Gain insight into the costs of Facebook advertising and learn how to optimise your budget to get the most out of your ads.
Jannick Troelsen
One of the most frequently asked questions we receive is how much it costs to advertise on Meta (formerly Facebook). Every time we answer this question, it feels a bit like reinventing the wheel, as there are countless variables that determine the actual cost of advertising on Meta (formerly Facebook). These variables can range from your industry to your advertising objectives. Are you looking to sell products? Gain more followers on your Meta (formerly Facebook) page or newsletter? Build your brand? Will you use images or video?
The key thing to understand about Meta (formerly Facebook) advertising is that it does not cost more than what you are willing to spend, and you will get impressions for the money you invest. So if you have £20 a month in your budget for Meta (formerly Facebook), then that is the amount you should spend in your first month. You should then evaluate whether it was worth the investment – which can be quite challenging. This blog post will guide you through all the challenges and considerations you need to keep in mind when answering the question ‘what does Meta (formerly Facebook) advertising cost?’
It is important to clarify from the outset: there is no cost to create a Meta (formerly Facebook) page, ad account or app on Meta (formerly Facebook) – you will only be charged when you use one of Meta’s (formerly Facebook) advertising tools and submit an ad for approval.
Therefore, it is important to know the difference between the three different advertising tools that Meta (formerly Facebook) offers – first and foremost…
It can be confusing to talk to people who have been advertising on Meta (formerly Facebook) for a long time, as they may use all three names above to describe how they work with Meta (formerly Facebook) ads. So here is a quick guide to help you distinguish between them – and to understand the strengths and weaknesses of each approach to advertising.
There are two main levels, each getting slightly more advanced – but also offering more options. It is important to note, however, that both advertising options end up in the same place and look identical to the recipient, who will not be able to tell the difference – the difference lies in the setup behind the scenes (mainly the targeting). This is where you can optimise your ad spend.
Level 1: Boost post
Level 2: Ads Manager
Boosted posts are the ‘easy’ way to advertise on Meta (formerly Facebook) – but also the one where you can waste the most money if you are not careful. The options here are very limited in terms of objectives, and if you do not use Meta’s (formerly Facebook) targeting tools correctly, you can end up spending your budget inefficiently. Below you can see where you can boost a post from your Meta (formerly Facebook) page (if you have an ad account connected).
Ads Manager is the other way to conduct Meta (formerly Facebook) advertising. Here you have access to all the available features. There are no limitations on what you can do with targeting.
You still get an intuitive setup for creating your ads, and although the system may seem overwhelming at first, you will soon discover that the many features and setup options are designed to improve your ad performance.
Within Ads Manager, you will also find the most user-friendly interface for tracking data from both ongoing and past campaigns. It is important to point out that all data from both boosted posts and Ads Manager campaigns is also collected in this overview of all your ads. Ultimately, they are the same product, but the way you set them up differs.
I would strongly recommend that anyone who does not work with Meta (formerly Facebook) advertising on a daily basis uses Ads Manager, as it provides the best options and offers ongoing recommendations for how to use your budget most effectively.
When setting up your ads, you have the option to place a ‘bid’ for what you wish to pay – but what exactly does this mean? There are many variables involved, but the most important thing to understand is that Meta (formerly Facebook) runs an online auction, where your bid and the relevance of your ad to the recipient are both taken into account.
A very simplified example of how an auction might look:
This would mean that advertiser #3 would have their ad shown if we only considered price. But how would advertiser #1 or #2 ever have their ad displayed? They can, because they might create a more relevant ad than advertiser #3 – and this is where targeting, copy and visuals become crucial. To make the example even clearer, let us focus solely on the target audience – all advertisers are trying to reach the same group: men aged 30 to 40:
In this case, advertiser #1 would most likely have their ad shown, as it is the most relevant, and Meta (formerly Facebook) wants its users to see content that is appropriate for them.
Imagine that auctions like the one above are happening billions of times a day across all of Meta (formerly Facebook) – and based on all this data, Meta (formerly Facebook) is constantly trying to optimise what users see, and therefore your ad spend. With this in mind, I would highly recommend that, for most advertisers, you let Meta (formerly Facebook) automatically optimise your bid when you are starting out. They have far more data than either you or I do – and this is usually where you will see the best results for your advertising spend. Only after gaining substantial experience would I advise setting your own bids.
So… With all that said – let us get to the most important point in this blog post:
Setting a monthly budget can be extremely difficult – even for us, who work with many clients every day, where we manage their Meta (formerly Facebook) ads. It really depends on your industry, your target audience, and your approach. However, based on the above, we have a much better starting point for what matters most: No matter how much money you spend, the most important thing is to use it as effectively as possible.
Unfortunately, there is no golden formula for what you should spend on Meta (formerly Facebook) ads, but…
Test it out. Spend £50 in your first month of advertising on Meta (formerly Facebook). Find out what you have achieved with the money you have spent.
At WeMarket, we have worked with both very small and very large budgets – and the key is not the amount spent, but whether it pays off in the end.
If you would like to read more about Meta (formerly Facebook) marketing, you can find more information below – I recommend starting from the top, as visuals can have a major influence on the cost of Meta (formerly Facebook) advertising:
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