How to Set Up Facebook Ad Reporting

Introduction

To accurately track the performance of your Facebook ad campaigns within your CRM, proper setup is essential. This guide will walk you through the steps to configure your ads for detailed reporting, helping you identify which campaigns, ad sets, and individual ads are driving the best results.

Before You Begin

Before configuring your ads, please note the following important points:

• If you are directing traffic to a landing page, you should set up both the Facebook Pixel and Facebook Conversion API within your CRM's Workflows.
• Avoid using special characters or emojis in any UTM parameters or other trackable fields.
• When previewing an ad in Facebook, the UTM parameters will not be visible in the link. This is normal behavior.

How Attribution Data is Recorded

First ad attribution data is captured for contacts who originate from specific entry points. If a contact comes from any other source, the first attribution data field will remain empty.

The entry points that trigger attribution are:

• Form submissions
• Survey submissions
• Calendar appointments
• Directly from a Facebook Lead Ad
• Two-step order forms
• Chat widget interactions
• Inbound calls (Note: This only works for click-to-call scenarios, not when a lead dials a number pool directly)

Available UTM Parameters in the CRM

Once a contact is created, the following UTM tracking parameters are available on their profile for reporting:

• Campaign Name: {{contact.attributionSource.utmCampaign}}
• Adset Name: {{contact.attributionSource.utmMedium}}
• Ad Name: {{contact.attributionSource.utmContent}}
• Campaign ID: {{contact.attributionSource.campaignId}}
• fbclid: {{contact.attributionSource.fbclid}}
• gclid: {{contact.attributionSource.gclid}}
• Referrer: {{contact.attributionSource.referrer}}

Best Practices for Naming Campaigns in Facebook

To ensure your reporting remains accurate, follow these naming conventions:

• Campaign names, ad set names, and ad names must be unique.
• Do not change the name of a campaign, ad set, or ad after it has been created. If you need to make a change, you must create a new campaign, ad set, or ad instead.
• If you modify an existing ad's name instead of creating a new one, the CRM will continue to report data under the original name.

Example of a Correct Setup:

• Campaign Name: Campaign - Happy Teeth
• Ad-set Name: Campaign#1 - Happy Teeth - Audience #1 (San Rafael, Ca 20 mile radius - M&F)
• Ad Names (Unique):
  • Ad#1: Happy teeth - Carousel Ad - Audience #1
  • Ad#2: Happy teeth - Video Ad - Audience #1
  • Ad#3: Happy teeth - Image Ad - Audience #1

How to Add UTM Parameters in Facebook Ads Manager

Follow these steps to add UTM tracking to your Facebook ads.

Step 1: Access Your Ad

Navigate to your Facebook Ads Manager. Select the campaign you want to edit, then go to Manage ads -> Ads -> Edit for the specific ad.

Step 2: Locate the Tracking Section

Scroll down in the ad editor until you find the section labeled Tracking.

Step 3: Build the URL Parameters

Click on the option to Build a URL parameter.

Step 4: Configure the Parameters

Complete the following steps to set up your UTM parameters:

1. For Campaign Source, type fb_ad into the field.
2. For Campaign Medium, select {{adset.name}} from the dropdown menu.
3. For Campaign Name, select {{campaign.name}} from the dropdown menu.
4. For Campaign Content, select {{ad.name}} from the dropdown menu.
5. Click the Add Parameter button.
6. Enter campaign_id as the Parameter name and for the Value, select {{campaign.id}} from the dropdown menu.
7. Click Apply to save your changes.

Please note that Facebook will need some time to verify and approve your ads. Once approved, your ads will begin running and tracking data via the UTM parameters will appear in your CRM.

Troubleshooting

Q1: When previewing my ad in Facebook, I do not see the UTM parameters.

This is expected. Facebook does not append UTM parameters to links when you are viewing an ad in preview mode.

Q2: I'm not seeing first attribution data for my contacts.

First ad attribution data is only recorded for contacts who come from the specific entry points listed earlier in this article (e.g., form submissions, Facebook Lead Ads). For contacts from other sources, this data will be blank.

Q3: I changed something in my ad, ad set, or campaign and now my reporting is inaccurate.

As noted in the best practices, you should not change the names of existing campaigns, ad sets, or ads. If you need to make a change, create a new one. Modifying an existing entity will cause the CRM to continue reporting under the original name, leading to confusing data.

Q4: I do not have a Facebook Business Account or Ads Manager.

Facebook Ads Manager is a required tool for managing paid campaigns. If you have not yet created a Business Account and Ad account, you will need to do so on Facebook's platform before you can proceed with the setup described in this article.