Getting Started with Meta Ads

A step-by-step guide to setting up your Meta (Facebook & Instagram) advertising accounts so your agency can hit the ground running.

Before we can start building and managing your META ad campaigns, there are a few things we need you to set up on your end. This ensures that you own all of your advertising assets, including your Facebook Page, ad account, Instagram, and tracking data. We simply get partner access to manage them on your behalf.

The whole process takes around 30 minutes. If you’d prefer, we’re happy to walk you through it on a video call. Just let us know.

Step 1: Create a Meta Business Portfolio

Time: 5 minutes

Your Business Portfolio is the central hub where all of your advertising assets live. Think of it as the control panel for your online advertising.

1. Go to business.facebook.com
2. Log in with your personal Facebook account
3. Click the dropdown below Home in the top left corner
4. Click Create a business portfolio
5. Enter your business name. This should match your actual trading name, as it will be visible across Meta
6. Enter your name and a business email address, then click Create
7. Check your email and click the link to verify your business email

Good to know: You’ll use your personal Facebook login to create this, but it’s completely separate from your personal profile. Your personal posts, photos, and activity are never visible to us or connected to your advertising.

Step 2: Turn On Two-Factor Authentication

Time: 2 minutes

Meta requires this before you can add partners like your agency. It also protects your account from unauthorised access.

1. Inside your Business Portfolio, go to Settings
2. Click Security Centre
3. Enable two-factor authentication and follow the prompts

Step 3: Create a Facebook Page

Time: 10 minutes

If your business doesn’t already have a Facebook Page (or only has a personal profile), you’ll need to create one. Every META ad campaign runs through a Facebook Page. It’s what your audience sees as the identity behind your ads.

If you already have a Facebook Page:

1. Go to Settings → Pages → + Add
2. Select “Add an existing Facebook Page”
3. Enter your Page name or URL and follow the prompts to claim it

If you need to create a new Page:

1. Go to Settings → Pages → + Add
2. Select “Create a new Facebook Page”
3. Enter your business name and choose a relevant category (e.g. “Restaurant”, “Cosmetic Surgeon”, “Gym”)
4. Add your logo as the profile picture and a cover image
5. Fill in your address, phone number, and website

Good to know: If someone else (a previous agency, a web developer, a staff member) created your existing Facebook Page, you may need them to grant you access first, or transfer ownership to your Business Portfolio. We can help you navigate this if needed.

Step 4: Create an Ad Account

Time: 5 minutes

Your ad account is where campaigns are built, budgets are set, and billing is managed.

1. Go to Settings → Ad Accounts → Add
2. Select “Create a new ad account”
3. Enter a name for the account (your business name works fine)
4. Set currency to GBP (£)
5. Set timezone to London (GMT)
6. When asked who the ad account is for, select “My business”
7. Review and agree to Meta’s Terms of Service and Advertising Standards
8. Click Create ad account

Good to know: New Business Portfolios are limited to 1 ad account initially. This increases to 3 once your first campaign delivers and a payment is made. This is normal, and one account is all you need to get started.

Step 5: Connect Your Instagram Account

Time: 5 minutes

If your business has an Instagram account, connecting it allows us to run ads on Instagram and use your Instagram identity in campaigns.

Add Instagram to your Business Portfolio:

1. Go to Settings → Accounts → Instagram accounts → + Add
2. Click “Add Instagram account”
3. Log in with your Instagram username and password
4. If your account is a personal account, you’ll be prompted to convert it to a Professional account (this is free and just unlocks business features like analytics)
5. Click Confirm

Link Instagram to your Facebook Page:

This is a separate step. Adding Instagram to the Business Portfolio doesn’t automatically link it to your Page.

1. Open Instagram on your phone
2. Go to your Profile → tap the menu (three lines)
3. Tap Business tools and controls (or Creator tools and controls)
4. Tap Connected accounts or Connect to Facebook Page
5. Select your Facebook Page

Good to know: Each Instagram account can only be connected to one Business Portfolio. If it’s currently linked elsewhere, you’ll need to remove it from the old portfolio first. We can guide you through this.

Step 6: Add a Payment Method

Time: 5 minutes

Your ad spend is charged directly by Meta to your business. Our management fee is invoiced separately, which keeps things clean and transparent. We don’t mark-up your ad spend.

1. Go to Billing & Payments → Payment Methods → Add
2. Add a business credit card, debit card, or set up direct debit
3. This payment method will be used for all ad spend on your account

Good to know: You control your budgets at all times. We’ll agree a monthly ad spend budget with you, and campaigns are set up with daily or lifetime spending limits. You’ll never be charged more than the budget we’ve agreed.

Step 7: Add Your Agency as a Partner

Time: 5 minutes

This is the final step. It gives us the access we need to build and manage your campaigns, without giving up ownership of anything.

1. Go to Settings → Partners (under the Users section) → Add
2. Select “Give a partner access to your assets”
3. Enter the Business Portfolio ID we’ve provided to you
4. Choose which assets to share with us:
   
   Facebook Page – so we can run ads and manage your Page presence
5. Ad Account – so we can create and optimise campaigns
6. Instagram Account – so we can run Instagram ads
7. Set the access level to Full Control for each asset
8. Click Assign Assets

Someone else with full control of your Business Portfolio may need to approve this action.

Good to know: “Full Control” means we can manage and optimise everything, but we can never take ownership of your assets or share them with another business. Only you can do that. If our working relationship ever changes, you simply remove us as a partner and retain 100% ownership of everything.

What Happens Next

Once you’ve completed these steps, we take it from here:

• Tracking setup – We’ll create a Meta Pixel (tracking code) and work with you or your web developer to install it on your website. This is what allows us to track conversions and build remarketing audiences.
• Campaign build – We’ll set up your campaign structure, audiences, and ad creative based on the strategy we’ve agreed.
• Launch and optimise – Campaigns go live, and we manage performance on an ongoing basis with regular reporting.

Need a Hand?

If any of this feels unfamiliar, don’t worry. We walk every new client through this process. Just let us know and we’ll set up a quick 30-minute video call to go through it together, step by step.

It’s a one-time setup. Once it’s done, you won’t need to think about it again.

This guide was written by Tyneside Marketing. All advertising assets remain 100% owned by your business at all times.