Introduction to Meta Ads Manager

The interface:

• Dashboard gives an overview of all ongoing campaigns, showing performance metrics and budget spending;
• Left Panel provides access to key tools for creating ads, managing audiences, and viewing reports;
• Top Navigation Bar includes links to Business Settings, Events Manager, and Audience Insights for more advanced campaign management.

Ad Objectives and Choosing the Right One

1. Awareness: these campaigns are designed to increase visibility and make people familiar with your brand. They're ideal for businesses new to advertising or those expanding reach. Types:
   • Brand Awareness builds long-term recognition;
   • Reach shows your ad to as many people as possible within your target area.
2. Engagement: these campaigns aim to encourage interactions with your ads, such as likes, comments, shares, or clicks. Types:
   • Traffic drives users to your website or app;
   • Engagement increases likes, shares, and comments on your posts;
   • Video Views boosts the number of people watching your video ads.
3. Conversion: these campaigns focus on actions that drive measurable business outcomes like purchases, sign-ups, or lead generation. Types:
   • Lead Generation collects contact details such as emails or phone numbers directly from the ad;
   • Sales Conversion encourages people to complete a purchase.

Audience Targeting and Customization

Instead of showing ads to random users, Meta helps advertisers reach people who are most likely to engage, buy, or take action. Meta provides three main audience types:

1. Core Audiences: are built using Meta's detailed targeting filters. They allow advertisers to reach users based on location, demographics, interests, and behaviors;
2. Custom Audiences: let advertisers reconnect with people who already know or interacted with their brand. They can be built from data sources such as:
   • Website visitors (tracked through the Meta Pixel);
   • Customer email or phone lists;
   • App activity;
   • Social engagement (likes, comments, shares, or video views).
3. Lookalike Audiences: help businesses find new customers who are similar to their best existing ones. Meta analyzes a Custom Audience and identifies users with similar interests, behaviors, and demographics.

Ad Placements and Formats

When running ads on Meta, choosing the right ad placement and format is just as important as targeting the right audience. Meta provides a range of placements — including Feeds, Stories, Reels, Marketplace, Messenger, and more.

Budgeting and Bidding Strategies

Since Meta works on an auction system, advertisers compete for ad placements.
Meta decides which ads to show based on three main factors:

• Bid amount: how much you're willing to pay for a result;
• Ad quality: how engaging and relevant your ad is;
• User relevance: how well your ad matches the audience's interests.

Even if your bid is lower, a high-quality, relevant ad can win the auction. That's why creativity and targeting matter just as much as budget.

Bidding Strategies

1. Automatic Bidding: Meta sets bids automatically to get the best results within your budget;
2. Manual Bidding: you decide how much to pay per click, impression, or conversion.

Compliance and Ad Policies

Meta's ad guidelines define what is and isn't allowed in ads. Common reasons for ad rejection include:

• Misleading or exaggerated claims, e.g., "Lose 20 pounds in one week";
• Inappropriate or unsafe content;
• Restricted products, such as alcohol, gambling, or financial services;
• Policy violations, like poor landing page experience or false information.

Sensitive topics like health, finance, or politics have additional regulations and may require verification before your ads can run.