Start advertising · Step 2 of 3 · Meta

Set up Meta to advertise.

Before an ad can run on Facebook or Instagram, Meta wants a few things from you. Four short lists. Most items take minutes. Two of them may wait on Meta.

Updated September 2026 · Sources checked

Do the boring part first.

Most people start with the ad, then open Ads Manager and find a queue of forms in the way. Some take a minute. Some wait on a text message or a review. Clear them first, in one sitting, so that when the first ad is ready nothing stands between it and its day of review.1 The store and the profiles come before any of this, in Step 1.

A desk seen from above: a laptop open on a settings page, a phone lit with a notification, a bank card face down, a closed passport, and a notebook with a handwritten list of ticked boxes under a woman’s hands.

The accounts.

It starts with a personal Facebook account, because everything else hangs off it. Signing up gives you an ad account by default. Then a Facebook Page for the business, which every advertiser needs before they can advertise.2,3

A business portfolio is the folder that holds the Page, the Instagram account and the ad account together. Shopify’s Facebook and Instagram app needs one that owns your Page. If you want ads to run from Instagram too, put the professional account in the same portfolio and connect it to the Page.4,5,6

Meta · 1 of 4
  • A personal Facebook account It comes with an ad account.2 Required
  • A Facebook Page for the business “Every advertiser will need to have a Facebook Page created before they can advertise.”3 Required
  • A business portfolio Your public business name, your name, a business email you confirm.4,5 Required for Shopify
  • Instagram connected to the Page A professional account, in the same portfolio.6 Optional

The money.

Open the ad account settings and check two things before the first campaign: the currency and the time zone. The default time zone is Pacific. Change either one later and Meta closes the ad account and opens a new one.7,8

Then a payment method. The one you pick decides how you are billed from then on. A card or PayPal puts you on automatic billing, where Meta charges you each time you reach a threshold that starts small and grows as you pay on time. You get one ad account until your first payment has cleared.9,10,2

Meta · 2 of 4
  • Currency and time zone checked Default time zone is Pacific. Changing either closes the account.7,8 Required
  • A payment method Card or PayPal means automatic billing at a small, rising threshold.9,10 Required
  • One ad account, for now More are allowed after the first payment clears.2 Meta’s rule

The proof.

Two things Meta may ask for, so have them ready. A phone number it can confirm by text, call or WhatsApp, with a code that lasts 30 minutes. And two-factor authentication on the personal account. Meta says it may be required to publish ads, and that if it is off Meta may pull your advertising access or your payment method. Turn it on now.11,12

Business verification is different. It asks for a registered legal name, an address and a document, and a decision can take up to 14 business days. But it is only for businesses Meta asks. Open Security Center: it says either Start verification or Ineligible for verification. If it says ineligible, you are done.13

Meta · 3 of 4
  • Phone number confirmed By text, call or WhatsApp. The code lasts 30 minutes.11 If asked
  • Two-factor authentication On the personal account. Meta may require it to publish.12 If asked
  • Business verification Only if Security Center says Start verification. Up to 14 business days.13 If asked

The pixel.

The pixel is a piece of code on your store that tells Meta when someone viewed a product, added it to the cart or bought. You create it in Events Manager and let Shopify install it, along with the Conversions API that Meta recommends beside it. Set the app’s data sharing to Enhanced or Maximum. Verifying your domain is free, optional, and one of three small steps.5,14,15

Meta · 4 of 4
  • Pixel and Conversions API Created in Events Manager, installed by the Shopify app.5,14 Required to measure
  • Data sharing on Enhanced or Maximum In the Shopify app’s settings.5 Required to measure
  • Domain verification A meta tag, an HTML file or a DNS record. Free.15 Optional

Two things you cannot undo.

Nearly everything above can be fixed later. Two things cannot, and both are settings you click through in the first ten minutes. Decide your selling currency, the time zone your reports should use, and how you want to be billed. Then set them once.7,8,9

Pacific Meta’s default time zone for a new ad account. Changing it, or the currency, closes the account and opens a new one.7,8
1st payment The method you use for the first ad decides whether you are on automatic billing or available funds from then on.9

Then a day of waiting.

When the lists are cleared and the first ad is in, it does not run yet. Meta reviews every new ad and says most are done within 24 hours. The review opens the page behind the ad, and refuses a destination that does not work or traps the visitor. Change the creative or the targeting later and the ad goes back into review.1,16

A new account also starts on a short leash. Meta says a new account may not have every advertising feature yet, and may cap what it can spend in a day until the account has a history. None of this is a problem if you expect it. It is only a problem if you have told someone the ad goes live today.3,4

The waits
  1. Every ad Ad review Most ads within 24 hours. The landing page is part of it.1
  2. Every change Review again New creative or new targeting sends an ad back into review.1
  3. If asked Business verification Up to 14 business days for a decision.13

While the review runs, make the ads.

The first ad set wants three to five ads, each clearly different from the others. InstantClips makes them from the page Meta is about to review. Paste your product page, read the plan it writes, and the vertical video is generated from that plan. Ask for the next angle and you get a different ad. The first video is free. See how to make the ads, step by step, the example library, or what it costs.

Your product page is enough to start.

Two stores, and the ads made from their product pages.

borcomni.com
The Borcomni listing photo: the blue electric facial brush with a gold base.
The product page
Feature demo 15s Made from borcomni.com’s product page.
ilaylit.com
The Ilay Lit listing photo: the batik cotton-jersey sweatshirt worn with matching shorts.
The product page
Fit check 15s Made from ilaylit.com’s product page.

Your first video ad is free.

Paste a product link, or upload photos. The first video is free, and there is no card to enter.

Upload photos in the app

Sources 16
  1. 1 Meta Business Help Center, “About ads in review”: “Most ads are reviewed within 24 hours, although in some cases it may take longer”; the review may include the “Ad destination (where an ad directs people, such as a Facebook page or website)”; changes to targeting or creative “will trigger a new review process”. Meta Business Help Center
  2. 2 Meta Business Help Center, “How to create an ad account in Meta Ads Manager”: “When you sign up for Facebook, you’re given an ad account by default”; before advertising, “Make sure you have a Facebook Page” and “Set up a valid payment method”; “All advertisers are limited to one ad account ID until they make a confirmed payment.” Meta Business Help Center
  3. 3 Meta Business Help Center, “About advertising restrictions”: “Every advertiser will need to have a Facebook Page created before they can advertise”; restrictions “may include: Limits on the amount an advertiser can spend per day or a lower payment threshold”; listed causes include “high rates of failed payments” and an advertiser who “doesn’t meet our two-factor authentication requirements”. Meta Business Help Center
  4. 4 Meta Business Help Center, “Create a business portfolio in Meta Business Suite”: the name “should match the public name of your business”; “you need to enter your first and last name and your business email”, which you then confirm; “when you create a new business portfolio or ad account, you may not have access to all advertising features”; “You can personally create up to 2 business portfolios.” Meta Business Help Center
  5. 5 Meta Business Help Center, “Connect Shopify to Facebook and Instagram”: you need “A Shopify online store that is not password protected”, “A Facebook Page for your business” and “A Meta business portfolio that owns your business’s Facebook page”; the app lets you “Enable Meta Pixel and Conversions API for reliable data sharing”, with data sharing set to “Enhanced or Maximum”. Meta Business Help Center
  6. 6 Meta Business Help Center, “Connect or disconnect your professional Instagram account and a Facebook Page”: you need “A professional Instagram account”, “Full control of a Facebook Page” and “A professional Instagram account in the same business portfolio as the Page you want to connect to”. Meta Business Help Center
  7. 7 Meta Business Help Center, “How to change the time zone for your ad account in Meta Ads Manager”: “The default time zone for new ad accounts is Pacific Standard Time (PST)”; “When you change your time zone, this closes the existing ad account and ads created with the closed account will stop running. You can’t reactivate this account.” Meta Business Help Center
  8. 8 Meta Business Help Center, “Change the currency you use for Meta ads”: “By choosing a new currency and time zone, you’ve created a new ad account”; “For some countries (like Brazil, India and Poland), your ad account’s business country and currency must match.” Meta Business Help Center
  9. 9 Meta Business Help Center, “Accepted payment options for Meta ads”: cards (“American Express, Discover, Mastercard, Visa, JCB”), PayPal, direct debit and local manual methods; “The payment method you choose when creating your first ad determines your payment setting”: PayPal or a card sets up “automatic payments”, and “All other initial payment methods … will set up your ad account for available funds.” Meta Business Help Center
  10. 10 Meta Business Help Center, “About payment thresholds for Meta ads”: “When you first start advertising … your payment threshold is automatically set to a small amount. As you make successful payments … The payment threshold may be raised”; its worked example is a threshold of 25 dollars. Meta Business Help Center
  11. 11 Meta Business Help Center, “How do I verify my phone number as a new Meta advertiser?”: phone verification “may be required before publishing ads”, by “text message (SMS), phone call, or WhatsApp”; “Confirmation codes expire after 30 minutes.” Meta Business Help Center
  12. 12 Meta Business Help Center, “About two-factor authentication for your business portfolio”: “advertisers may be required to complete two-factor authentication in order to publish ads”; if it is off, “Meta may restrict or remove people’s access to advertising … or remove a payment method”; “People must set up two-factor authentication using their personal Facebook account.” For portfolios under 90 days old it “is optional”. Meta Business Help Center
  13. 13 Meta Business Help Center, “About business verification in Meta Business Suite” and “How to verify your business”: “Not all businesses need to or have the option to complete verification”; in Security Center “You’ll see either Start verification or Ineligible for verification”; it asks for “the legal business name, address, phone number and website”, a site that “is HTTPS compliant”, and possibly “a business license or articles of incorporation”; “A decision on your verification submission may take up to 14 business days.” Meta Business Help Center
  14. 14 Meta Business Help Center, “Set up and install the Meta Pixel”: “Create your pixel in Events Manager and set up the base code on your website. You can use a partner integration, if available”; “we also recommend using the Conversions API”; “Before you can set up and install your Meta Pixel: You need a business website or app.” Meta Business Help Center
  15. 15 Meta Business Help Center, “About domain verification in Meta Business Suite”: “It’s free to verify your domains. There are 3 domain verification methods”: a meta tag on the home page, an HTML file upload, or a DNS TXT entry; it “allows you to manage editing permissions over your links and content”. Meta Business Help Center
  16. 16 Meta for Business, “Resolve your ad rejection and get tips for successful campaigns”, under “Non-functional landing page”: “Ads must not direct people to non-functional destinations. This includes landing page content that interferes with a person’s ability to navigate away from the Page.” Meta for Business