Button-by-button walkthrough for launching your first recruiting and annuity campaigns
Merritt Financial · Prescott, AZ · Nationwide
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Section One
Meta Ads Manager (Facebook + Instagram)
Meta Ads Manager is where you create, manage, and optimize ads that run on both Facebook and Instagram simultaneously. This section walks you through every screen.
1
Access Meta Ads Manager
Go to adsmanager.facebook.com (or click Ads Manager from your Facebook menu)
Make sure you're in the correct ad account (check the dropdown at the top left — it should say "Merritt Financial — Recruiting" or "Merritt Financial — Annuity Leads" depending on which campaign you're building)
You'll see 3 tabs at the top: Campaigns, Ad Sets, Ads — this is the 3-tier structure of every Meta ad
ℹ️ The 3-tier structure: Campaign (your objective/goal) → Ad Set (your audience, budget, placements) → Ad (your creative/video, copy, CTA). You configure each level separately.
2
Create a New Campaign
Click the green "+ Create" button
A popup appears asking for your campaign objective. You'll see 6 options: Awareness, Traffic, Engagement, Leads, App Promotion, Sales
For recruiting: Select "Leads" (if using lead forms) or "Engagement" → Messages (if driving to DMs)
For annuity clients: Select "Leads" (recommended for collecting contact info)
Name your campaign clearly: "Recruiting — Military Veterans — Apr 2026" or "Annuity — TSP Rollover — Apr 2026"
⚠️ SPECIAL AD CATEGORY: Before continuing, you MUST toggle on Special Ad Categories. For recruiting ads, select "Employment." For annuity/financial ads, select "Credit" or "Housing/Financial Products." This is legally required and cannot be skipped. It will limit some targeting options — that's normal.
Leave Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO) toggled ON for now — this lets Meta distribute your budget to the best-performing ad sets automatically
Set your daily budget: $33/day (minimum recommended)
Click "Next" to move to the Ad Set level
3
Configure Your Ad Set (Audience & Placements)
This is where you define WHO sees your ad and WHERE it appears.
Conversion Location:
If you selected "Leads" objective: choose "Instant Forms" (Meta collects info inside the app) or "Website" (sends to your GHL landing page)
If you selected Messages: choose "Messaging Apps" → Instagram Direct
Audience:
Location: United States (nationwide). Type "United States" and select it.
Age: For recruiting: 21–45. For annuity: 45–65+. Note: Special Ad Category may limit your age range options — set it as close as possible.
Detailed Targeting (Interests): Click "Browse" or search for interests.
For Recruiting Ads
For Annuity Ads
Military, Veterans, Entrepreneurship, Financial freedom, Side hustles, Aviation, Pilots
Retirement planning, 401k, TSP, Financial planning, Military veterans, Social Security, IRA
Audience size: Aim for 500,000 to 2+ million people. Too narrow (under 100K) and Meta's algorithm can't optimize. Too broad and you waste budget. The sweet spot is letting Meta have room to find your people.
Placements:
Select "Advantage+ Placements" (recommended). This lets Meta automatically show your ad on Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, and more — wherever it performs best.
Alternatively, if you want to control placements, click "Manual Placements" and select: Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels. These 4 perform best for lead generation.
Budget & Schedule:
If you used CBO at the campaign level, budget is already set. If not, set $33/day minimum here.
Start date: Today
End date: "Run continuously" (no end date). You'll manually turn it off when needed.
Click "Next" to move to the Ad level
4
Create Your Ad (The Creative)
This is where you upload your video and write your ad copy.
Identity: Select your Facebook Page and Instagram Account. Make sure you select the RIGHT ones (recruiting page for recruiting ads, annuity page for annuity ads).
Ad Format: Select "Single Image or Video"
Media: Click "Add Media" → "Add Video" → Upload the ad video you filmed from your phone
💡 Video specs: Vertical format (9:16) is best for Stories/Reels. Square (1:1) works for Feed. Upload the highest quality version. MP4 format. Keep under 60–90 seconds.
Primary Text (the main ad copy that appears above your video):
For Recruiting
For Annuity
"If you're a military veteran looking for a career with real income potential — not another 9-to-5 with a ceiling — I want to talk to you. DM me MISSION for a free 10-minute breakdown."
"If you're a veteran with money in your TSP that you haven't reviewed since separation, you need to see this. DM me PROTECT for a free analysis."
Headline: Keep it short. Examples: "Build a 6-Figure Career" or "Protect Your TSP Savings"
Description: Optional. Example: "Free consultation — no obligation"
Call to Action button: Select "Send Message" (if driving to DMs) or "Learn More" (if driving to landing page)
Destination URL: If using "Learn More" — paste your GHL landing page URL
5
Review & Publish
Click "Publish" in the bottom right
Meta will review your ad — this typically takes 15 minutes to 24 hours
You'll get a notification when it's approved (or if it's rejected with a reason)
Once approved, your ad starts running immediately
Do NOT touch anything for the first 48–72 hours. Meta's algorithm needs this time to learn who responds to your ad. This is called the "learning phase." Making changes during this period resets the learning and wastes money.
⚠️ Resist the urge to change anything during the first 3 days. No budget changes, no audience tweaks, no swapping creative. Let the algorithm learn.
Reading Your Results
How to Read the Ads Manager Dashboard
After 48–72 hours, check your results. Here's what each metric means:
Metric
What It Means
What Good Looks Like
Reach
How many unique people saw your ad
Growing daily
Impressions
Total number of times your ad was shown (includes repeat views)
2–3x your reach
CPM
Cost per 1,000 impressions
$10–$30 for financial
CTR
Click-through rate — % of people who clicked/messaged
Above 1% is good
CPC
Cost per click
Under $3
Cost Per Lead
How much you paid per DM or form submission
$6–$10 (recruiting), $8–$20 (annuity)
Results
Total number of leads/messages generated
Growing with spend
Duplicating Campaigns
How to Create a Second Campaign for a Different Audience
In Ads Manager, check the box next to your existing campaign
Click "Duplicate" at the top toolbar
Choose "1 copy" → click Duplicate
Open the duplicated campaign and rename it (e.g., change "Military" to "Aviation")
Go into the Ad Set level and change the targeting/interests
Optionally upload a different video at the Ad level
Publish the duplicate
💡 This is how you create your Aviation campaign from your Military campaign without rebuilding from scratch. Duplicate, rename, swap targeting, publish.
Optimization
How to Kill Bad Ads & Scale Winners
Killing underperformers:
After 5–7 days, review Cost Per Lead for each ad
If an ad has spent 2–3x your target CPL with zero results — turn it off
Toggle the ad off by clicking the green/blue toggle next to it in Ads Manager
Don't delete it — just turn it off so you can reference it later
Scaling winners:
If an ad is producing leads at or below your target CPL consistently for 7+ days — it's a winner
Increase the budget by 20% every 48 hours (not all at once)
If performance drops after a budget increase, pull back to the previous level and let it stabilize
⚠️ Never double or triple your budget overnight. Meta's algorithm freaks out and resets the learning phase. Always scale gradually — 20% max every 48 hours.
Section Two
TikTok Ads Manager
TikTok uses a similar 3-tier structure (Campaign → Ad Group → Ad) but has a key advantage: income-based targeting for financial services, which Meta restricts.
1
Access TikTok Ads Manager
Go to ads.tiktok.com
If you already created your account (from the Dual Account SOP), log in
If not, click "Create Now" and sign up with your business email
Enter your business details: Name (Merritt Financial), Industry (Financial Services), website URL, phone number
Set up billing (credit card or debit card)
Select "Custom Mode" when prompted (not Simplified — Custom gives you more control)
⚠️ TikTok requires business verification for financial services ads. Submit your state insurance license and business documentation if prompted. This takes 2–5 business days. Start this process ASAP so you're not delayed when you're ready to launch.
2
Install the TikTok Pixel
The Pixel tracks what happens after someone clicks your ad. Without it, TikTok can't optimize your campaigns.
In Ads Manager, go to Assets → Events → Web Events
Click "Set Up Web Events" → select "TikTok Pixel"
Choose your installation method: Manual or Partner Integration
If using GHL: Copy the pixel code and paste it into your GHL landing page's Settings → Tracking Code → Header
Install the TikTok Pixel Helper Chrome extension to verify it's firing correctly
Set up conversion events: Lead Submission or Form Completion on your calendar booking page
3
Create Your Campaign
Click "Campaign" in the top navigation → click "Create"
Select Custom Mode
Choose your objective: "Lead Generation" (to collect contact info) or "Website Conversions" (to send to your GHL landing page)
Name your campaign: "Recruiting — Military — TikTok — Apr 2026"
Leave Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO) OFF for your first campaign — set budget at the ad group level so you have more control
Click "Continue"
4
Configure Your Ad Group (Audience & Budget)
This is TikTok's equivalent of Meta's Ad Set. Here's where targeting gets exciting.
Placement:
Select "TikTok" only (uncheck Pangle and other partner apps for now)
Targeting (The TikTok Advantage):
Location: United States
Age: For recruiting: 21–45. For annuity: 50–65+
Gender: All (unless you have data showing one performs better)
Household Income: This is TikTok's superpower — Meta CAN'T do this. For annuity ads: select Top 10–25% of household income. This filters out people who can't afford your services.
Interests: Search and add: Military, Veterans, Retirement, Financial planning, Entrepreneurship, Aviation (depending on campaign)
ℹ️ TikTok's income targeting is the #1 reason to run ads here in addition to Meta. You can literally target 55+ year-olds in the top 10% of household income nationwide. That's your ideal annuity prospect, and Meta won't let you do it.
Budget & Bidding:
Daily budget: $20–$30/day to start (TikTok minimum is $20/day per ad group)
Bidding: Select "Lowest Cost" (let TikTok optimize for you)
Schedule: Start today, no end date
Click "Next"
5
Create Your Ad (Creative & Copy)
Identity: Select your TikTok account (recruiting or annuity, depending on campaign)
Ad Format: Single Video
Upload: Click "Upload" and add your video. Must be vertical (9:16), MP4, and ideally 30–60 seconds
Ad Text: Keep it very short (TikTok truncates after ~48 characters). Examples:
For Recruiting
For Annuity
"Veterans: build a 6-figure career. DM MISSION"
"TSP sitting in the G Fund? DM PROTECT"
Display Name: Your name or "Merritt Financial" (max 20 characters)
CTA Button: Select "Learn More" or "Contact Us"
Destination URL: Your GHL landing page or Linktree
Click "Submit"
💡 TikTok ads look best when they feel native — like organic content, not a polished commercial. Raw, iPhone-filmed, talking-head videos outperform studio-quality production on this platform.
6
Review & Launch
TikTok reviews your ad — typically takes 24 hours
You'll get a notification when approved
Learning phase: TikTok needs 48–72 hours and approximately 50 conversion events to optimize. Don't make changes during this period.
After the learning phase, check your results in the Ads Manager dashboard
Reading TikTok Results
Key Metrics in TikTok Ads Manager
Metric
What It Means
What Good Looks Like
Impressions
How many times your ad was shown
Growing daily
CTR
Click-through rate
Above 1% (top performers hit 1.5%+)
CPC
Cost per click
Under $1 (TikTok average is ~$0.99)
CPM
Cost per 1,000 impressions
$4–$9 (lower than Meta)
Cost Per Lead
What you pay per form submission or click
$5–$15
Conversion Rate
% of clickers who submitted a form
Above 5%
Section Three
Troubleshooting & Common Issues
When things go wrong — and they will — here's how to fix them fast.
Ad Rejected?
Why Ads Get Rejected & How to Fix
Meta Rejections:
Missing Special Ad Category: You forgot to toggle on Employment or Financial Products. Edit the campaign, add the category, resubmit.
Income/earnings claims: "Make $10K/month" can get flagged. Reword to "income potential" or "our agents have earned." Use proof, not promises.
Before/after claims: Transformation language can trigger rejection. Focus on education and opportunity rather than guaranteed outcomes.
Landing page mismatch: Your ad promises something your landing page doesn't deliver. Make sure they match.
How to appeal: Go to Account Quality (business.facebook.com/accountquality) → find the rejected ad → click "Request Review"
TikTok Rejections:
Business not verified: Submit your insurance license and business docs. Wait 2–5 business days.
Guaranteed returns language: Never say "guaranteed returns" for financial products. Say "guaranteed income benefit" (which is backed by the insurance carrier).
Missing disclaimers: Financial ads may require small-print disclaimers. Add them to your video or ad text.
Account Restricted?
What to Do If Your Ad Account Gets Restricted
Don't panic. This happens frequently with financial services ads. It's usually automated.
Meta: Go to business.facebook.com/accountquality → check the reason → submit an appeal with your insurance license and explanation that you're a licensed financial professional.
TikTok: Contact TikTok Ads support through the Ads Manager → Help Center → Contact Us. Submit your business verification docs.
Prevention: Always use Special Ad Categories. Never make guaranteed income claims. Keep your landing pages compliant. Don't create multiple ad accounts to bypass restrictions.
No Leads Coming In?
Diagnostic Checklist
Check if the ad is actually running: Go to Ads Manager → is the status "Active" or "In Review" or "Rejected"?
Check your budget: Did your payment method get declined? Check billing.
Check your audience size: If it's under 100K people, it's too narrow. Broaden your targeting.
Check your Pixel: Is it installed correctly? Use Meta Pixel Helper or TikTok Pixel Helper Chrome extension to verify.
Check your creative: Is the video compelling? Does it have a strong hook in the first 3 seconds? Does it look professional?
Check your landing page: Is the page loading? Is the calendar working? Test it yourself by clicking through the entire funnel.
Wait longer: If it's been less than 48 hours, the algorithm is still learning. Give it time.
High Cost Per Lead?
How to Lower Your CPL
Test new creatives: The #1 lever for lowering CPL is a better video. Film 2–3 new variations with different hooks and proof points.
Tighten your copy: Make the ad text more specific to your audience. "Veterans" performs better than "people looking for income."
Check your CTA: "Send Message" often produces cheaper leads than "Learn More" because there's less friction.
Try different audiences: Duplicate your campaign and test a different interest group.
Check time of day: Financial ads often perform better during business hours and weekday evenings. Avoid heavy weekend spend if results are poor.
Platform comparison: If Meta CPL is high, try the same creative on TikTok (or vice versa). One platform may be significantly cheaper for your specific audience.
Quick Reference
Cheat Sheet: Meta vs. TikTok
Side-by-Side Comparison
Meta vs. TikTok at a Glance
Feature
Meta (FB + IG)
TikTok
Where to access
adsmanager.facebook.com
ads.tiktok.com
Structure
Campaign → Ad Set → Ad
Campaign → Ad Group → Ad
Best objective
Leads or Messages
Lead Gen or Website Conversions
Min daily budget
$1/day (but $33+ recommended)
$20/day per ad group
Income targeting
NOT available (Special Ad Category blocks it)
AVAILABLE — top 10–25% household income
Age targeting
Limited by Special Ad Category
Full control (25–65+)
Avg CPM
$10–$30
$4–$9
Avg CPC
$1–$3
$0.17–$1.00
Learning phase
48–72 hours
48–72 hours or 50 conversions
Scaling rule
20% every 48 hours
20–35% every 1–2 days
Ad review time
15 min – 24 hours
~24 hours
Best for
Broader reach, older demographics
Lower CPM, income targeting, younger + pre-retiree mix
Verification needed?
Special Ad Category toggle
Business verification (2–5 days)
💡 Run BOTH platforms simultaneously. Record one vertical video, upload it to Meta AND TikTok. One 30-minute filming session gives you 6+ ads across both platforms. Let the data tell you which platform performs better for your specific audience, then scale accordingly.