Facebook Ads as Source

UnifyApps enables seamless integration with Facebook Ads as a source for your data pipelines. This article covers essential configuration elements and best practices for connecting to Facebook Ads sources.

Overview

Facebook Ads is a powerful digital advertising platform that enables businesses to create, manage, and analyze targeted advertising campaigns. UnifyApps provides native connectivity to extract data from Facebook Ads efficiently and securely, supporting both historical data loads and continuous data synchronization.

Connection Configuration

Parameter	Description	Example
`Connection Name`*	Descriptive identifier for your connection	"MyAppFacebookAdsIntegration"
`Account ID`	Facebook Ads account identifier (without "act_" prefix)	"123456789012345"

Authentication Methods

UnifyApps supports three authentication methods for Facebook Ads:

1. Token Authentication

Parameter	Description	Example
`User Token`*	Facebook Page token	"EAABZCz..."

How to obtain a User Token:

Log into your Facebook Developers Console
Navigate to your App's settings
Go to the 'Tools & Support' section and select 'Graph API Explorer'
Click 'Generate Access Token'
Select the required permissions for Facebook Ads:
- ads_management
- ads_read
- business_management
Copy the generated token

2. OAuth Authentication

Parameter	Description	Example
`Account ID`	Facebook Ads account identifier (without "act_" prefix)	"123456789012345"

How to set up OAuth authentication:

Log into your Facebook Developers Console
Add the "Facebook Login" product to your app
Go to the Facebook Login Setting Section
Enter the Valid OAuth Callback URL
Save Changes

3. OAuth with Client Credentials

Parameter	Description	Example
`Account ID`	Facebook Ads account identifier (without "act_" prefix)	"123456789012345"
`Client ID`*	OAuth application client identifier	"123456789012345"
`Client Secret`*	OAuth application client secret	"abcdef1234567890abcdef1234567890"

How to obtain Client ID and Client Secret:

In the Facebook Developers Console, go to "Settings" > "Basic"
Scroll to find "App ID" (this is your Client ID)
Click "Show" next to "App Secret" to reveal your Client Secret
Copy both the App ID and App Secret securely

How to find your Account ID:

Go to Ads Manager
Your ad account ID number is shown above the search and filter bar in the account drop-down menu
Alternatively, find the number in your browser's address bar (look for act= in the URL)

Note

When entering the Account ID in UnifyApps, do not include the "act_" prefix. Only enter the numeric portion of the ID.

Supported Entities

UnifyApps can extract data from the following Facebook Ads entities:

Entity	Description	Common Use Cases
`AdCreatives`	Creative content of ads	Creative performance analysis, content optimization
`AdInsights`	Performance metrics and analytics	ROI measurement, campaign effectiveness
`Ads`	Individual ad units	Ad-level performance tracking, A/B testing analysis
`AdSets`	Collection of ads with shared settings	Audience targeting analysis, budget allocation
`Campaigns`	Overall campaign structure	Campaign planning, cross-channel comparison

Data Synchronization Method

UnifyApps implements reverse polling for all Facebook Ads entities:

Retrieves most recent data first, then works backward
Optimized for time-sensitive advertising data
Ensures newest performance metrics are prioritized in the synchronization process

CRUD Operations Tracking

When tracking changes from Facebook Ads sources:

Operation	Support	Notes
`Create`	✓ Supported	New record insertions are detected
`Read`	✓ Supported	Data retrieval via Facebook Ads API
`Update`	✓ Supported	Updates are detected as new inserts with the updated values
`Delete`	✗ Not Supported	Delete operations cannot be detected

Note

Entities in draft state are not ingested as they are not exposed by the Facebook Ads API
Update operations appear as new inserts in the destination
Delete operations are not tracked

Ingestion Modes

Mode	Description	Business Use Case
`Historical and Live`	Loads all existing data and captures ongoing changes	Complete advertising analytics with continuous updates
`Live Only`	Captures only new data from deployment forward	Real-time campaign monitoring
`Historical Only`	One-time load of all existing data	Historical campaign analysis or reporting

Choose the mode that aligns with your business requirements during pipeline configuration.

Common Business Scenarios

Advertising Performance Analysis

Extract campaign, ad set, and ad performance data
Analyze metrics across different dimensions (demographics, placements, etc.)
Identify highest and lowest performing ads

Budget Optimization

Track spend versus performance across campaigns and ad sets
Calculate cost per acquisition, ROAS, and other efficiency metrics
Identify opportunities for budget reallocation

Creative Performance Evaluation

Analyze which ad creatives generate the best engagement
Compare performance across different creative approaches
Identify creative elements that drive conversions

Cross-Channel Marketing Integration

Combine Facebook Ads data with other marketing platform data
Create unified marketing performance dashboards
Analyze customer journey across multiple touchpoints

Best Practices

Category	Recommendations
`Performance`	Schedule extractions during off-peak hours Extract only necessary metrics and dimensions Use date range filters for large accounts
`Data Quality`	Maintain consistent naming conventions across campaigns Document custom conversions and events Consider attribution window settings when analyzing conversion data
`Security`	Use dedicated app credentials for integration Apply principle of least privilege for API access Regularly rotate tokens if using token-based authentication
`Monitoring`	Set up alerts for synchronization failures Monitor API quota usage Track data volume changes for anomaly detection

Limitations and Considerations

API Rate Limits: Facebook enforces rate limits that may affect data extraction speed. UnifyApps implements optimized polling to work within these limits.
Data Retention: Facebook may limit historical data access. Consider this when planning historical data extraction.
Attribution Windows: Facebook's attribution model affects conversion reporting. Be aware of this when analyzing performance data.
Draft Items: Items in draft state are not available through the API and will not be ingested.
API Changes: Facebook regularly updates its API. UnifyApps adapts to these changes, but occasional adjustments may be necessary.

By properly configuring your Facebook Ads source connections and following these guidelines, you can ensure reliable, efficient data extraction while meeting your business requirements for advertising analytics and optimization.