05/08/25

Do Facebook Ads Work? How to Increase ROI with Meta

Digital advertising in 2025 isn’t just about reach — it’s about return. With Meta continuously evolving its ad platforms, the opportunity to scale your business through smart, strategic campaigns has never been better. 

Facebook ads aren’t going anywhere. In fact, they’ve never been more powerful. And mastering the best practices for Facebook ads will help you stretch your budget while driving real results. 

Maximizing Your ROI with Facebook Ads 

Meta’s ad ecosystem has evolved rapidly over the last few years, adapting to privacy shifts, automation advances and changing consumer behavior. If your paid social strategy hasn’t kept up, you might be missing out on major opportunities to grow your audience and boost your bottom line. 

Let’s talk about what’s changed, what’s working now and how to get the most out of advertising on Facebook. 

Why Facebook Ads Still Work

If you’ve heard whispers that Facebook is past its prime, think again. Despite the rise of new social platforms, Facebook continues to offer one of the most effective paths to ROI in paid social media advertising. 

That’s at least partially because what used to be “Facebook for Business” rolled up into “Meta for Business” back in 2020, so those Facebook ads reach an even larger audience (and vice versa for other Meta platforms).  

With more than 3 billion active users across Facebook and Instagram — and unified campaign management via Meta Ads Manager — Facebook remains one of the most efficient and scalable digital ad platforms available. 

But what is the most popular social media platform? It’s still Facebook — and by a lot. Facebook has the most social media users in 2025, beating out Instagram’s weekly active users by 42%. (YouTube takes second place, but that’s a different conversation about ads.)  

Meta is no longer just an ad platform; it’s a performance engine. 

Best Practices for Facebook Ads

So, how do you build Facebook campaigns that actually stand out and work? Start with these tried-and-true best practices:

1. Set Smarter Objectives

It sounds basic, but it matters: choose the right campaign goal from the jump. 

Meta’s algorithm optimizes based on the objective you select. So, if you want purchases but pick engagement, don’t be surprised if the results don’t line up. Use clear, measurable outcomes like conversions or sales and feed the platform accurate data to learn from (more on that below). 

2. Leverage Meta AI for Smarter Targeting

If you want better results faster, this is the year to let automation lead, especially in a world where privacy updates have limited access to third-party data. 

Use first-party data like email lists or website activity to build Custom Audiences. Then expand reach with Lookalikes or test Meta’s new Advantage+ Audiences, which use AI to predict who’s most likely to convert. 

3. Focus on Scroll-Stopping Creative

Great targeting gets your ad seen. Great creative gets it clicked. 

The best Facebook ads today are video-first, mobile-friendly and feel authentic. Think short-form, vertical videos with punchy messaging and fresh visuals. Show real people. Show your product in action. Speak to your audience like a human, not a billboard. 

Whether you’re running lead generation ads or promoting ecommerce sales, your creative needs to immediately resonate.  

4. Budget and Bid with Intention

Campaign Budget Optimization is still your best friend when you’re running multiple ad sets. Let the algorithm allocate spend where it’s working hardest. 

But don’t be afraid to test manual bids or minimum return on ad spend (ROAS) controls if you’re looking for more stability at scale. Especially in competitive industries, bidding strategy can be the difference between scalable growth and wasted ad spend. 

5. Track the Best Metrics for ROI

Stop chasing vanity metrics. If you’re not looking at ROAS, cost per acquisition or customer lifetime value, you might be measuring the wrong success. Clicks and impressions might be the most impressive (and biggest) numbers on your report, but they don’t mean anything without conversions to match. 

Use A/B testing to see which tweaked text, layout or calls-to-action perform best — Meta has built-in tools to help you isolate what’s moving the needle and what’s burning money. 

Remember: testing doesn’t end when your campaign launches. The best-performing brands are constantly learning, adjusting and optimizing to deliver the best results. 

Other Social Media Platforms to Consider

Facebook has fantastic ROI, if you know how to make the most of its tools. But it shouldn’t be the only place you’re placing advertising. Here are some other popular platforms to consider for your paid social media strategy: 

• Instagram: Great for visuals, shares backend with Facebook, ideal for lifestyle and product-driven brands. (This one is cheating a little, since both Facebook and Instagram are really grouped together under Meta ads.)
• TikTok: Strong for engagement and virality, weaker on targeting and conversion tracking. 
• LinkedIn: Perfect for B2B lead gen but with high CPCs and longer sales cycles. 
• Pinterest and Snapchat: Niche audience use cases, better for top-of-funnel awareness than bottom-of-funnel conversions. 

How to Increase Your ROI with Facebook Ads

Getting results with Facebook isn’t just about running ads. It’s about running the right ads, for the right audience, with the right creative and having a plan to measure and refine along the way. 

The Meta machine is powerful, but to get the most from it, you need a strategy rooted in expertise and performance. 

That’s where we come in. 

At OBI Creative, we help businesses craft high-impact campaigns that turn ad spend into real, measurable growth. Whether you’re navigating Meta Ads for the first time or looking to scale what’s already working, we’re here to guide the way. 

Let’s increase your ROI — together. Get in touch to start the conversation.