It should come as no surprise that Facebook is one of the most widely used social media platforms for advertising given its billions of active users.
Advertisers can promote their services or products to the target audiences they want by using Facebook ads.
The Facebook ads library was established to keep track of competitors’ ads and for creative research because it could be difficult to keep up with the amount of Facebook ads.
You will learn more about Facebook Ads Library in this article, including what Facebook ads Library is, how to use Facebook ads library, analyzing ad details and the best practices.
What is Facebook ads library?
The Facebook Ads Library is a public database of all presently active ads on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook created the Ads Library to promote transparency around political advertising, but it has since evolved into a useful resource for companies to monitor competitors and find inspiration for their own ad campaigns.
Each ad’s creative, targeting options, ad spend, and launch date are all listed in the Facebook Ads Library, along with a variety of other details. With the help of this information, you may gain insights into the strategies that your competitors employ to connect with their target audience.
How to use the Facebook ads library
The ads library is accessible to anyone even if you have never had a Facebook account before. You will need to follow the steps below to make use of the meta ads library and utilize this tool to its full potential.
#1. Access the Facebook ads library
You will need to follow this link to access the ads library or you can type Facebook ads library into your search bar.
Although you can have access to the ads library even without a Facebook account, it is recommended that you are logged into your Facebook to see ads targeted at 18+ audiences. Also, remember to remove ad blockers before the search to avoid search limitations.
#2. Choose country and ads category
To search for an ad, you would need to select a specific country and also pick an ad category.
Selecting a country can be helpful if you are looking for a product or service for a specific location.
Selecting based on a category will require you to choose from either all ads or issues, election and politics.
If you are in the USA, the options to select from are all ads, issues elections and politics, properties, employment, and credit.
To get the most out of your ad results, it is advisable to select all ads in the ads category.
#3. Search keywords or advertisers
To find what you are looking for, type in the specific keyword or advertiser’s name. Searching for a specific advertiser would usually show the advertiser’s accounts and all ads running on the account. This is mainly done for competition research to know how similar brands related to your business run their ads.
Looking up a specific keyword is usually done to find ad inspiration more broadly. For example, if you are looking up the word “travel” you will be able to see different advertisers running ads for this product.
To find the exact phrase match, you can place keywords in “quote” to see the results of a group of words in the same order.
#4. Filter your ad library search
Filters can be used to refine your search by ad type, country or date range.
These are the available Facebook ads filter:
Access the filter button by clicking on the ‘filter’ button in the top right corner.
You can see the available filters below.
Language
Some ads may contain more than one language, to filter this out you should use the language filter.
Advertisers
Use this filter to show ads from specific advertisers.
Platform
With the multiple platforms that Facebook uses for ads, you can narrow down your search to choose from either Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or Audience network.
Media type
With the different media types available, Facebook allows you to choose your preferred media type for an ad you are looking for. The media types available in the filter are images, memes, images and memes, videos and no image or video.
Active status
This filter is used to show ads that are currently running. Facebook ads library does not show inactive ads forever.
Impressions by date
You can see when an ad has been running for a while, that way it shows you how successful the ad is. Using this with the active status filter shows you ads that have been running successfully for a while.
Analyzing the Facebook ads details
This section of the ads library provides more information about ads in the Facebook ads library. It specifies the details of every ad, thereby giving more insights into competitors’ ads. Here are the elements found in the ad details.
#1. Primary text
This is the copy that shows at the top, below the account name and above the ad creative. A good primary text is usually attention-grabbing, easy to understand and concise.
#2. Headline
This is usually below the ad format and shown in bold. It is meant to grab your target audience’s attention and make them want to know more about the ad.
#3. Description
This is below the headline and it is a summary of what the ad is all about.
#4. Ad format
The basic layout of the ad that is either a single video or text, a carousel or a collection. It is the creative element and usually grabs the audience’s attention.
#5. Call to action
This is a button below the ad creative that prompts your audience to take an action such as visiting a website, filling up a lead form, signing up or even downloading an app. A good call to action is short, actionable and aligns with the ad goals.
#6. Engagement metrics
This shows how the ad performed such as the impression. Although it is not seen in ads that are currently running rather they are seen in inactive ads.
#7. Demographics
Here you can see the age, gender, and location of people who interacted with the ad. It will give you an idea of how well the audience resonated with the ad.
Best Practices for Facebook ads library
#1. Specify the ad search
Be as exact as you can while searching for ads or advertisers in the ads Library. To limit the results of your search, use keywords, dates, and other filters.
This will save you time from having to search through irrelevant results and help you identify the ads that are most relevant to your business’s needs.
#2. Pay attention to campaign messages
A creative ad is an important part of marketing campaigns. You want to be able to reach your desired target audience using the right campaign messages. Paying attention to your competitor’s ad messages could help you create an impressive campaign that will meet your desired campaign goals.
#3. Use relevant information to improve the quality of your Facebook ads
The amount of information available in the ads library should be used to improve the quality of your ads. Utilize the insights you gather by observing the ads of competitors to produce more compelling Facebook ads for your target audience.
#4. Observe ad spending strategies used by competitors
Ad spend is an important piece of information that may assist you to understand the advertising strategies of your competition. However, it is not the only measure you should be considering. Remember that a marketing campaign with a high ad spend may not always be more successful than one with a lower ad spend.
By observing ad spending strategies used by competitors, you can gain insight into the overall advertising budget and how much should be invested into each ad campaign.
#5. Pay attention to ad details
In ad details, more information is given about a particular ad and the advertisers. You see info like the number of versions of the ad and the advertiser’s page details. It is best to take note of this to aid in planning your ad campaigns.
#6. Get inspiration for your ad campaign
The Ads Library is a fantastic place to find ideas for your advertising campaigns. You can learn what is and isn’t working for your competition by looking through ads. This might assist you in producing ads that are more compelling to your target audience and more effective.
#7. Stay up to date with advertising trends
Finally, Facebook Ads Library can keep you informed about the advertising strategies of your competitors. You can keep up with your competitors’ newest promotions, product launches, and marketing strategies by keeping an eye on the ads that they’re running. By doing this, you can stay one step ahead of the competition and make sure that your ads are timely and relevant.
Conclusion
The Facebook Ads Library is a useful resource for companies trying to learn more about the marketing strategies of their competitors.
You may remain ahead of the competition and make sure that your advertising is relevant and effective by monitoring your competitors’ ad spend, analyzing their ad targeting, and gaining inspiration for your own ad campaigns.
Keep in mind to narrow down your search, look beyond your direct competition, and use the data to enhance your ads. You may use the Facebook Ads Library to acquire a competitive edge in your business by keeping these best practices in mind.
