Facebook Ads FAQ

Ad Policies and Delivery

?

My ad has been in review for a long time. What can I do?

The standard review time for ads can take up to 24 hours.

For ads that have been in review for longer than 24 hours, we have an article outlining options on what to do here.

?

How does GDPR affect Facebook ads?

We are not able to provide legal advice on this topic. GDPR has different potential implications for different organizations, depending on the way the organization may be utilizing data for advertising measurement and optimization.

Facebook has a dedicated GDPR microsite available here.

?

Is it true that ads can’t have more than 20% of the image as text? What about videos?

Facebook previously had an official policy that ads with more than 20% text in the image could not run on the platform.

While this “no more than 20% text policy” is no longer in place, Facebook generally recommends avoiding high levels of text.

Ad Setup Tactics

?

How can I limit the frequency of ads on Facebook/Instagram?

There are several options for managing frequency. This article on our site covers this topic in greater detail.

?

How do I create an unpublished/dark post on Facebook? How do I publish an unpublished post?

Unpublished/dark posts are created when you create an ad in Ads Manager without using an existing post from your page. This article on our site covers how to publish unpublished posts to a Facebook page.

Ads Training and Support

?

I am looking for someone to discuss Facebook/Instagram advertising ideas with directly. What resources are available to me?

Direct one-on-one sessions are available from our team. More information is available here.

?

I have quite a bit of experience with Meta ads, and I’m looking for ways to improve my performance. What resources are available to me?

We have a program available for more advanced advertisers, which grants access to a community of other advertisers, regular updates on changes to Facebook/Instagram advertising, as well as access to more in-depth webinars (depending on the program level).

This program is called the Power Hitters Club. More information is available here.

?

I’m a beginner with Facebook ads. Where should I start?

If you’re just getting started, Facebook makes things easy for beginners with the Boost button. This is the easiest way to create a simple campaign, ad set, and ad without the intimidating interface of Ads Manager. But this should only be your initial exposure to advertising.

Jon also assembled a collection of links to get you started with some of the core foundations of Meta advertising. You can find that here.

Meta Blueprint is a free group of training modules covering a variety of topics related to Facebook and Instagram ads. The modules can be accessed here.

Most of Jon’s content is catered to intermediate and advanced advertisers.

?

What is the Meta Blueprint Certification?

The Blueprint Certification is a paid testing process that provides an official certification for different topics related to Facebook and Instagram ads. There are different certification levels and focal areas available.

More information on the program is available here.

Advertising Basics

?

What is an Ad Account Spending Limit?

An account spending limit is a lifetime limit on the amount your ad account can spend on all of the campaigns you run. This allows you better control over your costs. You can track how you’re progressing toward your Ad Account Spending Limit in your payment settings. All of your ads will pause once you hit this limit and Meta will send you a notification to let you know.

Learn how to change your Ad Account Spending Limit here.

?

How does the Facebook/Meta ad auction work?

Performance in the ad auction on Meta-owned properties takes into account a variety of factors, including the Bid, Estimated Action Rate, and Relevance of the ad (building an acronym commonly referred to as BEAR).

A more detailed explanation is available here.

?

What is the Learning Phase in Meta Advertising?

The Learning Phase describes a period when Meta’s systems are gathering sufficient data for effective ad optimization across targeting, timing, creative, and placement options. One of the most common topics involving the learning phase relates to making edits that reset learning.

?

Do I need to have a Facebook page to advertise on Facebook?

Yes. Facebook requires that users have a personal Facebook page to access Ads Manager to create ads.

?

What is Meta Ads Manager?

Ads Manager is a tool where advertisers can create ads, analyze ad performance, and create ad reports. Ads Manager can be used independently of Business Manager, but advertisers who have set up Business Manager normally access Ads Manager via their Business Manager interface.

A general reference resource for Ads Manager is available here.

?

What is Meta Business Manager?

Business Manager is a group of tools that enables advertisers to access a large variety of advertising options and capabilities, as well as share access to different advertising assets.

A general overview of Business Manager is available here. A downloadable PDF guide is available here, along with a getting started guide here.

Advertising Best Practices

?

Where can I find case studies related to Facebook and Instagram ads?

Facebook has made “success stories” available here, filterable by different areas, such as Business Size, Objective, Industry, Ad Product, and Region.

?

What are some general best practice tips for ad creative on Meta properties?

?

How can I scale my budgets more effectively?

There are many potential strategies for scaling. The common approach is increasing the budget on a currently running ad set. The potential danger in this approach is that it is likely to restart the learning phase, which may negatively impact results.

Another approach is to duplicate the ad set and increase the budget of the new ad set while keeping the original ad set running temporarily. This could lead to audience fragmentation or auction overlap.

A more strategic approach that Jon recommends is something he calls “Slow Burn.” This way, you are thinking about increasing the budget from the moment you launch the ad set, but that increase will happen slowly and automatically based on performance.

Read more about Slow Burn here:

Slow Burn: A Strategy for Scaling Facebook Ads

?

What is an ideal ad frequency on Facebook and Instagram?

There is no single frequency appropriate for all situations, as it depends on a variety of factors.

?

How much should I budget for Meta ads?

Setting the appropriate budget is highly subjective, as it depends on your advertising goals and the reality of your organization. However, this guide on our site might be a useful reference.

Advertising Testing and Optimization

?

What is dynamic creative?

Dynamic creative enables an advertiser to upload multiple components of ads and allow Facebook’s systems to create various combinations and test them out accordingly.

?

What are dynamic ads?

Dynamic ads – also referred to as Meta Advantage+ catalog ads – feature product recommendations from an advertiser’s product catalog, adjusting what products are shown based on signals of user interest, intent, and action.

?

What is split testing?

Split testing, also referred to as A/B Testing, involves creating two separate ad scenarios where a variable is changed between the two scenarios, allowing an advertiser to determine how the variable affects advertising outcomes.

Conversion Tracking

?

Facebook says that custom audiences will shrink as a result of iOS 14. Which audiences are affected and which aren’t?

You should expect that the following audiences will shrink as a result of iOS 14:

  • Website custom audiences
  • App activity custom audiences

If you target or exclude those who visit your website or those who engage with your app (if you have one), you should expect these audiences to be incomplete going forward.

The following audiences will remain unaffected:

  • Facebook page engagement audiences
  • Video view audiences
  • Lead form audiences
  • Customer list (email, phone number, address) custom audiences
  • Offline activity audiences
  • Instant Experience audiences
  • Instagram account engagement audiences
  • Facebook event (non-pixel) audiences
  • Lookalike custom audiences
  • Interests, demographics, behaviors

Why?

When users are shown the privacy prompt when they open the Facebook family of apps, they will determine whether they want to be tracked from that app to other apps and websites. If they choose not to be tracked, they will no longer be included in audiences based on the Facebook pixel or app ID going forward.

?

Can Conversions API help replace the data lost from iOS 14 opt-outs?

This has been the rumor, but it does not appear so. Conversions API is a great tool that you should investigate to help complement the pixel. But a recent statement from a Facebook engineer and a quote from Facebook documentation at least implies if not state strongly that it will not replace data lost from iOS 14.

?

What changes should I expect to advertising tools related to mobile app ads as a result of iOS 14?

Mobile app advertisers promoting iOS apps will lose access to demographic breakdowns and Lift Measurement. Additionally, new restrictions will go into place for iOS app advertising. Each iOS app will be limited to a single ad account, five active campaigns, and nine active ad sets using the same optimization.

?

What is SKAdNetwork API and is it the same thing as Aggregated Event Measurement?

SKADNetwork API is Apple’s protocol for handling mobile app conversion attribution. This will be used when running iOS mobile app install and activity ads. Aggregated Event Measurement applies to web conversions only.

?

How will optimization be impacted by privacy changes related to iOS 14?

Optimization, particularly for conversions, will be impacted quite a bit. Since Facebook is receiving less data and will be reporting fewer conversions, there is less volume to optimize for. Facebook needs 25-50 conversions per week per ad set to exit the learning phase, and that will become increasingly difficult.

Read More:

?

How will targeting be impacted by privacy changes related to iOS 14? Will it impact custom audiences? What about interest targeting?

All indications are that this shouldn’t impact interest targeting. Attribution, which is only related to ad reporting, also shouldn’t apply to website custom audiences. If a user opts not to be tracked, however, they should be expected to be removed from audiences.

Read More: Facebook Advertising Audiences and iOS 14

?

How do I find out how much the attribution changes that result from iOS 14 may impact me?

Once the prompt goes live, you will lose access to the old attribution windows. Until then, you can run reports on historical data for attribution windows including 28-day click and compare those numbers to 7-day click. You should export this data to have access to it later.

Read More: Facebook Ads Attribution and iOS 14

?

I have a very small iOS audience. Why would the privacy changes to iOS 14 impact me?

Facebook is making structural changes that will impact everyone. These changes apply to all web advertising, regardless of device used.

Read More:

?

What is the iOS 14 ATT prompt and why does it matter?

Beginning in early spring of 2021, Apple is enforcing an AppTrackingTransparency (ATT) Framework prompt that asks the users of iOS apps that track IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) whether they want to allow tracking. This impacts reporting, optimization, and targeting of Facebook ads.

Read More: Facebook Ads and the Impact of iOS 14

?

What is the Meta pixel?

The pixel is an implementation of Meta-provided code on your website which enables tracking, optimization, and attribution within ads on Facebook-owned properties.

The Meta pixel is a common theme across many of the resources on our site. You can check out our pixel-related articles here.

Metrics and Reporting

?

How can I compare audiences between Facebook and Instagram?

You can use Ads Manager to analyze and compare audience sizes between these platforms, though it requires a bit of a manual approach. We have an article outlining how to do this here.

?

The conversions reported in Ads Manager don’t match my actual sales. Why?

Ads Manager only reports conversions that are attributed to ads.

?

Where can I find benchmarks for Facebook ads?

Generally speaking, there aren’t standard, publicly available benchmarks available for Facebook advertising. However, some publications track benchmarks for accounts they have access to, such as this resource from Wordstream.

Even with benchmarks such as these available, it’s important to consider the underlying context of any specific metric you may be evaluating. Given these challenges, it’s normally best to work on improving your own metrics as much as possible and to focus on those which are most reflective of your own success.

Targeting

?

I’m not sure I understand my target audience very well. Where should I start?

The Audience Insights tool can be a great resource to analyze different potential audience groups in more detail. Meta has general information on this tool here.

?

What is a lookalike audience?

A lookalike audience enables Facebook to find people on Facebook-owned properties (e.g. Facebook and Instagram) who are similar to a certain group. This group is referred to as a source audience and may be based on people who visit your website, for example.