Facebook Ads is one of the most powerful digital marketing tools for business in 2025. With billions of active users across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger, Meta’s advertising platform gives you the ability to reach highly targeted audiences based on demographics, interests, behaviors, and more. Whether you are promoting a product, service, or brand message, knowing how to run Facebook ads effectively can significantly increase your visibility and conversions.
From choosing the right campaign objective to designing engaging ad creatives, this article will lead you through every step. You might wonder, how much do Facebook ads cost?
What are Facebook’s Ads?
Facebook ads are paid advertisements that businesses, individuals, and organizations use to promote products, services, or content to users on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and other Meta platforms. These ads allow advertisers to target specific audiences based on factors like location, interests, demographics, and online behavior.
The main goal of Facebook ads is to drive engagement, increase brand awareness, generate website traffic, or conversions such as sales or sign-ups. Ads can come in various formats, including
- Image Ads: Single photos with text and a call-to-action (CTA) button.
- Video Ads: Short videos to engage viewers and explain products or services.
- Carousel Ads: Multiple images or videos that users can swipe through.
- Slideshow Ads: A looping video made from a series of still images.
- Collection Ads: A group of items that open into a full-screen mobile experience.
- Dynamic Ads: Automatically show relevant products to people who have shown interest on your website or app.
How Much Do Facebook Ads Cost?
The cost of Facebook ads depends on your budget, but the amount you spend will vary based on the performance and reach of your campaign. The budget you set is the maximum amount you will pay for your Facebook ads. However, the return on that investment can differ significantly.
On average, the cost per click (CPC) for Facebook ads across all industries is around $0.83, which is much lower compared to Google Ads’ average CPC of $4.22. However, costs can differ depending on the industry. For example, Facebook ads in industries such as dentists & dental services ($1.27), furniture ($1.19), and attorneys & legal services ($1.15) are more expensive. On the other hand, industries like travel ($0.43), arts & entertainment ($0.44), and restaurants & food ($0.52) generally see lower CPC rates.
How Can I Create Facebook Ads?
Creating Facebook ads is an effective way to reach a wide audience for your business. Here’s how you can create your own Facebook ads step by step:
-
Create Your Ad
Start by clicking the green “Create Ad” button in Facebook Ads Manager. This will lead you to a page where you will choose your buying type and campaign objective.
-
Choose Your Buying Type
Facebook offers two buying options: auction and reservation. The auction option gives flexibility but with unpredictable results, while reservation allows you to plan in advance with more control over ad frequency and placement.
-
Select Your Campaign Objective
There are six objectives to choose from, such as awareness, traffic, engagement, leads, app promotion, and sales. Choose the one that aligns with your goals, whether it’s brand awareness or driving conversions.
-
Name Your Campaign
When you start a Facebook ads campaign, give it a simple and clear name. This helps you and your team quickly understand what the ad is about. For example, if you’re running an ad to get more people to visit your website for a spring sale, you could name it “Spring Sale Website Traffic March 2025.” A good name makes it easier to stay organised, especially if you’re running more than one ad at the same time.
-
Declare Your Ad Category
Certain ad categories, like housing, politics, and social issues, require special declarations to comply with Facebook ads standards.
-
Enable A/B Testing
When running Facebook ads, it is a good idea to test different images, headlines, text, or target audiences to see which one performs the best. This is called A/B testing. You can turn on this feature during the ad setup and make changes later based on the results. Testing helps you improve your ads over time and get better results without spending extra money.
-
Set the Advantage+ Campaign Budget
If you choose the auction buying option, consider enabling Advantage+, which uses Facebook’s AI to find the best opportunities for results by automatically adjusting your campaign budget.
-
Narrow Down Your Performance Goal
Be specific with your campaign goals. Facebook ads let you target precise performance metrics, such as maximising video views or engagement, depending on your selected objective.
-
Set Your Budget and Schedule
Decide on a daily or lifetime budget. Facebook ads will optimise ad delivery based on your selected limits.
-
Customise Your Target Audience
Facebook allows you to customise your audience by location, age, and language. If you need more advanced targeting, you can rely on the Advantage+ audience for automatic targeting based on user behaviour and past interactions.
-
Choose Ad Placements
Decide where you want your Facebook ads to appear weather in feeds, Stories, Reels, or search results, among others. You can use automatic placements or select manually for more control.
-
Select Your Social Accounts
Choose which Meta platforms (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) you want your ads to appear on.
-
Pick Your Ad Format
Choose between formats like single images, videos, carousel ads, or collections for an immersive experience.
-
Upload Media and Write Ad Text
Add your creative assets (images, videos) and write compelling ad copy with a clear call to action (CTA).
-
Set Your Destination
Decide where users will land when they click on your Facebook ad. You can direct them to your website, Instant Experience, or even Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp.
-
Publish Your Ad
Once everything looks good, click Publish. Facebook will review your ad within 24 hours to ensure it meets their community guidelines. You will receive a confirmation email once it’s live.
Are Facebook Ads Free or Paid?
Facebook ads are paid. While setting up a Facebook Page and posting content organically is free, running advertisements on Facebook requires a budget. When you create a Facebook ad, you pay based on your selected campaign objective, target audience, and ad format.
Facebook offers flexible budgeting options. You can set a daily budget or a lifetime budget, depending on how much you want to spend. The actual cost varies depending on factors like audience targeting, competition, industry, and ad quality.
Although you can promote your business for free through regular posts and engagement, if you want to reach a larger or more targeted audience quickly and effectively, Facebook ads are a paid service.
Learn Digital Marketing with PW Skills
If you are interested in making a shining career in Digital Marketing or a relevant position then enroll in PW Skills Digital marketing Course and prepare yourself for a wide range of opportunities in digital marketing.
Master advanced concepts and tools of Digital Marketing with the power of Artificial intelligence in this 6 month upskilling program. Get certified and prepare for your interviews only at pwskills.com
Facebook Ads FAQs
Are Facebook Ads free?
No, Facebook Ads are not free. While creating a Facebook Page is free, running ads requires setting a budget and paying based on ad performance like clicks, impressions, or conversions.
How much do Facebook Ads cost in 2025?
The cost varies by industry, audience, and objective. On average, the cost per click (CPC) ranges from $0.30 to $1.50, while the cost per thousand impressions (CPM) can range from $5 to $15.
What is Meta Advantage+?
Meta Advantage+ is Facebook’s AI-driven tool that helps optimise ad placements, audiences, and budgets to improve performance automatically