Facebook ads can boost your posts, promote your page, send people to your website, raise attendance at your events, and more. If your Neighborhood Council has a Facebook page, running advertisements during elections is a great outreach strategy. If your Neighborhood Council does not have a Facebook Page, learn how to make one here.

There are two ways to run ads on Facebook; 1) By going to your Facebook page and 2) By going to https://www.facebook.com/ads/manager/ then signing in. For this how-to, we will go over the steps on running ads from https://www.facebook.com/ads/manager/

  1. Once signed in, click on “Ads Manager” on the top left corner of the page and choose Billing and Payment Methods. On the next page, use your Neighborhood Council P-Card and fill in the information. Make sure to use the EmpowerLA Address as your billing address: 200 North Spring Street, Suite 2005 Los Angeles, California 90012FB Step 1aa
  2. Click on the green button on the top right corner of the screen that reads “Create Ad”FB Step 1
  3. On this screen, you can choose the type of ad you would like to run on Facebook. In this How-To we have chosen “Send people to your website”.FB Step 2
  4. Give the campaign a name such as “2016 Elections” and click Continue.FB Step 3
  5. On this next page, you will choose your audience, placements, and budget & schedule.FB Step 4For the Audience section, you will choose an audience for your ad. Under “Custom Audiences” you can upload a mailing list which will pull Facebook usernames based on their emails. Under “Locations” type in a location such as Los Angeles, CA and choose your radius. Under Age, if your Neighborhood Council allows voters under the age of 18, then lower the number. Under “Languages”, you can add more languages to reach more people, but make sure your post is also in those other languages. Leave “Detailed Targeting and Connections” blank as this will make your Audience Definition too specific and lower the daily reach.
    For “Placements” you will decide where the ad will appear on your audience’s feed.FB Step 5bSelect all to increase your reach.
    For “Budget & Schedule” you will choose how much to spend on a daily basis and for how long.FB Step 5c

    Under “Budget” put in your Daily or Lifetime Budget. A Lifetime Budget, is the maximum you’ll spend for the life of this campaign. A Daily Budget is the maximum you’ll spend on a daily basis. A higher maximum daily budget will reach more people on Facebook and Instagram, but if you have a small budget, you may spend it all on one day. Use a high max daily budget if your event is in a few days, and a lower daily budget if your event is far away. Under “Schedule” choose a date range that fits with your event, otherwise the ad will continuously run, until you terminate it. Start with a low budget and then play around with the settings until you learn what the best strategy is for your Neighborhood Council.

  6. On this page, you’ll have to choose the format, the image, and the text of the ad.FB Step 6Under “Format” you have the option of choosing single or multiple. Choosing a single image or video will only show one ad at a time, choosing multiple, can show up to 5 images at a time at no extra charge. Under “Media” you must upload your image from your computer, Facebook Page, or stock image. If you are using your own image, please create an image that is sized 1200 x 628 pixels ( or the same ratio) and the image may not include more than 20% text (the image can be completely text free). The following image is a good example of what can be used (You can even use this image if you’d like).Twitter and Facebook Ad-03Under “Text” choose your Neighborhood Council page and if you have an Instagram account, then connect that account as well.FB Step 6b

    Under “Website URL” type in the website you are trying to push people to, for example your Election page. The “Headline” should be something catchy such as “Vote for your Neighborhood Council!”. Under “Text” write your post. Although it is not Twitter, limit your text to 140 characters or less so your message is concise. Press the green “Place Order” button on the lower left corner of the page and you’re done!

  7. To check how your ad is doing, go back to https://www.facebook.com/ads/manager/ and click on “Ads Manager” on the top left corner, then click on Ads Manager again on the drop-down. Here you can view your current ads that are running and stop them or edit them at any time.To learn more about Facebook and Facebook ads check out these resources: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/132037906870538If you have questions or concerns about Facebook or Facebook ads, please email Communications@EmpwoerLA.org.