Step-by-Step: Your First Facebook Ads Campaign

Maybe you have already tried Facebook ads for your real estate business, chances are it felt challenging and you did not get the results you hoped for. To really make Facebook ads work, you’ll need a strategy, ongoing research, and a bit of trial and error through A/B testing. Keeping an eye on the right metrics will also help you know what’s working and where you can improve.

With so many competitors and constant changes to the platform’s algorithms, it’s easy to feel like your efforts are not paying off. Before we dive in; if you want your business to generate more leads and make more money without any doubt and guesswork, then Roya is your answer. If you are curious what we can do for you business, then click here to book a demo.

Step 1: Set Up Your Facebook Business Account

Before we can run ads, we need to make sure we have a Facebook Business account. if you already have an account set up, you can skip this step and go to step 2.

If not; here’s how to set it up:

1. Go to business.facebook.com and create your Facebook Business Manager account.

2. Link your Facebook page and any other assets you want to manage, like your Instagram account.

3. Add the necessary people who will work on the account (e.g., marketing team members) and assign roles.

4. Set up your payment method, so you’re ready to launch your ads when the time comes.

Once your account is set up, we can start with actually creating the ads.

Step 2: Choose the Right Campaign Objective

Your campaign objective determines how Facebook delivers your ads and ensures you get quality results. Picking the wrong objective can lead to wasted money and poor-quality leads. Here’s an overview of the main objectives:

1. Awareness

This objective increases brand recognition, making it ideal for agents entering new markets or promoting their brand. Example: A real estate agent could use this objective to showcase their expertise in a new neighborhood or advertise an open house.

When to Use It: Choose this if your goal is to build local awareness, not generate immediate leads or traffic.

2. Traffic

If you want to drive visitors to your website, property listings, or booking page, the traffic objective works best. Example: Direct users to a landing page highlighting a new property listing with high-quality photos and virtual tours.

Important: Make sure your landing page is optimized for conversions. Here’s how to create an effective landing page.

3. Engagement

Use this to increase interactions with your posts or events. Ideal for realtors wanting to build engagement around open houses or market updates.

• Example: Share a post about “5 Tips for First-Time Homebuyers” and encourage comments or shares.

Options:

• ‍Post Engagement: Build social proof by boosting posts with organic engagement.‍
• Event Responses: Promote open houses or webinars.‍
• Page Likes: Grow your Facebook Page following to stay top-of-mind.
  

4. Lead Generation

This objective is perfect for collecting leads directly on Facebook using a Lead Form. Example: Run an ad offering a free home valuation or buyer’s guide.

Pro Tip: Follow up with leads within two hours to maximize conversion rates.‍

5. Conversions

Use this objective if your goal is to drive direct actions, like scheduling a consultation or signing a buyer agreement. Example: Promote a property with a “Book a Tour” button leading directly to your scheduling system.

How to Set It Up:

1. Install the Facebook Pixel:

• The Facebook Pixel is a small piece of code that you add to your website to track what users do, like buying a product or filling out a form.

• If you’re using platforms like Shopify or WordPress, installing the Pixel is easy. Just go to Facebook’s Events Manager, follow the steps, and use their integration guides to add the Pixel without needing to code.

• Once installed, the Pixel will automatically start tracking the actions users take on your website.

2. Configure Conversion Events:

• After the Pixel is installed, head to Facebook’s Events Manager. Here, you can set up the specific actions (called “events”) that you want to track. Examples of events include things like “Purchase,” “Add to Cart,” or “Sign-Up.”

• You can do this in Events Manager by selecting the pre-made events that match what you want to track.

3. Verify Your Domain:

• To ensure everything works smoothly, you’ll need to verify that you own your website’s domain. This is done within Facebook Business Manager and ensures that Facebook knows you’re the authorized owner of the site.

• You can follow the simple steps provided by Facebook, which usually involves adding a small bit of info to your website’s settings.

4. Optimize Your Ads for Conversions:

• Now that your Pixel and events are set up, you’re ready to run your Conversions Campaign. When creating your ad in Facebook Ads Manager, select “Conversions” as your objective.

• Choose the specific conversion event (like a purchase or booking) that you set up earlier, and Facebook will show your ad to people most likely to take that action.

Step 3: Define Your Target Audience

Once you’ve selected your campaign objective, the next step is to define your target audience. Your ad will be shown to people who match the specific criteria of your target audience. The better you can define your target audience, the more qualified leads you will get. Defining your target audience is critical for ensuring your ads reach the right people. However, because real estate falls under Facebook’s Special Ad Category for housing, you’ll face specific targeting restrictions aimed at preventing discrimination. Here’s how to effectively target within these limitations:

Special Ad Category for Housing

When creating your campaign, you must select the Housing option under the Special Ad Categories. This means certain targeting features, like age, gender, and zip codes, will be restricted. While this may seem limiting, there are still effective ways to target your ideal audience.

How to Define Your Audience Under Special Ad Category Rules:

1. Location

Facebook allows you to target users based on a geographic radius (minimum 15 miles) rather than specific zip codes or neighborhoods.

Example: A real estate agent in Atlanta can target users within a 15-mile radius of Buckhead, ensuring their ads reach a broad, relevant local audience.

2. Demographics

Age and gender targeting are not allowed under the Special Ad Category. Instead, focus on broader interest-based and behavior-based criteria to refine your audience.

3. Interests and Behaviors

Target users based on their interests, such as “real estate,” “home buying,” or “moving and relocation.” Behavior-based targeting includes people who are actively searching for homes, browsing real estate websites, or showing interest in mortgage services.

4. Custom Audiences

Use Custom Audiences to retarget individuals who’ve interacted with your website, social media pages, or ads.

Example: Retarget users who viewed a property listing on your website but didn’t schedule a showing.

5. Lookalike Audiences

Create a Lookalike Audience based on your current client list or website visitors. Facebook will find users with similar characteristics to expand your reach.

Pro Tip: While Lookalike Audiences are still allowed under the Special Ad Category, they’ll follow the same broader targeting rules (e.g., no age or gender specificity).

Step 4: Create Your Ad Content

Once your target audience is defined, it’s time to create the ad that will engage them. Your ad content—both the visuals and the copy—must grab attention quickly and clearly communicate your message. The goal is to align the content with your campaign objective, whether it’s to drive sales, gather leads, or build brand awareness. To speed up the process - and make your ad more effective - I recommend using AI to write the ad copy; in this blog I explain exactly how to do this.

Step 4: Create Effective Ad Content

Your ad content—both visuals and copy—must grab attention and communicate value quickly.

How to Create Great Ads:

1. Choose the Right Format:

Single Image or Video: Showcase a new listing or market update. With Roya, you can test automatically 10 of your images and see which ones work the best - without you having to do anything.

Carousel Ads: Highlight multiple properties or features.

Collection Ads: Perfect for mobile users browsing your listings.

2. Write Engaging Copy:

Headline: Keep it short and compelling, e.g., “Find Your Dream Home in Denver—Tour Today!”

Body Text: Focus on benefits like “expert negotiation skills” or “personalized service.”

CTA: Use action-driven phrases like “Get Your Free Consultation” or “Book a Showing Now.”

3. Use Eye-Catching Visuals:

Include high-quality photos of homes, virtual tours, or neighborhood highlights.

Keep videos under 15 seconds, with a strong hook in the first few seconds.

4. Align Content With Your Objective

Ensure your ad content matches the goal of your campaign:

If your objective is Lead Generation, focus on an enticing offer (e.g., “Free Market Analysis for Home Sellers”) and make it easy to fill out the lead form.

If your objective is Conversions, emphasize the benefit of taking immediate action (e.g., “Schedule a Tour Today and Be the First to See This New Listing!”).

Step 5: Set Your Budget and Schedule

Congrats for making it this far! Just the few last steps. In this step, you have to decide how much you want to spend on your ads. Facebook gives you flexible options to control your spending and ensure your ads are seen by your audience at the best times.

How to Set Your Budget:

1. Daily Budget:

Set a maximum amount Facebook can spend each day. This is a good choice if you want your ads to run consistently every day.

• Example: You set a $10 daily budget, so Facebook will not spend more than that per day.

2. Lifetime Budget:

Set a total budget for the entire campaign. Facebook will automatically spread your spending evenly over the time you choose. We don't recommend choosing a lifetime budget.‍

How to Schedule Your Ads:

1. Run Continuously:

Your ad will run all the time based on your budget. Facebook will show it to people in your target audience whenever they are active.

2. Schedule Specific Times:

You can choose to show your ads only at certain times, such as during business hours or peak activity times for your audience.

• Example: If your customers are most active in the evening, you could set your ad to run from 5 PM to 9 PM every day.

Facebook Estimates: As you set your budget and schedule, Facebook will show you an estimate of how many people you can reach. This helps you see if your budget will meet your goals.

Step 6: Launch and Monitor Your Campaign

It’s time to launch your campaign! After your ad is live, it’s important to monitor its performance to make sure it’s delivering the results you expect. Monitoring allows you to adjust your ads if necessary to optimize performance.

How to Launch Your Campaign:

1. Review Everything:

Double-check your targeting, budget, schedule, and ad content. Make sure all details are correct and align with your campaign goals.

2. Click “Publish”:

Once you’re confident everything is set up correctly, click the Publish button to launch your ad. Your ad will start running based on the budget and schedule you’ve chosen.

Monitor Your Campaign:

1. Use Facebook Ads Manager or use Roya

Ads Manager is the tool you’ll use to track how well your ad is performing. You’ll be able to see important data like:

• Impressions: How many times your ad has been shown.

• Reach: The number of unique people who have seen your ad.

• Clicks: How many people clicked on your ad.

• Conversions: The number of people who completed an action, like booking a service or signing up.

We get that the dashboard can be confusing and overwhelming - if you are using Roya, you don't have to use the Facebook dashbaord anymore, all the key metrics are available inside Roya.

2. Watch Key Metrics:

Pay attention to metrics like Click-Through Rate (CTR), Cost Per Click (CPC), and Cost Per Conversion (CPC) to see if your ad is performing well. If results are lower than expected, it may be time to make adjustments.

3. A/B Testing:

A/B tests are very important to identify which elements of your ads are resonating well with your target audience. This involves creating multiple versions of your ad with small variations—such as different headlines, images, or CTAs—and seeing which one performs best. If you use Roya, Roya will automatically A/B test different variations of your ad. Want to see how? Click here to book a demo.

4. Increase Budget for Top Performers:

If certain ads are performing better than others, shift more of your budget to the top-performing ads to maximize results.

Make Adjustments If Needed:

• Adjust Targeting: If your ad isn’t reaching the right people, you can adjust your audience to improve performance.
• Change Ad Content: If your ad isn’t engaging enough, try changing the visuals or text.
• Increase Budget: If your ad is performing well, consider increasing the budget to reach more people.

If your ad is active, but not running, this guide will help you solving the problem.

Conclusion

Running a successful Facebook ad campaign for your local business requires some planning, an effectivestrategy, and ongoing optimization. By following the steps in this guide you can improve your chances of generating high-quality leads and achieving your business goals. With the right approach and tools like Roya, you can simplify the process and generate more leads, thus money, for your business.