I often used to wonder how people are spending millions of dollars on Facebook ads. It’s only after years of experience that I learned that you only spend that much when you know you’re making 10 X or 20 X in return and slowly I’ve learnt the secrets that no one shares to scaling Facebook ads and today I’m exposing them.
This guide is quite advanced, so if it’s not making sense to you first go read this –
Scaling Facebook ads is both an art and a science that can significantly increase revenue, profit, and return on ad spend (ROAS). However, scaling isn’t as simple as increasing your ad budget. It requires a strategic approach that ensures every aspect of your business can handle growth—from inventory to customer service. In this guide, based on the expert advice of Steve Bruce, who has spent over seven years mastering Facebook ad campaigns, we will break down the steps and best practices to scale your Facebook ads effectively. These methods have been tested and optimized to help businesses reach six-figure revenue months through precise strategies. Let’s dive in!
Section 1: Are You Ready to Scale?
Before diving into scaling, it’s crucial to evaluate whether your business is ready for the influx of sales that a successful ad campaign can bring. Many businesses fail to scale successfully because they overlook important logistical and financial questions:
– Can your team handle a sudden increase in customer service inquiries?
– Do you have enough inventory on hand to meet demand?
– Can you cover the ad spend while waiting for sales payments to come in?
Understanding your business’s capacity and preparing for these issues will prevent scaling mishaps. The excitement of growth must be balanced with careful consideration of your operational limits.
Section 2: Custom Audiences and Data Quality
Custom audiences are a game-changer when it comes to scaling your Facebook ads. However, not all custom audiences are created equal. The quality and quantity of your data play a significant role in determining whether your campaign will succeed. The key is to run ads targeting your custom audience with your best-performing creative. If the cost per conversion and ROAS perform well, you can confidently scale.
To maximize the effectiveness of your custom audiences:
– Focus on data quality: Test your audiences with proven creatives and copy.
– Assess data quantity: Larger custom audiences that continue to perform well as ad spend increases indicate scalability potential.
Always remember that these audiences are data points, and treating them as such will allow you to analyze their performance objectively.
Section 3: Capture Campaigns—Fueling Your Custom Audiences
A key strategy for scaling is building large, high-quality custom audiences, which is done through capture campaigns. These campaigns are designed to collect valuable data points such as video views, clicks, or engagement at the lowest possible cost. These data points allow for more effective retargeting later on, which yields a higher ROAS than cold audience targeting.
For example, video ads can capture data points for less than $0.1 each, making them one of the most cost-effective tools for scaling. Capturing more data points fuels your retargeting campaigns and primes them for growth.
Section 4: Nurture Your Data
Nurturing captured data is the next critical step in scaling your Facebook ads. The idea here is to re-engage your audience with varied ads that slowly push them toward conversion. This involves retargeting campaigns that don’t just rely on discounts but instead use various creatives, offers, and ad copy to move the customer through the sales funnel.
To effectively nurture your audience, you should:
– Create multiple ad variations (both creatives and copy) for retargeting.
– Mix up your offers (discounts, free shipping, limited-time deals).
– Ensure that your campaigns gradually push users toward making a purchase without forcing the sale immediately.
Section 5: Budget Allocation and Launching Campaigns
Once you’ve captured and nurtured your audience, you need to carefully allocate your budget. A balanced approach to budgeting between capture and nurture campaigns is essential. Steve Bruce recommends starting with about 75% of your daily budget for capture campaigns and 25% for nurture campaigns. As your nurture campaigns start performing well, you may increase their share of the budget.
The goal is to continuously monitor and adjust budget allocation based on performance metrics like ROAS and conversion cost. Once clear winners are identified, you can confidently increase ad spend on these campaigns.
Section 6: Identifying and Scaling Winners
Scaling isn’t about running random campaigns in the hope of striking gold. It’s about methodically identifying winning elements and replicating them. Some examples of winning elements you can scale include:
– Top-performing creatives (images, videos).
– High-converting custom audiences.
– Winning products or offers.
Once you’ve identified your winners, you can scale them by testing new but similar products, audiences, and creatives. For instance, if a specific product performs well in one campaign, launching a similar product with the same audience and creative style can also yield high returns.
Section 7: Scaling Methods
There are three key scaling methods you can implement to achieve growth:
1. Wins Campaign: This low-risk method focuses all your budget on top-performing ad sets and ads. By duplicating successful campaigns and eliminating underperforming ad sets, you minimize risk and maximize the effectiveness of your ad spend.
2. CBO Budget Increase: Gradually increase your budget by 20-30% on well-performing campaigns. This method is safe and sustainable but requires patience, as it doesn’t lead to overnight results.
3. Scatter Method: A high-risk, high-reward strategy that involves scattering your ad targeting across multiple ad sets and capitalizing on the best-performing segments. While it can generate massive results, it also carries the risk of higher ad spend loss.
Conclusion: Scaling with Precision
Scaling your Facebook ads is not a “one-size-fits-all” approach. Each ad account will behave differently, so experimentation and consistent performance tracking are key. The most successful scaling efforts are built on a foundation of high-quality data, precise budgeting, and the continual refinement of what’s already working. By following these expert strategies, you can confidently scale your Facebook ad campaigns, increase revenue, and maximize ROAS.
The journey to scaling success begins with a single well-placed ad.
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Mastering Facebook Ads: My Proven Campaign Structure for Consistent Results
If you’re running Facebook ads, you’ve probably encountered countless strategies, hacks, and tips on scaling your campaigns. The problem? Many people jump from one tactic to another without mastering any single approach. In my experience managing over $6 million in Facebook ad spend across hundreds of businesses, I’ve discovered that consistency and a well-structured approach to ads are far more valuable than any “quick fix” or “ad hack.”
Since 2015, I’ve had the privilege of working with dozens of clients, auditing campaigns, and consulting with businesses on how to scale their ads effectively. What I’ve found is that the core structure of Facebook ads doesn’t need to change every time a new trend emerges. In fact, there has only been one *major* change to the platform itself: the iOS update in 2021. That shift required a significant adjustment in my campaign strategy, but with the right optimizations, I was able to build a structure that has consistently delivered results.
This post will walk you through the exact campaign structure I’ve been using for over two years, delivering consistent, profitable results across all my clients’ accounts.
Why Consistency Beats Constant Experimentation
I get it—everyone’s always searching for the next great Facebook ad hack. But after running thousands of Facebook ad campaigns, I’ve learned that a scattered approach won’t get you the results you want. Instead, refining and optimizing a proven strategy over time is the key to long-term success.
After the iOS update in 2021, I noticed a dip in performance across my clients’ campaigns. So, I revamped my structure to adapt to the new landscape, focusing on three core campaign types: Capture, Nurture, and Convert. Ever since then, this structure has been delivering impressive, stable results with the right customizations for each client and their unique audience.
The 3 Core Campaign Types:
1. Capture Campaigns
These are all about filling up your custom audiences with fresh, high-quality data. I run video ads exclusively for these campaigns, and the goal is simple: Get as many people as possible to watch at least 3 seconds of your video.
Here’s the key: Set an exclusion in your ad sets to exclude 3-second video viewers from seeing the ad again. This forces Facebook to continuously show your ad to new people, growing your custom audience at scale.
The beauty of this is that many people might convert at this stage, especially if they’re impulse buyers. However, the primary objective here is to fill up your “3-second video views” audience for future targeting.
2. Nurture Campaigns
This is where the magic happens. Nurture campaigns are designed to warm up the audiences you captured in your first campaign. These campaigns typically consist of a mix of video ads, carousel ads, and single-image ads—variety is crucial to keep your audience engaged.
I target these nurture campaigns at custom audiences like:
– Website visitors
– People who engaged with your social pages
– People who watched your videos
As you continue to run ads over time, this campaign will usually take up the highest ad spend and deliver the highest ROAS. That’s because these audiences have already engaged with your brand and are much more likely to convert with the right nudge.
3. Convert Campaigns
The final step in the structure is the convert campaign, which focuses on a small, highly engaged audience that’s ready to buy. These audiences have either added a product to their cart, initiated checkout, or watched 95% of your video ads.
This is a laser-focused campaign designed to push your hottest leads over the finish line with a strong offer or call to action. It’s worth noting that for smaller stores or brands with limited data, a separate convert campaign may not be necessary. In these cases, the nurture and convert stages can often be combined into a single campaign.
### **The Importance of Good Products and Offers**
Before diving into this structure, there’s one important point: **This strategy won’t work for bad products or weak offers.** The campaign structure I’ve outlined here relies on quality products and compelling offers to drive conversions. No matter how perfect your Facebook ad campaign is, if the product doesn’t resonate with your audience, it won’t convert.
Also, every campaign in this structure should be optimized for **purchases**—not traffic, video views, or brand awareness. The entire focus is on generating sales.
A Brief Overview of Each Campaign Type
Here’s a quick summary of the key points for each campaign type:
– Capture Campaigns: Video ads aimed at growing your custom audiences quickly by excluding people who have already watched 3 seconds of your video.
– Nurture Campaigns: A variety of ad formats (video, carousel, single image) aimed at retargeting warm audiences. The goal is to gradually push them toward making a purchase.
– Convert Campaigns: Targeting hot audiences like 95% video viewers, add-to-cart users, and those who initiated checkout. The goal here is to close the sale.
### **Why This Structure Works So Well**
The reason this structure works is because it focuses on **data-driven decision making** and continuous optimization. It’s not a “set it and forget it” method—you need to consistently review performance and make tweaks based on feedback from Facebook’s algorithm.
By systematically moving people from capture to nurture and, eventually, to convert campaigns, you’re creating a sales funnel that’s optimized for high ROAS. The structure also allows you to test different ad creatives, copy, and offers to see what works best for your audience.
### **Conclusion: Scaling With a Proven Structure**
I’ve spent years refining this campaign structure to get the best results for my clients. While every account will require custom optimizations and logical tweaks, the foundation remains the same. This structure has consistently provided amazing results for my clients, and with the right approach, it can do the same for you.
Remember, there’s no quick fix or hack that will substitute for mastering a sound strategy. Stick with what works, make adjustments where necessary, and give your campaigns time to succeed.
I hope this post has given you a solid understanding of my Facebook ad campaign structure. If you have any questions or need further advice, feel free to reach out—I’m always happy to help. Thanks for reading!