Based in Cape Town, working across South Africa
How to set up Meta Ads Manager for your business
Meta Ads Manager is where you create, run and measure ads on Facebook and Instagram. Setting it up properly takes about an hour, and it decides whether you can ever see which ads made you money. Here's how to do it, in order.
- Checked on
- 1 November 2026
- Setup time
- About an hour
- Ad account
- Inside your business portfolio
- Done for you
- R2,500 once off
Checked on 1 November 2026. Meta changes its screens often, so some names may be slightly different.
Before you start
What you need
- A Facebook page and an Instagram account for the business
- A personal Facebook profile for each person who'll manage the ads, ideally two people so you're never locked out
- A card for the ad spend
- Your website, if you have one, and your WhatsApp Business number
Steps
Step by step
- Create a business portfolio
in Meta Business Suite, in the business's name. This holds everything else.
- Add a second admin,
so the business never depends on one person's profile.
- Create an ad account
inside the business portfolio, with the right currency and time zone. These are hard to change later.
- Add a payment method.
- Connect your Facebook page, Instagram and WhatsApp.
- Set up the Meta pixel and Conversions API
on your website, so Meta can see enquiries and sales.
- Verify your domain,
if you have a website.
- Create your first campaign
with the goal that matches what you want: leads, messages, bookings or sales. Not "engagement".
Mistakes
Mistakes that waste ad money
- Using the "Boost post" button instead of Ads Manager
- Running ads with no pixel, so nobody knows what worked
- One person as the only admin
- Choosing "engagement" or "traffic" when you want enquiries
- Changing the ads and budget every day, so Meta never learns
- Running one ad for months until people stop noticing it
- Choosing the wrong currency or time zone on the ad account
Special ad categories
If you're in housing, jobs, credit or politics
Meta limits how you can target ads about housing, employment, financial products and services like credit, and social or political issues. Estate agents, recruiters and lenders may have to choose the right special ad category, or their ads can be rejected.
Want it done for you?
Rather have it set up for you?
Our Meta ads setup is R2,500 once off: business portfolio, ad account, pixel and Conversions API, WhatsApp, audiences and your first campaign, all in your name. Monthly management is from R2,500.
Questions
Ads Manager questions
What's the difference between Ads Manager and Business Suite?
Business Suite is where you manage your page, posts and messages. Ads Manager is where you build and measure ads.
My ad account was disabled. What now?
Request a review in your account's quality section, and don't create a new account in the meantime. WhatsApp us if you'd like help.
Can I run ads from my personal profile?
You can, but it's better to run them from a business portfolio, so the business owns the account.
Send us your website. We'll show you where the enquiries are slipping away.
Free audit video within 2 working days. Most people WhatsApp us; the form is here if you'd rather write it down.