Your First Facebook Ad Campaign: A Complete Step-by-Step Guide

You've decided to try Facebook ads. Great decision.

Now you're staring at Ads Manager wondering where to even start.

This guide walks you through every single step of creating your first Facebook ad campaign. Follow along and you'll have your ad running by the end.

Before You Start: What You Need Ready

Don't jump into Ads Manager yet. Get these things ready first:

Your Facebook Business Page. No business page? Create one first. Takes 10 minutes.

What you're advertising. A specific product? A service? An event? Know exactly what people will see.

Where people will go. Your website? A Facebook post? A lead form? Have the destination ready.

Your budget. How much are you willing to spend per day? Have a number in mind.

An image or video. Find or create a good visual for your ad. Your phone photos work fine.

Got all that? Let's go.

Step 1: Get to Facebook Ads Manager

Go to facebook.com/adsmanager or click the menu icon on your Facebook page and select "Ads Manager."

You'll see a dashboard. Don't be intimidated. We're only using a few of these buttons.

Click the green "+ Create" button. This starts your campaign.

Step 2: Choose Your Campaign Objective

Facebook asks what you want to accomplish. This is important.

For your first campaign, pick one of these:

Traffic - You want people to visit your website. Good for most beginners.

Engagement - You want people to like, comment, or share. Good for building awareness.

Leads - You want people to fill out a form. Great if you don't have a website yet.

Sales - You want people to buy something. Need proper tracking set up for this.

I recommend starting with "Traffic" for your first campaign. It's simple and you can track it easily.

Click your choice and hit "Continue."

Step 3: Name Your Campaign

Give your campaign a clear name you'll remember.

Good examples:

• "Feb 2025 - Website Traffic - Spring Sale"

• "New Customer Special - January"

• "Blog Post Promotion - Winter Tips"

Bad examples:

• "Campaign 1"

• "Test"

• "Untitled"

Trust me, you'll have multiple campaigns soon. Clear names help you stay organized.

Step 4: Set Up Your Ad Set

Now you're in the Ad Set level. This is where you choose who sees your ad and how much you spend.

Name your ad set using the same clear naming style. Maybe "Ad Set 1 - Women 25-45 - Local."

Step 5: Choose Your Audience

This is the fun part. Who do you want to see your ad?

Location. Where do your customers live? You can target:

• The whole country

• Specific states

• Specific cities

• A radius around your business (great for local businesses)

Age. What age range are your customers? Be realistic. Don't target 18-65+ unless you truly sell to everyone.

Gender. All genders, or do you specifically sell to men or women?

Detailed Targeting. Click "Edit" and add interests, behaviors, or job titles. This is where you get specific.

Examples:

• A yoga studio might target "Yoga" and "Meditation"

• A B2B consultant might target "Small business owners"

• A pet store might target "Dog owners" and "Cat owners"

Watch the audience size meter on the right. You want it in the green zone. Too broad or too narrow is bad.

Step 6: Set Your Budget and Schedule

Budget. Enter your daily budget. Remember, $10-20 per day is a good starting point.

Schedule. Do you want your ad to run continuously or only between specific dates?

For your first campaign, set an end date 7 days out. This forces you to check results after a week.

Optimization. Leave this on "Link Clicks" for now. Facebook will try to find people likely to click.

Step 7: Choose Ad Placements

Where should your ad appear? Facebook, Instagram, Messenger?

For your first campaign, select "Advantage+ Placements" (it might say "Automatic Placements"). Let Facebook show your ad where it works best.

After you've run some campaigns, you can get more specific about placements.

Step 8: Create Your Actual Ad

Finally! The fun part where people will actually see something.

Select your Facebook Page. Your ad will come from this page.

Ad Format. Choose "Single Image or Video" for your first ad. Keep it simple.

Add Your Creative:

Upload your image or video. Facebook shows you a preview of how it looks on mobile and desktop.

Good images are:

• Clear and bright

• Show your product or result

• Catch attention fast

• Look good on mobile

Step 9: Write Your Ad Copy

Now write what appears with your image.

Primary Text - This is the main text people see. Keep it short. 2-3 sentences max.

Example: "Spring cleaning sale! Get 30% off all home organization products this week only. Shop now and finally declutter your space."

Headline - This appears below your image. Make it punchy. 5-8 words.

Example: "30% Off All Organization Products"

Description - Optional extra text. Only shows sometimes.

Example: "Limited time spring sale"

Call-to-Action Button - Choose from options like "Shop Now," "Learn More," or "Sign Up."

Pick the button that matches what you want people to do.

Step 10: Add Your Destination URL

Where should people go when they click?

Paste your website URL in the "Destination" field.

Make sure the link works! Click it yourself before publishing.

Step 11: Review Everything

Take a breath. Look at the preview on the right side of the screen.

Check:

• Does your ad look good on mobile?

• Is the text clear and free of typos?

• Does the link work?

• Is your audience size reasonable?

• Is your budget correct?

Step 12: Publish Your Ad

Ready? Click the green "Publish" button at the bottom right.

Your ad goes into review. Facebook checks that it follows their rules. This usually takes a few hours, sometimes up to 24 hours.

You'll get a notification when it's approved and running.

Step 13: What Happens Next

Your ad starts running once approved. Now you wait.

Don't check it every hour. Seriously. You won't have meaningful data for at least 24 hours.

Check back after 2-3 days. Look at:

• How many people saw your ad

• How many clicked

• How much you're spending per click

We'll cover reading results in another post.

Step 14: Don't Panic

Your first ad might not be a home run. That's completely normal.

Most successful Facebook advertisers created terrible ads at first. They learned, tested, and improved.

Give your ad at least 5-7 days before making big decisions. The algorithm needs time to find your audience.

Common First-Campaign Problems

Ad stuck in review. Usually means you accidentally broke a rule. Check your email for details.

No results after 3 days. Your targeting might be too narrow or your ad isn't appealing. Try a different audience or image.

Spending money but no clicks. Your offer or creative isn't compelling. Rewrite your copy or change your image.

Lots of clicks but nothing happening. Check your website. Is it working? Is it clear what to do?

Quick Wins for Your First Campaign

Make these small changes for better results:

• Use a photo with faces in it (faces get more attention)

• Ask a question in your copy ("Want to save time?")

• Make your offer super clear ("Get 20% off today")

• Include a reason to act now ("Sale ends Friday")

• Test 2-3 different images

You Did It!

Congratulations. You just created your first Facebook ad campaign.

No matter what happens, you learned something valuable. Every great Facebook advertiser started exactly where you are right now.

Next step? Let it run for a week, then we'll look at the results together.

Create Your Next Ad Faster

Creating your first ad probably took a while. All the thinking, writing, and second-guessing.

Stirling speeds up the process dramatically. It uses AI to generate Facebook ad copy and creative ideas in minutes. Tell it what you're advertising and who you're targeting, and it gives you multiple versions to test.

Next time you need to create an ad, you won't stare at a blank screen for an hour. You'll have professional copy ready to go. More time testing, less time struggling with what to write.