The Facebook ads transparency tool is loved by many, but it’s also mostly forgotten by a lot of people.
Have you ever wanted to have a little peek at your competitors ads, without having to visit their website and holding out hope to be retargeted? Or just wish you could find some ad inspo on those days when creativity seems to have escaped you?
Well, the Facebook ads transparency tool is the answer you’re after.
Read on..
Spy on your competitors ads
Competitor research is always a great way to understand what you are up against and how crowded a market/industry/niche may be.
So have you ever wondered what ads your main competitor is running? Maybe you’re in the same market or stock the same products? If you did want to see what your competitors are advertising on Facebook … this is for you.
Facebook ads library is exactly what it sounds like. An ad library. You can search ANY page on facebook and straight away see what ads they are running. You can see the different formats, imagery and copy and even click the CTA to see what landing page they are using.
This is a really great, simple tool to use that can give you more information about your competitors.
Most of the time, I would tell you not to worry about what they are doing and focus on your own path and strategy. But I love research … and more information allows you to be more strategic and direct in your advertising efforts … winning!
Find some ad inspo
Being creative and strategic is the foundation of ads. Sometimes, the creativity part is harder than it sounds and there are always those days when you are just at a bit of a dead end.
My favourite way to use the Facebook ad library is to search some international brands as well as the really really big brands. It might just spark your creativity and help you find a new direction to take.
Make sure to look to brands that your audience might also be interested in and that you see your brand aspiring to. Also think about your offering. Are you service based or ecommerce? You may find inspo in an unlikely area.
A few other handy bits
A few other things you can find out when using the Facebook transparency tool.
- Page History – when the page started and even if it has been renamed, and when.
- Organisations or people managing the page
- You can even look at pages who run ads about social issues, elections or politics and will sometimes even show how much they have spent. From this I found out ScoMo became Facebook official ScoMo in 2017. Not so helpful and maybe not even interesting.
- You can look at an ads library report for advertisers in social issues, elections or politics and it even breaks down each political party’s ad spend in the last 30 days. As I write, the LNP has the highest spend followed by the Queensland Labour party who is coming up to an election.
You will find the Transparency tool on the Facebook page, just below the about section and you can get to the ad library here.
Have a cheeky a look
Go on, go check out your competitors ads as well as the ads of brands that you think are doing a really good job. See if you find anything interesting or helpful in directing your ad strategy.
This is a really great way to help you get started when you are first learning ads as well as just a really interesting feature of Facebook ads.
Hungry for some more ad tips? Head on over and read Michelle’s blog on how to personalise customer experience through ads.