How to Run Awareness Ads for Your Music on Meta

Awareness ads are the front door of almost every campaign I run. They put your music in front of people who have never heard of you, without asking them for anything. No click, no follow, no stream. You're just showing up and planting a seed.

If that sounds passive, it isn't. Everyone who watches your video becomes part of a custom audience, and that audience is what every later campaign gets built on: streaming ads, follower growth, mailing list signups. Skip this step and you're asking strangers for commitment on the first date.

The full setup, click by click

Below is the exact process I use, all 35 steps with screenshots and notes on the decisions that matter: why ThruPlay is the right performance goal for building a video audience, how broad to go with targeting, and which placements to switch off (Audience Network, every time).

It's a guided walkthrough, so open Meta Ads Manager in another tab and follow along. Use the Guide Me button if you want it to walk you through each step.

Before you press publish

Two things worth holding onto.

First, always know what comes next. What happens after someone watches your video? These campaigns exist to feed the next one, so keep some budget back for the follow-up ads that invite those viewers to stream, follow, or join your list. Awareness on its own is a seed with no water.

Second, go broader than feels comfortable. The bigger the audience, the better Meta can optimise and the cheaper your results get. Tight targeting feels like control, but you usually pay for that feeling.

This is the same setup I use on client campaigns, from brand-new artists through to global catalogue releases featuring IDLES, Flea, Warpaint and Everything Everything. There's no secret version I keep behind the paywall. This is it.

If you get stuck anywhere, the final step of the walkthrough has ways to reach me directly.