If you’ve been running Facebook ads for a while, you’ve likely experienced both the highs and lows.
At first, it might have felt like magic—sales rolling in and your campaigns performing like a dream. But over time, scaling may have failed, or performance started to dip. Suddenly, you’re paying more to get the same, or worse, less.
When this happens, many business owners and marketers start searching for a silver bullet: a hack, a hidden setting, the “perfect” audience, competitors’ tactics, or even memes that go viral.
The truth? None of these matter if you don’t master the simplest fundamentals of the platform.
The 80/20 of Running Facebook and Instagram Ads
Before diving too deep, let’s start with a basic truth:
Ads are an amplification device.
Running ads on Facebook or Instagram (aka Meta ads) won’t guarantee that people will buy from you. Ads are simply a tool to get what you have in front of the people who might care.
Whether they buy or not depends on many factors: your offer, your messaging, and your audience. But what you can be sure of is this: you’re paying for impressions—your ad being seen. That’s why CPM (cost per thousand impressions) is so critical.
So, what does it take to run successful Meta ads? Here’s the 80/20:
1. Conversion Tracking: Optimize for What Matters
Proper conversion tracking is the foundation of any successful Meta ad campaign.
If you track the conversions that truly matter for your business—and track them accurately—you enable Meta’s powerful bidding algorithm to work in your favor. You’ll ensure the algorithm optimizes for results that actually matter to your bottom line.
What does proper conversion tracking look like?
- The sales in your CRM or bank account match the conversions reported in Ads Manager.
- When you increase your ad budget and see more conversions in your Ads Manager, those numbers are also reflected in your business’s revenue.
Without accurate tracking, you’re flying blind—and wasting money.
2. Communication Strategy: Sell the Benefit, Not the Product
Your ads are only as good as the message they communicate. If your brand value is communicated clearly and compellingly, people will care—and they’ll convert.
Here’s what matters:
- Ad formats like static images, carousels, or videos are just tools. The real question is: What are you trying to say?
- The more clearly your ads convey your unique selling points, the more interested your audience will be.
What makes a good communication strategy?
- You’re getting a strong ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) for every 3,000–5,000 people your ads reach.
- Metrics like CTR, CPC, and clicks are distractions. The ultimate goal is sales—and that’s what you should care about.
How to Craft a Winning Ad Strategy
Claude Hopkins, one of the greats in advertising, shared timeless advice:
“The object of advertising is to make sales. To do this, an ad must appeal to the self-interest of the consumer.”
So, how do you do this when advertising your products? By focusing on the end results and transformation—not features.
Hopkins didn’t sell “soap”—he sold “beauty.”
He didn’t sell “oats”—he sold “energy.”
He didn’t sell “toothpaste”—he sold “beautiful smiles.”
When crafting your ads:
- Focus on the outcome your product delivers. What transformation does it bring?
- Make your message clear and benefit-driven. Don’t assume your audience knows why your offer matters—spell it out.
Make sure your benefits and unique selling points are specific and clear:
- Bad: “Pure beer”
- Good: “Filtered through white wood pulp”
- Bad: “Healthy oats”
- Good: “Shot from guns at 1300 degrees”
- Bad: “Clean bottles”
- Good: “Sterilized 4 times for 12 minutes each”
If your claims are vague or unclear, you won’t make sales.
The Bottom Line
If you’ve mastered these two fundamentals—conversion tracking and communication strategy—you’ll almost certainly see results with Meta ads. No hidden tactics or obscure settings are necessary.
Meta ads amplify what you already have. If your offer is something people want, and you communicate that effectively, these two factors alone will drive the growth you’re looking for.
Are your Meta ads ready to amplify success—or just wasting your budget? Start with the fundamentals, and watch your results take off.
