See What Works: Winning Strategies for Meta Ads
‘Spying’ on the Facebook ads of your competitors is a legitimate, ethical and essential tactic.
Facebook’s Ad Library gives everyone easy access to competitors’ ad creatives, copy and successful campaigns.
You can learn from these insights to refine your own Facebook ad campaigns, focusing on creative variation, testing, and current trends.
What is the Meta Ads Library?
Meta’s Ads Library is a powerful tool providing complete transparency into all active ads running on Facebook and Instagram. Originally launched to improve transparency around political and social issue ads, it has grown into a crucial resource for businesses and marketers alike, offering insights into competitor strategies, creative inspiration, and trend tracking. By exploring this free tool, any small business can better understand their competitive landscape and gain valuable ideas to shape their campaigns.
Why Use the Meta Ads Library?
Facebook’s Ads Library enables businesses to:
- Find out what’s working: it is highly likely that long-running campaigns are profitable for that business, because that is the only reason they’d want to keep running them.
- Benchmark against competitors: Viewing the ads your competitors are running can reveal key messaging trends, creative approaches, and audience engagement tactics.
- Inspire creativity: Browsing the latest ad formats and creative concepts can help spark fresh ideas for your own campaigns.
- Stay on top of trends: By observing ad styles and messaging that competitors use seasonally, you can identify trends and refine your strategies.
Steps for Using the Meta Ads Library
To get started, simply visit the Meta Ads Library and type in the name of the Page, topic, or keyword relevant to the ads you want to explore. You’ll see an array of active ads, complete with details such as the ad’s start date and the locations where it’s shown. Use the available filters, such as country or ad type, to narrow down your search.
FAQs: Using Meta’s Ads Library
Is the Meta Ads Library free to use?
Yes, the Meta Ads Library is completely free to access and use. You don’t need to pay any fees or have a Facebook account to search for and view ads in the library. It’s a public resource designed to provide transparency and insights into advertising across Meta’s platforms.
How do I know if a Facebook Page is running ads?
Search the brand name in the Meta Ads Library. If active, you’ll see all running ads across Meta’s platforms with details like the content, start date, and locations where they’re shown. However, for ads related to politics, elections, and social issues, all ads are displayed regardless of their current status.
Another way to find out if a business is running Meta Ads is by clicking on ‘Page Transparency’ on the About section of their Facebook page.
Navigating Limitations of the Meta Ads Library
While the Meta Ads Library is a great resource that provides transparency and access to a large volume of data, its utility for deep analysis and organisation could be enhanced in a few ways:
- Ad Organisation: Currently, there’s no built-in feature to save or organise ads within the library, so users typically rely on taking screenshots or sharing links, which may expire.
- Filter Limitations: Available filters are limited to essential parameters, so you can’t drill down by creative type, specific ad sizes, or format (such as video or carousel).
- Search Specificity: Searching by brand name is effective, but searches by ad copy often yield fewer results than expected.
Conclusion
The Meta Ads Library is a go-to resource for any business that is eager to stay competitive and informed in the world of paid ads. You can leverage it in several ways to enhance your ad strategy:
- Conduct competitor analysis by examining their ad creatives and messaging
- Identify trends and best practices in your industry
- Get inspiration for ad designs and copy
- Analyse which ads run for longer periods (potentially indicating better performance)
- Refine your targeting by studying successful ads in your niche
- Save inspiring ads as references for future campaigns
By using these insights, you can optimise your own ad creatives, messaging, targeting, and overall strategy to improve Facebook Ads campaign performance and your return on investment.
