How to Outsource Facebook Ads

Tired of pouring money into Facebook Ads with little to show for it? You're not alone. Outsourcing your ad management can transform that frustration into real, measurable growth, but finding the right person for the job feels like a huge risk. This guide walks you through the entire process, from deciding who to hire to setting them up for immediate success.

Why Even Outsource Facebook Ads?

Running Facebook ads effectively is far more than just clicking "Boost Post." It's a full-time discipline that demands a unique blend of creativity, data analysis, and technical know-how. When you decide to outsource, you’re not just buying back your time, you’re investing in specialized expertise that can save you a fortune in wasted ad spend.

Here’s what you actually gain:

• Access to Deep Expertise: A seasoned pro understands the nuances of auction dynamics, campaign budget optimization (CBO), and deciphering Ads Manager data. They know what levers to pull to improve performance because they’ve managed millions in ad spend across hundreds of accounts.
• Staying Ahead of the Curve: The Meta Ads platform is constantly changing. Algorithms shift, policies get updated, and new placements are introduced seemingly every week. A dedicated specialist lives and breathes these changes, so your strategy never becomes outdated.
• Superior Creative and Copy: Ad experts know how to craft direct-response copy that converts and strategize ad creative that stops the scroll. They often have a roster of trusted designers and video editors, giving you access to high-quality assets without you having to find them yourself.
• An Unbiased, Data-Driven Perspective: When you're too close to your own brand, it's easy to be emotional about creative and targeting choices. An outside expert operates purely on data, making unemotional decisions about what’s working and what’s not, leading to better results.

Choosing Your Partner: Freelancer vs. Agency

Once you’ve decided to outsource, your first big choice is whether to hire a freelance media buyer or a full-scale digital marketing agency. Both have their pros and cons, and the right choice depends entirely on your budget, needs, and communication style.

Working with a Freelancer

A freelancer is a solo expert (or sometimes a very small team) who personally manages your ad account. They are often highly specialized in a particular industry, like e-commerce, local businesses, or B2B lead generation.

• Pros:
  • Direct Communication: You work directly with the person managing your campaigns. There are no account managers or layers of communication to go through.
  • Lower Cost: With less overhead, freelancers typically offer more accessible pricing, making them a great fit for small businesses or those just starting with bigger budgets.
  • Niche Specialization: You can often find a freelancer who has deep experience in your specific industry, which can significantly shorten the learning curve.
• Cons:
  • Limited Bandwidth: A single person can only handle so many clients. If their roster is full, your account might not get the attention it needs to scale aggressively.
  • Single Point of Failure: If your freelancer gets sick, goes on vacation, or moves on, your ad campaigns come to a standing halt.
  • Fewer Resources: They may not have in-house designers, copywriters, or a large team to brainstorm with, meaning some of that work may fall back on you.

Partnering with an Agency

An agency provides a full team of specialists. When you hire an agency, you’re hiring not just an ad manager but often a strategist, a copywriter, a graphic designer, and an analyst.

• Pros:
  • A Full Team of Experts: You get the combined brainpower of multiple specialists working on your account, leading to more robust strategies and higher-quality ad creative.
  • Robust Systems and Processes: Agencies have established workflows for onboarding, reporting, and communication, making the entire process smoother and more professional.
  • Scalability: Agencies are built to handle large ad spends and can scale your campaigns without hitting the bandwidth limitations a freelancer might face.
• Cons:
  • Higher Cost: All those resources come at a price. Agency retainers are significantly higher, often starting at several thousand dollars per month plus a percentage of ad spend.
  • Less Personal Contact: You'll likely communicate with an account manager who acts as a go-between, rather than speaking directly to the person building your campaigns in Ads Manager.
  • Slower to Pivot: With more internal processes and people involved, agencies can sometimes be slower to react and make quick strategic changes compared to a nimble freelancer.

The bottom line: If your budget is under $5,000/month in ad spend and you value direct communication, start with a freelancer. If you have a budget over $10,000/month and need a comprehensive team to handle everything from strategy to creative, an agency is likely the better fit.

The Vetting Process: How to Hire Someone Who Gets Results

Finding a great Facebook Ads manager is tough because the barrier to entry is low. Anyone can call themselves an "ad expert." Your job is to separate the professionals from the pretenders by asking the right questions and looking for the right evidence.

Go Beyond the Portfolio

Don't be swayed by a slick website or a portfolio full of pretty pictures. What you need to see are results. A true professional won't hesitate to share concrete examples of their performance.

Ask for case studies that include:

• The Client's Industry: Look for experience with businesses similar to yours.
• The Business Goal: Was it lead generation, e-commerce sales, app installs?
• The Starting Point: What were the metrics before they took over?
• The Strategy: What did they do? Did they restructure campaigns, test new audiences, launch new creative?
• The Results: Look for hard numbers like Return on Ad Spend (ROAS), Cost Per Acquisition (CPA), or Cost Per Lead (CPL). Screenshots from Ads Manager are even better.

Key Questions to Ask Every Potential Hire

During your interview, move past surface-level questions and dig into their process. Their answers will reveal their depth of knowledge and approach to ad management.

• "Can you walk me through your process for onboarding a new client?" (Their answer should include a discovery phase, gaining account access, and a strategy session.)
• "How do you approach campaign testing for a new account?" (They should talk about testing audiences, creative, and copy methodically.)
• "What is your communication and reporting style?" (Look for defined schedules, like a weekly summary email or a monthly performance call and a clear, easy-to-understand dashboard.)
• "Have you ever run a campaign that failed? What did you learn from it?" (This shows humility and their ability to learn. Anyone who says they’ve never had a failed campaign is not being truthful.)
• "Are you a Meta Business Partner?" (This isn't a deal-breaker, but it shows a level of legitimacy and dedication to the platform.)

Red Flags to Watch Out For

It's just as important to know what to avoid. Steer clear of any candidate who:

• Guarantees results. "We guarantee a 10x ROAS" is the biggest red flag in the industry. Advertising has too many variables for anyone to make such a promise.
• Gives vague strategy answers. If they can't explain their thought process, they probably don't have one. They should be able to articulate *why* they would target a certain audience or choose a specific campaign objective.
• Focuses on vanity metrics. Be wary of anyone who talks mostly about "reach," "impressions," or "likes." While these have their place, your conversation should be about business metrics that impact your bottom line - sales and leads.
• Doesn't ask you thoughtful questions. A great ads manager will be just as interested in your business as you are in their skills. They should ask about your profit margins, customer lifetime value, and target audience.

Setting Your Partnership Up for Success

The work doesn't stop after you've made a hire. A successful partnership depends on a smooth onboarding process where you provide the expert with everything they need to win.

1. Grant Access Securely

Never, ever share your personal Facebook login details. The only professional way to grant access is through Meta Business Manager (now called Meta Business Suite). You should add their business as a "Partner" to your Business Manager and grant them access to your Ad Account, Facebook Page, Pixel, and Catalog (if you have one). This keeps your personal profile secure and gives them the access they need.

2. Provide a Comprehensive Brief

The new hire isn't a mind reader. The more information you can provide upfront, the quicker they can get results. Your creative brief should include:

• Brand Guidelines: Your logos, color schemes, font style, and overall voice/tone.
• Target Audience Personas: Who are you trying to reach? What are their pain points, desires, and interests?
• List of Past Offers and Ads: Show them what has worked and what has bombed in the past. This historical data is gold.
• Unique Selling Proposition (USP): What makes your product or service different from the competition?
• Any Available Creative Assets: Give them access to a folder of product photos, lifestyle images, and video clips so they can hit the ground running.

3. Align on Goals and KPIs

Before they launch a single campaign, make sure you both agree on what success looks like. Is your primary objective to generate leads? Drive online sales? Increase app downloads?

Establish the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) you will track. For an e-commerce store, your goal might be a 4x ROAS. For a service business, it might be a CPL below $50. Setting these clear, quantifiable goals from day one eliminates any confusion down the line.

Final Thoughts

Outsourcing your Facebook Ads is a strategic investment in expertise that lets you step away from the complexities of Ads Manager and focus on your core business. Success comes from vetting carefully, aligning on clear business goals, and treating your freelancer or agency as a genuine partner in your growth.

While your new ad expert is busy driving targeted traffic, a cohesive organic social presence is essential for building trust and community. That's why we created Postbase. We designed it for today's social reality, making it incredibly simple to plan, schedule, and analyze your organic content - especially on video-first platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok - all from one clean, visual calendar. It's the perfect complement to your paid strategy, ensuring your entire brand message is consistent and effective.