Facebook and Instagram Ads for Artists: How to Set Up a Campaign

Growing organically on social media has become a significant challenge. Artists have to navigate complex, ever-changing algorithms and guidelines to achieve visibility while facing intense competition. As a result, artists are left with two choices: attempt to grow organically or invest in ads to promote their work. For those opting to invest, here are essential guidelines to effectively navigate the social media advertising landscape.

Before launching a Facebook or Instagram ad, it is essential to clarify your goals. Setting clear campaign goals is crucial for increasing the effectiveness of your ads and ensuring positive results from your investment. There are various objectives you can set for your social media ads campaign. Consider these examples if you are struggling to define your campaign goals.

• You are releasing your first single or EP and seeking effective ways to promote it to a local audience.

• You are planning a tour and advertising your concerts in specific cities. Your goal is to increase ticket sales.

• You aim to expand your reach and connect with more potential fans who share interests with your current followers.

• You are looking to boost engagement (likes & shares) with your most recent social media post promoting your upcoming music video.

• You want to introduce a new merchandise item or run a sale in your merch store. You’d like to sell all leftover items.

Identifying your goals allows you to create targeted ads that resonate with your audience and achieve desired outcomes. The type of campaign, including the ad format and target audience, should align with these specific goals.

If you are about to release your first single or EP, attracting potential fans can be the most challenging part. To encourage them to listen to your music, you could set up a campaign that directs them to a release page linking to all major music streaming services. Consider using a short teaser clip to generate interest and include a prominent link that guides them to the destination where they can access your music. If your goal is to sell concert tickets, showcasing highlights from previous performances can effectively capture attention. After running a few ad campaigns, you will begin to understand your target audience.

To clarify the intent of your campaign, consider the following five questions: “Why, what, who, how much, and how long.” Answering these questions will help you outline and structure your campaign effectively.

What do you want to achieve with this campaign? What is your goal?

• E.g., Increasing the number of people who follow your social media profile.

Who do you want to reach? Who is your target audience?

• If you are just getting started, consider running campaigns with broader target audiences. You can use the data later to narrow down your target audience.

• E.g., You want to sell your tour tickets to fans in the cities you visit.

How long should your campaign be, and how long should it run?

• The length of your ad and its online duration depend on its purpose and your budget.

• E.g., A campaign promoting a tour may require more details and a longer promotion period, while an ad for an upcoming single can be more concise.

How much money do you want to spend?

• E.g., $50 over 5 days, or $50 on one day.

Campaigns for Facebook and Instagram are created in Facebook Ads Manager (FAM). To set up your campaign, simply choose the desired platform(s) under "Placements." The remaining setup process follows the same standard procedures for both platforms. Consider testing the waters by boosting a post with a small one-time fee, allowing you to learn the ins and outs of campaign management without breaking the bank.

The setup follows a hierarchical structure:

1. Campaign: Begin by creating a campaign where you set your objectives, budget, and duration. Facebook Ads Manager will instantly provide you with an estimate of the additional followers you can reach based on your budget and selected duration. For instance, if your goal is to reach 1,000 new followers, ensure your budget aligns with this objective. You can adjust your budget until you achieve the desired reach.

2. Ad Set: Next, create an “Ad Set,” a component within Facebook Ads Manager that allows advertisers to define their target audience, budget, schedule, placements, and bidding strategies for one or more ads within a campaign. You can have multiple Ad Sets within a single campaign to reach different demographics.

3. Ad Creation: Within each Ad Set, you can design your actual ads, which can include images, links, previous posts, or slideshows.

Note that effective ad campaigns on all social media platforms undergo constant changes as Meta, Facebook’s and Instagram’s parent company, often drastically changes options in FAM but also changes how its algorithms work. So what we recommend in this article, might work in a slightly different manner in a couple of months.

To raise awareness, you need to capture people’s attention through the right ad format. Facebook offers a variety of ad formats, including images, videos, links, and slideshows, providing creative flexibility. Instagram also supports diverse formats, such as images, videos, carousels, and Reels.

Instead of simply linking to a landing page containing your music, use eye-catching visuals to boost clicks and engagement. As of 2024, video content remains highly effective for promotion. Keep in mind that Instagram has stricter image and video specifications, particularly with Reels and Stories.

Conversion campaigns, prompting users to take actions like purchasing tickets or signing up for newsletters, tend to perform better on Instagram due to its visual nature. Explore different ad placements, including Story ads, Feed ads, and Reels, and focus on the visual aspects that resonate with your artwork.

In order for Facebook to successfully track your target audience, you need to install Meta Pixel. To install the Meta Pixel, log into your Facebook Ads Manager and navigate to the Events Manager section. Click on “Add” under the Pixels section, and follow the prompts to create your pixel.

Once created, you will receive a piece of code that you need to add to the header section of your website. If you use a website builder like WordPress or Shopify, there are built-in options or plugins to help you easily add the pixel without coding. After installation, the pixel will track user interactions on your site, allowing you to measure conversions, optimize ad delivery, and create targeted audiences for your future ad campaigns.