© 2024 DJRW LTD trading as The Lead Source
Get started for just £99! – Find out more.
Get started for just £99! – Find out more.
If you’re new to Facebook Ads Manager it can be quite overwhelming, especially when you click the green “Create” button for the first time. There are loads of confusing parts to Ad campaign creation. One subject of confusion is how you should structure your campaigns – meaning how many Ads sets should you have and how many Ads within an Ad set?
The digital marketing landscape is changing rapidly and unfortunately, there is a lot of old information out there. We want to give you the latest campaign structure for you to try based on what Facebook wants you to do – simplify and consolidate your campaigns.
There are 3 levels to a Facebook campaign.
‘Campaigns’ are the top level and are simply a list of all your campaigns. When creating a new campaign, this is where you set your campaign’s objective such as Awareness, Traffic, Engagement, Leads and Sales.
To learn more about these objectives you can read our post – Which Facebook Ad Campaign Type Should a Portrait Photographer Use?
Campaigns contain Ad sets. So, what are Ad sets?
Ad sets are…sets of Ads. When setting up your campaign you will set targeting and budget settings here. The idea is that each Ad set within a campaign could have a different target audience and spend. That’s if you were to have multiple Ad sets but continue reading to find out if this is a good idea.
Ad sets contain your Ads. So, what are Ads?
Your Ads are what appear on people’s Facebook and Instagram Feeds. When creating your campaign, you’ll upload your Ad images, videos and write your Ad text here, just before you click ‘Publish.’ You can have more than one Ad in a single Ad set.
Now you know the different levels that make up your campaigns, how should you structure them?
There is old information all over the internet and a lot of it is now out of date. That’s not to say you shouldn’t try other methods because marketing is as much about finding what doesn’t work, as it is about finding what does.
The advice below will likely one day be outdated too, but this is what we find works at the moment in 2024 and it’s in line with what Facebook wants advertisers to do.
Facebook, or Meta, wants to make advertising as accessible and as easy as possible for its users. Yes, it still has a long way to go!
Over the years many marketers have advised that a single Campaign should contain multiple Ad sets, which contain multiple Ads. One Ad set would target a warm audience based on website visitors and those who have engaged with your social media platforms, and the other Ad sets would target cold audiences with different demographics. This strategy often meant that those with smaller Ad budgets would have to stretch their spending very thin across their campaigns and the set-up would take quite some time.
We’re happy to say that these campaigns aren’t what Facebook recommends anymore. Here are two campaign structures that we recommend you try.
This structure is really simple and is a great way to test Ad creatives without wasting too much budget testing different Ad images and Ad text.
When creating your campaign, you’ll want to use a ‘Lead’ objective and in the Ad set level you’ll select either ‘Website’ or ‘Instant form.’ Also within the Ad set level, you’ll need to switch on Dynamic Creative (explained below) and set your budget and targeting.
For this structure you’ll just need one Ad because we’re going to give Facebook multiple images and text options. In the Ad level, upload your Ad images or videos, fill in your Headline, Primary text and Descriptions, then enter your destination URL if you selected ‘Website’ earlier on. If you chose ‘Instant Form’ at the Ad set level then you’ll select or create a form underneath the Ad creatives you’ve just uploaded.
Here is a simplified graphic of this campaign structure.
Dynamic Creative is a simple on-and-off switch found in the Ad set level. Turning Dynamic Creative on allows you to include multiple images and video assets in a single Ad. When turned off, Ads can only be a single image, video or a carousel.
A Dynamic Creative campaign will throw all of your images and videos at your audience. The platform gradually learns which combinations of creatives and copy are performing best and will begin to show these more. We love this because your campaign is essentially learning and optimising itself.
You can also look at the data from your campaign and see which combinations are top performers. From this, you’re able to create new and improved Ad creatives for your next campaign.
Dynamic Creative is a great way to test and compare your creatives without doing a proper A/B split test. This is a especially helpful for anyone new to Facebook Ads Manager.
For this structure, create another Lead campaign with a single Ad set. This time, keep Dynamic Creative off.
Create one Ad that includes a single creative such as an image, video or carousel.
Find the 3 dots, also called the Action Menu, next to the Ad level and select ‘Quick Duplicate.’ In this copy, change the Ad creatives and use a different image, video or carousel to the first Ad duplicated. It’s up to you whether you also want to try different Ad text.
Keep duplicating and changing Ad creatives up to a maximum of 6 Ads. You don’t need to go crazy, just 3 or 4 should be okay.
This method allows your audience to see the same offer but with different Ad content. Some people may respond to videos more than images, and others to carousels.
It isn’t just about how people engage with your Ads, it’s also about touchpoints. This structure ensures your audience will see different-looking Ads and each touchpoint brings you closer to the front of their mind.
This structure also reduces Ad fatigue. This is when people become so familiar with your Ad that it no longer stops scrolling or encourages them to engage. Dynamic Creative eventually shows the best content to your audience which means they could eventually start seeing the same Ad over and over. This method, however, can last longer than a Dynamic Creative Ad because your audience has up to 6 different Ads to consume, and they won’t see them all in one day.
You are going to hate this cliché of an answer…experiment with both!
This is marketing and it’s important to find what works best for you, as well as understand what doesn’t. Unfortunately, there is no single answer for every photographer.
Both structures have pros and cons. We’d suggest thinking about how long you’re running a campaign. If it’s only for a week because it’s a register-to-win competition, then a Dynamic Creative structure might be more efficient.
If there isn’t a closing date and your offer requires more nurturing, such as a direct offer, you might want to consider the multiple Ads structure. A mix of images, videos and carousels will help your audience consume the information in different ways and should keep your campaign running for longer before Ad fatigue sets in.
If this has gone over your head and you need help with your Facebook Advertising, please reach out to us.
If you think you might be the perfect photographer for us but the costs are a little daunting, then you could get a FREE month of our service with a paying referral!
Introduce us to your referral and if they come on board we’ll give you a month of marketing.
Hook us up to your Ads Manager account and we’ll schedule and manage your campaigns.
Leave the hard work to us. We’ll design your scroll-stopping ad images and write your ad copy.
You’ll receive an SEO and website audit to guide you in the direction of building an organic marketing approach.
© 2024 DJRW LTD trading as The Lead Source
