Strategy
Level 5/5
Campaign strategy
Lvl 5
100%
We plan, build and run Meta ad campaigns across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp, with your own creatives, landing pages and tracking behind them.
Overview
Meta's apps reach 3.6 billion people every day. One campaign can put your ads in Facebook and Instagram feeds, Stories and Reels, Messenger, Threads, WhatsApp Status and thousands of partner apps, and Meta's delivery system decides where each impression is likely to work hardest.
We run those campaigns end to end: the offer and the plan, creative for every format, the landing pages or Instant Experiences people arrive on, and the Pixel and Conversions API tracking that tells Meta which results count. Our guide How Meta ads work covers the details.
Ad formats
Every Meta ad uses one of four formats. Each runs in most placements, and Meta adapts it to the screen it appears on.
| Format | In feeds | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Image | 4:5, 1440 × 1800 px | One clear message or offer |
| Video | 4:5 in Feed, 9:16 in Reels and Stories | Showing a product in use |
| Carousel | 2 to 10 cards, 1:1 on Facebook | Several products, features or steps |
| Collection | A cover plus 3 products from a catalog | Moving from discovery to purchase |
Image ads
Meta describes an image ad as a single photo with an optional footer: the simplest way to raise interest in a product or deliver one clear message. In feeds it works best at 4:5 (1440 × 1800 px), and in Stories and Reels at 9:16. On Facebook Feed, Meta recommends 50–150 characters of primary text and a 27-character headline.
We design images to be understood in a second, with the offer in the headline and nothing important hidden under the text.
Video ads
Video ads show a product in use and catch attention quickly. Vertical 9:16 video (1440 × 2560 px) fills Reels and Stories, and Instagram Reels ads can run up to 15 minutes, although the first three seconds decide most of them. In Stories and Reels, Meta asks you to keep about 14% at the top, 35% at the bottom and 6% at each side free of text and logos, because the app's own buttons sit there.
We edit for sound off, add captions and cut each video for the placements it will run in.
Carousel ads
A carousel shows 2 to 10 images or videos in one ad, and each card has its own headline, link and button. People swipe on a phone or click the arrows on a computer. It suits several products, the features of one product, a step-by-step story or one wide image split across cards.
Order matters. We lead with the card most likely to earn the swipe, and on Instagram Meta may open the carousel on the card each person is most likely to engage with.
Collection ads
Collection ads move people from discovery to purchase. A cover image or video sits above three products from your catalog. Tapping the cover opens a full-screen Instant Experience, and tapping a product opens its page on your website. Meta offers Storefront, Lookbook and Customer acquisition templates for the Instant Experience.
A collection is only as good as the catalog behind it, so we set up the catalog and product sets alongside the creative.
Placements
Placements are where your ads appear. Meta groups them as Feeds; Stories, Status and Reels; In-stream ads for reels; Search; and Apps and sites, which is Audience Network. Between them they cover Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Threads, WhatsApp Status, which Meta is still rolling out, and Audience Network's partner apps.
Meta recommends Advantage+ placements, which let delivery move budget to wherever results cost least. We start there, check the placement breakdown each week, and make sure every placement gets creative that fits it.
How it works
Every time someone could see an ad, Meta runs an auction. The highest bid doesn't automatically win: each ad gets a total value, which is the bid multiplied by the estimated action rate, plus ad quality. Relevant, well-made ads win more auctions and pay less to win them.
New ads go through a learning phase while delivery works out who responds. An ad set needs about 50 optimisation events in the week after launch or after a significant edit, so we pick conversion events and budgets that can get there and avoid edits that restart it. Advantage+ handles much of the rest with AI: it treats your targeting as suggestions, moves budget between ad sets and placements, and can adapt your creative to each placement.
Process
Map, build, launch, scale. Each round of creative is a test, and each report writes the brief for the next one.
Map
Pick the objective, the conversion events and the offer, and check that tracking reports them.
Build
Make creative for each format and placement, and the landing pages or Instant Experiences behind them.
Launch
Go live on Advantage+ with enough budget to leave the learning phase, then read the first results.
Scale
Keep the winners, retire the rest, test new creative every week and raise budget where results hold.
Deliverables
Everything needed to run Meta ads well, from the first campaign plan to a weekly testing rhythm. You own the ad account, the Pixel, the catalog and all of the creative.
- Campaign and audience plan
- Creative variations
- Catalog and product sets
- Instant Experiences
- Landing pages
- Pixel and Conversions API setup
- Creative test reports
- Scale-up plan
Stack
Meta Ads Manager and Events Manager, the Meta Pixel with the Conversions API sending the same events from your server, Advantage+ catalog ads and product sets, Instant Experiences and instant forms, fast landing pages on our website development stack, and your analytics and CRM, so Meta results sit next to your other channels.
Creative
Level 5/5
Creative for every format
Lvl 5100%Engineering
Level 5/5
Landing pages
Lvl 5100%Measurement
Level 5/5
Pixel and Conversions API
Lvl 5100%Commerce
Level 4/5
Catalogs and product sets
Lvl 480%Analytics
Level 4/5
Testing and reporting
Lvl 480%
FAQ
Answers to the questions we hear most often about Meta ads.
Do we own the ad account?
Yes. We work in your own business portfolio and ad account with partner access, so the account, the Pixel, the catalog, the audiences and the data stay yours if we ever part ways.
How much budget do we need?
Meta's minimum is low, around $1 a day for most ads billed on impressions. What matters more is the learning phase: each ad set needs about 50 conversions in a week to settle, so we size the budget from your expected cost per result and agree it with you before launch.
How long before we see results?
The first week is the learning phase, while Meta works out who responds, so costs move around. We judge creative once it has had enough conversions, usually from the second week, and make decisions on trends rather than single days.
Which ad format should we start with?
Usually a mix: a strong image and a short vertical video for the main offer, plus a carousel or a collection if you sell several products. Advantage+ then shows each person the version most likely to work, and the weekly report tells us where to invest.
Why add the Conversions API if we already have the Pixel?
Browsers block or drop some Pixel events. The Conversions API sends the same events from your server, and Meta counts a matching pair once when both carry the same event ID, so you report more of your real conversions and Meta's delivery gets better data.
How long does ad review take?
Meta reviews every ad before it runs, and most reviews finish within 24 hours. Ads about financial products, employment, housing or social issues fall under special ad categories with extra targeting limits, and we plan for those from the start.
Are you affiliated with Meta?
No. insidethebox is an independent agency. We run campaigns in your own accounts, so you keep ownership of the account, the data and the results.
All names, companies, people and figures in the examples and illustrations on this page are fictional and shown for demonstration only. They do not correspond to real clients, customers or results.