For marketers, the Meta Ad Library is a gold mine of information. Use it to see your competitors’ ads and to get ideas for your own ads.
What it is.
The Meta Ads Library was designed to be user-friendly and accessible for everyone, from first-time Facebook advertisers to experienced professionals. This comprehensive, searchable collection of every ad currently running across Meta’s platforms contains information on who created each ad, when it was published, and each ad’s creative components. As its name suggests, you can think of it as a catalogue of every ad on Facebook and Instagram (and others) that is searchable via its advertiser, keywords, platform, media type, or time it is active.
Most importantly, Ad Library can be a game changer for your digital marketing efforts as it provides you with a massive inventory of ideas, information, and inspiration. Just remember that while the library is extensive, it only shows current ads. So if you see something you like, be sure to screenshot and save it for later!
How to use it.
There are a couple different ways you can access the Ad Library. The first one is by just directly going to the Ad Library via search engine or their website. This gets you to the home screen of the Ad Library. From here you can quickly search the library’s collection for ads based on the country of the page, ad category, and keywords. The keyword search is the most powerful piece, because it actually allows you to search for not only keywords, but specific pages that you can then click on.
The other way is via the Facebook page of the business you want to look up. This route allows you to only see the current ads of the page you’re searching.
1. Go to the Business’s Facebook Page.
2. Scroll down until you find the “Page Transparency” box on the left hand side.
3. Click “See All”.
4. Under “Ads from this Page” it will say whether or not the page is currently running ads. If they are, click “Go to Ad Library”. If they are not currently running ads, you will be unable to visit their library.
How it can improve your digital marketing efforts.
There are two main ways you can utilize the Ad Library during campaign planning.
1. Competitor Research
Ad Library has made it easier than ever to keep an eye on what others in your industry, and even your competitors are up to. Look up direct competitors and see when they are running their ads and how they’ve approached their messaging. This can help you plan and optimize your campaign by adjusting timing, budget, and creative to either directly compete or avoid their ads. Notice a gap in their campaign? Use the opportunity to fill in what they’ve missed!
More broadly, you can use the keyword search to see what others are doing in your industry and check out the competitive landscape to see what your ads will be going up against. This can be especially useful if you work in a seasonal industry where many competitors will be ramping up advertising efforts around the same time as you.
2. Gather Inspiration
Ad Library is a one stop shop when it comes to looking for ideas for your next ad campaign. You can monitor trends, check out ideas for graphics, and see what others are featuring in their copy. Once you’ve searched for an advertiser or keyword, you can use the search filters to narrow in on what it is you are looking for inspiration for. These filters allow you to search by different aspects including platform and media type.
Some ways you can use this tool to gather inspiration include:
Check out the different trends on Facebook versus Instagram: look at the search results filtering only Facebook ads, then Instagram. What similarities and differences are there, and how can you utilize them in your own advertising?
See what product features others in your industry are highlighting: what do they think matters to their customers, and how does that compare to your own?
Look for innovative ways to show off your products: see a cool photo of a product similar to yours? Try making your own version and see what you can come up with.
Consider how others are using features like all caps or emojis to grab users’ attention: with thousands of emojis available, there are endless ways to utilize them to catch someone’s eye and highlight your business.
The bottom line is, if your business uses Facebook ads, then you should be using the Meta Ad Library. It’s free, easy to use, and there’s a wealth of knowledge waiting to be explored, so there’s really no reason not to. Now get in there and start exploring!
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