# Create and launch a paid ad

Prepare a paid ad from campaign content, choose its destination, creative, form, audience and budget, then review and confirm the launch.

Canonical: https://docs.lead-knight.com/en/paid-ads/create-paid-ad/


## What this is for

Use a campaign post or an idea's posts as the source for advertising. The editor prepares the platform-specific ad and keeps the paid results connected to your campaign. Saving the setup is separate from approving its spend.

## Before you start

- [Connect an ad account](https://docs.lead-knight.com/en/paid-ads/connect-ad-account/) that you own or are permitted to use. A connection must be usable, and the platform must be available for your workspace.
- Have source content with suitable text and media. If an AI campaign is still writing its posts, the editor can defer text and media requirements until generation finishes; inspect the finished ads before publishing.
- For a LeadKnight-page destination, have a published page. For a website destination, know the full `https://` address. For WhatsApp or calls, know the business number including `+` and its country code.
- For lead forms, review your privacy policy and decide which questions and permissions you need.
- Know the account's currency, available budget and who approves spending. A shared account may require its owner's approval. Operations-fee, billing-card or sponsor requirements may also apply.

If paid-ad choices are absent, the feature is not enabled for your workspace yet. Do not assume a regular publishing connection enables advertising.

## 1. Open the paid-ad editor

1. Open the campaign and find the source post. Open its actions menu and choose **Promote with a paid ad**. For an idea or folder, the corresponding action is **Promote**.
2. Alternatively, while composing content, select a paid-account tile under **Also run it as a paid ad** and complete **Set up ad**. This embedded setup is draft-only: finish with **I'm done**, then use **Review and launch** after the post and paid setup have been saved.
3. The dialog opens with **Step by step** or **Quick plan**. Step by step separates **Platforms**, **Goal**, **Ad**, **Lead form** when relevant, **Audience**, **Budget** and **Review**. Quick plan opens the same settings through the highlighted parts of one sentence.
4. Choose **Save draft** whenever you want an explicit saved draft. **Draft saved** confirms that save. It does not start the ad or authorize a charge.

## 2. Choose platforms and accounts

1. In **Platforms**, choose one or more available platforms.
2. Choose the **Ad account** for each selected platform. If none is connected, use **Connect** and complete the connection flow.
3. Read any account error or unavailable message before continuing. Choose **Continue** after an account is selected.

The editor contains choices for **Facebook & Instagram**, **Google**, **TikTok**, **LinkedIn**, **Pinterest**, **X**, **ChatGPT** and **Reddit**, but availability is workspace-dependent. Already launched platforms are locked here; changes apply only to platforms that are not running yet.

## 3. Choose what people should do

| Choice in Goal | Details to supply | What to check before continuing |
|---|---|---|
| **Get a form filled** | Native form where supported; otherwise a published LeadKnight page | Read each platform's destination in Review. Do not assume the same form is supported on every platform. |
| **Send people to my page** | **Which page?** → **Choose a published page** | A page marked **Not published** must be published before launch. |
| **Website link** | **Website address** and **Optimize for** | Use a full `https://` URL. Choose **Visits** or **Sign-ups and leads**. Conversion optimization may require result sharing for the account. |
| **Start a WhatsApp chat** | **Business phone number** | Include `+` and the country code. Check whether a selected platform falls back to your page. |
| **Get calls** | **Business phone number** | Include `+` and the country code. Read any page-fallback message for other platforms. |

For destinations outside LeadKnight, the editor warns that leads and cost per lead cannot be tracked there. Website conversion guidance specifically describes leads recorded in your LeadKnight CRM, not every action on an arbitrary external website.

For eligible Meta form campaigns, **Leads likely to become customers** may be offered. This requires result sharing and verified Meta quality-lead readiness. If the option is unavailable, use standard leads rather than assuming that enabling sharing alone unlocks it. This optimization is separate from choosing a form with an extra review step.

## 4. Prepare the creative

1. Open **Ad** and choose **Edit ads** to inspect the ad text for the source posts. Resolve variations such as `a|b` into one actual version; unresolved variations block **Publish**.
2. Check **Headline**, **Description**, **Button** and **Photo or video**. The shared headline field allows up to 255 characters and the description up to 500; platform-specific fields can have tighter limits.
3. If a multi-photo format is offered, choose **Carousel** or **Separate ads**. A carousel is one swipeable photo ad; separate ads share that platform's budget. A carousel needs at least two photos, no videos, and is unavailable for WhatsApp or call goals. The selected-media controls allow up to ten items for the multi-media formats.
4. Reorder selected media using the reorder controls. Carousel cards can have an optional **Title (optional)** of up to 40 characters.
5. Open each tab under **What each platform needs**, complete its fields and inspect **Preview**. On a smaller screen, use the **Preview** button to switch between editing and previewing. The platform may display the ad differently from the preview.

### Platform-specific creative

| Platform | What to prepare |
|---|---|
| Meta | Suitable media and ad text. **Let Meta improve your ad** allows cropping, brightness changes and small text changes using your own words and pictures. It does not create a fixed allocation of budget per creative. |
| Google | Choose **AI campaign across Google** or **Search ads only**. Provide 3–15 **Short headlines**, up to 30 characters each. Descriptions are up to 90 characters: 2–4 for Search, 2–5 for the cross-Google campaign. **Business name** allows 25 characters. The cross-Google type also needs its long headline and required picture choices; Search needs at least one search word or phrase. |
| TikTok | Choose a **Vertical video** from source media and complete **Short caption**, up to 100 characters. Wait for the video-shape check; an unconfirmed vertical format must be replaced. |
| LinkedIn | Complete **Intro text**, up to 3,000 characters, **Headline**, up to 200, and the relevant image or offered multi-photo format. |
| Pinterest | Use a photo, a **Title** up to 100 characters and **Description** up to 500. |
| X | Complete **Ad text**, up to 280 characters. Ads are text only; source photos and videos are not sent. |
| ChatGPT | Use a photo and complete its headline and description. Ads for an individual home for sale or rent are blocked. In a real-estate workspace, the required non-property acknowledgement must be true; do not check it for an ad that is actually about one home. |
| Reddit | Complete **Post title**, up to 300 characters. Use one source post and one ad: one photo or a photo carousel, not a set of separate ads. Set up the account's Reddit pixel before launch. |

For Google, **Write the rest for me** can prepare text assets when the source text and business name are available. Review generated text and required pictures yourself; generation is not publication or approval.

## 5. Configure a lead form when offered

The **Lead form** step appears for a form goal with Meta or LinkedIn selected. The editor has native-form controls for both, but a platform's current capabilities can still route a form goal to a LeadKnight page or block launch. In particular, do not rely on the LinkedIn form labels alone as proof that native forms are enabled. Follow the platform-specific destination and validation shown in **Review**.

1. Choose **Create a new form**, **Use a form you made before**, or **Start from a copy**. For an existing form, select the account if needed and then the form. Its questions and screens stay as created in the platform.
2. For a new form, complete **Form name**. When offered, choose **More leads** for a shorter submission path, or **More serious leads** for an extra review of contact details. This is a form experience, not a promise of lead quality.
3. Under **What should the form ask?**, use **Add a contact detail** or **Add your own question**. New forms allow up to 15 questions. Custom questions use **Pick an answer** or **Short answer**; finish the question and every answer choice. Date-and-time questions are not available.
4. Mark relevant multiple-choice answers as **Good fit** when you want corresponding leads labeled in the CRM. Reorder or remove questions with their controls. If LinkedIn reports an unsupported question or contact field, remove it rather than assuming Meta's form support applies.
5. For Meta, decide whether to use **Confirm phone numbers by text**. If Meta refuses this, the app asks for explicit acknowledgement before launching without that check.
6. If offered, turn on **Ask permission to email** and review **Email permission wording**. The permission checkbox is optional and unchecked by default; submitting the form does not require agreeing to email marketing.
7. Expand **Intro**, **Thanks** and **Privacy policy**. Review the optional introduction, thank-you screen, button and website. Choose **Language** and check the privacy link. **Privacy link text** allows up to 70 characters and should say something like “Privacy policy”, not contain the web address itself.
8. Inspect the form preview, including contact details, review and thank-you states. If no policy is available, use **Open settings** and resolve that before launch.

## 6. Set the audience

Open **Audience** and choose actual locations from the search results. Typed search text alone is not a selected location. Add at least one location and check the audience mode, housing rules and platform notes. For the full picker workflow and limits, follow [Choose locations and targeting](https://docs.lead-knight.com/en/paid-ads/targeting/).

When an ad contains several ideas, select each idea to inspect its own audience. **Apply to all ideas** copies the selected audience to the other ideas; use it only when the same audience is appropriate for all of them.

## 7. Set the budget and dates

1. Open **Budget**. Choose **Per day** or **Total for the whole run**.
2. Choose **Split it for me** to allocate one total between same-currency accounts, or **Set each platform myself** to enter each amount. Different account currencies require separate platform budgets; the editor does not convert them into a shared total.
3. Enter a positive amount with the decimal precision allowed by the account's currency. Review each account's displayed **Minimum**. If no minimum is available, the app says it will check before launch; do not substitute an assumed minimum.
4. Check the **Monthly cap** and spent amount. Lower a share that exceeds the remaining cap, or have the account owner change the cap when appropriate.
5. Under **Start**, choose **Start now** or **At a date**. Under **End**, choose **Keep running** where available, or **At a date**. A total budget requires an end date, and the end must be later than the start.
6. Review any amounts marked **Already committed — locked**. Existing launched allocations cannot be silently reassigned by editing the unlaunched part of the plan, and the total cannot be less than the committed budgets.

For grouped Meta ideas, **Review** shows one campaign with multiple ad sets sharing its campaign budget. Meta decides how to allocate that budget; it is not a fixed amount per ad. For non-grouped platforms, Review can show separate campaigns and the amount per idea. Read that actual breakdown before approving.

## 8. Review, publish and confirm spending

1. Open **Review** or **Review and launch**. Check each platform's account, destination, ad or carousel count, audience, budget and schedule.
2. Read **Saved settings**. A new ad can inherit settings from your last ad, including form choices, destination, button and housing classification. Use **Change** for any inherited value that does not fit this campaign.
3. Use **Fix** on every missing-detail message. If **Publish** is disabled, resolve the blocker rather than looking for a way to skip checking.
4. Read any Meta remaining-funds warning. The account's money or spending limit can run out before your ad's chosen budget, and other ads use the same account funds. Use **Open Meta Ads Manager** to add funds or adjust the account spending limit when appropriate.
5. Choose **Publish**. This is the current submission entry point; there is no separate **Check** button in this editor. Checks and submission follow the confirmed publishing flow.
6. Review and accept the operations-fee terms if requested. Resolve any billing-card, unpaid-fee or workspace-sponsor requirement. Review the default privacy policy and confirm it if requested.
7. In **Confirm launch**, inspect every account, budget, start, end and spending warning. Confirm with the button shown, such as **Confirm weekly budget of** the displayed amount, **Confirm and launch**, or **Launch and spend**. Cancelling here does not authorize the launch.
8. Look for the next state. An owner-approval request shows **Waiting for approval**. An accepted submission tells you the ads were sent for checking, or shows **Checking & sending**. These are not guarantees of platform approval or delivery. Return to the paid card or [Results](https://docs.lead-knight.com/en/paid-ads/results/) to follow the outcome.

A daily amount is an average, not a hard daily charge cap. The confirmation explains weekly protection: at 105% of the reported weekly budget the ad is paused until Sunday, then resumes automatically. Monthly cap protection also uses 105% of reported spend. Reporting delays can make the final amount higher. Read the actual account-specific confirmation before authorizing spend.

## If something goes wrong

| Symptom | Cause to check | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Continue will not advance | Missing account or required details in the current step | Select an available account, or complete the listed details. |
| Publish is disabled | Missing locations, budget, creative, policy, dates, or unresolved text variations | Follow **Fix**; use **Edit ads** to write one text version. |
| A platform sends people to a page instead of the chosen action | That action is unsupported for the platform or currently unavailable | Select a published page and confirm the actual destination in Review. |
| Google assets are incomplete | Headline, description or required pictures are missing | Open Google's tab and complete its fields and minimum asset counts. |
| TikTok video is refused | The video was not confirmed as vertical | Choose a verified vertical source video. |
| SMS confirmation is refused | Meta will not allow the text check for the account | Review the warning and choose **Launch without the text check** only if you explicitly accept that change, then retry publication. |
| Budget is refused | It is below the account minimum, over the cap, invalid for the currency or missing an end date | Correct the specific amount, cap, currency or date message. |
| Ads were submitted but are not running | Owner approval, platform review or a delivery problem is still outstanding | Inspect the paid card and Results; do not create another ad merely because submission succeeded without delivery. |
| Draft save failed | The paid setup was not saved successfully | Use **Try again**. In the composer, a saved post can exist even when saving its paid setup failed; do not assume both were saved. |

## Related pages

- [Connect and configure an ad account](https://docs.lead-knight.com/en/paid-ads/connect-ad-account/)
- [Choose locations and targeting](https://docs.lead-knight.com/en/paid-ads/targeting/)
- [Understand results and manage spending](https://docs.lead-knight.com/en/paid-ads/results/)
- [Manage live Meta ads](https://docs.lead-knight.com/en/paid-ads/manage-live-ads/)
- [Create a campaign manually](https://docs.lead-knight.com/en/campaigns/create-manual/)