How to Advertise on Facebook

Co-authored by Pete Canalichio and Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: December 2, 2024 Tested

This wikiHow teaches you how to create an ad for your business on Facebook. Facebook ads require you to have an existing Facebook page for your business, which can be set up for free.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Creating a New Ad Campaign

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1
Open Facebook. Go to https://www.facebook.com/ in your computer's web browser. This will open your Facebook News Feed if you're logged into Facebook.
- If you aren't logged into Facebook, enter your email address (or phone number) and password in the upper-right side of the page, then click Log In.
2
Create a business page if you don't already have one. In order to create ads, you must first have at least one page on Facebook.
- If you have a page that isn't linked to your business, it's strongly recommended that you create a business page before continuing.
Advertisement
3
Click the "Menu"
icon. It's in the top-right corner of the Facebook News Feed page. Clicking it prompts a drop-down menu.
- In some areas and versions of Facebook's website, this will be a gear-shaped icon instead.
You'll find this option near the bottom of the drop-down menu. Doing so will open Facebook's Power Editor, which is its ad creator.
5
Select a marketing objective. Click one of the tabs below the "What's your marketing objective" heading.
- Your selected marketing objective is up to you, though your ad's initial preferences will differ depending on your selected objective.
6
Scroll down and enter a name for your campaign. In the "Campaign Name" text box, type in whatever you want to name your ad campaign.
- The title that you enter here is private, and serves only to differentiate this ad campaign from other ones that you run later.
- If you selected the Conversions objective, you'll also have to click the "Key Result" drop-down box and then click the result that you want.
- If you selected the Engagement objective, you'll first need to select a type of engagement below the "Engagement" heading.
- For some objectives, you can check the "Create Split Test" checkbox in order to run two sets of ads at once so that you can compare them side-by-side.
It's a blue button at the bottom of the page. This will take you to the main ad setup section, where you can begin by defining your audience.

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Defining Your Audience

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Depending on the marketing objective that you selected, you may see a form or drop-down box at the top of the page. If so, fill out the form or select an option before proceeding to the "Audience" section.
2
Select your ad audience's location. In the "Locations" section, remove the current location (e.g., "United States") if necessary by selecting it and clicking the X in its upper-right corner, then type in a specific location (e.g., your current city and state).
- You can also adjust your ad targeting preferences by clicking the "Locations" checkbox and then selecting a different option in the drop-down menu.
Scroll down to the "Age" section, then select a minimum age from the left-most age drop-down box and a maximum age from the right-most drop-down box.
4
Determine a gender if necessary. If you want to gear your ad toward men or women, click Men or Women in the "Gender" section.
- By default, this section has All selected.
- Unfortunately, Facebook does not offer gender options other than "Men", "Women", and "All".
If you want to offer your ad in more than one language, you can type a different language into the "Languages" text box and then click the proper dialect in the resulting drop-down menu.
6
Include detailed targeting. If you have a specific demographic (e.g., business analysts) in mind, type the first few letters of the demographic's name into the "Detailed Targeting" text box, then click the proper result in the drop-down menu that appears and repeat as needed.
- You can also click Browse to the right of this text field to look through the available demographics.
7
Select a connection type. Click the "Connections" drop-down box, select a category (e.g., Facebook Pages), and click your preferred option in the pop-out menu.
- For example, to target people who use an app that you designed, you would select the Apps option in the "Connections" drop-down menu and then click People who used your app in the menu.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Adjusting Your Ad's Placement and Budget

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1
Select your ad's placement. In the "Placements" section of this page, make sure that "Automatic Placements (Recommended)" is checked. This will place your ads in Facebook-tested locations, as well as on Instagram and other Facebook products.
- If you want to select specific ad placements, check the "Edit Placements" box, then select your preferred options in the resulting menu.
It's near the bottom of the page.
By default, Facebook measures your ad budget in daily increments; if you want to switch to a one-time budget, click the Daily Budget box, then click Lifetime Budget in the resulting drop-down menu.
4
Enter your budget's limit. Type the number of dollars per day (or per ad cycle if you chose the Lifetime Budget option) that you're willing to spend into the text box on the right side of the "Budget" heading.
- The minimum required for daily ads is $1.00 per day, while lifetime ads require a minimum budget of $30.00 per day.
5
Schedule your ads. You can select the start date for your ads by clicking the "Start" date box and selecting a date from the drop-down menu, and you can determine the time at which they go live by clicking the time text box and adjusting the time there.
- You can adjust a campaign's end date and time in the same way.
It's a blue button at the bottom of the page. Doing so will save your ad preferences thus far and take you to the next part, which is creating your ad itself.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Creating the Ad

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1
Stick to visual ads. When advertising on Facebook, videos and photos stick out much more than do text-only posts. It's worth putting some time and effort into creating a video or well-designed photo to promote your page rather than just posting text.
- Keep in mind that text is still a mandatory part of your ads, since you'll use text to create your call to action and your website address link.
Videos should be under a minute, and text should be under 200 characters. This will engage significantly more users than will longer videos or posts.^{[1]
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This is the title that will appear on the ad itself. Type your preferred title into the "Ad Name" text box at the top of the page.
If you have more than one business page, click the "Facebook Page" drop-down box, then click the page for which you want to show your ads in the resulting drop-down menu.
5
Select an ad format. Below the "Format" heading, click the checkbox next to the type of ad that you want to show people on Facebook, Instagram, and other Facebook-connected platforms.
- You have four main format choices: Carousel, Single Image, Single Video, and Slideshow.
6
Edit the rest of your ad's preferences. Depending on your selected format, you'll scroll down to the "Text" (or "Media" and then "Text") section near the bottom of the page and then add your text, image(s), and/or video for the ad.
- For example, you might want to add your website's URL to the ad, in which case you'd check the "Add a website URL" checkbox and enter your website's address.
- Even if you're using a video as the main point of outreach, add some text to the "Text" text box in order to add context and a call-to-action for the video.
7
Scroll down and click Confirm. It's a green button at the very bottom of the page. Doing so will save your ads and begin showing them as soon as your scheduled ad date hits.^{[2]
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- If Facebook doesn't have your payment information saved, you'll need to enter your payment information (e.g., PayPal login details or your credit card number) when prompted.

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Question

How can I advertise my app?

Teerath

Community Answer

Just create your business page on Facebook and fill all the details about your app.

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What if I created a business profile and not a business page?

SMMEXPERTS

Community Answer

If you create a business profile on Facebook instead of a business page, you may not have access to the full range of features and tools available for businesses. Business profiles are typically associated with Instagram accounts and are designed for businesses that primarily operate on Instagram and want to manage their presence across both Facebook and Instagram from a single account. SMM refers to the strategic use of social media platforms to connect with audiences, build brand awareness, and drive website traffic.

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Can I create a gallery of images for an ad on Facebook?

SMMEXPERTS

Community Answer

Yes. Facebook allows advertisers to use multiple images in a single ad to showcase different products, features, or aspects of their business. Here's how you can create a gallery of images for a Facebook ad: Log in to your Facebook Ads Manager account. Click on the "+ Create" button to start creating a new ad campaign. Select the objective of your ad campaign. Depending on your goals, you can choose objectives such as traffic, conversions, engagement, or catalog sales. Enter the necessary details for your ad campaign, including ad name and ad account.

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Tips

Make sure you follow Facebook’s advertising guidelines so your ad does not get rejected.

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Warnings

Facebook is better for relationship building with your customers than it is for stimulating direct sales. Advertisers are warned not to expect an immediate increase in sales from Facebook ads. Keep this in mind when setting your budget.

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