Facebook Ad Library can help you to optimise your Facebook ads, convert impressions into clicks, and ultimately drive more sales. The service allows you to see all of the ads hosted on Facebook, providing you with a source of inspiration for your next campaign.

Facebook is the largest social media network in the world with an astonishing 2.9 billion monthly active users. It can also be seen as one of the biggest ad marketplaces in the world. In case you’re one of the few who aren’t already aware, Facebook is funded entirely by advertising dollars. 

Interestingly, 66% of social media users cite learning about new products and services as one of the reasons they use the platforms. Additionally, customers who like a business on Facebook are 79% more likely to make a new purchase. Given stats like these, Facebook ads are an invaluable tool to help sell your product or service and grow your business.

But creating an innovative and effective Facebook ad campaign can be a real challenge. It’s hard to know what messaging and imagery will resonate most with your target audience. But Facebook Ad Library can help with that.

In this article, we’ll cover what Facebook Ad Library is, how to use it, as well as some top tips to help you make the most of the tool. 

What is Facebook Ad Library? 

Facebook Ad Library (also known as Meta Ads Library) is a bank of every single ad run on Meta’s services, including Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Whatsapp. The service is completely free to use. 

Facebook Ad Library allows you to access useful information about ads, including:

• How well an ad is performing? 
• Who made it?
• When did it run? 

The feature was introduced after the Cambridge Analytica scandal. It was originally set up for transparency reasons, to allow Facebook users to find out who paid for the ad they were viewing. 

Nowadays, Facebook Ad Library is most commonly used by marketers to improve and optimise their ad campaigns. It’s fast become an essential tool for those trying to maximise their return on ad spend (ROAS) across paid social. 

Facebook Ad Library allows you to figure out which ads are doing well so you can sample (not steal) ideas for your own campaign. You can see what advertising tactics might work for the audiences you are trying to reach. 

In a nutshell, it allows you to avoid the mistakes of poor performing ads and learn lessons from the best ads out there. Think of it as part of your A/B testing done for you.

What are the advantages of using Facebook Ad Library?

Facebook Ad Library offers a wide range of benefits to marketers. We’ve listed the top three of these below.  

1. Ad inspiration

Nothing is more intimidating than a blank page. Where do you start when creating a new ad campaign?

Facebook Ad Library provides tonnes of example ads you might want to borrow inspiration from. Every imaginable type of ad is on there from static ads, to memes, to videos, and carousels.

Not only does it provide you with inspiration, it also allows you to see which ads are performing best. This can help you identify the strategies that have worked for other companies and adapt them by putting your own unique spin on them. 

2. Campaign optimisation 

Facebook Ad Library can also help you run more cost-effective marketing campaigns. By avoiding the mistakes of historically poor performing ads, you can make sure you don’t waste money on ads that don’t convert. Similarly, by combining techniques from the ads that have performed well, you can create more impactful campaigns. 

Not to mention, Facebook Ad Library is completely free to use. So there’s no reason not to factor it into your campaign planning process, if you haven't already.

3. Competitor and market research

Facebook Ad Library is also an excellent market research tool. The service can provide you with  important insights on your competitors’ paid social game plan. It allows you to: 

• See what products your competitors are advertising
• Find out when your competitor’s next sale will be
• Examine what marketing strategies your competitors are testing.

Once you have gained these insights, you can start to think about the steps your business could take to stay competitive. 

How to use Facebook Ad Library? 

Facebook Ad Library has an incredibly simple interface making it super easy to use. Just follow the steps below.

• Enter your country of interest. 
• Enter the ad category you are interested in (for example, job or property ads).
• Enter your keywords of interest (this will most likely be your product or service).

Click search and you’ll be able to see all of the ads that match your areas of interest. In the example below, we searched for the keyword "Adidas".

If you’re interested in the ads of a specific competitor, you can also view these through Facebook Ad Library.

• Navigate to the Facebook page of the company you’re interested in.
• Scroll down to the transparency section of the page (beneath the photo section) and click on ‘See all’. 

• Finally, scroll down and click on ‘Go to Ad Library.’

 You’ll then be able to view all of the company’s ads that are currently running.

For each ad, you will be able to see when the ad was posted, what platforms it’s being run on and if it is being A/B tested (indicated by label ‘This ad has multiple versions’).  

5 Tips for using Facebook Ad Library

Once you’ve mastered the basics of Facebook Ad Library, you can explore how to approach analysing ads effectively and get to grips with some of its more advanced features. Here’s our 5 top tips for making the most of the resource.   

1. Pick the best parts from other ads 

When analysing what makes the best performing ads so successful, pay attention to their format, messaging and style. Identify what ad format is getting the most attention. Is it a video? Is it a meme? Is it a carousel? Depending on what your product or service is, certain types of ad will work better than others. You can filter your search results to look at specific ad formats using the media type filter. 

Figure out what kind of messaging works for your product. Is the messaging informal and playful? Or does the language convey a sense that the product is premium or exclusive? Pay attention to the patterns of phrases being used.

Style is all about the visuals of the ad. Have a look at the colours, fonts and images being used. This might provide you with an insight on what demographic your competitors are targeting (for example, neon colours may appeal to teenagers).

2. Search for local ads

Unfortunately, you can only currently search for ads by country. However, you might be interested in analysing ads being run in a certain city or region. You can carry out a more localised search by adding the city or region as a keyword. If the ad contains your location of interest, it will appear in your search results.

Pay attention to the tactics used to appeal to people locally. People are far more likely to click on an ad if you can connect with them on a more personal level

3. Avoiding competitive time frames 

Trying to advertise and sell your product can be a real challenge when a competitor is having a sale. Before you launch a sale of your own, it may be worth checking if your competitor is running one too. If they are, you might want to push the sale back a week. Alternatively, you might want to scale back your spending on advertising, for a limited time period, until the sale is over. 

You might also be able to predict when your competitor is most likely to have a sale by looking at what they advertised last year. You can do this by filtering your search results by date range. 

4. Keep up to date with advertising trends

You will be rewarded if you visit Facebook Ad Library regularly to see what types of ads are in fashion and which ads have become less popular. Keeping up to date with the latest trends is essential to make sure your company is positioned well against your competitors. But don’t be afraid to get creative and try something new, as you’ll see in the next step. 

5. Think outside the box 

Keeping an eye on what your competitors are doing is important, but simply copying them might make your ad blend in with the crowd. Not to mention, publishing thinly-veiled replicas of your competitors ads is never a good look. 

Don’t be afraid to have a look at ads from other sectors. They might be making use of new and innovative advertising techniques that none of your competitors have tried yet. If you think one of their techniques could work for your business, be bold and try it for yourself. Why not stand out from the crowd?  

Protect social ads from bots and fake Accounts

Once you’ve done your research and developed the perfect ad to reach your target audience, you’re going to want to make sure your campaign data is accurate. But this isn't always easy.

Every social media platform, including Facebook and Instagram is full of fake users and bots. You can often spot them a mile off in the comments section of most celebrities’ posts. If they're not posting something lewd or explicit, then it's usually something vague and generic that could apply of any post like those below:

These bots attempt to avoid detection by mimicking human behaviour by following accounts, commenting, viewing stories, and clicking on ads.

Because these clicks and impressions never convert, they drain your ad spend if you're running a pay-per-click (PPC) campaign. In fact, it’s estimated that between 10 and 20% of ad spend on social platforms is routinely lost to fake clicks and traffic. So what can you do to prevent it? 

Lunio’s advanced click-fraud software prevents clicks from bots and fake users, not just on Facebook, but across all of your social media ads including Snapchat, LinkedIn, Twitter, and more. Eliminating invalid activity from your campaigns will make your marketing budget go further and allow you to reinvest saved funds back into your best performing ads.  

Reasons Facebook Ad Library might not work 

Some people have had issues using Facebook Ad Library in the past, so we’ve tried to cover some of the main issues users experience.  

I can’t see my ad on Facebook Ad Library?

According to Facebook, it can take up to 24 hours before your ad appears in the library. If you can’t see your ad immediately, wait a day and check the service again. This also applies to any updates to your ad. You’ll need to wait 24 hours before the most up-to-date version is visible. 

You may also be blocked from seeing ads regarding restricted content (such as alcohol, gambling or online dating). Log into Facebook and you’ll be able to view restricted ads (provided you're over 18). 

Have I been blocked from Ad Library?

Some users have reported being blocked from Facebook Ad Library after using it for extended periods of time. If this happens to you, contact the Facebook Business Help Centre. They should be able to unblock you from the service (provided you can prove you’re not up to something nefarious!). 

Ready to optimise your Facebook Ads? 

Facebook Ad Library is an invaluable tool for boosting the performance of your ad campaigns. It allows you to refine your ad content and maximise its impact. It’s also an excellent market research tool, allowing you to keep an eye on your competitors and predict their next move. Using our 5 top tips, you should be able to reach your customers more effectively and position your business as a market leader.