5 Things You Need in Order to Use Facebook Ads

I’ve been running into the same questions about Facebook ads over and over. One question I hear all the time is “what do I need to have in order to run Facebook ads?” There’s really just 5 things you need to run a good Facebook ad campaign and I’ve outlined them for you below.

 

1. Facebook Business Page

In order to run Facebook ads, you need to have a business page on Facebook, not a personal page. You cannot run ads from a personal FB page.

It doesn’t matter how big or small the page is, how many followers you have, or how much content is there, as long as you have a page.

That being said, it’s important that your business page has a good profile picture (usually your logo), a cover photo, and any pertinent information that a customer could need (hours, phone number, website, etc.).

If you don’t have a FB business page, you can easily create one here.

2. Payment Method

Facebook needs to make sure they get paid! You’ll need either a credit card, a PayPal account, or you can even use your bank account.

Whatever method you choose, this info will be automatically saved and used for Facebook ad payments unless you decide to change it in the future. It’s all stored and kept secure by Facebook.

3. Your Campaign Objective

What is the goal you’re looking to achieve? Are you looking to get more video views, website visits, offer claims? Whatever it is, there’s an ad objective inside of Facebook ads for it.

You’ll want to know what you’re looking to get out of your ad campaign before you move on. Clearly identify what the objective is and the rest of the process will be a lot easier.

4. Your Target Audience

The reason I mentioned that it doesn’t matter how many people follow your page, is because your ad targeting will take care of reaching those who don’t follow (and in most cases those who do as well). In your audience targeting for your ad, you’ll be able to choose your demographics, age, geography, and even interests based on who you’re trying to reach.

In other words, you can run ads to every Facebook user on planet Earth!

Let’s say a restaurant is looking to promote happy hour. They can target users over the age of 21, that live within 7 miles of the restaurant.

5. Ad Creative

Everything leading up to this point is a simple ‘click to continue’ kind of process. However, the most important thing you need in order to run successful Facebook ads is the creative, or that actual ad you’re going to run. In almost every case, the creative makes or breaks the campaign.

Is it a video, an image, a graphic, an article, a carousel, a canvas, the list can go on and on. This is what makes Facebook ads so great. Aside from the relatively low cost and infinite targeting capabilities, you can run almost any kind of creative you want.

Think about the target audience and your objective, and then try and think about what they would like to see that will make them take the action you need them to take. That’s the start of good creative.

So there you have it. The 5 things you need in order to start running Facebook ads for your business. If you need any help or have any questions, go ahead and send me a message or a comment. I look forward to helping you!