Advertising with Facebook: The Ultimate Guide for businesses

Advertising on Facebook is a rock-solid way to speak directly to your target audience, generate leads, and give your sales a serious boost. With millions of active users in the Netherlands, the platform offers an unparalleled opportunity to get your message in front of exactly the right people. But, and this is important, success hinges on a smart, well-thought-out approach.

Are you wondering how you can use Facebook ads to grow your business? Or are you struggling with low conversions and an unclear ROI? In this guide, we'll show you exactly how to set up a successful strategy that delivers results.

Why Advertising on Facebook Is Still a Smart Move

Are you on the fence about whether Facebook ads are worthwhile for your business? With all the new platforms and changing algorithms, it's a logical question. Let's be pragmatic: Facebook is and remains a giant platform where your customers can be found every day. Ignoring it is simply missing a huge opportunity.

The golden days of free, easy reach are over. Organic visibility on Facebook has plummeted, making a paid strategy essential if you want to achieve predictable growth. Without investing in ads, it's nearly impossible to build a consistent and relevant audience.

Unmatched Reach and Precise Targeting

The real power of advertising on Facebook lies in two things: its enormous scale and its hyper-specific targeting capabilities. You can show your ads to a very precisely defined group of people, based on:

• Demographics: Think age, gender, location, and language.
• Interests: Hobbies, pages they like, and topics they actively follow.
• Behavior: Their online purchasing behavior, the devices they use, and even their travel patterns.

This precision is worth its weight in gold. Your marketing budget isn't wasted on people who have no interest in what you offer. Instead, you speak directly to potential customers, which dramatically increases the chance of conversion. For Dutch entrepreneurs, this means you can effortlessly find the perfect target audience, whether you operate locally, regionally, or nationally.

A stubborn misconception is that Facebook is only for young people. The reality is different. A large portion of users with the most purchasing power—from millennials to baby boomers—are still active on the platform daily.

A Platform That Continues to Evolve

Facebook doesn't stand still and continues to give marketers smarter tools. The enormous amount of data the platform collects allows its AI-driven algorithm to show your ads to the people most likely to take action. This self-learning system is constantly getting better at finding your ideal customer.

Additionally, the reach in the Netherlands is gigantic. In early 2025, ads on Facebook reached approximately 8.05 million users in the Netherlands. Although this number fluctuates, it shows the massive scale at which you can operate. This dynamic underscores the importance of keeping up with the latest trends to keep your campaigns sharp. Want to dive deeper into the numbers? Check out the latest Dutch report on ​Data Reportal.

Facebook is simply an indispensable piece of the puzzle in a complete digital strategy. At Digitalique.nl, we seamlessly integrate this into our social media marketing approach. By using Facebook strategically, we build sustainable growth and a stronger bond with your customers..

Laying a Strong Foundation for Your Ad Campaign

A winning campaign doesn't start in the Facebook Ads Manager. The real work begins long before you open that dashboard. A successful campaign needs a rock-solid foundation; if you skip these crucial preparation steps, you're building a house on quicksand.

Determine Your Campaign Goal

Before you spend a single euro, you must ask yourself the most important question: what exactly do I want to achieve? A vague goal like "more online visibility" isn't enough. You need a specific, measurable goal that directly aligns with your business objectives.

Think in concrete results:

• Awareness: Do you want more people in your region to recognize your brand name?
• Traffic: Is your goal to drive more relevant visitors to a specific blog or product page?
• Engagement: Are you trying to get more comments, likes, and shares on your posts?
• Leads: Do you want potential customers to sign up for a newsletter or download an e-book?
• Sales: Is the ultimate goal to directly sell more products through your webshop?

Your answer to this determines which campaign type you select on Facebook. The platform's algorithm is smart and optimizes your ad delivery based on the chosen goal. A 'Traffic' campaign will always yield different results than a 'Conversions' campaign.

Ensure your campaign goal is always linked to a tangible business result. A successful ad campaign isn't the one with the most likes; it's the one that has the biggest impact on your revenue.

Get Your Tech in Order

Without the right technical setup, you're flying blind. It's essential to be able to accurately measure the results of your efforts. Otherwise, you'll never know what's really working and where you're wasting your budget. These are the absolute must-haves.

Install the Meta Pixel

The Meta Pixel is a small piece of code you place on your website. Think of it as a smart assistant that tracks exactly what visitors do after clicking your ad. Who adds a product to the cart? Who fills out a contact form? Who actually completes a purchase?

Without the Pixel:

• You can't calculate the ROI (Return on Investment) of your ads.
• You miss out on retargeting, the powerful ability to advertise again to people who have already shown interest.
• Facebook's algorithm can't learn who your ideal customer is, making your ads much less effective over time.

Installing the Pixel correctly is non-negotiable for anyone serious about advertising on Facebook.

Verify Your Domain

Another crucial step is verifying your domain name within the Meta Business Suite This proves to Facebook that you are the legitimate owner of the website you're sending people to.

This is important because it gives you full control over how your links are displayed and allows you to prioritize which conversion events are most important for tracking. It's a small task that will save you a lot of headaches.

With a clear goal and a solid technical foundation, you're ready for the next step: reaching the right people.

Reach Your Ideal Customer with Precise Targeting

This is where the real magic of advertising on Facebookhappens. Launching an ad without thinking about who will see it is like shouting in a crowded room, hoping the right person hears you. It's a waste of breath and money. Getting your ad in front of the right people is the most important part of seeing a real return on investment.

To do this well, you need to get familiar with the three main audience types Facebook offers. Each plays a different role and helps you guide people from complete strangers to your best customers. Think of them as three different tools: one for broad reach, one for reconnecting with familiar faces, and one for finding new people who look like your existing fans.

Effectively Reaching Core Audiences

Core Audiences are your foundation. Here, you build your audience from the ground up, based on who you think your ideal customer is. This goes far beyond just age and location. The real power is in combining interests and behaviors to create a razor-sharp profile.

Imagine you own a local yoga studio in Amsterdam. You don't just target "women between 25-45." A much smarter approach would be:

• Women between 25-45 who live within a 10 km radius of your studio.
• Who have shown interest in things like Lululemon, mindfulness, or organic food.
• And whose online behavior marks them as "Engaged Shoppers" (active online buyers).

Details like these ensure your ad budget is spent on people who are genuinely interested, not random people nearby. As you can see from the data, the 25-34 age group often clicks the most, making them a solid starting point for many campaigns.

As you can see from the data, the 25-34 age group tends to click the most, making them a solid starting point for many campaigns.

Unlocking the Power of Custom Audiences

This is where it gets personal. With Custom Audiences, you can talk to people who already know you. These are your "warm leads"—people who have visited your website, subscribed to your newsletter, or interacted with your Facebook page. It's one of the most cost-effective strategies because you're not starting from scratch.

You can build these powerful audiences from various sources:

• Website visitors: Target everyone who has been on your site in the last 30 days. You can even be super specific and only target those who viewed your pricing page but didn't sign up.
• Email list: Simply upload your customer or newsletter list to show them special offers they won't find anywhere else.
• Facebook page interactions: Reconnect with people who have liked, commented on, or shared your posts. They've already raised their hand and shown interest.

Important tip: Retargeting with Custom Audiences is indispensable. It's your second chance to close the deal with someone who left an item in their cart or looked at your services. This is where you'll often see the highest ROI.

Find New Customers with Lookalike Audiences

Once you have a solid Custom Audience (like a list of your very best customers), you can create a Lookalike Audience. This is where you let Facebook's algorithm do the heavy lifting. You give it a source audience—say, your top 100 customers—and the system finds millions of new people who share similar characteristics, interests, and online behaviors.

This is an absolute game-changer for scaling your business. It takes the guesswork out of finding new customers by using your own data as a blueprint. A good start is a 1% Lookalike, which finds the top 1% of users  who are most similar to your source audience.

The potential here is enormous. In January 2025, Facebook had approximately 12.87 million users in the Netherlands, which amounts to about 73.5% of the entire Dutch population. The largest group is 25 to 34 years old, with women forming a slight majority at 54%. This huge, diverse user base is the perfect pool for creating powerful Lookalike Audiences. You can read the full research on these demographic insights to get an even clearer picture.​

Facebook Audience Options at a Glance

Choosing the right audience type can seem overwhelming, so here’s a quick summary to help you decide which one best suits your goals.

Ultimately, a strong Facebook ad strategy uses all three. You use Core and Lookalike Audiences to fill the top of your funnel with new prospects, and then Custom Audiences to nurture those leads and convert them into loyal customers.

Create Ads That Actually Convert

You can have the most accurate targeting in the world, but if your ad itself doesn't stop someone from scrolling, you're throwing money away. Getting your ad in front of the right people is the first hurdle; the creative—your images and your words—convinces them to actually care. This is where art and science come together to achieve real results.

In a fast-paced feed, you might only have three seconds to make an impression. That's it. Your visuals are your first handshake, so they must be strong, clear, and directly relevant to your audience.

Choose the Right Visual Format

Facebook gives you a whole toolbox of ad formats, and each has its strengths. The "best" one is simply the one that tells your story most effectively for a specific campaign goal.

• Single Image: These are the workhorses of Facebook advertising. They're clean, simple, and perfect for showcasing one powerful product or communicating one core idea. Make sure the image is high-quality and not cluttered with text.
• Video Ads: Nothing grabs attention like motion. Video is fantastic for showing a product in action, sharing a quick customer testimonial, or telling a compelling brand story. A well-made 15-second video can easily outperform a static image.
• Carousel Ads: This format allows you to show up to ten images or videos in a single ad, each with its own link. Carousels are ideal for e-commerce brands wanting to display a product line or for service providers wanting to explain different features or benefits.

Write Copy That Connects and Persuades

Once your visual has done its job and stopped the scroll, your copy needs to close the deal. It must hook them, highlight a problem, present your solution, and then tell them exactly what to do. Our advice? Drop the jargon and write like you're talking to one person.

A simple but incredibly effective formula we always use is the PAS framework: Problem, Agitate, Solution.

1. Problem: Start by addressing a pain point your ideal customer feels. (e.g., "Struggling to keep your social media up-to-date?")
2. Agitate: Dig deeper into that problem. Remind them of the frustration. (e.g., "Does it feel like you're shouting into the void with no engagement?")
3. Solution: This is where you step in and present your service as the perfect solution. (e.g., "Our management packages take all that stress off your shoulders, so you can get back to running your business.")

This structure works. It taps directly into the reader's emotions and positions your brand as the hero they were looking for. It's a fundamental part of how we approach content marketing, where every word has a purpose.

Our Pro Tip: Always focus on benefits, not features. Nobody buys a drill because they want a drill; they buy it because they want a hole in the wall. Don't list what your product does; explain how it makes your customer's life better.

The Crucial Call to Action (CTA)

Every ad you run needs a clear, compelling call to action. You've done all the work to get their attention—now you need to tell them exactly what to do. "Learn More" is often too vague and passive. Be specific and action-oriented.

Think about the one thing you really want them to do:

• "Shop Now" is direct and perfect for e-commerce.
• "Book a Free Consult" offers a low-barrier next step for service providers.
• "Download Your Free Guide" is a classic for lead generation.
• "Request a Quote" works great for users further down the funnel who are ready to buy.

Your CTA is the final command that turns a passive viewer into an active lead. Make it count. When you combine a powerful visual, persuasive copy, and a crystal-clear CTA, you've built an ad that not only gets seen but also gets results.

Smart Budgeting and Bidding for a Better ROI

Okay, you've got your ad and your perfect audience. Now for the million-dollar—or maybe just €50—question: how much should you actually spend? Determining your budget and bidding strategy can feel like guesswork, but getting it right is what separates a bottomless pit from a profit machine. The goal isn't just to spend; it's to make every euro work hard for you.

This is where many businesses stumble. They start too small to get meaningful data, or they throw a huge budget at a campaign without a clear plan, which usually ends in frustration. Let's approach this smartly, so your investment truly fuels your growth.

Daily Budget vs. Lifetime Budget

First, you need to tell Facebook how to spend your money. You have two main options, and the best choice depends on your campaign goals and timeline.

• Daily Budget: This sets the average amount you want to spend per day. It's perfect for ongoing, "always-on" campaigns where you want to maintain a consistent presence. Think of a local café promoting its brand to the neighborhood with a fixed budget of €10 per day. The beauty is its flexibility; you can adjust it at any time.
• Lifetime Budget: With this, you set a total budget for the entire duration of the campaign. This is your choice for promotions with a fixed start and end date, like a Black Friday sale or a push for webinar sign-ups. Facebook's algorithm gets a bit smarter here, spending more on days when it predicts the best results.

There is no "best" choice. A daily budget gives you control for long-term brand building, while a lifetime budget is brilliant for short, powerful promotions.

Deciphering Bidding Strategies

Your bidding strategy is essentially your way of telling Facebook what matters most to you. You're not just buying ad space; you're bidding on a specific result. Meta offers a few options, but a couple of them do the heavy lifting for most businesses.

The most common starting point is the Highest Volume strategy. This tells Facebook, "Just get me the most results you can for my budget." It's an excellent choice when you're launching a new campaign because the algorithm can learn quickly and find the cheapest opportunities for clicks, leads, or sales.

Another powerful option is the Cost Per Result Goal. This puts you back in control. You tell Facebook the average cost you're willing to pay for an action, like a purchase or a lead. This is fantastic once you know your numbers and need to keep your cost-per-acquisition profitable.

Tip: Think of bidding like giving instructions to a taxi driver. Highest Volume is like saying, "take the fastest route," while a Cost Per Result Goal is like saying, "get me there, but don't go over this fare." Both get you to your destination but optimize for different priorities.

Start Small and Scale Smartly

One of the biggest mistakes we see is going all-in on an unproven campaign. A much better approach is to start with a modest test budget—something like €10 to €20 per day is usually sufficient. That's enough to gather crucial data without taking a big risk.

During this testing phase, your goal isn't to make a profit, but to learn. You'll discover which audience clicks, which ad resonates, and what your initial cost per result is. Once you find a winning combination that yields a positive return, then you have the green light to scale the budget responsibly. This data-driven approach takes all the guesswork out of advertising on Facebook.

Ad costs in the Netherlands can vary, but with over 70% of the Dutch population on the platform, you have a massive pool to work with. It's all about balancing your budget with that incredible reach to make smart investment decisions. This is especially true when re-engaging interested prospects. Our remarketing services show how you can direct a portion of your budget to these warm leads, which almost always yields a much higher return on ad spend.

Questions About Facebook Ads? We Have the Answers

Diving into advertising on Facebook can feel like learning a new language. A lot of questions come up, and that's completely normal. To provide clarity, we've gathered simple answers to the questions we hear most often from Dutch entrepreneurs and marketing managers like you.

How Long Does It Take to See Results?

This is the big question, isn't it? The honest answer is, "it depends," but you will see activity almost immediately. You can expect the first data points like impressions, reach, and clicks to come in within the first 24 to 48 hours. This early feedback is the first sign that everything is running correctly.

But for the results that really make a difference—leads, sales, and new customers—you need to give it a bit more time. We always advise our clients to let a new campaign run for at least 7 to 14 days before considering major changes.

Why? Because this gives Facebook's AI algorithm enough time to exit the "learning phase." During this crucial period, the system is figuring out who in your target audience is most likely to take action. Pulling the plug too soon is a classic rookie mistake. After a couple of weeks, you'll have much clearer data on what works and what your actual return on ad spend (ROAS) is.

What Is a Good Starting Budget for a Small Business?

There's no magic number, but we have a rule of thumb that works well. For a small business just starting out, a budget between €10 and €20 per day, per ad set, is a fantastic starting point.

This amount is the 'sweet spot.' It's enough for the algorithm to gather data without you having to empty your pockets. It also gives you enough room to test important variables, like different audiences or ads.

Your initial budget isn't about making an immediate profit. Think of it as an investment in data. Start small, learn what resonates, and then double down on what works by increasing the budget of your proven winners.

Ultimately, the focus shouldn't be on the budget itself, but on the return on ad spend (ROAS) it generates. A €1,000 budget that generates €5,000 in revenue is a huge win, while a €100 budget that yields nothing is a waste of money.

My Ads Are Getting Clicks but No Conversions. What's Going Wrong?

It's one of the most frustrating things: lots of clicks, but no sales or leads. When this happens, it's rarely a single problem. We always advise checking your campaign by looking at these four areas, in this order:

1. The Offer: Let's be honest. Is what you're selling truly compelling? A brilliant ad can't save a weak offer. If your discount is meager or your product isn't something people really want, they won't convert.
2. The Audience: Are you sure you're talking to the right people? Showing an ad for high-end accounting software to students is a waste of money. Go back and analyze your targeting to ensure it perfectly matches your ideal customer.
3. The Ad: Does your ad stop someone mid-scroll? Is the copy clear and focused on customer benefits? A boring or confusing ad will be ignored, even if your targeting is perfect.
4. The Landing Page: This is the most common culprit and is often overlooked. What happens after the click is just as important. If your landing page is slow, looks bad on a phone, or has a clunky checkout process, you'll lose people. The experience on your site must be a seamless continuation of the ad.

Go through this checklist, and we guarantee you'll find the bottleneck.

Should I Also Advertise on Instagram?

Yes, almost certainly. When you set up a campaign in Meta Ads Manager, the default setting is 'Advantage+ placements,' and for good reason. Our advice is to keep this for most of your campaigns.

This setting automatically places your ads across Meta's entire network, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and the Audience Network. The AI algorithm is incredibly advanced; it will figure out where your budget is best spent to get you the most conversions at the lowest cost.

Instagram is a visual playground, which makes it a powerhouse for e-commerce, fashion, food, travel—anything with strong visual appeal. A large part of the Dutch market is active on both platforms daily. By excluding Instagram, you're cutting yourself off from a huge, engaged audience. Unless you have a very specific, data-backed reason not to, letting Meta manage the placements is the smartest and most efficient way to get results.

Ready to turn these insights into a powerful growth strategy for your business? At Digitalique.nl, we combine data-driven tactics with creative expertise to build Facebook ad campaigns that deliver real, measurable results. Let's build your success story together.

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