How To Spy On Your Competition On Facebook

 

By studying your competition on Facebook, especially their ads, you can learn about their performance. It can give you a better understanding of their target audience and the various strategies they use to promote themselves and keep their fans engaged. 

An analysis of competitors’ ads will enable you to identify the factors that led to their success or failure. It will also help you pinpoint the most critical assets and skills needed to beat your competitors on Facebook. In addition, it can assist you in creating highly effective and engaging ads. It's important to remember that, while you're using the Facebook Ad Library, you should not replicate competitors’ well-performing ads. Use them as inspiration and be unique with your own content. 

The Ad Library can only give you limited information about your competitor's ads. But combined with other tools, it will help you figure out your competitor’s strategy. 

The First Steps 

To locate the Facebook Ad Library, go to your competitor's page, and you will be able to see their Page Transparency section. To spy on Facebook ads on mobile devices, go to the page and scroll down to the "Page Transparency" section. After opening the Ad Library, you will see a list of the ads they have running and their impressions by date, platform, and active ads.  

                    

Another way to do this is by visiting the Ad Library, where you can type the name of the specific page you want to check.

 

Once you are on the specific page in the Ad Library, you can filter the search by selecting language, platform, media type, and impressions by date. 

You can also see the countries where your competitors run the most ads. By clicking on the countries, you will see which ones are being targeted by your competitors. 

Even though you can't see how many engagements the ads are generating, you can still see where the ads are taking you. Since landing pages are your primary traffic source, it's better to have one dedicated to your ad campaigns.  

By analyzing your competitors’ paid ads, you can better understand how they spend their money. If they only have a few ads, they spend less than their competitors. Based on the number of ads they currently have running, you can determine how much your competition on Facebook spends on paid ads. 

Spying Instagram Ads 

To spy on your competitor's Instagram ads, follow the steps below. 

By clicking on the "Ad Library" button, you will be taken to a page where you can learn more about the account. In the Filters section, select Instagram, and you will be able to see the ads that the page is running only on Instagram.

 

What To Analyze 

There are a few things to consider when looking at competitors’ ads. Do they run their ads for various reasons, such as increasing brand awareness and selling particular products, or are they part of their retargeting campaign? 

Follow these steps to spy on your competition on Facebook and Instagram and identify the exact targeting strategy of their ads:

• Do they use stock images or their own material for creatives? Do they have videos or animations in their ads, or are they using texts over images? 

• What are the image types that they use to highlight various product features? Do they show a product by itself or being used by a person in real life? 

• Do they run ads in different languages to reach out to the native speakers of their local markets? 

• Are they using variants of ads to promote the same product? For instance, your competitor runs two ads with the same heading and different images. They are also running these ads to test which one drives more traffic. 

 

 

• Do they use a text that says "Get them now" or "Learn more”? If they are, think about the reasons why they're running these ads.

• To know how long your competitor has been running ads, follow their ad history to see how long they've been running. It will give you a better understanding of their messaging and targeting. 

• A good way to measure the effectiveness of an ad is by analyzing the number of engagements and the number of people talking about it. This will help you identify the ad's most influential creative aspects. 

• Follow your competitor's marketing funnels to get a deeper understanding of their ads’ effectiveness.   

Conclusion 

One of the main questions you should ask yourself is, "Who are your biggest competitors?" This is an excellent question as it allows you to understand the competition in your industry better. Having this information can help you develop effective marketing strategies. 

Another big thing is creativity. It is what people are looking for in today's market. In some cases, it can be hard to develop a creative solution that will be effective for your target audience. Developing a solution without checking competitors' offerings can be harmful. 

Get inspired by your competition on Facebook and Instagram and create better solutions. Write down the best ideas, come up with even better ads, test them, and help your business grow. 

If you're looking for help to run Facebook ads for your brand, schedule a call with us. We have a team of professionals ready to develop and follow a custom-made advertising strategy for your business! 

 

About the author

Aleksandra Ivanić is a Facebook Ads Specialist at Sellers Alley. As a PPC Specialist, she has experience building, maintaining, and running successful digital marketing campaigns. Aleksandra is skilled at creating and implementing client-focused, successful campaigns to improve brand awareness and presence. She has a sound knowledge of running various campaigns, from the standard Video and Image to Remarketing.