If you have a small consulting and services business, advertising on Meta Ads (formerly known as Facebook Ads ) can be a great way to reach new potential customers and promote your business. In this step-by-step guide, we will show you how to structure and manage a simple advertising campaign on Meta Ads, making the most of your advertising budget.
Why advertise on Meta Ads
Before starting, it is important to understand the advantages of advertising on Meta Ads for your small B2B or B2C consultancy or services company:
Large Audience : With over 2 billion monthly active users, Meta offers a huge audience to which you can show your ads.
Targeted targeting : Meta Ads targeting tools allow you to reach very specific audiences based on factors such as age, interests, behaviors and much more.
Budget flexibility : You can start with a small advertising budget and scale up as the campaign proves effective.
Conversion Tracking : Meta Ads offers advanced tools to track conversions and measure the performance of your advertising campaign.
As you structure your marketing , you will need to rely on an agency that will help you set up conversion analysis in a more systemic , full-funnel, and integrated way. But for now and at small levels the Meta Ads tools are sufficient, although they are too optimized on the "last click".
How to create a campaign on Meta Ads
Step 1: Define campaign objectives
The first step to creating a successful advertising campaign on Meta Ads is to clearly define the objectives you want to achieve. Some common goals for small businesses like yours include:
Increase brand visibility
Generate new leads
Promote a new service or product
Increase sales or bookings
Once the objectives have been defined, it will be easier to structure the campaign and choose the correct settings on Meta Ads.
Don't rush straight to the goal of generating new customers or leads. We understand it's a perfect siren song and juicy honey, and we understand that every single "performance" guru and fluffaguru has enticed you in this direction. We understand everything. But he's suicidal. Businesses grow with the leverage of branding (reach) and are supported by performance . The more brand equity work you do (top of the funnel), the more the acquisition and sales costs will decrease increasingly.
Step 2: Create a Business account on Meta
To publish advertisements, you must first create a Business account on Meta. This account will allow you to access Meta Ads Manager, the tool for managing your advertising campaigns.
If you don't have a Business account yet, follow these steps:
Go to business.facebook.com
Click on "Create an account"
Enter the requested information about your company
Add account administrators
Complete the verification process
Once you have created your Business Manager account, you will have access to Meta Ads Manager to start creating your advertising campaign.
Please enter correct billing and company information! Often superficiality at this stage creates insurmountable problems later!
Step 3: Structure the advertising campaign
In Meta Ads Manager, advertising campaigns are structured into three levels:
Campaign : Represents the general objective of your advertising activity (e.g. generate leads).
Ad set : Defines the target audience, daily budget, schedule and other parameters.
Advertisement : It is the actual advertisement, made up of images, video and text.
To create a new campaign, follow these steps:
Go to Ads Manager and click on "Create" at the top left.
Select the campaign objective (e.g. "Generate leads").
Give your campaign a name and set your total or daily budget.
Click on "Continue".
You can now create the first ad set within your campaign.
Start with a low budget! And remember to create campaigns with different objectives so as to hit various points in the funnel.
Step 4: Define your target audience
One of the most powerful features of Meta Ads is the ability to reach an extremely large yet targeted audience. In the ad set, you can define your target audience based on:
Location : Country, region, city or radius of distance
Demographics : Age, gender, marital status, education, etc.
Interests : Topics, hobbies, behaviors, etc.
Behaviors : Purchases, important life events, travel, etc.
Connections : People who have already interacted with your Page or app
How do real professionals work? Trying to obtain the widest possible visibility to the most targeted audience possible, at the lowest possible cost per contact.
Therefore you must avoid too narrow an audience and niches (expensive and statistically dangerous) and prefer "obvious" and sufficiently broad targeting criteria.
Step 5: Create the advertisements
Once you've defined your target audience, it's time to create your ads within the ad set. Meta Ads offers several options for ads, such as:
Single Image : A static image with text
Carousel : Up to 10 images or videos in a single ad
Video : A short video to capture attention
Collection : A combination of images, videos and text
To create an effective ad, follow these tips:
Use high-quality images or videos : Visually appealing ads attract more attention.
Write a persuasive text : The text must be short, clear and focused on the benefits for the customer.
Include a call-to-action : Invite people to take a specific action, like "Book Now" or "Learn More."
Optimize for mobile : Most people view your ads on smartphones, so make sure they're mobile-friendly.
You can create multiple ads within the same ad set and test them to see which ones work best.
If you don't know how to set up copy (text) and images, we remind you of all the advice and evidence in the latest Deep Marketing book on scientific marketing for entrepreneurs.
Step 6: Set your budget and schedule
In the ad set, you will also need to set the daily or total budget for the ad campaign. Meta Ads lets you choose between:
Daily budget : Set a maximum budget to spend each day. Ideal for long-term campaigns.
Total budget : Define a total budget for the entire duration of the campaign. Useful for limited time promotions.
Additionally, you can schedule when to run your ads by selecting specific dates and times. This allows you to show ads only when your target audience is most active on Meta.
As mentioned above, starting with a low budget and with multiple campaigns allows you to better understand "what is happening" and adjust actions accordingly, without risking too much and with a good vision of the context.
Step 7: Monitor and optimize your campaign
Once your advertising campaign has started, it is essential to monitor its performance and make optimizations to maximize the return on your advertising budget. In Meta Ads Manager, you can track key metrics like:
Impressions : How many times your ads have been viewed
Clicks : How many people clicked on your ads
Cost per outcome : How much you spent on each lead, sale, or other conversion
Frequency : How many times on average a person has seen your ads
Based on this data, you can make optimizations such as:
Adjust your budget : Increase your budget for ads or ad sets that are performing best.
Update your ads : Edit the text, images or videos of your less effective ads.
Change targeting : Expand or narrow your target audience based on performance.
Change your schedule : Show ads at different times to reach your audience when they are most active.
By constantly monitoring the campaign and making optimizations, you will be able to maximize the performance of your advertising budget on Meta Ads.
In short
Managing an advertising campaign on Meta Ads for your small consulting and services company may seem daunting at first, but by following this step-by-step guide, you will be able to create and optimize an effective campaign, reaching your target audience and generating new ones leads and business opportunities.
Remember to clearly define your goals, create engaging ads, create great copy, leverage targeted but broad targeting, and consistently monitor campaign performance. With a little practice and optimization, Meta Ads can become a powerful tool for growing your small consulting and services business.
Tricks and errors
Taking full advantage of this powerful advertising tool requires a certain amount of experience and foresight. Let's see tips and strategies to maximize the return on advertising investments on Meta, as well as identifying the most common mistakes to avoid.
Tips for a successful campaign
1. Set clear goals
Before starting any advertising campaign, it is essential to establish clear and measurable objectives. Do you want to increase traffic to your website? Generate qualified leads? Increase sales of a specific product? Defining the main objective will help you structure the campaign in a coherent way.
2. Know your audience
One of the biggest advantages of Meta Ads is the ability to reach an extremely targeted audience based on demographics, interests, behaviors and much more.
3. Create engaging ads
Your ads need to grab attention in an overcrowded feed. Use high-quality images or videos, persuasive text and clear calls-to-action. Remember that on mobile ads must be optimized for small screens.
4. Take advantage of retargeting
Retargeting is one of the most effective strategies on Meta Ads. You can show targeted ads to users who have already visited your website or interacted with your brand, increasing the chances of conversion.
5. Constantly test and optimize
Don't take anything for granted. Constantly test different ads, audiences, budgets and bidding strategies to find what works best for your business. Meta Ads offers in-depth analysis tools that will help you optimize your campaigns.
Mistakes to avoid
1. Lack of coherence
Your ads, landing page, and overall experience need to be consistent to avoid confusing or disappointing users. Make sure the message is unique at each stage of the funnel.
2. Texts that are too long
Although Meta Ads allow longer texts than in the past, it is advisable to keep copy short and punchy to capture users' attention.
3. Low quality images
Blurry, low-resolution or unappealing images negatively impact the performance of your ads. Invest in high-quality visual content to grab your audience's attention.
4. Lack of calls to action
Each ad should have a clear call-to-action that encourages the user to take a specific action, such as visiting your website or purchasing a product.
5. Insufficient budget
While it is possible and advisable to start with small budgets, remember that undersized campaigns are unlikely to bring satisfactory results. Define an appropriate budget based on your goals.
6. Lack of tracking
Without tracking tools like Meta Pixel, you won't be able to measure the effectiveness of your campaigns and optimize them accordingly.
FAQ on Meta Ads
Q: How much do Meta Ads ads cost?
A: Costs vary based on several factors such as budget, targeted audience, bidding strategy, and campaign objective. You can get started with just a few dollars a day.
Q: How do I create an ad on Meta Ads?
A: Access Meta Ads Manager, choose the campaign objective, define the budget, select the target audience and create your ads with engaging images, videos and texts.
Q: What ad formats are available?
A: Meta Ads offers different formats such as single image, carousel, collection, video, stories and much more. Choose the format that best suits your goals.
Q: Can I promote my products on Meta Ads?
A: Of course! Meta Ads allows you to create product catalogs and promote them via dynamic ads and other e-commerce solutions.
Q: How do I measure the performance of my campaigns?
A: Meta Ads Manager provides detailed reports and metrics to monitor the performance of your ads, such as impressions, clicks, conversions and more.
Q: Can I target users on Instagram with Meta Ads?
A: Yes, when you create a campaign on Meta Ads you can choose to show your ads on Instagram as well as on Facebook.
Where to find out more?
Below is a list of excellent, free resources to further your study.
[2] https://www.takeflyte.com/blog/5-biggest-mistakes-of-facebook-audience-targeting-and-how-to-fix-them
[8] https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/getting-started-meta-ads-comprehensive-guide-2024-tailwindapp-3snaf