Meta’s Biggest Ad Update in Years: A New Era for Facebook & Instagram Campaigns
Meta (formerly Facebook) is rolling out its most significant advertising update in years, completely transforming how we structure and optimize campaigns on both Facebook and Instagram. Whether you're a small business or a large-scale brand, this update impacts how you'll build your ad strategy moving forward.
Let’s break it down.
What’s Changing: Campaign Structure Reimagined
In the past, advertisers had to choose between two approaches when running sales-focused campaigns:
- Manual Sales Campaigns
- Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns
Now, Meta has merged these options. You no longer need to choose the system automatically sets you up with the new Advantage+ Sales Campaign, combining the power of automation with the flexibility of customization.
Manual options still exist, but they’re harder to configure and less emphasized.
Back to Basics: The 3-Level Structure Returns
The Advantage+ Sales Campaigns are returning to the classic structure marketers are familiar with:
- Campaign Level
- Ad Set Level
- Ad Leve
This change gives more control over budget, audience, and placement while still leveraging Meta’s automation.
New Campaign-Level Tools: Score, Budget & Reporting
1. Campaign Score (Out of 100)
A new performance indicator that evaluates how closely your campaign aligns with Meta’s recommended settings.
- A higher score means you’re following best practices (budget structure, audience settings, placements)
- A lower score doesn’t necessarily mean failure, but it can hint at misalignment and missed opportunities.
- It’s not about getting 100 it’s about getting results.
2. Campaign Budgeting
Budget settings are now more flexible:
- Set your budget at the campaign level for better AI optimization.
- Still possible: set different budgets at the ad set level if needed.
3. Audience Segment Reporting
This feature helps distinguish your spend:
- Cold traffic (new users)
- Warm leads (engaged users)
- Existing customers (e.g. previous buyers)
This allows clear insights into who your budget is really reaching.
Ad Set Changes: Smart Targeting or Full Control?
Meta’s default: Broad, AI-Driven Targeting
By default, your ads are shown to new potential customers even if they’ve never engaged with your brand.
Manual Control: For Power Users Only
Still want to handpick your targeting? You can:
- Set hard rules for age, gender, language, and location.
- Exclude specific audiences (e.g. previous buyers).
- Create retargeting-only ad sets
Caution: Narrowing your targeting drastically reduces your campaign score and limits Meta’s optimization power.
Smart Suggestions
You can “suggest” audiences (like website visitors or lookalikes), giving Meta’s AI guidance while keeping flexibility. These suggestions won’t lower your campaign score.
Placement Strategy: Go Wide or Go Focused?
By default, Meta uses Advantage+ placement: all platforms, all devices. You can manually restrict placements, for example:
- Facebook & Instagram only
- No Audience Network or Messenger
- Stories, Reels, or Feed only
Tip:
- Conversions or Sales goals? Go broad (all placements).
- Awareness or Traffic goals? Narrow your focus for more qualified engagement.
Expansion Beyond Sales: Advantage+ Leads Campaigns
Meta is extending this structure to more objectives:
- Advantage+ Leads Campaigns work similarly to Sales campaigns, but with more need for manual inputs due to lead quality concerns.
- Want better leads over more leads? You now have more control.
What to Expect Next
These changes are being rolled out in stages, and most ad accounts will receive access within the next 5 months.
It’s a big shift and it’s here to stay.
As Meta evolves, advertisers must adapt. These updates give more flexibility, stronger automation, and a better user experience but only for those who know how to use them.
