New brand, new Pixel on Meta Ads — where do I start?
Hey guys, I was out of dropshipping for a few years for personal reasons. I lost some family members and fell into a deep depression. I'm doing better now and decided to come back, this time trying to advertise internationally to the UK.
I have some doubts about how to properly warm up my Pixel to find real buyers. I launched my first ad on day 1 straight to the Purchase event with Advantage+ Shopping (ADVTG) turned on. It spent £21, hit a CTR of 18%, CPM of £14, and View Content at £0.80. There were no Add to Cart or any other events. At first I thought it was going really well, but when I checked the placements, I saw Meta was delivering to some very questionable places.
More than half of the budget went to Audience Network (Native, Banner, and incentivized Video in-app). That made me think people were clicking by accident inside apps or just watching the ad because they’d get some reward in the app.
So I created a new ad, removed Audience Network and everything else, and kept only the main placements: Facebook Feed + Instagram Feed & Reels. I also narrowed the age range (removed 65+). As soon as I launched it, my costs exploded. After 2 days and £64 spent, my CPM jumped to £59 (on Facebook Feed & Reels it even reached £178!), CTR dropped to 1.4%, and cost per View Content went up to £3.20. Still zero Add to Carts.
My niche is women’s fashion. I’m starting with good-quality cardigans priced between £90–130.
What should I actually do?
My Pixel is brand new (less than 4 days old). Since I’m coming back now and have never advertised in the UK before, I don’t know the best way to proceed.
Should I build a proper funnel first (View Content → Add to Cart → Initiate Checkout, etc.) and only then go for Purchase? Or keep going straight to Purchase? Should I still use Advantage+ Shopping (ADVTG)? Is my product price too high for the UK market?
Please, I really need help.