How to start Facebook ads for real estate, from no account to your first ad

You do not need to know anything about advertising. You need four things from Facebook, in the right order, and this page shows each one. Making them is free, and most people have them ready in about half an hour.

1. A Facebook account 5 minutes

Ads on Facebook and Instagram are run by a person with a Facebook account. It is the account you sign in with when you connect.

1. If you already use Facebook, you have one. Use it.
2. If not, make one with your real name and a phone number or email you can reach. Confirm the code Facebook sends.
3. Turn on two step sign in in Facebook’s settings. It stops anyone else taking over the account that pays for your ads.

• Use your real name and details. Facebook can ask for proof of identity before it lets an account run ads, and a made up profile will not pass.
• It does not have to be the account you use for friends, but it has to be a real person.

Make a Facebook account

2. A Facebook Page for your business 10 minutes

An ad is shown as a Page, never as your personal profile. People who see it can open the Page, and the Page’s name is on every ad.

1. Make a Page. Name it as you are known to buyers (your name, or your agency) and choose a category such as Real Estate Agent.
2. Add a profile picture (your photo or logo) and a cover picture.
3. Add your phone or WhatsApp number and the area you work in, so the Page looks like a real business.
4. Check you are an admin of the Page. You are, if you made it.

• If your agency already has a Page, ask its admin to add you with full control, or to give you the Advertise role, instead of making a second one.
• You do not need followers. A new Page can run ads.

Make a Facebook Page

3. An ad account 10 minutes

The ad account is where Facebook keeps your ads, your spending and your bill. We create the ads inside it, and Facebook charges it.

1. Open Ads Manager. If you have never advertised, Facebook offers to create an ad account. Follow it.
2. Choose your country, your currency and your time zone. Pick them carefully: Facebook does not let you change the currency or time zone later.
3. Choose the currency of the card or account you will pay with, so you are not charged a conversion fee.
4. If Facebook asks you to set up a business account (a Business Manager), do. It is free, and it owns the Page and the ad account.

• One ad account is enough. If you already have one in the right currency, use it.
• You need to be an admin or an advertiser on it. An account marked view only cannot run ads.

Open Facebook Ads Manager   Open Business Settings

4. A way to pay Facebook 5 minutes

Facebook charges your payment method directly for what your ads spend. We never take or hold your ad money, and we cannot see your card.

1. Open payment settings on your ad account and add a payment method.
2. In India Facebook usually offers a debit or credit card, UPI and prepaid funds. Which ones you see depends on your account.
3. You can also pay in advance by adding funds, which stops Facebook charging beyond what you put in.

• A new ad account starts with a low spending limit that rises as Facebook sees you pay on time. Start with a small budget.
• Some banks decline Facebook charges until you allow online or international payments. If a payment is refused, ask your bank, or try another card.
• Pick a budget you are comfortable losing. An ad is never a promise of a sale.

Open payment settings

Then connect, and make your first ad

With those four things ready, open Promote ads in your My Property Pages dashboard and press Connect Facebook. We check what you have and tell you if anything is missing, with what to do about it. Then choose a property, look at the banners and the audience we suggest, and press Save and Start. How it works, and what it costs.

5. Wait for Facebook to check it A few hours

Facebook reads every new ad before it shows it. Most are approved within hours, some within a day.

1. Your ad shows as being checked. Nothing is charged while it is.
2. If Facebook refuses a banner, we switch it off and tell you why. The others keep running.

• Property ads must not promise results (“guaranteed returns”) or address people by who they are. Keep the wording plain.

Facebook ad policies

6. Watch how it is doing A few minutes a week

The first days are for learning. After a day or two you can see which banners people open and which do not.

1. Open Results. Every ad and every banner is marked Doing best, Doing well, Average, Weak or Not working.
2. Follow the advice under it: keep what works, switch off what does not, and fix the page if people open it but do not enquire.
3. Enquiries are counted on your own property pages, so they are the ones that really reached you.

• Give an ad two days before you judge it. Facebook needs that to learn who responds.
• Autopilot looks after the ads for you between visits: it stops an ad when the property sells and switches off a banner that clearly gets far fewer clicks.

When something goes wrong

I connected, but my Page is not in the list

You need a Facebook Page, and you need to be allowed to advertise on it. A Page you only follow, or one you manage with no advertising rights, does not appear.

If you made the Page yourself, check you connected with the same Facebook account. If someone else made it, ask them to open the Page’s settings and give you full control, or the Advertise role.

Then press Check again here.

It says I have no ad account

Open Ads Manager once. If you have never advertised, Facebook offers to create your ad account there, and it only exists after you finish that.

Choose your country, currency and time zone. They cannot be changed later.

Then come back and press Check again.

My ad account says I can only view it

Your Facebook account is on the ad account without the right to run ads, often named Read Only.

Ask the person who owns the ad account to open Business Settings, find you under People and give you access with the Advertiser role or full control. Or make your own ad account and use that.

It says my ad account’s currency is not supported

We run ads on ad accounts in the currencies listed on the screen. Facebook cannot change an ad account’s currency after it is made.

Make a new ad account in a supported currency, and use that one. Your old one is not harmed.

If yours is not listed and you would like it added, contact us and tell us the currency.

Facebook says my ad account is disabled or restricted

Facebook sometimes restricts a new ad account until it has checked who you are, or after a payment problem.

Open Account Quality in Facebook. It says what is wrong and how to appeal. Most are cleared once you confirm your identity or your payment.

Nothing we can do from here will lift it. Come back when Facebook says the account is active.

It says I have no way to pay

Open payment settings on your ad account and add a card or another method Facebook offers in your country.

Then press Check again. You can make the ad now, and start it once a payment method is added.

Facebook keeps declining my card

Many banks decline Facebook charges until you allow online or international payments on the card. Open your bank’s app or call them, and allow it.

Check the name and address match the card exactly, and try another card or another method if Facebook offers one.

Prepaid funds are an option: add an amount in advance and your ads spend from it.

Facebook asks me to confirm my identity

Facebook asks for this on some accounts before they can run ads. It is a check on you, not on us. Follow its steps and upload the ID it asks for.

It can take a day. You can make your ad meanwhile and start it once Facebook is happy.

My Page and ad account belong to a business account

That is fine, and common. Connect with a Facebook account that has access to both the Page and the ad account through that business, with advertising rights.

If the list is empty, ask the business admin to add you under People in Business Settings.

Facebook showed me a list of permissions

Keep every one switched on. We need them to create your ads, read how they do and pause them. We ask for nothing else.

If you switched one off by mistake, press Connect Facebook again and allow all of them.

My ad has been “being checked” for a long time

Most ads are approved within a few hours. Some take up to a day, and longer at busy times.

Nothing is charged while it is being checked. If it is still waiting after two days, open it in Facebook to see whether it needs anything.

Facebook did not approve my ad

Open the ad in Facebook. It says which rule it broke. For property ads the usual causes are a promise of results, wording about who people are, or a photo with too much text on it.

Make a new ad with plain wording. We have already switched the refused banner off, and the others keep running.

Nobody is opening my ad

Give it two days first: a new ad is shown to a few people while Facebook learns.

Then try other banner styles and a stronger first photo, and make sure the area is not too small to find people. The Results screen tells you which banner to keep.

People open my ad but nobody enquires

The ad is doing its part. Open your property page as a buyer would: is the price clear, are the photos good, and is your WhatsApp number right?

Reply fast to every enquiry. A buyer who waits a day has usually asked someone else.

At a glance

Cost to set up	Free. You pay only for the ads you choose to run, and only after you press Start.
Time	About half an hour for the account, the Page, the ad account and a way to pay.
What you need	A Facebook account, a Facebook Page, an ad account and a way to pay Facebook.
Who pays for the ads	You, to Facebook. We take 0% commission.
If something is missing	We check when you connect, and say what is missing and how to get it.

Start free   How it works   What it costs

Questions

Can I use my personal Facebook profile for ads?

Your personal account is what you sign in with, but ads are shown as a Facebook Page. Make a Page for your business first. It is free and takes about ten minutes.

Do I need a business account or a website?

Not to start. If Facebook offers to set up a business account when you make your ad account, say yes, because it is free and keeps your Page and ad account together. The website part is done for you: every ad opens your property’s page on My Property Pages.

How much does it cost to set all this up?

Nothing. An account, a Page and an ad account are free. You pay Facebook only for the ads you choose to run, up to the daily budget and number of days you set.

What if I already have a Page or an ad account?

Use them. Connect with the Facebook account that has them, and we will list them for you to choose. Check the ad account is in a currency we support and that you are allowed to run ads on it.

What if Facebook asks me to prove who I am?

Some accounts have to confirm their identity before they can run ads. Follow Facebook’s steps. It is a check on you, it can take a day, and you can make your ad meanwhile.

Is it safe to connect Facebook to My Property Pages?

We never see your Facebook password. You choose your Page and ad account in Facebook’s own window, and you can remove our access at any time. Facebook charges your payment method directly, so we never hold your ad money.