Module 9: Meta Ads Manager (Facebook/Instagram)

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, you will:

  1. Navigate Meta Business Suite and Ads Manager
  2. Structure campaigns properly (Campaign → Ad Set → Ad)
  3. Define and target specific audiences
  4. Set budgets and bidding strategies
  5. Create effective A/B tests
  6. Use AI for audience research and ad variations

1. Meta Business Suite Overview

Platform Architecture

Meta Business Suite
├── Business Manager (organization level)
│   ├── Business Settings
│   │   ├── People (team access)
│   │   ├── Pages (FB pages)
│   │   ├── Ad Accounts
│   │   └── Pixels & Data Sources
│   │
│   ├── Ads Manager (campaign creation)
│   │   ├── Campaigns
│   │   ├── Ad Sets
│   │   └── Ads
│   │
│   └── Meta Business Suite
│       ├── Inbox (messages)
│       ├── Planner (content calendar)
│       └── Insights (analytics)

Why Business Manager Matters

Feature Personal Account Business Manager
Ad accounts 1 Multiple
Team access No Yes, with roles
Asset sharing Limited Full control
Pixel access Basic Advanced
Professional No Yes

Setting Up Business Manager

  1. Go to business.facebook.com
  2. Create business account
  3. Add your Facebook Page
  4. Create an Ad Account
  5. Install the Meta Pixel
  6. Add team members with appropriate roles

2. Campaign Structure

The Three Levels

CAMPAIGN (Objective)
│
├── AD SET 1 (Audience A)
│   ├── Ad 1a
│   ├── Ad 1b
│   └── Ad 1c
│
└── AD SET 2 (Audience B)
    ├── Ad 2a
    ├── Ad 2b
    └── Ad 2c

Campaign Objectives by Funnel

Funnel Stage Objectives Best For
TOFU Awareness, Reach Brand building
MOFU Traffic, Engagement, Video Views Content distribution
BOFU Lead Gen, Conversions, Sales Direct response

Choosing the Right Objective

Traffic - When you want clicks to your website

  • Good for: Blog posts, landing pages
  • Metric: Link clicks, landing page views

Engagement - When you want social proof

  • Good for: Important posts, announcements
  • Metric: Likes, comments, shares

Leads - When you want contact information

  • Good for: Email list building, consultations
  • Metric: Form submissions, cost per lead

Sales/Conversions - When you want purchases

  • Good for: E-commerce, bookings
  • Metric: Purchases, ROAS

3. Audience Targeting Deep Dive

Core Audiences (Manual Targeting)

Demographics:

  • Age ranges (18-65+)
  • Gender
  • Location (country, city, radius)
  • Language

Interests:

  • Pages they like
  • Topics they follow
  • Behaviors they exhibit

Behaviors:

  • Purchase behaviors
  • Device usage
  • Travel patterns

Example Targeting Stack

For a “Digital Marketing Training” campaign:

Demographics:
- Age: 22-45
- Location: Nepal
- Language: English, Nepali

Interests (AND):
- Digital marketing OR Social media marketing
- AND: Entrepreneurship OR Small business
- AND: Online education OR Professional development

Exclude:
- People who already purchased

Custom Audiences (Your Data)

Website Visitors:

  • All visitors (180 days max)
  • Specific page visitors
  • Time spent on site
  • By purchase value

Customer Lists:

  • Email list upload
  • Phone number upload
  • Match rate typically 30-70%

Engagement:

  • Video viewers (25%, 50%, 75%, 95%)
  • Page engagers
  • Post engagers
  • Form openers

🤖 AI Integration: Audience Research

Prompt Template:

I'm running Facebook Ads for [business type] in [location].

Target customer: [description]
Product/Service: [what you sell]
Price point: [range]

Help me define:
1. 5 specific interest targeting combinations
2. 3 custom audience ideas based on behavior
3. 2 lookalike audience strategies
4. Audience exclusions to avoid waste

Lookalike Audiences

What: Meta finds users similar to your source audience

Source Options:

  • Customer list (best quality)
  • Website purchasers
  • Top 25% customers by value
  • Video viewers (75%+)

Size Selection:

  • 1% = Most similar (smallest, highest quality)
  • 1-2% = Balance
  • 2-5% = Broader reach
  • 5-10% = Awareness only

Best Practice:

Value-Based Lookalike:
1. Export customers with purchase value
2. Upload to Meta as Custom Audience
3. Create Lookalike from top value segment
4. Start with 1%, expand as needed

4. Budget & Bidding Strategy

Budget Types

Daily Budget:

  • Spends approximately this amount per day
  • Flexible - can be 20% over on good days
  • Best for: Ongoing campaigns

Lifetime Budget:

  • Total spend for campaign duration
  • More control over pacing
  • Best for: Time-sensitive promotions

Budget Recommendations by Stage

Business Stage Daily Budget Learning Phase
Testing $5-20/ad set 1-2 weeks
Scaling $50-200/ad set 3-7 days
Mature $500+/ad set 1-3 days

Bidding Strategies

Lowest Cost (Default):

  • Meta gets cheapest results
  • Good for: Most advertisers
  • Risk: Quality may vary

Cost Cap:

  • Set maximum cost per result
  • Good for: Strict budgets
  • Risk: May not spend full budget

Bid Cap:

  • Maximum bid in each auction
  • Good for: Advanced users
  • Risk: Low delivery if too low

The Learning Phase

What it is: Meta needs ~50 conversions per week per ad set to optimize

During Learning:

  • Performance fluctuates
  • Don’t make major changes
  • Let it run 3-7 days

Learning Limited:

  • Not enough conversions
  • Solutions: Broader audience, higher budget, different objective

5. A/B Testing Framework

What to Test (Priority Order)

  1. Audience - Who sees it (biggest impact)
  2. Creative - What they see (high impact)
  3. Copy - What it says (medium impact)
  4. Placement - Where it appears (lower impact)

Testing Structure

Campaign: Lead Generation Test
│
├── Ad Set A: Interest Audience
│   └── Control Ad
│
└── Ad Set B: Lookalike Audience
    └── Control Ad

(Test ONE variable at a time)

Statistical Significance

Minimum requirements:

  • 100+ results per variation
  • 95% confidence level
  • 3-7 days of data

Quick Significance Check: If difference is 2x+ with 50+ results → likely real If difference is <20% with <100 results → need more data

🤖 AI Integration: Test Variations

Prompt Template:

I need A/B test variations for Facebook Ads.

Current winning ad:
[paste your best performing ad copy]

Create 5 variations testing:
1. Different hook (first line)
2. Different value proposition angle
3. Different CTA
4. Different social proof framing
5. Different urgency element

Keep the core offer the same.

6. Ad Creative Best Practices

Image Ads

Specifications:

  • Ratio: 1:1 (Feed), 9:16 (Stories/Reels)
  • Size: 1080x1080 minimum
  • Text overlay: <20% of image

Best Practices:

  • Clear focal point
  • Bright colors stand out
  • Human faces increase CTR
  • Show the product in use

Video Ads

Specifications:

  • Length: 15-60 seconds
  • Ratio: 1:1 (Feed), 9:16 (Stories)
  • Captions: Essential (85% watch muted)

Structure:

0-3 sec:  HOOK (stop the scroll)
3-10 sec: PROBLEM (create recognition)
10-25 sec: SOLUTION (your offer)
25-35 sec: PROOF (testimonial/results)
35-45 sec: CTA (clear next step)

Best For:

  • Multiple products
  • Step-by-step processes
  • Storytelling

Best Practice:

  • First card = strongest hook
  • Each card should work alone
  • Use “swipe” visual cues

7. Hands-on Activity: “Launch Your First Campaign”

Duration: 45 minutes

Part 1: Account Audit (10 min)

  1. Access your Business Manager
  2. Verify Pixel installation
  3. Check existing audiences
  4. Review any past campaigns

Part 2: Campaign Setup (20 min)

Create a Traffic campaign:

Campaign Level:

  • Objective: Traffic
  • Campaign name: “[Month][Audience][Offer]_Traffic”

Ad Set Level:

  • Audience: Create interest-based targeting
  • Budget: $10-20/day
  • Placement: Automatic
  • Schedule: Start immediately

Ad Level:

  • Format: Single image or video
  • Primary text: Use AIDA framework
  • Headline: Clear value proposition
  • CTA: Learn More or Shop Now

Part 3: Create Test Audiences (15 min)

Build 3 audiences:

  1. Interest Audience:
    • 3-5 relevant interests
    • Narrowed by demographics
    • Size: 100K-1M
  2. Custom Audience:
    • Website visitors (if available)
    • OR Instagram engagers
    • OR Page engagers
  3. Lookalike Audience:
    • Based on best custom audience
    • 1% for Nepal
    • 1-2% for broader reach

8. Templates & Resources

Campaign Naming Convention

[Date]_[Funnel]_[Audience]_[Offer]_[Objective]

Examples:
- 2025-01_TOFU_Interests_Blog_Traffic
- 2025-01_MOFU_VideoViewers_Guide_LeadGen
- 2025-01_BOFU_WebVisitors_Course_Conversions

Ad Copy Template

HOOK: [Pattern interrupt or question]

PROBLEM: [Pain point they recognize]

AGITATE: [Why it matters/costs]

SOLUTION: [Your offer briefly]

PROOF: [Social proof element]

CTA: [Specific action + benefit]

[Link]

Budget Calculator

Target Results: [number]
Target CPA: Rs. [amount]
Required Budget: Results × CPA

Example:
50 leads × Rs. 500/lead = Rs. 25,000
Daily over 2 weeks = Rs. 1,785/day

9. Deliverables

By the end of this module, you should have:

  • Business Manager properly configured
  • At least 3 saved audiences ready
  • Draft campaign structure documented
  • 5 ad copy variations using AI
  • Budget and timeline planned

10. Key Takeaways

  1. Structure matters: Campaign → Ad Set → Ad hierarchy enables proper testing
  2. Audiences drive results: Targeting the right people beats creative every time
  3. Learning Phase is real: Give campaigns 50+ conversions before judging
  4. Test systematically: One variable at a time, wait for significance
  5. AI accelerates creation: Use it for audience research and copy variations

Additional Resources

Next Module: Modern Workflow & Cyber Review - Bringing it all together with automation