Facebook advertising for dropshipping in 2023: A step-by-step guide

When you run your own dropshipping business, generating interest translates into sales. That's why it's essential to get the right message across to your target audience at the right time. With a Facebook ad for dropshipping, you'll be able to do just that.

In fact, Facebook ads give your business even greater visibility and reach. So you can grow your business even more. What's more, by delivering the right message to the right people, Facebook Ads help you increase conversions and sales.

In this article, we'll find out everything there is to know about Facebook Ads for dropshipping. From setup to final launch, we've covered it all, step by step, in this ultimate guide.

Step 1: Setting up a Facebook page

To get started with Facebook advertising for dropshipping, it's important to have a Facebook page. From your Facebook account, you can easily create a page for your business. You can find this option when you click on'Pages' in the left-hand navigation bar. 

From here, you'll access the "Pages" site, where you can click on the "Create a new page" button. Once you're there, you can start filling in your page information, such as the name, category and description of your page.

One professional tip is to define your category on your website. After all, you need to direct visitors to this page to your dropshipping store. Then click on"Create page" and wait a few seconds for Facebook to create your page. Once it's done, you can define your profile and add the photos that will represent your dropshipping store.

Step 2: Create a Facebook Ads account

When it comes to creating a Facebook Ads account, things can get a little complicated. However, if you follow the steps in this ultimate guide to Facebook advertising, you'll have no trouble setting up your Facebook Ads account. Let's dive right in and get started.

How do I create a Facebook Business Manager account?

Interestingly, with the Business Manager account, you can manage all your advertising campaigns as well as other business aspects. And, to get started, you'll go to the Facebook Business Manager home page.

Then click on the"Create an account" button and enter your company details. A pop-up window appears in which you can enter your name, company name and company e-mail address.

Once you've filled in this information and clicked"Submit", Facebook will take you to the Facebook Business Suite page. Once there, you can create your Facebook Ads account and start creating and managing multiple advertising campaigns. What's more, you can use this space to navigate through other business activities. Some of the additional business activities you can manage are : 

  • The events, 
  • Invoicing,
  • Appointments,
  • Orders, etc.

Step 3: Install the Facebook pixel in your Dropshipping store

Once you've set up your Facebook Ads account, the next crucial step is to install the Facebook Pixel. To clarify, a Facebook Pixel is a piece of code you place on your website to help you track the activity of visitors to your store. For example, if someone clicks on a blog post or adds a product to their shopping cart, Facebook Pixel tracks these events and keeps a record of them.

What's more, the data collected by Facebook Pixel helps you track Facebook ad conversions and optimize them. It also helps you create target audiences who are most likely to make a purchase. In effect, it allows you to remarket to people who have already visited and been active in your store.

Configuring the Facebook pixel 

You're about to install the Facebook pixel. However, before you can finish, you must first connect the pixel to your dropshipping store. In this example, we'll show you how to install the Facebook Pixel on your Shopify store. To get started, you need to access your store's dashboard, then click on"Online Shop" and select "Preferences".

Next, scroll down the page and locate the "Facebook Pixel" option, then click on "Configure Facebook". To continue, scroll to the bottom of the page and click on"Add a sales channel". Then click on "Connect account" to confirm that you authorize your dropshipping store to access your Facebook account. For security reasons, you'll need to enter your Facebook password. After entering the password, click on "Continue".

When prompted to specify access, click "Continue" to allow your store to integrate with Facebook. Next, you'll be asked for permission to connect your store to your Facebook account or page. Still on the subject of Facebook advertising for dropshipping, in the next step we'll look at how to integrate your pixel into your dropshipping store.

Integrate the Pixel into your Dropshipping store

Let's continue with the example of the top-rated sales channel, Shopify. From here, under "Business Manager", select the correct account that is connected to the page created for your store. Then click on "Login". For the next step, you'll connect your advertising account, which should appear as an option. You also need to be careful to connect to the right account.

In the next step, you'll see and accept Facebook's terms and conditions. This step will take you to Facebook, where you can read them, then click on the"Accept" button. You will then be redirected to the "Shop" tab, where you can click on "Done".

Now you can go to your Facebook page and click on "Connect" again, making sure you're connected to the right page. That's it, you've almost completed the full integration of your Pixel, with just a few more steps to go.

Testing the Facebook pixel

Before finalizing the configuration, you need to test your Facebook Pixel to ensure that everything is correctly installed. To do this, on Facebook Business Manager, you'll need to check that there's a tick to ensure that Shopify setup is complete.
Now click on "Next". In the next tab, enter the web address of your Shopify store and click on "Send test traffic". A new tab will open with your website. Click on a few products and return to the Facebook tab. If the pixel is working, a green dot will appear, confirming that everything is in order.

However, if it says"Not yet active", you need to fully test the Pixel with the "Test Events" option. To thoroughly test your Pixel, click on the"Test Events" tab and enter the web address of your Shopify store. Then click on "Open website".
As in the previous step, perform a few actions on your Shopify store, then return to the Facebook Pixel. Above all, you need to test your pixel to make sure you're getting the necessary data from your store. That way, you can make an informed decision that will allow your store to scale.

Step 4: Conduct audience research

Audience research is one of the most important steps in Facebook advertising for dropshipping. So, to help you organize and refine your target audience, you need to create a copy of the audience research spreadsheet. We'll take a look at all the steps involved in this process below:

Four key questions for audience research

In particular, the audience research worksheet is organized around the 4 key questions for successful audience research. These questions are how you will conduct your audience research. In fact, this set of questions is organized to find out about the interests of your target audience. 

From this point of view, their interests are based on three aspects: their participation, the content they interact with, and the products. So let's look at the four key questions:

  • Who are the authority figures, influencers and big brands in your niche?
  • What books, magazines and websites does your audience interact with?
  • What types of events does the public attend?
  • What other relevant products does your audience use?
Worksheet

In reality, the point of asking these questions is to tap into as many potential audiences as possible. Exploring many audiences will help you find unique groups likely to buy your products. Now, in the spreadsheet, in the largest column on the left, you need to add your questions. In the column next to each question, you should also have 4 to 6 empty cells to fill in with the answers to the questions.

Interestingly, you can do this research by Googling keywords. Guided by these questions, you can search for the information you need to know about your audience.

Audience research implementation

Research implementation

Finally, you can use all the necessary information you've found in your search to create your Facebook ad for dropshipping. Once you have the data, you enter the answers to the questions into your ad campaign. This ensures that Facebook is looking for audiences interested in the events, products and content of your searches.

What's more, the research you've carried out will help you tailor the ads themselves to your target audience in order to generate interest. That said, audience research helps you not only to target, but also to attract your target audience, generate interest and increase sales.

Step 5: Create a Facebook ad

Using Facebook Ads

In this section, we'll show you how to use Facebook ads for dropshipping. Once you've done some solid audience research for your Facebook ad for dropshipping, you need to move on to the creative. Facebook ads are usually created using videos or photos. That said, you need to focus on creating great visuals for your ads to grab customers' attention immediately.

In fact, Facebook video ads are the most effective way to market your dropshipping store. What's more, using video ads will stimulate more engagement and thus produce better results. To create and launch a successful video ad campaign, you need to learn how to create converting video ads. 

Above all, audiences like to watch an attractive video presenting the product they want to buy. While illustrated ads or GIFs aren't a bad choice, video ads are simply more effective and convert better. In that case, let's take a look at how to find a good product video.

Find a product video

Minea interface

You need to find a product video for the item you want to advertise. The product video will serve as a template for editing. There are several ways to get the product video you need for your Facebook ad.
Sometimes sellers may have their own product video that you can use as a template. However, the videos often don't look professional. Also, depending on the origin of the vendor, subtitles in a different language may be integrated into the video.

Alternatively, you might get lucky and find a product video with good visuals on a supplier's product page. This trend of adding videos to product pages is gaining ground, but it's not widespread enough for you to rely on it. Unfortunately, suppliers don't always include such videos on their product pages.

However, if you can't find a product video with your supplier, you can use Minea. This is a powerful dropshipping product search tool that allows you to find a winning product with a quality visual. In fact, it can help you find a product video from another supplier or competitor. You can also order the product and shoot the video yourself.

Edit product video

Once you've managed to get your hands on a product video, you'll need to edit it. That said, there are several reasons why you need to do this, one of which is video length. Indeed, your video ad should last no longer than 30 seconds, as your viewers' attention spans diminish over time. That's why your video needs to be short and to the point.

The other reason you need to edit your video is that it can't be the same as your supplier's. Your Facebook Ad for dropshipping is intended to help you stand out from the competition, and copying the product video defeats that purpose.

What's more, when it comes to video editing, there are many platforms you can use. Canva is a great video editing service, as its platform is specifically designed for entrepreneurs. You can also check out this guide to the 5 best tools for video editing your products.

The importance of variations and split testing

To optimize and ensure the success of your Facebook ad for dropshipping, you need to create several video ad variants and test them. A good tactic to use is to create three variations of your ad and run all three at the same time. In fact, the biggest difference between your three ads is in the first 3-5 seconds.

This shows the importance of those first few seconds and the impact they can have on converting viewers into customers. What's more, by testing your Facebook ad variants, you can see which version converts the most and adapt it to a wider audience. With split testing, you can learn what works best and use it in your future Facebook advertising campaigns.

Step 6: Configure your Facebook Ads campaign goals

Facebook Ads

One of the most technical aspects of this process is the configuration of ad sets and campaign parameters in Facebook Business Manager. These settings ensure that your Facebook dropshipping ad has maximum effect at the lowest possible cost. They also tell Facebook how you want users to interact with your ad and which audiences to reach.

Create and configure your campaign

Campaign creation

Once you've chosen your campaign objective, click on the"Continue" button and name your campaign. Next, you'll need to configure your campaign. Most of the campaign settings don't concern you, with the exception of campaign budget optimization. This allows you to balance the budget between your different advertising campaigns.

In fact, it's advisable to run three ads for each product, as this allows you to test different ads and find the one that performs best. Fortunately, if you use this tactic, you can use the budget optimization tool to make sure that the spending distribution is balanced.

To activate the budget optimization tool, you'll scroll down the page and move the dot to the "Activated" position next to the"Campaign budget optimization" section. What this tool will do is allocate more funds to the best-performing campaigns and less to those that fail.

Defining campaign budgets

Campaign budgets

Once you've activated budget optimization, you're immediately prompted to set a budget for Facebook ads in droposhipping. At this stage, your aim is to spend as little as possible on testing ad variants.

With this in mind, to configure the budget parameter, you should choose the option of a "daily budget" rather than a "lifetime" budget. Your daily budget should be between €5 and €10 while you're running ads for 2-3 days. This is enough time to test your different ads on different audiences and see the results.

Since you're running a post-commitment campaign, the information you receive from running ads for 3 days at $10 is invaluable. That said, the information you receive during this period sets the stage for your future marketing efforts. Finally, we've put together a comprehensive guide on how to set a "budget for Facebook ads in droposhipping" that you might find useful.

Step 7: Configure Facebook ad sets

Once you've set up your campaign, you can move on to configuring the parameters of your ad set. First, you'll need to set up a calendar. Next, you need to choose the start date and time, and leave the end date unchecked. Even if you only run this "Engagement" campaign for a few days, it has the potential to work very well, which can help you increase your success. Let's take a look at a few important parameters:

Audience parameters

Once you've configured the above parameter, you'll then go on to customize your audience setting. In fact, this will help you reach the optimum audience for your product.

Location

Location

Let's start the ball rolling with the first audience settings adjustment, location. You should start by removing all the default settings under "Location" and setting it to global.

One of the reasons to choose this setting is that you want to run a post-commitment ad, and you need to see which audiences might be interested in your product. Plus, with global targeting, Facebook finds interested audiences faster. And, since you pay per day, it will help you spend less on the campaign.

Age and gender

The next step is to define an age range for your audience. Here, you'll widen the range, but not too much, so as not to prolong the process of finding your target audience. In this section, you need to make an informed estimate of the age range to which your most interested customers are likely to belong.

In addition, you need to select the target gender. Depending on what you're selling, you can define a more specific target. Some products may be more attractive to one sex than the other. However, in all other cases, you can simply stick to the "all" parameter in the "gender" section. 

Detailed targeting

At this stage of Facebook advertising for dropshipping, you need to modify your detailed targeting parameters. In this section, you'll learn about the behaviors, interests and characteristics of your target audience. For this targeting, you can use the audience research you carried out earlier in step 4.

In this section, you can therefore write any feature in the search bar and add it to your targeting. However, this may overextend your targeting. As this is a post-commitment ad, your potential reach limit should be around 10 million. In other words, you need to take this reach limit into account to avoid waiting several days for Facebook to reach your target audience. Therefore, you need to avoid this, as you're paying per day for advertising.

Now, if the potential reach becomes too high when you choose your detailed targeting preferences, you can use the "Restricted Audience" option. This section enables further filtering by adding additional limits to targeting.

Language

Campaign language

Here you'll set the ad language. This helps Facebook target people who can read and understand your ad in the language you set it in.

Next, scroll down and click on the "Edit" button in the "Language" section. For example, if you want to target English speakers, you can choose the"English all" option to include both British and American varieties. You can also select multiple languages to target.

Choosing a location for your ad

Finally, all that's left is to choose where your ad will appear. As you don't want Facebook to search for audiences in the wrong places, you'll first choose the "Manual" option in this section. This will allow you to customize the ad placement. 

Next, for"Devices", you need to leave"All devices", which allows the ad to appear on both mobiles and desktops. Finally, for "Platforms", you need to uncheck everything except "Facebook" and "Instagram". You also have the option of choosing where on Facebook you want your ad to appear. For best results, uncheck everything except "Facebook News Feed" and "Facebook Video feed". 

In fact, you leave "Facebook Video Feed" checked because people like to scroll through videos, which increases the chances of your ad reaching them. Finally, the ad set configuration process is now complete. And, you're now ready to launch your Facebook Ad for dropshipping.

Step 8: Launch your Facebook ad for dropshipping

You can now launch your Facebook dropshipping ads. When launching an ad campaign, you need to set up three sections: the campaign, the ad set and the ad.

Remember, however, that you configure the settings according to the particular objective of the Post Engagement campaign. For example, you're spending €5 to €10 per day, a relatively low budget, and you're targeting a global audience to gauge interest in your product. 

However, for a conversion campaign, you need to go back and change your ad settings. So, without further ado, let's start by logging into the Facebook Ads Manager, and following the steps below: 

Choose an ad name

The first section will ask you to name your Facebook dropshipping ad. Your name should be consistent with the name you've chosen for your campaign and ad sets.

Select a Facebook page for your ad 

After the ad name, there's an "Identity" section where you can choose which Facebook page to use for the ad. Each Facebook ad is essentially a publication that you need to promote. Therefore, the ad must have a precise location, otherwise it cannot be launched.

Choose type of publication

If you already have a post in which you'd like to place the ad, you'll need to define the type of publication, as well as the objective. Since we're showing how to create a first engagement ad, let's create a new publication. On the same page, scroll down to"Ad configuration" and select "Create ad".

Designing your Facebook ad for dropshipping

Media

This is the most interesting and relevant part of our ultimate guide to Facebook advertising. This is where you decide on the look and feel of the ad. Continue scrolling down to the "Ad creation" section and start with "Media". Then click on "Add media", followed by "Add video". A new window opens, in which you can choose and upload a product video.

In particular, your video should not last longer than 30 seconds, but rather linger between 15 and 30 seconds. To continue, in the pop-up window, click on "Upload", select a video and click on "Open". Once the download is complete, you can view it in the Ad Creation section.

Launch your ad

Before publishing the Facebook ad for dropshipping, check all the settings one last time. Check the campaign objective, the configuration of your ad sets and, of course, the ad itself. Does everything look good? If so, click on "Publish" in the bottom right-hand corner.

Step 9: Analyze your Facebook ads and increase your success

Ad analysis

Finally, once you've successfully launched your ads, there's only one thing left to do. You need to monitor and optimize them. Analyzing your Facebook dropshipping ads is crucial to maximizing their success.

Fortunately, Facebook provides you with analytics data that you can use to analyze, adjust and optimize your ads accordingly. Now it's a matter of knowing how to use this information correctly and improve and scale your ads for better results.

How do I analyze Facebook ads?

To start the analysis process, you need to customize your results column. At this stage, a day or two after the ad has run, the campaign results should appear on the Ad Manager home page.

First, click on one of the three main tabs ("Campaign", "Ad Sets" or "Ads"). Then drag to the right where you want the different columns of results data to appear. You can customize the columns by clicking on "Columns: Performance" and selecting "Customize columns" from the drop-down menu. At this point, you need to select the indicators you wish to analyze.

Analyze ad results

Now that the columns are organized, it's time to analyze the ad results. We'll focus our analysis on these metrics:

  • Overall results
  • Counting ad appearances: impressions vs. reach 
  • Click on the link
  • Video statistics 
  • Frequency (regular viewers) 
  • The cost of advertising appearances 
  • Publish feedback 
  • Content views 
  • Add to cart, initiated payments and purchases

To avoid confusion, define some of these metrics. Reach is the total number of unique people who see your content. Impressions, on the other hand, are the number of times your content is viewed, whether or not from a single viewer. Now, having analyzed your statistics, you can make informed decisions and take the necessary steps to optimize your advertising. 

Develop your success

While you may have a Facebook dropshipping ad that works well, you still need to take the right steps to make sure it stays that way. To this end, you need to set up an ad hierarchy.

To get straight to the point, keep the number twenty in mind. The number 20 is the signal that you need to improve your campaign objective. Once you've achieved twenty content (website) views in an engagement campaign, you can move on to a "Show Content" campaign. In this case, Facebook finds audiences who tend to see product content on a website.

Naturally, increasing the number of views of the content translates into more additions to the basket". So, after getting twenty adds to cart, it's time to move on to an add-to-cart campaign goal." So, in this new campaign, Facebook finds audiences likely to add your product to their cart.
Indeed, some of them will make a purchase. But before moving on to the coveted add-to-cart campaign, you need to wait until you've reached a minimum of 20 purchases.

Conclusion 

To sum it all up, there are key elements that need to be taken into consideration in order to maximize interest and generate sales. That said, here are a few key factors to consider when creating a Facebook ad:

  • Target audience
  • Highly optimized visuals 
  • Call to action (CTA)
  • Price (both product price and ad budget)

Finally, you need to consider pricing. Specifically, you need to consider the cost of your product and your budget for your dropshipping Facebook advertising campaign. To achieve a good return on investment (ROI) in your marketing efforts, you need to optimize both your campaign budget and your product pricing.

Frequently asked questions 

How much do Facebook ads cost for dropshipping?

In general, it's recommended to allocate an advertising budget equivalent to 20 times the selling price of your product. Therefore, if your product sells for $25 in your store, it's advisable to invest around $500 in Facebook ads.

Is it possible to dropship without using Facebook ads?

Yes, it's entirely possible to practice dropshipping without resorting to Facebook ads. While many dropshipping stores have found success thanks to Facebook, it's not the only platform that enables store owners to reach their target market.

Do Facebook ads work with Shopify?

To enable your customers to browse and buy your products directly from Facebook, you need to set up Facebook as a sales channel on your Shopify online store. This will enable you to create a Facebook store on your business page, as well as set up Instagram Shopping and create Facebook ads directly from Shopify.

Launch winning products in 3 clicks

Discover winning products for sale today.

FREE Trial

Our free adspys

  • Find winning products on our adspy Tiktok

  • Find winning products on our Facebook adspy

  • Find winning products on our Pinterest adspy

1 winning product every day.
Follow us!

Launch winning products in 3 clicks

Discover winning products for sale today.

FREE Trial

Our free adspys

  • Find winning products on our adspy Tiktok

  • Find winning products on our Facebook adspy

  • Find winning products on our Pinterest adspy

1 winning product every day.
Follow us!