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Meta advertising news, explained
What changed in Meta advertising, what it means if you run your own ads, and what to do about it. Each post links the sources it was written from, so you can check any claim against Meta's or the regulator's own page.
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Facebook ad creative explained
What ad creative means on Facebook and Instagram: the parts, formats, sizes in pixels, Meta's own best practices, and how to preview or share your ad.
Read the post →Facebook ads vs boosted posts
Facebook ads vs boosted posts, from Meta's own help pages: what a boost lets you set, what Ads Manager adds, how review and billing work, and who each suits.
Read the post →Ads in the wrong language
Facebook ads in Spanish, French or Arabic, or showing in other states? The Meta settings that translate ads and widen locations, and how to turn them off.
Read the post →How Facebook ad campaigns work
How a Facebook (Meta) ad campaign works: what is decided at campaign, ad set and ad level, and where the budget sits, taken from Meta's own help pages.
Read the post →How much Facebook ads cost
Meta has no price list for Facebook and Instagram ads. How budgets, minimums, billing, GST and VAT work on Meta's own pages, and whether Ads Manager is free.
Read the post →Is Meta Ads Manager down?
Is Meta Ads Manager, the Ad Library or Business Suite down? Check Meta's own status page first, then try Meta's browser fixes if the problem is on your side.
Read the post →Meta ad campaign not spending
Why a Meta or Facebook ad campaign is active but not spending or delivering: each Delivery status, the cause Meta gives for it, and the fix, from Meta's pages.
Read the post →Meta ads campaign objectives
Meta's six campaign objectives, how Meta says to choose one, what each limits, and what you need to create a first Facebook or Instagram ad campaign.
Read the post →Meta pixel explained
What the Meta pixel is, whether it is free, how it uses cookies, how it differs from the Conversions API, and what to check when it is not working.
Read the post →Pause, stop or delete a campaign
How to pause, stop, delete or extend a Meta (Facebook) ad campaign in Ads Manager, and what each does to spend, billing, results and the learning phase.
Read the post →Advantage+ audience explained
What Advantage+ audience is, what Meta does with the targeting you enter, which inputs are hard limits, and how to switch to original audience options.
Read the post →Advantage+ vs manual placements
Advantage+ placements vs manual placements on Meta: the current placement list, what excluding one changes, the 5% limited spend option and account controls.
Read the post →Create a Meta ad account
Every Facebook account already has an ad account. How to open Meta Ads Manager, add more ad accounts, and what a Facebook ad agency account really is.
Read the post →Facebook ads for real estate
Meta's housing Special Ad Category rules for real estate ads: who must declare, what age, gender, postcode and lookalike targeting is limited, and what's open.
Read the post →How to run Instagram ads
How to run Instagram ads through the app, instagram.com, Business Suite or Ads Manager: what you need, the no-Facebook route and the Apple fee on iPhone.
Read the post →Meta ads bid strategies
The five Meta ads bid strategies, what each tells the delivery system, when Meta suggests each, and how Advantage+ campaign budget works with them.
Read the post →Meta ads billing and payments
How Meta bills for Facebook ads: payment thresholds, bill dates and prepaid funds, why a payment fails and the fix, where receipts are, and how ad credits work.
Read the post →Meta ads metrics explained
What reach, impressions, frequency, results, CTR, CPC, CPM, ROAS and hook rate mean in Meta Ads Manager, with the definition and formula Meta gives for each.
Read the post →Ads on Facebook and Instagram Reels
Where Facebook and Instagram ads on Reels appear, the video, image and carousel specs, safe zones, how to select or exclude Reels, and what Meta claims.
Read the post →What is Meta Business Suite
What Meta Business Suite is, whether it is free, whether it is a CRM, what you can do in it and Meta's own fixes when it will not post to Instagram.
Read the post →Advantage+ catalogue ads explained
Advantage+ catalogue ads, formerly dynamic ads: what a catalogue and product set are, what Meta requires, and how they differ from Advantage+ sales campaigns.
Read the post →Downloading Ad Library videos
The Meta Ad Library has no download button. What Meta offers instead, what its terms say about downloader tools, and how to study an ad without the file.
Read the post →Ad Library product research
How to use the Facebook Ad Library for product research and dropshipping: keyword and exact-phrase search, filters, what a listing shows, and its limits.
Read the post →Facebook ad text limits
Facebook and Instagram ad text explained: what primary text, headline and description are, and the character lengths Meta recommends for each placement.
Read the post →Facebook ads targeting options
What Meta lets you target on Facebook and Instagram ads: location, postcodes, age, interests, custom and lookalike audiences, and what has been removed.
Read the post →Meta pixel on Shopify and WordPress
The official way to add the Meta pixel to Shopify and WordPress, what each integration sets up, and the fixes each help page gives when it will not connect.
Read the post →Ad Library filters explained
Every Meta Ad Library filter and sort option, what the low impression count label means, and why commercial ads cannot be sorted by performance.
Read the post →Meta ads certification
Meta's current ads certifications, what each exam costs, how it is taken and renewed, the free Meta Blueprint courses, and how to judge any other course.
Read the post →Meta ads for nonprofits
Meta ads for nonprofits, from Meta's own pages: no ad credits or grants, where the donation tools work, and when a charity's ad needs a Paid for by label.
Read the post →Meta lead ads and instant forms
What Facebook lead ads and instant forms are, from Meta's own help pages: form types, questions, the 90-day download limit, performance goals and Advantage+.
Read the post →Advantage+ creative enhancements
What Meta's Advantage+ creative enhancements can change in your ad, which are on by default, and how to review and switch each one off in Ads Manager.
Read the post →Ad Library spend and reach
The Meta Ad Library shows spend ranges only for political and issue ads, and reach only for EU and UK ads. Clicks and conversions are never shown.
Read the post →Less personalised ads in the EU
What Meta's less personalised ads choice for EU users is, the dated history behind it, what data it uses, and what it means for your targeting and creative.
Read the post →Meta EU political ads ban
Meta stopped political and social issue ads in the EU on 6 October 2025. What the EU rule requires, what counts as a social issue, and what to check.
Read the post →Meta fully automated ads 2026
Where Meta's end-of-2026 automated ads goal came from, what Meta has said on the record, what had shipped by October 2026, and what is still unconfirmed.
Read the post →Meta scam ads and advertisers
Reuters reported Meta projected 10% of 2024 revenue from scam ads; Meta disputes it. What followed, and how to verify, appeal a rejection and report fakes.
Read the post →Google, LinkedIn, TikTok ad libraries
How to look up a competitor's ads in the Google Ads Transparency Center, LinkedIn Ad Library and TikTok Commercial Content Library, compared with Meta.
Read the post →Meta ads changes, October 2026
Meta retired Marketing API v24.0 on 6 October 2026 and removes Messenger Stories, poll ads and three delivery estimate fields on 27 October. What to do.
Read the post →Andromeda and GEM explained
What Meta has published about Andromeda and GEM, what each does in ad delivery, and what Meta has and has not said about how many creatives you need.
Read the post →Meta at Advertising Week 2026
What Meta announced for advertisers on 6 October 2026: which features are open to all now, which are still in testing, and what a small advertiser should do.
Read the post →Advantage+ campaigns in 2026
What makes a Meta campaign Advantage+ in 2026, when Advantage+ shopping and app campaigns closed, and the audience, placement and budget controls you keep.
Read the post →Copying vs inspiration in ads
What the US Copyright Office, USPTO, FTC, UK regulators and Meta say about borrowing an idea from a competitor's ad versus copying it. Not legal advice.
Read the post →How long an ad has run
Find the start date on any Meta Ad Library listing, learn what the active, inactive and version labels mean, and why a long run is not proof of profit.
Read the post →Meta Ad Library API
Who can use the Meta Ad Library API, the access steps Meta lists, which ads it covers, the fields it returns and why most commercial ads are missing.
Read the post →Meta ads AI connectors
What Meta's ads MCP server and Ads CLI let Claude or ChatGPT read and change in your ad account, how to connect one, and the controls Meta describes.
Read the post →Meta ads attribution settings
What Meta's click-through, engage-through and view-through windows count, what incremental attribution is, and why Ads Manager differs from Google Analytics.
Read the post →Meta ads learning phase
What Meta's help pages say about the ads learning phase: about 50 results in a week, which edits restart it, and how to fix Learning limited.
Read the post →Ads Manager vs Business Suite
Which Meta tool you need: Ads Manager, Business Suite or a business portfolio. The correct address for each, how to log in, and what to check if it fails.
Read the post →Meta Q2 2026 results
Meta's Q2 2026 results: ad revenue up 27%, impressions up 14%, average price per ad up 12%. What those company-wide figures mean for your own ad costs.
Read the post →Ads on Threads in 2026
Threads ads opened to all advertisers in April 2025 and reached every market in 2026. Placement defaults, specs, brand controls and what Meta has not said.
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Meta changes its tools often, and rules differ by country. Each post shows the date it was last checked; where the detail matters, confirm it against the source linked in the post.
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Mockingbird is an independent product from Onwards Analytics and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Meta. Meta, Facebook, Instagram, Meta Ads Manager and the Meta Ad Library are trademarks of Meta Platforms, Inc. Meta changes its tools often; check Meta's own help pages for the current detail before you rely on it.