A saying goes, “Keep your friends close and your enemy closer.” 

If you want to grow in the pool of smart organizations, it is important to keep a close track of your competition. To get an insight into what they are working upon, what strategy they are following, and will give you wisdom on your outline moving forward.

To be aware of the competitors’ marketing strategy, a combination of product placement, customer engagement, and social media plans is a breakthrough when you are new in the industry. Studying these plans gives you an inkling on what they are brewing, why they are doing it, and how they execute it. 

Businesses nowadays are competing to beat each other in the race of attaining customer attention. Mistakes that are often made by the newbies in the industry are spending a lot of time and money on improper positioning. It is a typical marketing error that influences customers to compare your product/services with your competition. For a startup, this kind of investment can be quite intimidating, but still, the passion for your business and the hunger to know about the competitor is overpowering.

Running era has made Facebook one of the most surfed platforms in the world. With this popularity, it sure has gained a status for advertising products & services online and promoting politicians and celebrity status. With the growing scandals and spamming, Facebook took its service a step ahead.

Facebook said, “We believe that when you visit a Page or see an ad on Facebook, it should be clear who it’s coming from. We also think it’s important for people to be able to see the other ads a Page is running, even if they’re not directed at you.”

Facebook has just the tool for the curious masses. Everyone has become Sherlock Holmes at least once in their life, well now you can have full exposure to it. With Facebook’s Ad Library Tool, you can do some serious stalking and spy on your competitors. 

In March 2019, Facebook presented us with the Ad Library Tool. It meant to provide transparency and reliability to the platform after the U.S Presidential Elections in 2016.

It is full of information; if it keeps track of your business, surely your competitors aren’t spared.

So, the question here is, “who is your competition?” or “who are you trying to compete with?”

If you have the answer, then it’s time to replicate their success in your business.

The Ad Library Tool allows you the freedom of search and surf; you can view ads running on its site as well as on Instagram by your competition. The unique factor that might give you an edge on stalking is that you will get to view the ads even if your opponent does not own either of those accounts. One can easily explore how the competition uses its strategy for customer engagement and modify its plan as per the most engaging content on the platform.

It is challenging to keep track of every ad post even if you follow their accounts, but with the Ad Library, you can have access to their active and inactive ad posts. A beneficial factor for startups testing the waters is that it gives them a leg up over the competition. It overflows you with information on what your opponent is posting, where they are posting, and when they posted it on social media platforms. 

Reconnoiter through Ad Library by Facebook

There are numerous tools you can surf on the internet to check up on the opponent’s social media strategy. Still, to get a reliable and non-traceable source, you must explore the Ad Library. 

When you open the Facebook Ad Library, you are to input your competition name in the search bar. It helps you to search All Ads, or you may also have a search based on Issue, Electoral, and Political. You even get an insight into how long they have been on Facebook and how many countries they are currently operating.

You may filter and access the ads by impressions. Facebook lets you know the number of times the ad gets displayed on the screen for the first time. If your competition is an established one, they must be running the ads in abundance on various other platforms. To filter by impressions will make you understand how often people view their advertisements. You may give a priority listing to it as well. From low to high or high to low on the right-hand corner of your screen, (depending upon the device you are using), to have a better understanding.

Awareness of Facebook advertising is universal, but incorporating those ads to influence masses is a challenge. While composing your ad, Facebook gives you the freedom of creativity; to play with the content and image and a carousel, slideshows, videos, or any collection you can introduce. Newbie businesses often experiment with just one set, and Ad Library gives you the floor to leverage for inspiration by reviewing the advertising a competitor is doing. It will reveal the status of their running ads on various platforms and their similarities and differences. A tone of transparency exhibits the idea about which ad is the most viewed and why?

When you are studying about the competitor’s most influential and engaging ad post, one must always take a thorough note on the content posted. The written content, or the message, along with the advertisement, is a crucial element to assess. A headline is foremost to pay attention to; it lets you know what the audience wants. What are the other essential factors of the most viewed ad, like image, video, GIF, meme, or a questionnaire? 

Another essential element in message one needs to learn about the call to action by them. Getting customers to buy your product/service is the end game of all businesses. One must learn from an experienced advertiser, on how to make the viewer click on that button. It may not always have a direct “Click to purchase” or “Buy Here” sign but might entice the audience with “Get it FREE here” or “Click here for FREE Sample.” 

If you can pin your audience in the long run, it is an achievement. Many established in your industry are experts in this. Grab that opportunity and study about the longest-running ads in your business area. Facebook Ad Library gives you the benefit of exploring that zone as well. It lets you filter by time like, 7 days, 30 days, and you may visit back up to 90 days for these kinds of searches. If you find something running for longer than a month, you have found a great deal. 

Moving with the trend is a trend. While surfing and stalking your competition strategies, if you find a similar pattern, then it’s time you take a spin on that as well. Be it the festivals or any other occasion; you will know what ground to differentiate and what to go similar on. Learning from the best in the industry is your first step towards strengthening a trustworthy bond with prospective clients.

Explore the best of Facebook Marketing with Propel Guru. 

Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram now.