“Facebook? Who uses that today?” said a 20-year-old intern.

“Businesses,” I said.

When I worked in a marketing agency, our team was extensively invested in Facebook ads because they offered deep insights into our customers and target audiences.

Facebook seems like a thing of the past, but it gets 3.35 billion daily active users. This is why 86% of businesses use it to market their products, making it the most-used social platform for conversions.

But, like another digital marketer at the agency said, “It’s quite tough.” And it is, because you need to deal with several metrics, test multiple ads, and ensure high-quality creatives. It’s basically multitasking, and it’s worth it.

If you, too, believe that Facebook Ads is a skill that can skyrocket a business’s ROI, here are nine courses that’ll teach you how to do that.

• Why are Facebook Ads Important?
• Why Trust us and Why These Courses?
• The Best Facebook Ads Courses

The Best Facebook Ads Courses

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Why are Facebook Ads Important?

We’ve covered how beloved Facebook is. But the reason businesses use it for ads goes beyond the number of its users.

Facebook is the:

• Most used social networking site (Statista)
• Third most-visited website (similarweb)
• Trusted by 40% brands for good ROI (HubSpot)

Micro-targeting to Understand the Target Audience

Facebook Ads help you understand your audience’s demographics, interests, and triggers. Paired with the robust analytics, you can test variables that let you into the minds of your buyers and get as specific about their lives as you can.

For instance, if you sell premium yoga mats, you can adjust the age and gender, but you can also target people who are interested in other premium products such as designer clothes, accessories, and more.

Running Facebook ads helps you understand your consumer and find creative ways to get to them through micro-targeting.

Increased Exposure and Leads

Facebook Ads helps brands get noticed. In 2023, 69% of marketers said that their Facebook marketing strategy increased brand exposure, 52% said that it boosted traffic, and 43% said it generated leads.

Since it’s also the place where people come across new products the most, it performed the best in terms of sales and exposure.

High Optimisation and Analytics

Facebook lets you test ads based on customer segments. Plus, the ads get integrated with other platforms like Shopify to check analytics. With features like lookalike modeling (to find similar audiences) and split testing, it helps you get the best insights on your ads.

Because of these exceptional results, Facebook ads can be leveraged by two kinds of people:

• Small business owners who want to increase sales with Facebook Ads
• Marketers who want to help their clients get the most ROI from the platform

If you’re either, these courses (beginner and advanced) are for you!

Why Trust Us and Why These Courses?

Class Central is an online learning hub with over 250,000 online courses. We’re constantly updating our catalog with cutting-edge courses from leading platforms such as Coursera, Udemy, Skillshare, edX, and many more.

On Class Central, there’s something for everyone and everything—from playing the guitar as a hobby to becoming an entrepreneur.

For this guide, I’ve chosen courses that:

• Are suitable for different levels: Since Facebook ads have been around for a while, I’ve chosen courses for those who want to learn the basics and those who want to have advanced skills.
• Cover diverse aspects of ad creation: The courses cover ads from a creation, strategy, analysis, and research perspective.
• Have positive learner reviews: I’ve picked courses that learners have loved and left good reviews for
• Offer a certification: Knowing Facebook ads is a high-value skill, so a certification will help in proving your expertise. These courses offer you one.

Here are the best Facebook Ads courses.

Best for Advertising with Meta (Coursera)

• Level: Beginner
• Rating: 4.8 (2,626 ratings)
• Duration: 13 hours
• Cost: Free to audit

Who better to learn Facebook ads than the parent company itself? This course by Meta covers both Facebook and Instagram ads. If you’re looking for a well-structured, step-by-step approach to running ad campaigns, this is it.

It shows you how to set up Ads Manager, set KPIs, fix a budget, target your audience, and understand their social media behaviors, test your ads, measure the results, and in the end, build your own campaign. Yes, it’s a lot, but it’s well-paced.

This course can get technical (but so is running ads), and it will acquaint you with the process, so you have a system set or strategizing.

What sets it apart?

• The assignments and the project will help you grasp the concepts better
• It’s a well-structured course that will set strong foundations for ad-running
• It covers Instagram ads too!
• This course is a part of the Meta Social Media Marketing Professional Certificate, which you can take (you can also audit individual courses for free)
• The instructor, Daniel Kob, is the Senior Vice President of Portfolio Growth at RTL, Europe’s leading entertainment brand, and has been a Chief Marketing Officer for Berlin-based fintech startups

What you might not like:

This is a basic course, and learners only recommend it for beginners who don’t know how Facebook ads work

Who is it for?

Small business owners/Individuals without a background in ads or marketing

Aspiring marketers who want to learn about Meta advertising

Best Introduction to Meta Ads (YouTube)

• Level: Beginner
• Duration: 9 hours
• Cost: Paid (Membership)

One of the reasons I listed this course was the comment section! People have mentioned how amazing the creator is, and how helpful the content is. One of them even said it helped them get a job.

It’s an extensive course that aims to give you agency-level knowledge with 29 video lessons. The creator is meticulous, and he explains every concept in detail. He focuses on understanding the platform, optimizing it, and leveraging it to boost your ad revenue.

Overall, this course teaches you the A to Z of Facebook Ads, and it’s theoretical but also engaging.

What sets it apart?

• It covers the technical side of Facebook Ads (campaign settings, Pixel, and more)
• The instructor has added quizzes to the videos for revisions
• It’s a practical course with digestible videos and in-depth content
• Viewers loved the instructor’s delivery and course structure. Plus, he has 251k subscribers on YouTube

What you might not like:

It requires a channel membership, but it’s affordable.

Who is it for?

• Marketers and aspiring marketers who want to learn about Facebook ads in detail
• E-commerce business owners or small business owners who want to start Facebook marketing

Best for Facebook Ads Creation (Udemy)

• Level: Beginner
• Rating: 4.7 (2,263)
• Duration: 9 hours 20 minutes
• Cost: Paid

If you’re new to Facebook Ads Manager, you will have a lot of questions—“What kinds of ads work?”, “Is my ad impactful enough?”, “How do I create a campaign?”, and many more. This is a well-rounded course that answers them.

From explaining how Facebook Ads can help businesses to teaching how to create winning ads, this certificate course revolves around the strategy behind ad creation. You’ll find sections on marketing, copywriting, and sales psychology, too.

What sets it apart?

• It’s a comprehensive course that teaches ad creation, Facebook marketing, and strategy
• It has templates and assignments for beginners to learn well
• It also has a section to learn Ads Manager that can be tricky to navigate for newbies
• The instructors, Robin & Jesper, are top digital marketing, WordPress, and ChatGPT instructors on Udemy

What you might not like:

This course is for beginners. If you know how Facebook works, you’ll find some sections outdated.

Who is it for?

• Small business owners who want to start creating ads for Facebook
• Marketers who want to add Facebook marketing to their services

Best Certifications by Meta (Meta)

• Level: For all levels
• Duration: Varies according to the course
• Cost: Free

Meta has a treasure of courses that show you how Facebook can increase sales with ads. Here, I haven’t mentioned a particular course because you can take multiple courses according to your needs.

For example, in the Meta Certified Digital Marketing Associate, you can learn the fundamentals of advertising, while in Meta Certified Media Buying Professional,  you can learn advanced marketing, which focuses on targeting specific populations and audiences, creating data-driven strategies, and more.

These courses are highly rated tutorials that take you through every step of advertising on Facebook.

What sets it apart?

• Since it’s by Meta, it’s one of the most reliable sources of education on the app
• The courses are self-paced and concise
• You can choose from a variety of courses, from beginner to advanced
• You can also take the certification exam (paid). They have a study guide and practice test for it

What you might not like:

The courses are more of a how-to guide and they don’t have interactive elements such as quizzes, assignments, etc.

Who is it for?

• Aspiring marketers/current marketers who want to learn Facebook advertising
• Small business owners who want to do learn basic and advanced Facebook advertising

Best for Campaign Creation & Features (Udemy)

• Level: Beginner
• Rating: 4.5 (352 ratings)
• Duration: 6 hours 40 minutes
• Cost: Paid

Another beginner’s favorite (it hardly has negative reviews)! It covers the basics of profile creation and posting, and then he dives into the art, science, and commerce of ads campaigns.

It covers different kinds of campaigns such as sales, traffic, etc, and it introduces you to tools to build successful ones. It even shows you how to take care of the background tasks such as creating reports and completing the billing procedure.

The course answers crucial questions about Facebook Ads—How to create targeted ads? How to use different tools for ads? How to customize campaigns?

What sets it apart?

• It shows you how to create ads for different purposes and measure a variety of metrics
• It also covers testing, strategy and account management
• It’s wonderful for beginners, especially those who haven’t used Facebook Ads
• It has a section on using ChatGPT for running Facebook ads
• The instructor, Tanmoy Das, is a top-rated Udemy instructor and has a rich background in digital marketing, including having worked with Google

What you might not like:

Again, some sections in the course seemed too basic to other learners (but they’ve also appreciated the content).

Who is it for?

• Business owners who want to advertise on Facebook but don’t know how Ads Manager works
• Marketers who want to expand their knowledge of Facebook tools for running ads

Best for Marketing Analytics (Coursera)

• Level: Intermediate
• Rating: 4.8 (222 ratings)
• Duration: 13 hours
• Cost: Free to audit

Numbers are everything while running ad campaigns. How many viewers clicked the ‘Shop Now’ button? How many impressions did the ad get? How many people liked the ad? Every number matters because it reveals a pattern about your performance.

This course helps you understand these patterns and test different ads until you have a successful one (one that converts viewers into visitors/buyers). It’s a technical take on Meta Ads, so while the course claims it’s for beginners, I’d suggest you do your homework about Facebook ads.

What sets it apart?

• It has a section on A/B testing that’s crucial in testing ads
• It will help you analyze data and think about ads strategically
• At the end of the course, you’ll know how to make inferences for data and make recommendations based on ad performance
• Learners love the instructor, Anke, who is the CEO and Co-Founder of Aptly, an online education production company. She’s also the Adjunct Professor of Marketing at the UCLA Anderson School of Management

What you might not like:

The tests can be harder than you expect (but is that a drawback?)

Who is it for?

• Small business owners who want to create high-conversion ads on Facebook
• Marketers who want to add technical knowledge and expertise to their skills
• Aspiring Meta marketers who want to learn about Facebook ad strategies

Best Advanced Facebook Ads Course (CXL)

• Level: Advance
• Duration: 5 hours 48 minutes
• Cost: Paid

This is an advanced Facebook Ads course designed to reduce cost per acquisition, understand your target audience, and strategize winning campaigns.

It shows you how to consistently scale your business with optimisation and data analysis. The lessons on funnel optimisation and advanced targeting aim to help you make quicker and clearer strategic decisions.

The course is taught by experts who have scaled other Facebook pages, so you can count on their experience. If you want to maximise ROI with ads and create ads that convert impressions into sales, go for this course.

What sets it apart?

• The lessons are advanced and teach expert-level strategy
• It has sections on data understanding, funnel optimisation, and targeting
• It’s taught by practitioners who have scaled other businesses’ ads
• Curt Maly, the instructor, is an award-winning Facebook expert and the Co-Founder of Black Box Social Media. He works with celebrities, Shark Tank businesses, and other enterprises

What you might not like:

The course seems (a little) expensive, but it offers high value.

Who is it for?

• Aspiring marketers/marketers who want to achieve high ROI for their clients
• Marketers and small business owners who want to scale their ad revenue

Best for Instagram and Facebook Growth Marketing (Udemy)

• Level: Beginner (Intermediate-friendly)
• Rating: 4.7 (33 ratings)
• Duration: 9 hours 25 minutes
• Cost: Paid

This course includes Instagram ads, too! It helps you understand your target customers and create ads for them. Plus, it has sections on optimizing and testing ads, which is crucial for high-performing ads.

The course also introduces you to funnels—a step-by-step approach to bring customers to you. And with a section on media buying, it offers you the best of both worlds—creative and technical, to create scalable growth with Facebook Ads.

This course is filled with real-world examples of successful ad strategies that companies like Monday and ButcherBox created.

What sets it apart?

• It focuses on building successful funnels—a crucial aspect in marketing
• It covers both Instagram and Facebook ad optimization
• It also pushes you to create a customer-centric ad strategy
• The instructor, Kevin Urrutia, is the co-founder and CEO of Voy Media, a leading Facebook ads agency

What you might not like:

While the course gives you insight into the algorithms of the software, it doesn’t cover the basics, such as setting up a Facebook profile, etc.

Who is it for?

• Business owners who want to create well-targeted ads
• Marketers who want to develop a customer-centric ad strategy for Instagram and Facebook for their clients
• Aspiring marketers who want to learn about Facebook ad funnels and ad strategy

Best for Content Strategy and Organic Growth (HubSpot)

• Level: Beginner
• Duration: 1 hour 42 minutes
• Cost: Free

Want to learn marketing and ads? HubSpot will always be a trusted source. But this course isn’t just a beginner’s guide that shows you how to set up Ads Manager. It’s a content strategy course. It explains how you can leave an impact on your audience with attention-grabbing content.

This course highlights organic ways you can drive sales through Facebook Ads and other means. It talks about engaging in groups, building a proper business page, and leveraging other methods to be noticed by your audience.

What sets it apart?

• It focuses on building organic growth and reach on Facebook
• It’s compact and revolves around creating unforgettable content that leads to conversions
• Since this course is by HubSpot, you can count on it!
• Take it for the instructors—Crystal King, Senior Professor at HubSpot Academy and

Mari Smith, known as the “Queen of Facebook”

What you might not like:

It doesn’t teach you how to run ads, it focuses on creating good content (you might want to pair it with another course from this list for comprehensive learning).

Who is it for?

• Marketers who want to strategize Facebook ads better
• Business owners who want to create better ads on Facebook

As I mentioned, Facebook Ads is a high-value, premium skill, not because it requires analytical skills, but because it needs a deep understanding of the consumer. These courses will push you to study the platform and use it to grow businesses with unmatched insights.