We’ve all been there. That dreaded moment when we realize we’re out of ideas for content on social media. Or you wonder if your brand’s content is too similar to your competitors’ (no one wants to appear as a copycat). Before you start panicking and post something (or worse - run ads) that may not be relevant for your followers we have one piece of advice: get inspired by content from other brands. “I know how to check what my competitors’ are posting organically, but how can I see what they run in their paid ads?” you may wonder. The solution is simpler than you think: use the Facebook ads library to check out your competitors’ ads.
Before you continue reading, we have a video to illustrate this post, so feel free to take a look!
Tools are there for you
You may use the ads library to look at your competitors’, market leaders or simply brands you find inspiring - the opportunities are endless. However, before you start using this tool you may want to think about why and how you will be using the tool. Skip this step and you may not be able to extract any useful information. Are you looking for inspiration for your own content? Which part of the customer journey do you want to know more about? How does other businesses’ activities compare to your own activity and strategy? Once you’ve thought through what you will be looking for and how you will use that information, you are ready to use the tool.
A couple of IKEA Norway's ads
Great insight
All you need to do is go to facebook.com/ads/library, and search for the brand you would like to research. The results will show you any active ads the brand currently is running. You will also have the possibility to filter the results by country, date and platform. Even though there is some information you will not be able to see, such as engagement, you can still learn a lot.
By clicking “see ads details”, you will also see any multiple versions of the ad, as well as watch videos and click through to the landing page. Pro tip - if you check out the URL of the landing page, you will also be able to see the UTM-codes (if used), which also could be useful if you are looking for inspiration.
We hope you find this advice useful. If you would like to see the video version of this blog post, you can watch it here.
Happy research!