How to run Facebook and Instagram ads: a step-by-step guide (2026)

This guide walks through each step in order, for someone running ads for the first time. Meta renames menus and buttons from time to time, so the labels below describe the interface in general terms as of October 2026.

What do you need to run Facebook and Instagram ads?

You need a Facebook Page, an ad account, a valid payment method and, ideally, a Meta business portfolio (formerly Business Manager). If you want your ads to appear under your own Instagram name, you also need to connect an Instagram professional account.

Prepare this list before you start:

1. Facebook Page: Ads run on behalf of a Page. You cannot advertise from a personal profile.
2. Business portfolio: Keeps your Page, ad account, Instagram account and pixel under one roof. If several people will work on the account, you grant permissions here.
3. Ad account: This is where you choose the currency and time zone. Neither is easy to change later, so get them right the first time.
4. Instagram professional account: Set up as a business or creator account and connected to the portfolio.
5. Meta Pixel and Conversions API: Installed on your site if you want to measure sales. We cover the setup in detail in our Meta Pixel and Conversions API guide.

You can publish ads without a pixel, but Meta will not know which ad drove a sale, and sales-focused campaigns cannot learn properly.

How is a Meta ad account structured?

Meta ads use a three-layer structure: campaign, ad set and ad. Each layer answers a different question, and the settings are spread across them.

• The campaign answers "What do I want from this ad?" This is where you choose the objective.
• The ad set answers "Who, where, with what budget and for which conversion?" Audience, placements, budget, schedule and the optimization event live here.
• The ad is what people see: the video or image, primary text, headline, destination link and call-to-action button.

Getting this structure right makes results easier to read. For example, if you put two different videos into the same ad set as two separate ads, you can see which one performs better under the same audience and budget.

How many campaigns and ad sets should you create?

If you are just starting out, a small, simple structure works better. Splitting your budget across many ad sets makes it harder for each one to collect enough data. One campaign, one or two ad sets and a few different creatives in each set is enough for most small businesses.

How do you run Facebook and Instagram ads step by step?

The creation flow in Ads Manager runs top to bottom: campaign first, then ad set, then ad. Follow these steps in order.

1. Open Ads Manager. Go to Meta Ads Manager or open it from your business portfolio and select the right ad account.
2. Click "Create" and choose an objective. Use the logic in the next section.
3. Configure the campaign. Give it a clear name (e.g. "Sales | Summer collection | October"). Decide whether to set the budget at campaign level (Meta distributes it across ad sets) or at ad set level.
4. Choose the conversion location and event in the ad set. For a Sales objective, the conversion location is usually your website and the optimization event is "Purchase".
5. Set budget and schedule. Enter a daily or lifetime budget, a start date and an optional end date.
6. Define the audience. Location, age and language are the basics. Instead of detailed interest targeting, leaving room for Meta's broad or automatic audience options often works better once there is enough data.
7. Choose placements. Automatic placements distribute the ad across Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, Reels, Stories and more based on results. To appear only on Instagram, use manual placements and turn off Facebook.
8. Build the ad. Select your Facebook Page and Instagram account as the identity, upload your video or image, and add primary text, headline, destination URL and a call-to-action button (e.g. "Shop Now").
9. Check tracking. At the ad level, make sure the right pixel and dataset are selected. Adding UTM parameters to the link lets you separate ad traffic in your analytics tool.
10. Preview and publish. Check how the ad looks in each placement, then publish. It goes live once it passes Meta's review.

Which campaign objective should you choose?

Choose the objective based on the action you want people to take after seeing the ad, because Meta shows your ad to the people most likely to take that action. At the time of writing, Ads Manager offers six objectives:

• Awareness: Show your ad to as many people as possible, in a memorable way.
• Traffic: Send people to a website, app or conversation.
• Engagement: Increase likes, comments, video views or messages.
• Leads: Collect contact details through forms or messages.
• App promotion: App installs and in-app actions.
• Sales: Purchases on your website, in your app or through messages.

If you run an online store and your pixel works, starting with Sales is usually right. Traffic can bring cheaper clicks, but Meta then looks for people likely to click, not people likely to buy. Cheap clicks do not mean cheap sales.

How do you set your ad budget and bid strategy?

Your budget should be based on how many results you want and the estimated cost of each; starting with a random number makes it harder for the system to learn. Meta ads are shown through an auction where, besides your bid, the ad's estimated action rate and quality decide the winner. Meta's help page on ad auctions explains the details.

For beginners, the simplest path is to leave the bid strategy on the default "highest volume" setting and keep the budget reasonable. We show how to calculate it with worked examples in our Instagram ads budget guide.

What does a good Facebook and Instagram ad look like?

A good ad stops the scroll in the first second, makes sense with the sound off and clearly says what to do next. On Instagram and Facebook, ads appear between organic posts, so it helps when your ad looks like a natural part of the feed rather than an ad.

Key points:

• Use vertical video. In Reels and Stories, the vertical (9:16) format fills the screen.
• Invest in the first 3 seconds. Show the product, the problem or the result right away.
• Add captions. Many people watch with the sound off.
• Deliver one message. Lead with your strongest benefit instead of listing five.
• Prepare several variants. You only learn which opening or message works by comparing.

You don't have to film the creative yourself. For example, 14ads uses AI to generate multiple video ad variants from a product page link and creates them in your Meta ad account as paused; nothing is spent until you start them from the dashboard.

What should you do after your ad goes live?

After launch, avoid changing settings frequently in the first days, because Meta's delivery system goes through a learning phase. Results can fluctuate during this period, and any major edit can restart learning.

Key metrics to track:

1. Spend and number of results: How many results did you get for your objective?
2. Cost per result (CPA): What does one sale or lead cost you?
3. CTR (click-through rate): Is the creative getting attention?
4. Frequency: How many times are the same people seeing the ad? Rising frequency with falling CTR is a sign of ad fatigue.
5. ROAS: If sales are tracked, how much revenue each dollar of ad spend brings in. See what ROAS is and how to calculate it for the details.

What are the most common Facebook and Instagram ad mistakes?

The most common mistake is launching without thinking about what the ad will measure. Running a sales campaign without a pixel leaves Meta in the dark.

Other common mistakes:

• Splitting the budget across too many ad sets: Each set gets too little data and none of them learns.
• Deciding within the first two days: Calling an ad a failure on little data is usually premature.
• Starting with a single creative: If results are poor, you won't know why.
• Ignoring ad policies: Exaggerated claims, before-and-after images or copy that implies personal attributes can be rejected. The current rules are on Meta's Advertising Standards page.
• Neglecting the landing page: If the ad is good but the page is slow or confusing, sales won't come.

Summary

• Facebook and Instagram ads are run from Meta Ads Manager, and one campaign can deliver on both platforms.
• The structure has three layers: the campaign sets the objective, the ad set sets audience, budget and placements, and the ad holds the creative.
• If you sell online, install the Meta Pixel and Conversions API and start with the Sales objective.
• A simple account structure, several different creatives and a patient learning phase make the biggest difference in a first campaign.
• Measure success with CPA, CTR, frequency and, when sales are tracked, ROAS.