Let’s face it: understanding how to leverage Facebook ads is crucial if you want to have a winning social media strategy. However, between targeting an audience, determining a budget, and setting a schedule, creating an ad campaign can oftentimes seem overwhelming. Use this guide to help you better understand each moving piece, and build a Facebook ad that’s going to garner real results.

Audience

When it comes to Facebook advertising, the audience tool is your secret weapon. It enables you to create an extremely detailed audience to ensure that your ad is served in front of the right people at the right time.

A custom audience can be broken down into four separate sections—location-based targeting, demographics-based targeting, interest-based targeting, and behavior-based targeting.

Location-based targeting

Facebook allows you to target people in specific locations—country, state/region, counties, DMA (designated market area), city, postal code, and specific address radius. This tool comes in handy if you’re a new real estate agent and are interested in running a branding ad to get the word out about your services.

Demographics-based targeting

The three basic demographics that you can use to refine your audience include, age, gender, and language. The age tool can be extremely helpful if you’re trying to target new homebuyers or have a listing in a 55+ community.

Interest-based targeting

Quite possibly the most impressive feature! Interest-based targeting allows you to target people who are specifically interested in a subject related to your product or service. For example, if your ad includes a recent blog post on DIY curb appeal ideas, you can target those who have shown an interest in home improvement and DIY projects.

Behavior-based targeting

Behavior-based targeting allows you to target people by their recent purchase or events history. This data is gathered by both Facebook and outside data companies. If you’re running a listing ad, there’s a “most likely to move” behavior that can be extremely beneficial. (Update as of 7/3/18—Facebook is doing away with their “most likely to move” behavior. Watch our Above the Noise episode to determine how you can prepare for Facebook’s ad big changes.)

Once you’re finished creating your target audience, take a look at the audience size odometer on the right-hand side. In order for your ad to be effective, your audience should be defined.

Budget

When it comes to your budget, there are two options—a daily or lifetime budget. For a daily budget, you’re setting an average. Meaning that Facebook will try and get your daily budget’s worth every day. On days where there are better opportunities than others to get you more of a result, Facebook may spend up to 25% of your daily budget, and adjust upcoming days accordingly, if there is particularly strong opportunity one day. If you don’t feel comfortable with this, then the lifetime budget might be the better route for you.

Schedule

Facebook gives you two options to choose from when setting your schedule: run your ad set continuously starting today or set a start and end date. Both of which are self-explanatory. However, it’s important to note that you can stop your ad at any time without having to accrue any additional charges.

At the end of the day, Facebook advertising doesn’t have to be complicated. Once you have your Business Page set up, use the above information to create a profitable ad that is bound to bring you leads.