How to create a Meta Ads campaign for Facebook and Instagram

1. Check the account, identity and assets

Open the intended ad account in Meta Ads Manager. Confirm your editing permissions and access to the Page, Instagram identity and website event source needed by the campaign. Access to an ad account does not automatically grant every connected asset.

• Match the account ID and business to the approved brief.
• Confirm rights to the creative and the identity shown on the ad.
• Prepare the offer, destination, budget owner and measurement plan.

2. Create a campaign for the business outcome

Use Create in Ads Manager and choose the objective that represents the intended result. For a website purchase or lead, follow the website conversion options available for that objective rather than treating link clicks as completed sales.

Review any applicable special ad category and the automated or manual setup offered to your account. Meta changes and rolls out its creation interface over time. Confirm the actual settings in the current account; this is a workflow checklist, not a promise that every account displays identical controls.

3. Configure delivery and the event source

At the ad set or corresponding setup stage, confirm the conversion location, performance goal and event source. Select the intended website event where available. Review the audience, geographic scope, placements, schedule and the level at which the budget is controlled.

A connected Pixel or dataset is not proof that the chosen conversion is received correctly. Complete the event checks before spending against that signal. Do not enable expanded data collection simply because a setup screen recommends it; use only the data and permissions approved for your business.

4. Build and preview the ad

Choose the permitted Page or profile identity and add the approved image, video, copy, destination and call to action. Preview the placements you intend to use, including mobile cropping, readable text and the landing page after a click.

If you duplicate an existing ad, review inherited URLs, parameters, event sources and identities. Duplication saves setup time but does not confirm that the copied settings are appropriate for a new brand or offer.

5. Review, publish and reopen

Check the campaign, ad set and ad together. Confirm the approved budget and start time before publishing. Then reopen the same objects and inspect their delivery and review states. A saved draft or a submitted ad is not the same as an active, delivering campaign.

• Confirm the destination and selected conversion event.
• Verify the identity, creative rights and spend controls.
• Record the published object IDs and who approved launch.

6. Compare events with attributed results

Events Manager shows received website events; Ads Manager reports results attributed to advertising under its reporting settings. These counts need not be identical. Compare the event, date range, time zone and attribution setting before changing an integration.

For a missing result, verify the actual website or CRM outcome, then event receipt, then attribution. If browser and server both report the same action, check deduplication before interpreting an increase in event volume as business growth.