Facebook Ads
Bulk Upload Quick Start Guide
Last updated: February 19, 2010
Introduction
The Facebook Ads Bulk Upload Tool is an extension of the Facebook Ads product. This quick start guide describes the features and usage of the Facebook Ads Bulk Upload Tool. The Bulk Upload Tool allows the creation of multiple ads from a single transaction of data stored in a spreadsheet file. It also helps make experimentation with Facebook Ads scalable and efficient.
The Bulk Upload Tool is in a limited beta. The tool can be accessed via a link in your Ads Manager.
You must be granted permission to access the tool. Please contact your account manager if you are interested in using the tool.
Please note that the Bulk Upload Tool is not a final product. Features will be added or changed at any point based on advertiser feedback. If you experience any problems using the tool, or have ideas on how to make it more efficient, please send the details to your account manager.
Compliance: Use of bulk upload functionality is subject to Facebook’s Advertising Guidelines (http://www.facebook.com/ad_guidelines.php). Abusive behavior will not be tolerated and may result in disciplinary action on your account, from the loss of this functionality up to and including account termination. If you have questions about your content, contact your account manager.
Getting Started
To use the Bulk Upload tool, you must have the following:
• An active advertising account with Facebook
• A spreadsheet program (such as Microsoft Excel)
• A working internet connection How does the bulk upload file work?
You will use your account to upload your bulk upload file. This file will contain the ad text, targeting, and bid information for all your ads. Save Excel files as tab-delimited text files in the Unicode Text format. They will have the extension (.txt). If you are on a Mac, you must go through the “Save as” process.
How many ads can my account hold?
A Facebook Ads account can typically have up to 5,000 ads. If your Bulk Upload file will cause your account to exceed this limit, you may want to delete old campaigns beforehand. You can also setup more than one account in order to accommodate more ads.
What image formats do you accept and what is the image file limit?
If you are including images with your ads, they can be in the .jpg, .gif, .png, or .bmp format. To
How to create your bulk upload file
1. Download: Download the excel template from the main bulk import page by clicking on
“Excel Template” and saving it to your computer.
2. Review: Review the “Field Definitions” link on the bulk import page so that you understand how to format the different fields in the file. You can also mouse over the field names in the header row to get a quick definition of what each field means.
3. Open: Open the excel template. The first two lines of the template are examples.
4. Create: Next, create your ads. Note that each row in the file corresponds to 1 ad.
a. Ad number limit: You can enter as many ads as you want in one file. To make processing the file more efficient, we recommend entering no more than 2,000 ads per file.
b. Keywords: We will attempt to target every single keyword you enter into your file. If a keyword doesn’t exist, we will still process the file, we just won’t be able to target the keyword you’ve listed.
5. Save your file: Save your file as a Unicode Text file. You can do this by clicking on “Save as”
and then selecting “Unicode Text” from the format type menu. You’ll receive one or two pop-up warnings. Always click “Yes” or “OK” and continue to save the file as a .txt.
Uploading your file
1. Import page: Go to the main bulk import page. You can access it here:
a. http://www.facebook.com/ads/manage/bulk/import.php
b. You should see the following screen. If you don’t, please contact your account manager.
2. Browse for your file: Click on the “Browse” button and browse your computer for the text file that you just created and saved.
a. Keep the “Import Type” as “tab-separated-txt”.
b. Keep the “Image Upload Type” as “zip”.
c. If you are uploading fewer than 5 images, you can change the radio button selection to “individual files” and upload the individual files on your computer.
3. Import your file: Click on the blue “Import” button. Your ads will now process.
a. If there are errors on any lines, you will see red error messages appear. Each error message will correspond with a specific ad and line in your file.
b. Review your errors and correct them. Then save the file and upload it again. If you have questions, please contact your account manager to help diagnose the errors.
c. If your file processes without any errors, you’ll be automatically directed to the preview page.
What are the common errors in this phase?
1. Invalid targeting: If you get an invalid targeting error message, check the targeting fields in your file and make sure there are no typos or formatting issues. Refer to the definition document to review proper formatting for each field.
2. Campaign_name or ad_name too short: Make sure that each row in your file includes a corresponding campaign name and ad name. If a row is missing either of these fields, enter in the missing data and upload the file again.
3. Bid price below minimum bid: To ensure that all your ads receive impressions, make sure that the bid price for your ad is above the suggested minimum bid.
4. Image field: Any image field errors are generally the result of misnamed images. Images are case sensitive so make sure the names exactly match as they are saved on your computer.
Think that you might have a bug?
Please tell your account manager about the issue you are having. Include in your email:
• Your account login address
• Information about and description of the problem
• Exact wording of any error messages you are seeing
• Relevant screen shots of error messages or problem areas
• Copy of the bulk upload file you are trying to import as well as the image zip file to accompany it
Previewing your ads
We will show you a preview glance of the ads in your file. You’ll be able to see an image, the ad text, the targeting, bid, and bid type per ad. If everything looks OK to you, click on the blue
“Commit Ads” button. If you are unsure about something, go back and revise your file and don’t hit the “Commit” button.
Preview Limitations:
1. Only your first 50 ads are shown in the preview.
2. The link preview has a 30 character limit. If you want to view the full URL, hover over the link section to see it.
Commit Ads
Once you hit the “Commit” button your ads will save and then enter the ad review process. Each ad will process individually and will show up as saved. Be sure to keep the window open until all ads have been processed and saved.
If committing isn’t successful: Send a screenshot to your account manager. You may also try refreshing this page and/or re-importing the ads.
If committing is successful: You’ll get a green message at the bottom of the screen that your ads were uploaded successfully. You can then view them in your Ads Manager.
Editing your ads
You can edit the following fields via the bulk tool:
1. Bid_Level 2. Ad_Status To edit your ads:
1. Click on the “export” link on the main bulk page. You can export ads in a .csv file by campaign or by all campaigns.
2. The ad ids and campaign ids will appear as something similar to “6.00229E+12.” Your excel program usually will default the format to decimal. Right click on the column, click on
“format cells” and then format it as a number. You will then see the entire string of numbers appear. Every ad has a unique ID. Every campaign has a unique ID.
3. Edit your bid levels or ad statuses. You can only make the ad status “paused” or “active”.
4. Re-upload the file.
Ads Manager
Go into your Ads Manager to view the ads you just bulk uploaded. If you need to make any changes, feel free to edit the ads directly from your Ads Manager.
Keep track of your ads by pulling a report for your bulk uploaded ads after they have run for a few days. Analyze your ad performance and upload new ads based on the data you’ve gathered.
Optimize your ads with the bulk upload sheet.
