Deciding on a Budget

So we just went over some of the fun stuff that will get you excited to start with Facebook ads. Here comes the scary part: paying money.

When you first start out, it can be difficult to determine how much is the right amount to spend on your campaign. I wish there was an easy solution or a magic number I could give you. But the truth is, your budget is largely determined by your goals. You will be setting your budget in the Account and Campaign section of the ad create tool. I've already scrolled beyond the audience targeting to reach this section.

First, let's change our ad set name. And remember, the ad set is this group of targeting that we've selected that contains all of our advertisements. As we make more and more ad sets, we can include them in this website clicks campaign. The ad set name is going to include some descriptions about our targeting-in this case, New York, women age 30 through 60.

I might change this to include some words about my interests or behavior targeting-anything that makes this ad set really unique, so I do not have to open up the ad every time I want to see what it is all about. And the first thing that Facebook is going to do is suggest a budget per day. It's saying, "Here, hey, spend $5 per day." You can say, "I do not think so, I am going to spend $10." Or whatever number you desire. Under "schedule", you can choose "Run my ad set continuously starting today"-but do not do that if you are new at this!

In the case that you are new, set a start and end date. The lifetime budget will let you choose a start and end date, including a time. I still do this now, because it's good to set your mind at ease. You know that the spending will not get out of control if it goes unmonitored, which can happen when business gets hectic.

Another reason you want a set beginning and end date is if you are promoting something that has a specific start and end date. For example, if you have a listing that you are trying to promote, you do not want to promote that listing after the sale has been made.

Next, it says "Optimize for". Click on that and you will see a drop-down with the following options:

1. Clicks to Website
2. Clicks
3. Daily unique reach
4. Impressions

You can leave here and be good to go. But let's click on the "show advanced options" tab to learn more. By default it is on "Get the most website clicks at the best price - You'll be charged for impressions." You can also choose "Set the amount a click to your website is worth to you." The difference between these two options is that if you choose the second, you will be able to manually decide how much you want to spend per click. If you choose the first option, Facebook will decide for you. This honestly is not always such a bad thing. Some advertisers swear by the optimize bid option; they don't want to set their own bids. This is because with the optimized option, Facebook will automatically manage your bid to show the ad to people who are most likely to take action.

Facebook always bids the lowest amount up to your maximum bid. You'll often pay less than what you've entered. So, to be sure your ads show, pick the maximum amount that you're willing to spend. You'll have to spend enough to achieve your objective. Sometimes advertisers miss their revenue goals simply because they've spent too little. It's a hard pill to swallow, but with a well-crafted ad, a decently sized budget can go a long way.