In brief
A campaign is built on three levels, like Russian dolls: the campaign, the ad set and the ad (the creative).
What is set at each level
| Level | You set |
|---|---|
| Campaign | The objective, the name, special categories, sometimes the campaign budget |
| Ad set | The audience, the placements, the budget and schedule, the event to optimize for, the destination |
| Ad | The identity (Page, Instagram), the format, the image or video, the texts, the button, the link |
How to structure
- One campaign per objective: don’t mix awareness and sales.
- One ad set per audience: that’s what lets you compare audiences.
- Several ads per ad set (2 to 4) to test visuals and texts.
- Name things clearly: “Sales – Spring / 1% lookalike audience / 15 s video”.
A simple example
Sales – Spring collection campaign
- Ad set 1: 1% lookalike audience (France) → 3 ads
- Ad set 2: Fashion interests → 3 ads
- Ad set 3: 30-day visitor retargeting → 2 ads
Pitfalls to avoid
- Too many ad sets for a small budget: each gets too little to learn.
- Mixing several variables at once (audience and visual): you no longer know what works.
- Unreadable names that make analysis impossible.
Key takeaways
- Campaign = what, ad set = who, where, how much, ad = what to show.
- One objective per campaign, one audience per ad set.
- Name things so you can analyze them.
Practice in TRIALO
In the editor, move from Campaign to Ad set then Ad using the steps on the left, and note what is set at each level.