Here are my 4 fool-proof steps for creating Facebook ads that drive more leads and sales to your northern Virginia business. Consider this my 2018 update

You can also watch the video version of this guide here How To Create Facebook Ads That Convert For Local Business 2018

Step 1 – Create a Facebook Fan Page

Your first step is to create a new Facebook Fan Page for your business. At the bottom of your Facebook page, you’ll see the option to create a new page as shown below:

Step 2 – Choose Local Business Page

On the page that follows, select “Local Business or Place”

Step 3 – Setup Your Fan Page

Fill out all the necessary information about your Facebook fan page including how to contact you and the services you provide. Once you are done, publish your page tSo make it public.

Step 4 – Setup Your First Ad

Go back to your Facebook homepage and select the icon link for “Ads Manager.” If you don’t see a link for the Ads Manager, just search for it. It should be the first app that shows up in search.

Click the green “create new ad” button near the top right of the screen and then choose the type of ad you want to create. You’ve have many different options. However, for the purpose of this tutorial, choose “Engagement.”

Name your ad on the page that follows and choose “Page Likes” or whatever type of conversion suits your current goals as your preferred engagement metric.

Choose the page you just created in steps 1, 2, and 3.

Then choose your target audience. In this case, choose the town or city you operate your business in and any neighboring towns or cities.

If you know a lot about your existing customers, you can use what you know to determine their demographics and interests for the “detailed targeting section.

Language should be “English.”

If you think you may use this audience again in the future, feel free to save it using the button shown below.

Use “Automatic” in the placements section.

Choose $5.00 per day as your starting budget. This will allow you to evaluate the ad to make sure it’s having the desired effect. If you get good results after 2 or 3 days, you can increase the budget if you so desire.

Leave the “Bid Amount” with “Automatic” selected and then name your ad set.

Next you will select the format of your ad. We recommend shooting a short video telling your business’s story and why your customers choose you. This doesn’t need to be a Hollywood quality video. A simple video shot with a modern smart phone will do the trick.

Remember to keep the video personal and be sure to announce any benefits your customers can enjoy if they mention that they saw the video when they come to your shop.

Once you have the ad format set, you can write the message viewers will see in their Facebook feed. After that, you can publish your ad and begin tracking it for effectiveness.

As with any new endeavor, you will get better with practice. Be sure to experiment several times spending very little money before you commit a large budget to a campaign.

Over time you should be able to run regular ads that bring you new clients on the regular.

If you would like assistance running Facebook ads and other social media operations for your business, don’t hesitate to email us. We’d be happy to put together a free audit of your online marketing to help you grow your client base.