Understanding Campaign Structure
Facebook and Instagram ads (run through Meta Ads Manager) follow a three-tier hierarchy. Understanding this structure is essential:
Campaign
Your objective (conversions, traffic, awareness). One objective per campaign.
Ad Set
Your audience, budget, and schedule. Different audiences = different ad sets.
Ad
Your creative—the image/video and copy people see. Multiple ads per ad set.
Why Creative Quality is Critical
On Facebook and Instagram, creative is your #1 lever for performance. Meta's algorithm optimizes delivery, but it can only work with what you give it.
Studies consistently show that creative accounts for 50-70% of ad performance. Better creative = better results, regardless of targeting.
This is where most beginners struggle:
- They test 1-2 creatives and wonder why results are poor
- They use generic stock photos that don't stand out
- They don't iterate based on performance data
Using Ad Libraries for Research
Before creating your first ad, study what's working. Meta provides a free Ad Library showing all active ads from any advertiser. HighReach enhances this with better search, organization, and AI insights.
When researching:
- Search for competitors in your space
- Look at ads that have been running for months (longevity = performance)
- Note visual styles, hooks, and offers that appear repeatedly
- Save inspiration to reference when creating
How HighReach Helps Create Better Ads
AI tools like HighReach remove the bottlenecks that stop beginners:
- No design skills needed: AI generates complete visuals
- Built-in research: Find inspiration before you create
- More variations: Test 10 creatives instead of 2
- Faster iteration: Generate new versions based on learnings
- Brand consistency: Brand AI keeps everything on-brand
Beginner Best Practices
- Start with Conversions: Unless you're a big brand, optimize for conversions, not awareness
- Broad targeting first: Let Meta's algorithm find your audience
- Test creative, not audiences: Creative differences matter more than audience tweaks
- Minimum viable budget: ~$20-50/day per ad set to get meaningful data
- Patience: Give ads 3-7 days before judging performance
Creative Formats to Test
- Single image: Fast to create, easy to test variations
- Video (15-30s): Often highest engagement, especially for products
- Carousel: Good for multiple products or telling a story
- UGC-style: Authentic, creator-look content performs well
HighReach generates all of these formats, so you can test which works best for your audience without hiring designers or video editors.
Next Steps
- Research 10-20 competitor ads using an ad library
- Set up Brand AI with your brand guidelines
- Generate 5-10 ad variations
- Launch with Conversions objective, broad targeting
- Review after 5-7 days, iterate on winners