown to non-targeted users.
• If the audience is too narrow, the cost of advertising increases and Facebook limits impressions.

How to fix it:

• Optimise the geography, interests and behaviour of your audience.
• Test lookalike audiences (search for people similar to your customers).
• Use retargeting to bring users back.

Lack of A/B testing

Mistake:

Using a single ad without testing different creative options, texts, and audiences.

How to fix it:

• Run A/B tests with different images, headlines, and audiences.
• Test multiple ad formats (carousel, video, static image).
• Analyze test results and disable ineffective ads.

Ignoring analytics and metrics

Mistake:

• Launching a campaign without regularly analysing CTR, CPC, CPA, and ROAS metrics.
• Leaving ineffective ads active, which leads to budget overspending.

How to fix it:

• Use Ads Manager to monitor key metrics.
• Disable ads with low CTR (<1%).
• Analyse conversion cost (CPA) and optimise bids.

Weak advertising creativity

Mistake:

Using poor-quality images, long texts and weak CTAs (calls to action).

How to fix it:

• Create short but catchy headlines.
• Use high-quality images and videos.
• Add clear CTA buttons (‘Buy,’ ‘Order,’ ‘Sign up’).

How to increase the effectiveness of Facebook advertising?

To get the most out of Facebook Ads and make them work for you, it is important not only to avoid mistakes, but also to apply modern optimisation methods. Let’s look at the key strategies that will help you reduce costs and increase conversions.

Using retargeting

Retargeting is showing ads to users who have already interacted with your business (visited your website, added a product to their cart, subscribed to your Instagram).

How does this help?

• It brings back a ‘warm’ audience that is already interested.
• It increases conversions by 30-40%.
• It allows you to show personalised offers.

Example:

If a user has added a product to their cart but has not purchased it, you can show them an ad with a reminder and a discount.

Testing different ad formats

Why is this important? Different formats work differently depending on the niche and audience.

What can be tested?

• Images vs. Video – video attracts 20-30% more attention
• Short vs. Long texts – test different approaches
• Carousel vs. Collection – convenient for online stores
• Different CTAs (calls to action) – ‘Order’, ‘Sign up’, ‘Find out the price’.

Example:

A clothing brand tested regular ads with photos and video reviews. Video generated twice as many conversions at the same cost.

Landing page optimisation

Why is this important? Even the best advertising will not generate sales if the website loads slowly or is inconvenient for mobile users.

How to improve your landing page?

• Loading speed < 3 seconds (use Google PageSpeed)
• Mobile adaptation – 80% of users visit from their phones
• Clear CTA – the ‘Buy’ button should be visible
• Reviews, guarantees, USP – remove fear before purchase.

Example:

The company optimised the page by removing unnecessary elements and speeding up the loading time by 2 seconds – conversion increased by 25%.

Working with Lookalike Audiences

What is it? A Lookalike Audience is an audience similar to your current customers. Facebook analyses the behaviour, interests, and demographics of your customers and searches for similar users.

How to use it?

• Create a lookalike audience based on your customers.
• Test different similarity percentages (1-5%).
• Segment your audience by country and region.

Example:

An online store created a lookalike audience based on its customers and increased sales by 40%.

Most Common Questions from Our Clients

In this section, we’ll address the most frequently asked questions about setting up and optimizing Facebook Ads.

1. How do I access Facebook Ads Manager?
   To access your Facebook Ads Manager, go to facebook.com/adsmanager and log into your account.
   If you don’t have an ad account yet, you can create one through Meta Business Manager.
2. Can I advertise on Facebook without using Business Manager?
   Yes, you can — but Meta Business Manager offers more features:

• Easy management of multiple ad accounts
• Advanced access control and analytics
• Integration with Instagram and WhatsApp

Tip: For businesses and agencies, using Business Manager is highly recommended.

3. What’s the minimum budget for Facebook Ads?

• Minimum daily budget – from $1
• Recommended starting budget – from $5–10 per day

Important:

• For audience testing, it’s recommended to run ads for at least 5–7 days
• You can gradually increase the budget based on performance insights

4. Why was my Facebook Ad Account blocked?

Facebook may block an ad account due to:

• Violations of ad policies (prohibited content, misleading claims)
• Suspicious activity (sudden budget increases, IP address changes)
• Unpaid invoices

How to get unblocked:

• Submit an appeal through Facebook Support
• Review your account for compliance with ad policies
• Add an additional payment method

5. How do I run Instagram ads through Facebook?

Instagram ads are set up directly through Facebook Ads Manager.

Steps:

1. Create a new campaign in Ads Manager
2. In the Placements section, select Instagram
3. Set your audience, budget, and ad creatives

Note:

• Ads can appear in both Instagram Feed and Stories
• You can also use Instagram Shopping to promote and sell products

6. How can I measure the effectiveness of my ads?

Use Facebook Ads Manager to track key performance metrics:

• CTR (Click-Through Rate) – ad clickability
• CPC (Cost Per Click) – cost per individual click
• CPA (Cost Per Action) – cost per lead or purchase
• ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) – return on advertising investment

Tip:

• Turn off ads with a low CTR (under 1%)
• Test different creatives and audience segments to find what works best

Conclusion

Facebook Ads Manager is a powerful tool for attracting customers, increasing sales, and promoting your brand. It allows you to flexibly customise your audience, test creatives, and analyse the effectiveness of your ads.

Summary: what was covered in the article

1. Step-by-step process for creating and setting up a Facebook Ads Manager account.
2. Key features of Ads Manager and recommendations for using them.
3. Principles for launching advertising campaigns and basic optimisation methods.
4. Common mistakes that affect advertising performance.
5. Effective strategies for increasing conversions and reducing CPL/CPA.

Useful tips before launching an ad

• Start with a small budget (from £5-10 per day) and test your audience
• Use different ad formats (video, carousel, images)
• Regularly analyse metrics (CTR, CPC, CPA) and adjust your strategy
• Set up retargeting and lookalike audiences to increase conversions
• Keep an eye on changes to Facebook algorithms and updates to the advertising platform

Why work with an agency?

• Budget savings – competent advertising setup allows you to avoid unnecessary costs and reduce the cost per click/application.
• Guaranteed results – we know how to launch and optimise advertising correctly so that it brings in customers.
• Access to advanced tools – analytics, A/B testing, automation, dynamic advertising.
• Experience working with different niches – online stores, services, infobusiness, B2B and B2C.
• Time savings – we take full responsibility for setting up, managing and analysing advertising campaigns.

What do our services include?

• Audit of current advertising campaigns – identification of errors and growth points
• Creation and configuration of a Facebook advertising account
• Development of a targeting strategy and audience selection
• Creation of advertising creatives (texts, images, videos)
• Optimisation of bids, budget and impressions
• Testing of different ad formats (A/B tests)
• Setup of retargeting and lookalike audiences
• Reporting and analytics: monitoring of advertising effectiveness.

How much does it cost to set up advertising on Facebook?

• Basic package – from $800 (audit, account setup, campaign creation)
• Standard package – from $900 (includes retargeting and A/B testing)
• Premium package – from $1,000 (full package: strategy, content, management)

Each project is unique, so we tailor the strategy to your business.

How to start cooperation?

• Leave a request – fill out the form on the website or write to the messenger.
• Free consultation – we will analyse your business and offer a strategy.
• Advertising development and launch – we take care of all processes.
• Optimisation and sales growth – we analyse, test and improve.