When it comes to advertising your business on Facebook, there are plenty of options. You can create a Page, boost posts, or even target potential customers with a custom audience. But another great way to advertise your business without breaking the bank is through Facebook Marketplace ads.
With over 1 billion monthly active users on Facebook, placing ads to target these users is an excellent way for businesses to grow their customer base and drive traffic to their website or store. These ads are extremely affordable and easy to setup.
See: The Definitive Guide to LinkedIn Advertising 2026
However, many businesses have found them challenging to get right — especially when it comes to getting views and clicks. Advertising your business on Facebook Marketplace will help you grow your customer base in a cost-effective way.
But you might need some guidance before diving in head first. Here’s our complete guide on how you can create successful Facebook Marketplace ads.
Why Facebook Marketplace Ads Are Great for Businesses
Facebook Marketplace ads are a cost-effective way for businesses to grow their customer market size. They are easy to set up and affordable — costing as little as $5 per day. According to Facebook, these ads get more than 3x the amount of clicks than other types of ads on their site. And remember, those costs are fixed, no matter what you’re advertising. But what does that really mean?
If you’re using Facebook Marketplace ads, you will be able to target your audience in specifically tailored ways so that your ad reaches the customers most likely to purchase from your business. For example, if you own a pet store and want to advertise cat products ONLY in New York City where they’re available at your physical store location, you can do just that!
All this translates into more customers for your business and higher conversions rates — making Facebook Marketplace ads one of the best types of online marketing for small businesses.
Create Your Own Facebook Marketplace Ads
When it comes to Facebook Marketplace ads, you might think that you need to go through a paid media professional to make your ads successful. But if you’re willing to put in a little bit of time up front, you can use Facebook Business Manager and Power Editor to create your own ads.
First, open Facebook Business Manager and click on “Create Ad”.
Then, select ad type as “Ad Type” from the drop down menu.
Next, fill out the rest of the fields with your business information and product information. Click “Create” when you’re finished.
Now that you’ve created your ad, it’s time for optimization! It’s important to test different images and text combinations until you find what works best for your audience.
You can also play around with ad targeting options like location and age range until you find what gets the most engagement.
The more time you spend optimizing each part of your campaign, the more success you’ll see in return!
Create a Lead Generation Ad
Lead generation ads are a great way to start when you want to advertise on Facebook Marketplace. These ads prompt users to enter their contact information in exchange for your product or service. When you create your lead generation ad, you’ll be prompted to enter the following:
See: How To Improve Your Google Ads Campaigns For Greater ROI
A compelling headline The offer of what they’ll receive in return for submitting their contact information An incentive that might entice them to act now, such as a time-sensitive deal A call-to-action button for them to click on and submit their information.
The goal of this type of ad is to get customers interested enough in your product or service so they will fill out the form and give you their information. Once they do, you can get in touch with them by phone or email and close the sale.
Create a Coupon ad
If you have a coupon for your business, the first thing you should do is create a Coupon ad. This ad will show to people on Facebook who might be interested in your product or service. It’s a great way to drive traffic to your business. To create a Coupon ad, tap on the Deal tab within Marketplace, then tap Create Deal.
You’ll need to enter the name of your business and the duration of the coupon offer – this could be any length of time you want! Then, input what percentage off the deal is and what products or services are included in the promotion.
Once you’ve done that, scroll down to Pricing & Payments and choose whether customers will pay full price if they don’t have Facebook Messenger installed or if they will get an exclusive code via Messenger with each purchase.
Remember, if someone doesn’t have Facebook Messenger installed on their phone when they click “Buy Now,” they won’t be able to redeem their coupon code for a discounted product or service. Don’t forget about copy and visuals!
The copy can include anything from a small blurb about your company to details about what your offer entails as well as visuals like pictures from inside your store or photos of products being sold.
Make sure that it’s composed of short sentences so people can easily read it at a glance. You’ll also want to upload at least one photo that features your product or service; this photo should be placed up front and center
Create an Events ad
One of the most effective ways to advertise your marketing your services on Facebook Marketplace is through Events ads. Events are a great way to promote your business and get people to sign up for the latest happenings.
Facebook Marketplace is an excellent place to post events because they’re typically less expensive and can be shared with a larger audience than traditional ads.
For example, if you create a cooking class and post it on your Instagram or Facebook page, only people who have connected with you will see it.
But if you post it on Facebook Marketplace, all users in that geographic area will see it — even those who don’t follow your page or account. This allows you to reach more potential customers and grow your customer base at a fraction of the cost.
Write a Compelling Ad Copy
Your Facebook Marketplace ads will be competing with many other ads. So, you need to make sure that your copy stands out from the crowd. One of the best ways to do this is by using a compelling headline and description. Include relevant information about your business in your description and skip any jargon or filler text.
See: Text Marketing: A Guide for Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs
As for images, use high-quality photos that are an accurate representation of what you sell. Make sure there’s a clear call to action on your ad (such as “shop now”) so that users can easily click through to your website.
Finally, don’t forget to include links to your social media profiles and website so potential customers have another way of finding out more about you.
Combine Text with an Image
One of the easiest ways to create a successful Facebook Marketplace ad is by including an image. If you have an image that communicates what your products or services are, include it in your advertisement! You can also add text over the image to provide more details about your business.
Facebook’s algorithm will favor images over text, so make sure that you include text with an image instead of just pictures. You can also promote a product or service by using a video instead of just text and images.
Video content is more engaging and will ensure that people see your ad rather than scrolling past it. When creating your Marketplace ads, remember these 4 things:
- Include text with an image
- Include video if possible
- Add relevant details about the offer
- Choose high-quality photos for the best response rates
Choose the Right Targeting Option
When you first start advertising on Facebook Marketplace, it might feel like a good option is to create an ad for everything. But that’s not the best way to spend your budget. The key is to choose the right targeting option for your business.
You can target by:
- Local Businesses
- Categories
- Interests
- Likes
- Age and Gender
Once you have figured out who your ideal customer is and what they are interested in, you should customize your ad’s copy to appeal specifically to them.
For example, if you are selling baby clothes, you might want to mention something about “newborn” or “maternity.” If you are selling shoes, mention “work,” “casual,” or “athletic.” These ads will be more relevant and less expensive than broad campaigns that target everyone.
Know Your Audience
The first step in creating successful Facebook Marketplace ads is to know your audience. The more you know about who you are trying to reach, the better. Targeting your audience is crucial for success.
For example, if you are trying to get more traffic to your store location, then you might want to target people within a certain distance of that location. If you are looking for customers interested in a certain type of product, then it’s important to target those specific people with ads.
To start targeting your audience with Facebook Marketplace ads, make sure they meet the following requirements:
- They’re located nearby
- They’re on Facebook (duh)
- They’ve been on Facebook for 2+ years
- They live nearby and don’t work at night or on the weekends
- They have a mobile phone
Tips for better results
with Facebook Marketplace Ads In order to create successful Facebook Marketplace ads, you need to set the right expectations. This means defining the goals for your ad campaign, setting a budget, and selecting which type of audience to target.
- Setting goals In order to create successful Facebook Marketplace ads, you need to know what ROI you want before you get started with your campaign. What is your goal? Is it to increase page likes or boost conversions on your website? Is it to generate more traffic or simply brand awareness? Whatever the goal is, make sure this is reflected in your chosen strategy to increase the likelihood of success.
- Setting a budget Facebook Marketplace ads are extremely affordable and easy-to-setup. However, many businesses have found them challenging when it comes to getting views and clicks. One way to ensure that you get enough views and clicks is by setting a budget for each ad campaign. You can set a daily budget so that you don’t spend too much money per day on an ad that isn’t generating any results. You can also set a lifetime budget so that you don’t spend too much money over time on an ad that isn’t generating any results.
- Targeting an Audience When it comes to targeting audiences for Facebook Marketplace ads, location plays a significant role since they will be directed towards physical stores or products in those areas. If you want people in your area who are interested in buying your products, then feel free to target those people.