Are you a competitor trying to find out what ads a company is running on Facebook, a consumer curious to see what ads and offers your favorite brands are pushing, or just a marketer seeking some inspiration?
Facebook offers a great tool to take a behind-the-scenes peek at the millions of ads that run on its site each day.
It’s like having a backstage pass, allowing you to spy on campaigns of successful products, services, and competitors. You get to see what works, and what doesn’t to help and inspire you to craft your own campaigns on the platform.
In this article, we explore how to use this tool effectively and provide tips, tricks, and best practices for making the most of it.
Getting Started with the Facebook Ad Library: What Ads a Company is Running on Facebook
Facebook Ad Library was originally designed to promote transparency around political advertising, for which the company has received a lot of flak in recent years. However, it is now a go-to resource for marketers across the world looking to get started with Facebook’s lucrative advertising platform.
The library is an absolute treasure trove and perfect for marketers. Why? It provides access to all active ads, which can be searched and filtered based on a host of factors.
This was something that third-party ad spying tools once did, charging $100s per month for the privilege, now available for free. Here’s a quick guide to get started with this tool.
- Access The Ad Library: Visit the Facebook Ad Library directly. No login required, you can start using the tool right away.
2. Search By Brand or Organization: Use the search bar to type in the name of the company whose ads you want to check out. You can search by the organization’s name, keywords, or even by specific topics.
3. Filter Your Results: The platform lets you refine your search based on the country, ad type, and the platforms you’re interested in (like Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, etc.)
Want to see what Nike is doing in Germany? No problem. Curious about the types of video ads they run on Instagram? You can drill down to that, too.
Why Should You Use the Ad Library?
The Facebook Ad Library is a remarkable tool made available to anyone for absolutely free. Whether you’re a business owner, marketer, or a mere tech enthusiast, there are plenty of reasons to use this tool and at least get a feel for it.
1. Competitive Analysis: For marketers and business owners, the library offers a great way to look deep inside a competitor’s Facebook ad strategy.
Everything, from the actual creatives and messaging they use to the different variances and frequencies of their campaigns, is out in the open, offering invaluable insights.
2. Inspiration: Sometimes, you hit a creative block. Seeing what others in your industry are doing can spark new ideas for your campaigns.
You might think this is similar to copying or stealing, but this is far from the case. Almost everything you see on the internet is a product of incremental creativity and innovation; very few things are built from scratch by their creators.
3. Market Trends: Ads can tell you a lot about where a market is heading. Big pushes in certain products or styles can signal industry shifts. Keeping an eye on these can help predict what’s becoming popular.
Just browsing through the library is a great way to unearth new products, opportunities, and ideas.
Products or niches that you’d never heard of before can become the next big thing. So, start focusing once you start sifting through the mountains of data in Facebook’s Ad Library.
Tips For Navigating The Ad Library Like a Pro
While the Ad Library is straightforward and easy to use, here are some pro tips to get the most out of it:
Tip 1: Look at the Date
Ads in the library show when they were first launched. This can help you understand the timing of ad campaigns, like if companies push certain products during specific times of the year.
At the same time, ads running for extended periods of time indicate that the creative and messaging work. This is a signal for marketers and business owners to craft campaigns along the same lines.
Tip 2: Check out Spending Info
For political ads, you can see how much money is being spent. It’s a bit of a bummer that it’s not available for all ads, but it’s super useful for political advertising analysis.
If you’re a journalist or a political observer, you can use this to come up with insightful figures on the campaign spending of various political leaders and parties. This has been deemed a great way to ensure transparency and prevent manipulation of the masses.
Tip 3: Use It Regularly
Make it a habit to check the Ad Library periodically to keep up with the latest advertising trends in your industry.
If there is one thing we know about social media, it is that trends evolve and change at unprecedented speeds. If something is working well today, it may not hold just a week down the road, and the ad library is a great place to stay on top of such changes.
Going Beyond Facebook: Other Tools & Tricks
While the Facebook Ad Library is a gold mine, don’t stop there. Here are a few other ways to keep tabs on a company’s advertising strategy,
- Google Ads Library: Similar to Facebook, Google offers transparency for ads run on its services, including YouTube. It’s another fantastic resource for understanding a company’s outreach.
Some would say that this is far more powerful. This is because Google’s ad business still dwarves that of Facebook and most other digital ad players. However, its focus is on search and display and is rather limited on the social front. - Social Media Listening Tools: Platforms like Brand24, Mention, etc., allow you to monitor brand mentions across the web, which can include discussions about their ads.
- Direct From The Source: Follow the brands you’re interested in on Facebook and other social media platforms. You will often see their ads pop up in your feed naturally, which can give you a context for how they’re targeting customers.
Wrapping Up
Understanding what ads a company runs on Facebook isn’t just about satisfying your curiosity; it’s a robust way to tailor your own marketing strategies.
Whether you’re in marketing or sales or just starting out with your business, these insights can help shape your approach and keep you informed about the landscape of digital advertising. So next time you’re scrolling through Facebook, take a moment to dive deeper into the Ad Library.
If you’re proficient with tools such as Predis.ai, you can quickly create a range of new graphics and visuals to better match those of other successful campaigns. Moreover, you can test them one after another while working with the ad library. To get a better picture, take up a live demo today!
This is just scratching the surface of how to leverage Facebook’s tools to enhance your marketing intelligence. Keep experimenting, keep learning, and use these insights to fuel your strategy.
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