The Facebook Ad Library is still stirring up the digital marketing ecosystem.

This tool gives marketers free access to “spy” on the ad imagery, headlines, copy, formatting, how long it has been live, A/B testing, and more.

It also gives you a line of sight into the landing pages of any ad that is currently live on Facebook, Messenger, and Instagram.

Screenshot from Facebook, February 2022

Considering that Facebook has captured one of the largest advertising audiences on the world wide web (an estimated 2.91 billion people) for an astonishingly competitive cost per click of $0.43, it is no wonder that marketers are spending their dollars in this digital channel.

Why Facebook Gave Us The Facebook Ad Library

Initially, Facebook created the ad library to ramp up transparency on political ads in a bid to reduce claims of election interference.

Thankfully for marketers, the ad library’s purpose has evolved to be so much more than just offering electoral clarity.

Digital marketers favor this tool to revolutionize, optimize, and inspire their Facebook ad campaigns.

Other Ways To Unlock The Benefits Of The Facebook Ad Library

This is by no means an exhaustive list of what you can do with Facebook Ad Library to improve your own Facebook ads, but it will give you a push in the right direction.

1. Expose Yourself To Other Industries

The first thing we tend to do when we’re on the Facebook Ad Library is to peek over the fence to see what our direct competition is up to.

Knock yourself out!

Viewing competitor ads is a great benefit, and there are so many other industries and brands worth looking at that have amazing ideas.

Why not search for a brand that you love or that is a complementary industry to yours?

Look at their competitor’s ads and see what they are doing well, what they have in common, what strategies they use, and what you’d like to emulate.

Then start testing.

2. Spot The Difference With A/B Testing

One of the great things about Facebook Ad Library is that you can easily see different versions of the same ad that brands are using for split testing.

A/B testing – like many other aspects of digital marketing like email marketing, landing pages, etc. – is so important for Facebook campaign success.

Much like those quizzes you did as a child where you had to spot the difference, your task will be to identify the elements being tested.

Different copy, same image?

Different call to action?

Facebook makes it really quick and easy to build a checklist of ad features to A/B test for your next ad.

If the big brands are doing it, so should you.

3. See Trends And Longevity

If you spend a bit of time browsing the Facebook Ad Library, you’ll eventually pick up on trends in design, layout, offers, and more.

Are other brands using video ads, carousel ads, image ads, slideshow ads, etc.?

This could be a great guide on where the target audience network is favorably leaning towards.

You’ll also be able to see what ads have been live for a long time – which means they are working!

You can find this by checking out when the ad was first launched.

Facebook freely shows this information, so don’t miss it.

It is an incredibly valuable insight into how well the ad is performing.

Active ads that run for a long period of time might be an indication that they are performing very well with Facebook users.

Just to stir the pot a little on trends, you could take another strategic angle on Facebook Ad trends: Spotting a clear trend might also be an opportunity to create imagery that is completely different.

This might help you stand out from the crowd.

4. Get The Jump On Competitors With Timing Cues

While creativity and copy are crucial to any Facebook ad, timing – or running times – is crucial for campaign success.

If your ad is premature, your audience will not be ready.

Too late and you may miss opportunities.

Take a cue from successful advertisers in your space when it comes to timing and adapt it for your own campaigns.

This is particularly useful when getting the jump on big-budget events in your marketing calendar like Back to School, Valentine’s Day, or Black Friday.

Make use of historical data on the Facebook Ad Library to exactly time your next campaign.

5. Funnel Mapping

Ads are not an end to themselves – they are typically built with a customer journey or funnel in mind.

The ad drives traffic to a destination; usually, a landing page that has been finely crafted to extract an action from the visitor.

Not only does the Facebook Ad Library allow you to see what ads are running, but you are also able to follow your competitors’ funnel by clicking through.

Do it – click and go down the rabbit hole.

Where does the ad take you?

Is it a Facebook page with Facebook products?

Are you sent to an online store with pricing or a special offer, or a gated page that requires an email address to access high-value information?

Maybe you’ll find a custom-designed landing page offering a free trial.

Experience the journey as if you are a customer, and use this intel for your next campaign funnel strategy.

Conclusion

It is worth bearing in mind that the ads only review the final part of their – and your – Facebook Ad strategy.

We have no access or visibility to anyone’s audience targeting criteria or context, audience network, or their ad spend, only to their ad creatives.

No matter!

Even without the targeting data on a campaign, the creative concepts are worth exploring.

While some advertisers view this much clarity as a threat, many more see the Facebook Ad Library as an opportunity.

Smart marketers think of it as an open door to creative inspiration when they’re in a bit of an advertising rut, need a bit of a boost for their next Facebook ad campaigns, or just want to up their marketing game and get better CTR on their advertisements.

I won’t tell if you won’t.

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Featured Image: metamorworks/Shutterstock