Set up the pixel before you spend
Start with tracking, not the ad. The Meta pixel is a piece of code that you put on your website. Once it is set up, it logs the actions people take there, such as adding an item to the basket or making a purchase. Meta calls these actions events. Ads Manager can use them to reach people who are more likely to buy. Without the pixel, you can see clicks, but not which clicks became orders. So set it up in Events Manager first. Then place a test order and check that the purchase shows up.
Choose the Sales objective
Ads Manager offers six objectives, and the one you pick tells Meta what to chase. For an online store, choose Sales. Meta says it finds people likely to purchase, such as through an ecommerce site. You can also optimise for an earlier step, such as adding an item to the basket. That helps when a new store has only a few orders a week. Traffic aims to send people to your site, and Engagement aims for likes and messages. Neither one aims at buyers. If you want orders, ask Meta for orders.
Build your first campaign
- Campaign: pick the Sales objective. Keep to one campaign for now.
- Ad set: choose your audience, placements, budget and schedule. Every ad in the set shares these.
- Audience: start broad, with India or the states you ship to, an age range and a few interests that fit your buyer.
- Ad: pick a single image or video, a carousel or a collection, then add your text, headline and link.
- Identity: choose the Facebook Page and Instagram account that appear on the ad, then publish.
Set a daily budget you can hold
A daily budget in Meta is a target over a calendar week, not a hard cap for each day. Meta may spend up to 75% over it on a good day. But it never spends more than seven times it in a week, which runs from Sunday to Saturday. So a ₹500 daily budget can spend ₹875 on one day, yet no more than ₹3,500 in the week. Meta also warns against very small or inflated budgets, because they give its system a poor signal. Pick an amount you can keep running for at least two weeks.
Creative that makes Indian buyers stop
Your ad has to stop a scrolling thumb. Show the product in use, in a real Indian setting, in the first frame. Put the price in the ad, so the people who click already know it. Say what makes buying safe, such as COD, easy returns or quick dispatch to their city. Make two or three versions that differ in one thing only, such as the photo or the headline. Keep the text short and plain. A simple phone video of a real customer can beat a polished studio shot.
What to watch in week one
Expect a bumpy first week. Every new ad set starts in the learning phase, while Meta works out who to show it to. Meta says an ad set usually leaves this phase after about 50 results in the week after its last significant edit. Until then, results are less stable and cost per result is usually higher. Editing the ad set in this window resets learning, so leave it alone. If the status reads Learning limited, it is not getting enough results. Combining similar ad sets also combines what they learn. Watch cost per purchase and add-to-carts, not likes.
Judge it on delivered orders
After two weeks, compare what you spent with the orders that actually arrived. On COD, a returned parcel is not a sale, so count delivered orders only. If the ad cost per delivered order is below your margin, raise the budget slowly. If not, change one thing, such as the creative, and give it another week. The Storemate's sales report shows your revenue trend and order status in one place, so you can check each week of ads against what landed. Small, steady tests beat one big gamble.