HOW TO ADVERTISE ON FACEBOOK
At Lillian Purge, we specialise in Local SEO Services and have developed comprehensive guidance on How to Advertise on Facebook.
When I speak to business owners about Facebook advertising I often notice the same pattern. Most people know Facebook can bring in customers but they do not know where to start. Some think the costs will be too high. Others try the boost button, spend a little money and see almost no results. In my opinion Facebook advertising is one of the most effective marketing tools available for small and local businesses as long as you understand how to set up campaigns properly. The platform rewards clarity, relevance and structure. When you take the time to build campaigns the right way you can generate leads and sales consistently even with a small budget.
This guide explains everything I would do if I had to start Facebook advertising from scratch. I will walk through the setup, the strategy, the creative, the targeting, the budgeting and the optimisation. By the end you will know exactly how to build campaigns that work rather than relying on guesswork.
Step 1: Understand what Facebook advertising is designed to do
Before touching the Ads Manager I believe it is important to understand what Facebook advertising actually does. Facebook is not simply a place to show your business. It is a system that delivers your message to the exact people most likely to respond. Facebook has huge amounts of data about people’s interests, behaviours and habits. When you advertise on Facebook you tap into that understanding.
Facebook tries to give users a good experience so it shows ads that it believes match what people want to see. If your ad feels relevant, helpful or interesting Facebook lowers your costs. If your ad feels boring, confusing or irrelevant Facebook raises your costs. This is why creative quality matters so much.
Step 2: Set your advertising goal before you even open Ads Manager
I have seen many businesses waste money because they did not decide what they wanted from their ads. You need a clear goal because the goal determines everything else.
Your goal could be:
enquiries through a lead form
traffic to your website
sales from an ecommerce shop
video views to build awareness
messages to your Facebook inbox
Do not choose several goals at once. In my opinion choosing one clear goal makes your campaign simpler and far more effective.
If you want leads, choose the leads objective. If you want website purchases choose sales. If you want people to call you choose a call based objective. Facebook works best when you are specific.
Step 3: Set up your Facebook Business Manager properly
Many people jump straight into running ads but skip the foundational setup. This causes problems later. Business Manager gives you full control, security and tracking.
Here is what you should set up:
Create a Business Manager account
This centralises your assets and protects your data.
Add your Facebook Page
Make sure you have full admin access.
Add your Instagram account
Linking Instagram gives you more advertising placements.
Install the Meta Pixel on your website
The pixel tracks:
who visits your website
what actions they take
who converts into leads or customers
Without the pixel you cannot run conversion campaigns properly.
Set up aggregated event measurement
Choose what conversions matter such as leads, purchases or calls.
Verify your domain
This ensures Facebook recognises your website and avoids tracking issues.
Once all of this is done you are ready to run real campaigns rather than just boosting posts which I personally believe is a weak option for most businesses.
Step 4: Understand the difference between boosting a post and running a real campaign
The boost button looks tempting. It is fast and simple but it is extremely limited. It gives you basic targeting and almost no control. Boosting a post is like buying a billboard without choosing where it goes.
Ads Manager on the other hand gives you full control over:
who sees your ad
how much you spend
how long it runs
what the goal is
where it appears
what optimisation is used
what actions Facebook focuses on
In my experience you should skip boosting entirely and focus on proper campaigns if you are serious about results.
Step 5: Start with a small budget and let Facebook learn
The biggest mistake I see beginners make is setting a large budget immediately. Facebook needs a learning period. During the first few days Facebook tests different parts of your audience to discover who responds best. If you start with £5 to £10 per day you give Facebook enough time to learn without wasting money.
Do not judge the campaign too early. A campaign usually needs three to five days before results stabilise. Once it finds the right type of person performance improves naturally.
Step 6: Choose the right campaign objective
When you create a new campaign Facebook asks you to choose an objective. This is one of the most important decisions.
Lead generation objective
Use this if you want people to fill in a form directly inside Facebook or Instagram. This works well for local services such as solicitors, plumbers, roofers, gyms and accountants. It removes the need for a landing page.
Sales objective
Use this if you run an ecommerce business or if you want to drive purchases on your website. Facebook will optimise for people most likely to buy.
Traffic objective
Use this if you simply want people to visit your website. This is useful for blog content, awareness campaigns or SEO support. It is not ideal for lead generation because traffic audiences are not as action focused.
Engagement or video views
Use these if you want brand awareness or you want to warm up your audience before retargeting them.
I believe choosing the wrong objective is one of the biggest reasons campaigns fail.
Step 7: Build your audiences with intention
Facebook is powerful because of its targeting options but you need to use them wisely. I always recommend starting with three types of audiences.
1. Local radius audiences
Target people within a certain distance of your business. This is perfect for local services. You can choose the age and interests that match your customer profile.
2. Interest based audiences
If you know your ideal customer has specific interests, Facebook can target them. This could include legal topics, fitness, home improvement, parenting, real estate or business growth.
3. Warm audiences
These are people who have already interacted with your business such as website visitors, Instagram engagers or people who watched your videos. Warm audiences convert much more cheaply. You should always have one ad set dedicated to retargeting them.
In my opinion a mix of local radius, interests and warm audiences creates the strongest foundation.
Step 8: Create strong ad creative that actually captures attention
Creative is the element most beginners underestimate. Your ad appears in a busy feed full of videos, images and stories. You need to stand out quickly. The first two seconds decide everything.
Use vertical videos or square formats
They take up more screen space and get more engagement.
Speak directly to the camera if possible
This builds trust instantly especially for service based businesses.
Use captions on screen
Many people watch Facebook videos without sound.
Start with a hook
A hook is a sentence or visual moment that makes people stop scrolling. For example:
“If you live in Bedford and need fast probate help listen to this.”
“Most boilers break for this simple reason.”
“Before you hire a roofer in Milton Keynes watch this first.”
Keep your message simple
Do not try to explain everything. Focus on one problem and one solution.
Use high quality but natural visuals
You do not need studio lighting. Your phone and good natural light are enough. People trust content that looks real.
In my experience simple, personal videos outperform highly edited promotional ads.
Step 9: Write clear and concise ad copy
Ad copy should make your message even clearer. You should:
state the problem
offer a solution
explain why your business is the right choice
include a call to action
For example:
If you are buying or selling a home in Bedford and want clear legal guidance our team can help. We explain the process in plain English and keep you updated at every stage. Tap below to request a callback.
Short, honest and clear always beats long winded corporate language.
Step 10: Choose the best placements for your ads
Facebook offers many placements such as:
Facebook feed
Instagram feed
Instagram Stories
Reels
Facebook Marketplace
Audience Network
I usually let Facebook decide automatically at the start because the algorithm is good at choosing the cheapest placements. Later you can narrow it down if you see a clear pattern.
Step 11: Set your budget and schedule strategically
You can choose either a daily budget or a lifetime budget. I prefer daily budgets because they give you more control while testing.
Start with £5 to £10 per day for each ad set. If you run ads for multiple audiences your total may be £15 to £30 per day. After three to seven days evaluate performance. If a particular audience performs well you can slowly increase the budget.
Never scale too quickly. Increasing your budget by more than twenty per cent at a time resets the learning phase and may raise costs unnecessarily.
Step 12: Launch the campaign and let Facebook learn
Once your campaign goes live Facebook enters a learning phase. During this time your performance may fluctuate. This is perfectly normal. Do not pause the campaign or change settings too early.
I believe the biggest mistake beginners make is panicking during the learning phase. Give Facebook enough time to understand who responds to your ad. At least three days. Ideally five.
Step 13: Analyse your results the right way
After a few days you should start analysing your results but the key is knowing what to look for.
Important metrics include:
cost per lead
cost per click
cost per thousand impressions
click through rate
landing page conversion rate
quality of leads
frequency
The cost per lead matters most if lead generation is your goal. If your CPL is too high you need to adjust something.
If your click through rate is low your creative is weak. If your clicks are cheap but no one converts your landing page is weak. If your frequency is too high your audience is too small or your ad is becoming repetitive.
In my experience analysing the correct metric solves most problems quickly.
Step 14: Optimise your campaign based on real data
Once you understand the results you can make adjustments. These could include:
changing the creative
adjusting the audience
improving the landing page
rewriting the ad copy
narrowing or expanding your location radius
switching to a different objective
adding a retargeting ad
Facebook advertising is an iterative process. Every improvement builds on the last one.
Step 15: Add retargeting campaigns to reduce costs
Retargeting is where Facebook advertising becomes powerful. People who have visited your website, watched your videos or engaged with your page are far more likely to convert. You should run separate ads that target these warm audiences.
In my experience retargeting often produces the cheapest leads and the highest quality customers.
A simple retargeting ad might say:
If you are still considering our legal services and want clear advice feel free to message our team today. We are here to help.
This gentle reminder often converts people that were not ready the first time.
Step 16: Improve your landing pages to reduce cost per lead
The landing page plays a huge role in your results. You can spend £100 on ads but if the landing page is slow or unclear you will waste the money. A strong landing page should:
load fast
look clean
have a clear headline
include trust elements such as reviews
explain the offer simply
show one clear call to action
Even a small improvement to your landing page can cut your cost per lead in half.
Step 17: Use video content to improve performance
Video often performs better than images because it tells a story. Video ads get more engagement and tend to cost less per impression.
You do not need complicated production. Even a simple talking head video filmed on your phone can outperform an expensive photoshoot. People respond to real people.
I believe video is one of the strongest tools you can use on Facebook and you should incorporate it into most campaigns.
Step 18: Test new creatives regularly to prevent ad fatigue
Ad fatigue occurs when people see your ad too many times. Engagement drops. Costs rise. The solution is to test new creatives regularly.
You can test:
new video openings
new wording
new images
new hooks
new calls to action
A fresh creative can revive a declining campaign without changing anything else.
Step 19: Scale your winning campaigns slowly and safely
Once you find an ad set that performs well do not double the budget immediately. Increase it steadily. For example if you spend £10 per day increase it to £12 then £15 then £18. Slow scaling maintains performance.
Scaling too aggressively resets the learning phase and raises costs. Patience brings better results.
Step 20: Use your organic content to support your paid campaigns
Your paid ads work better when your organic content is active. If someone sees your ad then visits your page they need to see useful content. This improves trust and increases conversion rates.
I always recommend posting regularly on your Facebook Page with behind the scenes content, helpful tips, customer stories and educational insights.
Step 21: Understand when to use Facebook ads versus other channels
Facebook ads are excellent for:
local services
businesses with visual or story based content
awareness building
retargeting
lead generation
They may perform poorly if your website is slow or your landing page converts badly. In those cases improving the website first is essential.
I believe businesses should use Facebook ads alongside Google Ads or SEO rather than viewing them as competitors. Each platform supports the other.
Step 22: Use Offers that Make People Act Quickly
Facebook users scroll through content quickly. They do not always stop unless something feels relevant and time sensitive. Adding offers like free consultations, discounted first visits or limited time promos can encourage people to click.
Your offer does not need to be big. Even a small incentive increases conversion.
Step 23: Build long term audiences using Facebook pixel data
Over time the pixel learns who is most likely to convert. As your data grows Facebook delivers ads more efficiently. This is why long term consistency matters.
If you stop and start too often your pixel never matures and your results stay inconsistent.
Step 24: Use lookalike audiences for expansion
Once you have enough leads or website visitors you can create lookalike audiences based on your best customers. Facebook finds people who behave similarly.
This can reduce your cost per lead because the audience is highly refined.
Step 25: Learn from your comments and messages
Comments often tell you how people feel about your ad. Positive comments signal strong creative. Negative comments may reveal objections you need to address.
Messages from your ads can be some of your best data. You can use them to improve your scripts, your landing page and your creative angles.
My honest view on advertising on Facebook
When I put everything together I believe Facebook advertising is one of the smartest ways for local businesses to generate leads and sales. It offers precise targeting, flexible budgets and powerful optimisation. You can start small then grow consistently.
The businesses that succeed with Facebook ads are the ones that respect the process. They set clear goals. They create strong creative. They monitor results. They test ideas. They improve their landing pages. They stay patient during the learning phase. They scale slowly. They learn from data.
We have also written in depth articles on How Much Does Facebook Advertising Cost and How to Advertise on Facebook for Free as well as our Facebook Advertising Hub to give you further guidance.