Have you seen or heard the latest news about Facebook Ads? You can now view any active ads that any Facebook page is running!
This is all part of Facebook’s mission to be more transparent, particularly when it comes to US elections.
Now, before you panic, just breathe and relax. It’s not something to fret about.
This isn’t actually new in Canada (see my post where I talked about it a few months ago). It’s just become available everywhere, and is easier to find.
How to See the Ads?
When you go to any page using your desktop computer, you’ll see a menu down the left side. Select the Info and Ads options. You’ll either see a note that there no ads running, or you’ll see the ads running by country.


What Can You See?
You can see the creative aspect of any current ads, for both boosted posts and full campaigns. This means you can see the image/video and the copy.
What Can’t You See?
You can’t see the budget, timeframe, ad placement, or any targeting information.
Any good Facebook marketer knows that without knowing the full picture, and the targeting details in particular, just seeing the ad itself isn’t enough to “steal” the ad and its effects.
It is an interesting way to peek at what competitors are doing though.
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