One of the oldest and still most effective ways to market and promote your business is to run advertisements. But unlike commercials or billboards, social media ads can reach a very targeted market of potential customers like never before. Here are a few smart options for creating targeted social media ads on Facebook and Instagram.

Note: All platforms do require a financial investment, so make sure your marketing budget can afford it. The good news? Social media ads can deliver a lot of bang for your buck. We’ll focus on Facebook and Instagram in this piece since that’s where a lot of your potential customers are probably hanging out.

Running social media ads

Running ads on social media platforms is the best way to reach a lot of people quickly. The number of people you reach via ads is known as your ‘paid reach.’ So before you set up your first ad, you want to think about who you want to reach first because that might impact whether you use Facebook or Instagram. As a general guide, you’ll find:

• Moms/Seniors/Adults - Facebook
• Millennials/young adults/adults -Instagram

Your audience may be involved in one or each of these—chances are, they might be on both. But it is a good idea to do some research to find out where they are and target your ads there.

The fundamentals of Facebook ads

With nearly 3 billion monthly users, clearly a lot of people are spending time on Facebook. Your Facebook ads can or will appear everywhere in the app (users’ feeds, Stories, Messenger, and Marketplace). They’re designed to look like normal posts but include a “sponsored” label to show they’re an ad. A CTA button can be included in your post.

Types of Facebook ads

Facebook ads target your audience based on demographics, location, and interests. There are different types of ads you can choose:

• Image - Make sure your image specs/size is correct
• Video - Great for demos, lifestyle, tutorials
• Carousel - Perfect for displaying different products. One per photo up to to ten total
• Playables - This is only recommended if you’re selling an app, game or digital experience
• Collections - Like carousels but more engaging. Customers can purchase direct from collection ads
• Slideshow - A 3-10 image slideshow that moves through slides without user interaction
• Stories - Images, videos, carousels that maximize your screen. Remember, stories are mobile only
• Messenger - These show up in your chats. People see these ads in their conversations and can then start a conversation with your company with a simple tap

What influences the cost of Facebook ads

Cost is determined by several factors. You’ll choose the best ones for your brand and budget:

• Location - Different costs depending on the country
• Time of day and time of year - Prices fluctuate depending on when your ads are seen
• Length of campaign - The number of days your ads run
• Ad placement - Costs vary depending on where you want ads to be seen
• Audience - a narrower-focused audience costs more than a large one

Facebook ad benchmarks

You can choose from five benchmarks measured by “cost per click”:

• Conversions
• Reach
• Lead generation
• Impressions
• Link Clicks

Campaign Objectives

You’ll be able to decide what you hope to achieve from your ad campaign. Do you want to increase:

• Awareness
• Engagement
• Leads
• Sales

Basic steps for starting your Facebook ad campaign

1. Log in to your Facebook Ads Manager account and select the Campaigns tab.
2. Click create.
3. Choose a campaign objective based on your goals.
4. Name your campaign (here you can choose A/B testing also).
5. Click Next.
6. Set Budget and Schedule.
7. Target Your Audience (build your target audience in this step).
8. Choose your Ad Placements.
9. Set brand safety and cost controls.
10. Create your ad (choose format, text and media here).

The basics of Instagram ads

Instagram is owned by Facebook so many of the ad procedures listed for placing ads in Instagram are the same. Like Facebook, your Instagram ad is designed to look like normal posts but include a “sponsored” label to show they’re an ad. A CTA button can be included in your post. Instagram ads reach almost all of the platform’s user base so your company could be in front of close to 2 billion people. That’s powerful!

Campaign Objectives

You’ll be able to decide what you hope to achieve from your ad campaign. Do you want to increase:

• Awareness
• Engagement
• Leads
• Sales

Types of ads

Instagram ads target your audience based on demographics, location, and interests. There are different types of ads you can choose:

• Boosted - Looks like a regular Instagram post but says sponsored and has a strong CTA
• Carousel - Perfect for displaying different products. One per photo up to to ten total
• Stories - Images, videos, carousels that maximize your screen and can run up to 120 seconds
• Reels - This is new and Instagram’s algorithm is pushing video posts these days so it could expand your reach. Reel videos can be up to 30 seconds in length and people can comment, share, and like
• Video - Great for demos, unique features, brand stories
• Shop - You can highlight your whole shop (product line) on the Shop tab homepage. Readers can click on a product to learn more
• Collections - Like carousels but more engaging. Customers can purchase direct from collection ads

What influences the cost of Instagram ads

Cost is determined by several factors. You’ll choose the best ones for your brand and budget:

• Competitiveness of your industry - If you have a lot of competitors in your space advertising on Instagram, the price goes up
• Time of year - Prices fluctuate depending on when your ads are seen
• Length of campaign - The number of days your ads run
• Ad placement - Costs vary depending on where you want ads to be seen
• Audience - a narrower-focused audience costs more than a large one

Basic steps for starting your Instagram ads campaign

There are two ways to create Instagram ads campaigns: Boosting an existing post or creating a new ad in the Ads Manager.

Boosting a post on Instagram

If you have a post about your business (or product) that is performing well on Instagram, why not boost it? Here are the steps:

1. Set up a business or creator account on Instagram.
2. Click Boost post.
3. Choose your goal.
4. Define your audience.
5. Choose daily budget and duration of time.
6. Review and click Boost post.

Setting up an Instagram ad in the Ads Manager

This is the best choice for targeting and reporting.

1. Log in to your Ads Manager account and select the +Create tab.
2. Choose a campaign objective based on your goals.
3. Name your campaign.
4. Click Next.
5. Set Budget and Schedule.
6. Identify your Audience (build your target audience in this step).
7. Choose your Instagram Ad Placements.
8. Create your ad (choose format, text and media here).
9. Publish your ad!

Nearly everyone is on social media platforms these days, so shouldn’t your business be too? There’s no better way to target people who have already shown interest in the kinds of things you sell. Social media advertising could open doors to new customers and brand awareness on a scale you never thought possible. Let’s do this!

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