Meta (Standard) Campaigns

General

This article outlines the campaign workflow for configuring and activating standard Meta campaigns, which entails:

• Syncing campaigns and ad-sets from Meta campaigns with Flight Control campaigns.
• Configuring your campaign decisioning logic to toggle ads on and off on Meta.
• Generating and rendering ads based on the campaign logic.
• Publishing generated ads to Meta under the specified ad sets.
• Collecting insights and analytics, which are then integrated into cross-channel dashboards.

Note: Flight Control doesn't serve Meta ads directly. Instead, it generates all possible ad variations for each ad set in advance, publishes the ads to the Meta ad sets, and toggles ads (on/off) in real time to perform dynamic creative optimization (DCO).

Note: In some cases, publishing and activation may be impacted by service disruptions on Meta's platform. To verify availability or review ongoing incidents affecting Meta Business products, see https://metastatus.com.

Ad Types & Specifications

You can use the following ad types for Meta campaigns:

• Single Image
• Single Video 
• Carousel (supports a maximum of ten creatives)

The following creative template and image/video asset specifications exist:

• Template Type: Image and Video
• Image Ad Size: 1080x1080 (1:1), 1080x1350 (4:5), and 1080x1920 (9:16 — Stories)
• Video Ad Size: 1080x1080 (1:1) and 1080x1920 (9:16 — Stories)
• Recommended Duration: 5 to 15 seconds (but 1 second to 241 minutes is allowed)

We recommend referencing the safe area PNG overlay templates for Meta feed and story videos.

Supported ad placements

• Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other Meta placements that support the above ad types.

Supported objectives

• Awareness (Brand Awareness and Video Views)
• Traffic (Link Clicks and Landing Page Views)
• Sales (Conversions and Catalog Sales)
• Leads (Conversions on a website landing page only)

Supported metrics

• 1st Quarter
• 1st Quarter Rate
• Mid Point
• Mid Point Rate
• 3rd Quarter
• 3rd Quarter Rate
• CPA
• CPC
• CPM
• Click Through Rate
• Clicks
• Completed
• Completion Rate
• Conversion Rate
• Conversions
• Cost
• Impressions
• ROAS
• Sales
• Reach

User Permissions 

• You need the Campaigns user permission to create or edit campaigns.

Prerequisites

• Integrate with a Meta account.
• Have creatives stored in your account's Creative Library that apply to your social media campaign type.

Note: To add these connections in Flight Control, go to Account > Integrations. For more information, see Integrations Overview.

Meta (Standard) Campaign Workflow 

Once you've started a new campaign by clicking Create from the Campaigns page and selecting Meta > Standard Campaign as the campaign type, follow the steps below to set up and activate your Meta campaign in Flight Control.

At a high level, the setup process follows the steps outlined in the campaign header:

1. Configure General Campaign Settings.
2. Sync Meta Ad Sets with Flight Control.
3. Configure the Campaign Logic.
4. Generate and Render Ads.
5. Publish Ads.
6. Activate the Campaign Version.

Detailed Campaign Setup and Activation Workflow

1. Configure General Campaign Settings

The Campaign Homepage is the first step of the campaign, where you can: 

1. Add a campaign description.
2. Select any premium services (e.g., Sports, Weather).
3. Add campaign tags for reporting purposes.

2. Sync Meta Ad Sets with Flight Control

1. Navigate to the campaign's Ad Sets step of the workflow in the Header.
   • This is where you can connect your Flight Control campaign to your Meta advertising account.
2. Click Add.
3. Select a Meta account.
4. Select a Meta campaign.
5. Click OK.
   • This process can take a few seconds. Once finished, all connected Meta campaign ad sets will be displayed.

Flight Control will sync the ad sets from the Meta campaign.

3. Configure the Campaign Logic

1. Go to the Campaign Logic step in the campaign header.
   • This is where you can configure your decisioning logic to toggle ads on and off on Meta.
2. Add and connect decision cards to your campaign card as needed for your strategy:
   • Product Selection Card - This card selects a product from a product feed to display in an ad using a specified selection strategy.
   • Content Selection Card - This card selects a content item from a content feed to display in an ad using a specified selection strategy.
   • Condition Card - This card conditions by one or more attributes (usually ad sets/groups) and selects which card output and creative to use for an impression.
   • Schedule Card - This card lets you perform campaign actions like dayparting and other date/time ad-serving specifications.
   • Distribution Card - This card generates multiple ads for each ad set/group based on the number of card outputs used. The social media platform optimizes the ad serving between these ads using their personal optimization methods.
   • Creative Cards - Each creative card represents one or more ads that will be created for the social platform. Social campaign creatives come from your account's Creative Library.
3. Open the Creative Card Settings pane to customize each creative. See the table below for information on fields in Meta campaign creative cards:

Field Name	Description	Image	Video	Carousel
Ad Name	Allows you to define the name of the ad that will be created. If nothing is inserted, the creative name will be used.	Yes	Yes	Yes - In General settings tab
Image Name Video Name Media Name	Allows you to create a name for the media, image, or video asset published to the social platform (instead of using the creative ID as the default name).	Yes	Yes	Yes
Landing Page	Lets you choose the source for the ad's landing page. You can enter a URL to use by selecting Insert Manual Link.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Landing Page URL	Lets you enter a URL to use as the ad's landing page. Note: This field only displays if you selected Insert Manual Link for the Landing Page field.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Display URL	Lets you enter a "URL name" that will be displayed in the ad. When clicked or tapped, the user will be directed to the card's configured landing page URL.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Facebook Page	Lets you select a Facebook page to publish the ad to.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Instagram Account	Lets you select an Instagram account or enter an Instagram account ID to publish the ad to. You can also select Use Facebook Page, which will use the profile picture and title of your Facebook page in the Instagram account placements. Note: If you choose Use Facebook Page, and the page has an Instagram account associated with it, the Instagram account will be selected instead.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Primary Text	This text will appear on most placements, although its position will vary. Use @ to tag Facebook profiles or pages. It is recommended to use no more than 125 characters. Add up to five versions using the Add Primary Text option. Facebook will decide which text to use based on its campaign optimization while running the campaign.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Description (optional)	Lets you enter an ad description. The description will be displayed in your ad if it's likely to resonate with the person seeing it. It will only appear in some placements, and its position will vary. Note: This field doesn't apply to DPA Facebook campaigns.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Headline (optional)	Add up to five short headlines for image and video ads. Metea will decide which text to use based on its campaign optimization while running the campaign. For carousel ads, only one headline is needed.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Call to Action	Required. Use this to show a button or link in the ad that represents the action you want the user to take. Select from a predefined list of CTAs or macros.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Tracking	Lists all available website events for the synced account.	Yes	Yes	Yes
Carousel Optimization	Select the options that meet your requirements: Display carousel cards as a video: On the Facebook Feed, the carousel ad will display as a video based on potential performance lift. Automatically show the best performing cards first: on the Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, and Instagram Stories, shows the carousel card that performs the best. Note: for all other placements, the cards will appear in the order you arrange them. Add a card at the end with your page profile picture  Add music: On supported placements, Flight Control will sync your ad with music at no additional cost. All other placements will not be synced.	No	No	Yes

Tip: You can copy and paste cards from one campaign to another within the same account using Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V (Windows) or Command + C and Command + V (Mac). Only cards that are relevant to a specific campaign type can be pasted in the campaign map. If the creative for a duplicated creative card doesn't exist in the target account's Creative Library, the creative will be added.

Step 4: Generate and Render Ads

Once the campaign logic has been set up without any errors, the Generate Ads icon on the far right section of the header will become highlighted.

You must now generate all possible ad variations (outcomes) from your campaign map logic:

1. Click Generate Ads within the campaign's header to start the process of generating ads. Once ads have been generated, the system will automatically start rendering the ads.
   • You'll be directed to the campaign's Ads step once ads start generating.
2. Review your rendered ad variations within the Ads table.
   • Note: These are simulated social media previews. Minor preview discrepancies may exist before publishing ads to a social media platform.
3. Optional. Update ad variation elements individually or in bulk as needed (examples: primary text, headline, and CTA changes).

Note: The campaign logic will be locked once ad generation begins. Changes made to the campaign's feeds or creatives won't affect the campaign unless you click Generate Ads again.

5. Publish Ads

Once all ads have been automatically generated, the Publish icon on the far right section of the header will become highlighted, indicating that ads are ready to be published.

1. Click Publish to upload the generated ads to the Meta platform. This will bring up the Publish Ads window, where you can:

   Review the number of ads being published, updated, or deleted between the last version and the current version being published. Choose whether to pause all ads from the previous version or keep them running until the new version activates. Decide whether to permanently delete or simply turn off ads marked for deletion in the connected social media account. Choose whether the campaign version should activate automatically after ads are published, with options to enter a custom version name and description. Schedule a future activation time and determine what happens if ads fail to publish or are rejected by the social platform. Select how you want to activate the campaign: Once the first ad is approved (Recommended) Once all ads complete the review process, and at least one is approved Only if all ads are approved Click Publish and Activate or Publish, depending on the previously selected activation settings.

   2. Await the "published" status for all ad variations in the Ads step.
      • Note: Campaign version actions are disabled while ads are being published to social media platforms.

If publishing is successful, all ad variations in the Ads step will display a "published" status, and their social media platform ad IDs will populate. At this point, Flight Control uses actual social media placement renderings for creative previews.

Ads published to social media platforms are paused until you activate your Flight Control campaign, which is outlined in the last step of the workflow.

6. Activate the Campaign Version

Once ads are successfully published, the Activate icon on the far right section of the Header will become highlighted, indicating that the campaign version is ready to be activated.

To activate the campaign version:

Click Activate in the campaign Header. The Activate Ads window will be displayed. Optional. Enter a custom version name. Optional. Enter a version description. Select the Set time for future activation  checkbox and enter a day and time for the version to activate on. To cancel the scheduled activation, click the "x" symbol of the Scheduled Activation badge in the campaign header. You can then click Activate to initiate or reschedule activation. Select how you want to activate the campaign: Once the first ad is approved (Recommended) Once all ads complete the review process, and at least one is approved Only if all ads are approved Click Activate.

The campaign version will be activated and "locked" by default after activation occurs. Once a campaign version is activated, Flight Control will begin serving ads on Facebook, toggling ads on and off according to your campaign map configurations.

Important: Once your campaign is running on the social platform, you must make changes to Flight Control-related ads directly within Flight Control, not the social platform. Otherwise, unintentional changes and data overwrites may occur.