A step-by-step guide to setting up Facebook advertising, from your Page and business portfolio to your ad account, tracking and first campaign.
Facebook advertising lets you put your business in front of a precisely chosen audience, whether that is people within a few miles of your shop or homeowners interested in renovations across the East Midlands. Before you can run a single ad, though, you need the right accounts set up in the right way.
Meta has renamed and reorganised its business tools several times. Business Manager is now called a business portfolio, and most setup happens in Meta Business Suite and Ads Manager. This guide walks through the current process step by step.
What you need before you start
- A personal Facebook profile. Every business asset on Meta is managed by real people, so you need your own profile to log in. Your personal details are not shown on your ads.
- A Facebook Page for your business. Ads run in the name of a Page, not a personal profile.
- A payment method, such as a debit or credit card or PayPal.
- Your website, if you want to send people there and track results.
Step 1: Create a Facebook Page
If you do not already have one, create a Page from your Facebook profile by selecting Pages and then Create new Page. Add your business name, category, a short description, a profile picture and a cover photo, then fill in your contact details, opening hours and website.
Your Page is what people see when they click on your business name in an ad, so make sure it is complete and up to date before you start advertising.
Step 2: Set up a business portfolio
A business portfolio (formerly Business Manager) is where you manage your Pages, ad accounts, Instagram accounts and the people who can access them. It keeps business assets separate from your personal profile and makes it easy to give an agency or colleague access without sharing passwords.
To create one:
- Go to Meta Business Suite at business.facebook.com and log in with your personal Facebook profile.
- Follow the prompts to create a business portfolio, entering your business name, your name and a business email address.
- Add your Facebook Page to the portfolio.
If you also use Instagram for business, connect your Instagram account at the same time so you can run ads on both platforms. Our guide to setting up Meta Business Suite covers this in more detail.
Step 3: Create or claim your ad account
According to Meta's help centre, you automatically get an ad account when you start advertising, and you are limited to one ad account until you have successfully paid for ads. Once your payment history is established, you can create additional ad accounts from your business portfolio settings under Accounts > Ad accounts.
When setting up the ad account, choose carefully:
- Time zone and currency. These are difficult to change later. For a UK business, choose the London time zone and pounds sterling.
- Account name. Use something clear, especially if you may later have more than one account.
Step 4: Add a payment method
In Ads Manager or your business portfolio's billing settings, add a payment method. Meta accepts debit and credit cards, PayPal and other options depending on your location. Check the billing settings for VAT details if your business is VAT registered.
Step 5: Add people and partners
From your business portfolio settings, under Users > People, you can invite colleagues and assign them access to specific Pages and ad accounts. If you work with an agency, add them as a partner using their business portfolio ID. This gives them access to the assets they need while you keep ownership.
Always keep at least two trusted admins on your business portfolio, so you are not locked out if one person leaves or loses access to their profile.
Step 6: Set up tracking
Without tracking, you cannot see what your ads achieve. Meta's tools for this are:
- Meta Pixel: a piece of code on your website that records actions such as page views, form submissions and purchases.
- Conversions API: sends the same events directly from your website server or platform, making tracking more reliable when browsers block cookies.
Both are set up in Events Manager. Many website platforms, including Shopify, WordPress and Wix, have integrations that make installation straightforward. If your website uses cookies for advertising, make sure your cookie banner and privacy notice cover it.
Step 7: Create your first campaign
In Ads Manager, select Create and work through three levels:
- Campaign: choose your objective, such as awareness, traffic, engagement, leads, app promotion or sales.
- Ad set: set your budget, schedule, audience and placements. Meta's Advantage+ options can automate audiences and placements, or you can set them manually.
- Ad: choose your Page and Instagram account, upload images or video, and write your text, headline and call to action.
Before you publish, check every ad against Meta's Advertising Standards. Most ads are reviewed within 24 hours. If something is rejected, our guide to why Facebook ads get rejected explains what to do.
Tips for your first campaigns
- Start with one clear goal and one campaign, rather than many small ones.
- Give campaigns time. Meta's delivery system needs data to learn, so avoid making changes every day.
- Test creative. Try two or three different images, videos or headlines and let the results guide you.
- Send people somewhere relevant. A landing page that matches the ad converts far better than a generic homepage.
- Watch the right numbers. Cost per lead or sale matters more than likes or reach.
Do you need help?
Setting up accounts is the easy part. Getting a good return from your budget takes careful targeting, strong creative, reliable tracking and regular optimisation. If you would like experts to manage it for you, our social ads team can set up and run your campaigns.
