How to Schedule Ads on Meta for Better Results (Step-by-Step Guide)
Let’s be honest: running ads 24/7 is one of the easiest ways to drain your marketing budget.
Consider your target audience: Are they going to be looking to purchase something from you or sign up for your services at 3:00 AM, on a Tuesday? Unlikely! This also means that if your ads are being displayed while your audience is asleep, you’re wasting money on impressions that no one will see.
Enter Ad Scheduling (Known As Dayparting, As Well). Ad Scheduling allows you to inform Meta what specific days/times you would like for your ads to be shown on Facebook and Instagram, giving you better performance and without costing much.
Below are some simple step-by-step instructions on how to schedule your ads on both Facebook and Instagram along with some “golden rules” of ad scheduling!
Golden Rule
You may set the Start Date, End Date and Daily Budget of your campaign, but you may only schedule what Days and Times of day (day-parting) that display your ads if you are using a Lifetime Budget for the campaign.
Step By Step Instructions For Scheduling Ads For Instagram And Facebook
Because Facebook and Instagram utilise the same ad platform, you may schedule your ads for both platforms in real time via Meta Ads Manager. To do this:
Step 1: Create New Campaign
Open your Meta Ads Manager, click on the green + Create button. Select Campaign Objective (Sales, Leads, Traffic) then click Proceed.
The 2nd step is to create a Lifetime Budget
Now scroll down to Campaign Budget.
Change the Budget Type from Daily Budget to Lifetime Budget (total amount spent on entire campaign)
The 3rd step is to turn the Schedule Toggle On.
Immediately below the Budget section you will see “Budget & Schedule”, click “Show More Options”, and check the box “Run ads according to schedule”.
The 4th Step is to select Day & Time.
Now go to the Ad Set level, scroll down to Budget & Schedule, and see the grid displays all of the Days and Hours in the week.
Click and hold down the left click mouse, and drag over the boxes to indicate Days & Hours that you want your ads to run.
Example – if you wanted your ads to only run on Weekdays from 9:00AM – 6:00PM, you would highlight those boxes.
Step 5: Choose the Right Time Zone
Meta will ask if you want to run ads based on Viewer’s Time Zone or Ad Account Time Zone.
Always choose Viewer’s Time Zone if you are targeting people across different countries or states. This ensures your “9:00 AM” ad actually shows up at 9:00 AM for them, not in the middle of the night!
Step 6: Publish!
Finalize your target audience as per niche, choose your placements and platform (Instagram Reels, Facebook Feed, etc.), upload your creatives and content, and hit Publish. Meta will handle the rest!
Crucial Things to Keep in Mind Before Scheduling
Before you jump into the grid and start blocking times, keep these expert tips in mind so you don’t accidentally hurt your campaign performance:
Don’t Just Guess the Timings: Don’t turn off ads based on a gut feeling. Go to your Instagram or Facebook Insights and look at the “Audience” tab to see exactly what days and hours your followers are most active to work on performance marketing as well.
Give the “Learning Phase” Some Time: When you start a new campaign, Meta’s algorithm needs time to learn who your ideal buyer is. If your schedule is too tight (like only 2 hours a day), the algorithm won’t have enough time to test and refine. Start a bit broader first!
Think About the Conversion Delay: Sometimes people see a beauty product or a gadget at 2:00 PM while working, but they actually buy it at 9:00 PM when they are relaxing. If you turn your ads off in the evening, you might miss the actual consumer active conversion window.
Let Us Do the Heavy Lifting!
Managing ad budgets, monitoring time zones, and analyzing data can get overwhelming when you’re trying to run a business. That is what we are here for.
At The Buzz Marketers, we don’t just push buttons – we enhance every single rupee of your seo ad spend to make sure your brand reaches the right people at the exact right time. Let’s get your growth strategy sorted.
