To create a Facebook ad, open Ads Manager once you have a Facebook Page and a valid payment method. Start a campaign and choose your objective, then set the audience, placements, budget and schedule in the ad set. Last, design the ad itself: pick a format and add the creative people will see.
Every Facebook ad is built inside Meta Ads Manager. Two things have to be in place before you open it, and the build itself happens across three levels.
The quick route from empty account to finished ad
- Make sure you have a Facebook Page, or an admin, editor or advertiser role on someone else's Page.
- Set up a valid payment method on your ad account.
- Go to Ads Manager to reach your ad account.
- Create a campaign and pick its objective.
- In the ad set, choose placements and a budget.
- At the ad level, pick a format and add the creative people will see.
Meta's guide to getting started with ads lists two things to have in place before you can advertise at all: the Page (or a role on one) and the payment method. If either is missing, sort it first, because you can't advertise without both.
The Page doesn't have to be yours. If you're running ads for a client or a friend's business, an admin, editor or advertiser role on their Page is enough to get started.
Campaign, ad set and ad: what lives where in Ads Manager
Meta's own overview of Ads Manager splits ad creation into three levels: campaign, ad set and ad. Each level owns different decisions.
| Level | What you decide there |
|---|---|
| Campaign | The objective |
| Ad set | Where ads appear, who sees them, spend and timing, all shared across the set |
| Ad | Format and creative |
The campaign level sets the goal
Pick the objective that matches what you want people to do. Someone after visits to their site wants a different goal from someone who just wants more people to know the business exists, so decide that in plain words before you open the tool.
The ad set level sets the rules for everything inside it
Here's the part people miss: all ads inside one ad set share the same audience, placement, budget and schedule settings. So if you want to try one ad on a different audience, or give it a different budget, it needs its own ad set. Two ads in the same set can't be pointed at different people.
Say you want to compare two images shown to the same people. Those two ads can share one ad set. Want to show the same image to two different audiences instead? That's two ad sets, one for each audience.
The ad level is where the creative goes
The ad level holds the creative alone: format first, then the images, video or words. Everything about reach and timing was settled one level up, so nothing you change here alters who sees it.
If you're brand new to the platform and want the basics first, start with how Facebook itself works, or what Facebook Lite is if that's the version you use day to day.
Planning the ad before you open Ads Manager
Because each decision belongs to one level, you can plan the whole thing on paper and then fill in the levels in order.
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- Campaign: what you want people to do, written as one line.
- Ad set: where the ads should appear, who should see them, when they run and what you'll spend.
- Ad: the format that suits your material, and the creative people will see.
Anything on the ad set line that differs between two ads means two ad sets. Settle that before you build, and you won't have to pull ads apart later.
The one ad account limit new advertisers run into
All advertisers are limited to one ad account ID until they make a confirmed payment. Extra ad accounts only become possible after your first payment is processed.
That matters if you run ads for more than one business, or planned to keep a test account separate from the real one. Until money has gone through once, you're working in a single account, so name your campaigns clearly enough to tell them apart.
If a second account matters to you, the order is simple: build and pay for the first campaign, then set up the extra account once that payment has gone through.
Frequently asked questions
Do my ads only show on Facebook?
Not necessarily. Your placements, chosen in the ad set, decide that.
What does Ads Manager do?
It's Meta's tool for creating and publishing ads across Meta's platforms, and it's also how you reach your ad account.
What formats can a Facebook ad use?
Single image or video, carousel and collection. You pick one at the ad level.
What kinds of objective can I choose?
The objective is the campaign's overall goal, for example website traffic, leads or brand awareness.
Where do I set the budget?
At the ad set level, as a daily or lifetime figure.
