Running Facebook (Meta) ads in 2024 requires a strategic shift from the granular, hyper-targeted approach of the past to a more automated and creative-driven methodology. With the rise of AI-powered tools, simplified campaign objectives, and privacy updates like Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework, the winning formula has changed.

Here is the best way to run Facebook Ads in 2024.

1. Embrace Meta's Automation and AI
The most significant change in the advertising landscape is the power of Meta's machine learning. The algorithm is now incredibly sophisticated and should be trusted to find your audience.

Broad Audience Targeting: Instead of creating dozens of ad sets with very specific, narrow interests, use broader audience targeting. Provide the algorithm with minimal constraints (age, location, gender) and a high-quality seed audience (like your customer list), and let it do the heavy lifting. This allows the algorithm to find new, unexpected, but highly valuable customers.

Advantage+ Campaign Shopping: For e-commerce businesses, Advantage+ is a game-changer. This feature automates many aspects of campaign management, from targeting to creative optimization, to drive sales. It is designed to find your best customers across Facebook and Instagram with minimal input.

Simplified Campaign Objectives: Meta has streamlined its campaign objectives into six main categories: Awareness, Traffic, Engagement, Leads, App Promotion, and Sales. Choose the objective that aligns directly with your business goal and let the algorithm optimize for that specific outcome.

2. Prioritize High-Quality, Mobile-First Creative
With broad targeting, your ad creative is the primary factor that will differentiate you from competitors and capture attention.

Go Vertical: Design all your ad creatives with a mobile-first mindset. Vertical videos (9:16 aspect ratio) take up the full screen and are highly engaging on platforms like Reels and Stories.

User-Generated Content (UGC): Authentic, raw, and unpolished content from real customers is one of the most effective ad formats. UGC builds trust and social proof. Encourage customers to share their experiences and use their content in your campaigns.

Hook Them Fast: You have less than three seconds to grab a user's attention. Start your videos with a strong hook, a problem statement, or a surprising visual to stop the scroll.

Test, Test, Test: Use Dynamic Creative Optimization (DCO) to test different combinations of images, videos, headlines, and calls to action. The algorithm will automatically show the best-performing combinations more frequently, constantly improving your results.

3. Adapt to Privacy and Measurement Changes
The iOS 14.5+ update has made traditional pixel-based tracking less reliable. To get the most accurate data, you must take proactive steps.

Verify Your Domain: This is a crucial first step. Verifying your domain in your Meta Business Manager allows you to control your brand's data and use Aggregated Event Measurement.

Set Up the Conversions API (CAPI): This is the most important change for accurate conversion tracking. CAPI sends conversion data directly from your server to Meta, bypassing browser-based limitations. It works alongside your pixel to improve data accuracy and ad performance.

Prioritize Your Events: With the Aggregated Event Measurement protocol, you are limited to tracking a maximum of eight conversion events per domain. Prioritize the most critical events for your business, such as "Purchase," "Add to Cart," and "View Content."

4. Bidding, Budgeting, and Scaling
Use Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO): Let Meta's algorithm automatically distribute your budget to the best-performing ad sets within a campaign. This ensures that your money is spent on the ads that are driving the best results.

Smart Scaling: Avoid making drastic budget changes. When an ad set is performing well, scale up the budget incrementally (e.g., 10-30% per day) rather than doubling it overnight. This prevents the algorithm from re-entering the learning phase and disrupting performance.

Retargeting is Still Gold: While broad targeting is essential for prospecting, retargeting is still the most efficient way to close a sale. Create custom audiences of people who have visited your website, engaged with your content, or watched your videos, and serve them specific ads to push them down the funnel.

By focusing on these strategies—trusting the algorithm, prioritizing exceptional creative, and setting up accurate tracking—you can effectively navigate the modern advertising landscape and achieve success with your Facebook ad campaigns in 2024.