Do you have permission to run ads on Facebook? If you don’t, and you don’t need to, this article is not for you. If you don’t have permission, but you should, then please stop reading this and take whatever action you need to take to get that permission. Whether it’s account access, setting up a payment mechanism or something else, stop putting it off and make it happen.
I’ll wait.
If you do have all the permissions you need, and the only things stopping you from deploying your first ads are time and knowledge, then stop making excuses and let’s do this thing.
I Don’t Have Time
Yes you do. Or maybe you really don’t. I don’t know. I do know you’ve got time to read this article, so I’m assuming you have time to at least take the first steps, and the ability to carve out just enough time to get your first ads out in the next few days. How much time do you need? I’m going to say 20 minutes. Maybe 30 if you get distracted or are eating a sandwich at the same time.
I Don’t Know What To Do
Right, but you soon will. You won’t know how to do everything in Facebook advertising anytime soon. You’re not going to suddenly be an expert. And that’s OK. You just need to know how to get something running, and I promise, the moment you start spending money, you’ll be shocked at how quickly you start getting to know how it all works.
Just Do It
I just thought of that phrase. Someone should use it commercially as a tagline or catchphrase. You know what? Go ahead – if you’re reading this, I give you permission to use it as you see fit. It’s yours.
Seriously, please just do it. Just get something out there that gets you to actually engage with the platform and see what happens.
Boost It
This is all we’re going to do right now. Just one post, “boosted” to an audience. You get to decide how much (or how little) to spend. You get to decide who to show it to. And once you press the “boost” button, then you’re on your way.
Facebook Business Account
You’re not planning on boosting your personal post about your new raised garden bed, are you? Your snap peas are amazing, but that’s not going to get you any new business (unless you sell snap peas). You need to be posting from your Page, not your Profile. To boost your posts (and to do any advertising on Facebook) you will need a Business Account. Go to business.facebook.com/create and set this up if you don’t already have one. Finally, in order to take any action to do paid advertising (and boosting a post is the simplest version of this), you’ll need your payment mechanism set up in your Business Account. Pretty straightforward.
Ready? I mean, are you really ready?
There’s not much else to do. That’s the point. What were you waiting for?
Step 1: Write a post, or easier yet, select something that’s already posted on your Page (not a link or article that you’ve shared – something original) and look for the Boost Post button. Now comes the hard part … click on it.
Step 2: Set the parameters of your boost – decide how much money you want to spend ($1, $5, $50, $10,000 … whatever you’re comfortable with), and how you’re going to target. If you leave the targeting as default, Facebook will boost your post to adults across the US. That’s probably a bad idea. Set your own audience, and choose age, geography, interests. If you’re spending a small amount, just start trying a few things. That’s the whole point here. Try it, and learn it, and then try it again.
Step 3: Boost it.
Wait for the Business to Roll In
Once you’ve hit “go” on your campaign (we’re being generous here, boosting a post … not a campaign), then the best thing for you to do is watch for your phone to ring and check your email incessantly for leads. Clear your calendar, because when this baby hits 88 miles per hour…well, you know the rest (hopefully).
When you get bored, check back in. We’ll take a look at the data, and figure out what to do next.
