Connect Meta Ads

Connecting Meta Ads brings Facebook and Instagram campaigns, ad sets and ads into Relator, with daily spend, reach, clicks, conversions and value. It powers paid media Performance, the Campaign manager and reports.

This article covers the own-account path (a business or freelancer with one ad account). In an agency, Meta comes in through the BM and each account is assigned to a client; the steps are in Connect the agency BM and MCC.

Before you start

• Have a Facebook login with access to the ad account you want to connect.
• If the account lives inside a Business Manager, confirm at business.facebook.com that your user has access to it.
• Check that your plan has a free source: the N of M sources counter sits at the top of Data sources. Each ad account takes one source.
• Set aside about five minutes. Login happens in a Facebook window.

Step by step

1. 1
   Step 1

   Open the sources screen

   In the sidebar, click Sources. The Data sources screen lists what is already connected. Click Connect new source.

   Illustrative screen

   Korra/Connections

   Ask RelatorAIPT

   Data sourcesAll your marketing data in one place, up to date and secure.

   1 of 4 sources2

   Connect new source1

   Connected sources

   • 

     Tempero websiteGoogle Analytics 4

     Fresh25 min ago

   1. 1Connect new source opens the list of platforms.
   2. 2The counter shows how many sources of your plan are in use.

2. 2
   Step 2

   Choose Meta Ads

   In the Connect new source dialog, Meta Ads is in the Paid media group. Click the card. Relator opens the Facebook login window.

3. 3
   Step 3

   Log in to Facebook and grant access

   Log in with the user that has access to the ad account. Facebook shows which Business Managers and accounts Relator will be able to see. If an Edit button appears, make sure the account you want is checked. Then accept the permissions.

4. 4
   Step 4

   Choose the ad account

   Back in Relator, the Choose the Meta account screen lists the accounts your login can see, by name. With many accounts, use the Search by name or ID box. Select one account and click Finalize.

   Illustrative screen

   Korra/Connect source

   Ask RelatorAIPT

   Choose the Meta accountSelect the Business Manager or ad account that will be connected.

   Search accountsSearch by name or ID

   1

   Ad accountTempero — PerformanceTempero — BrandUnnamed account

   2

   Finalize3

   1. 1Search accepts the account name or its Meta ID number.
   2. 2Pick one account at a time. Accounts with no name in Meta show as Unnamed account.
   3. 3Finalize creates the connection and takes you back to the sources screen.

5. 5
   Step 5

   Follow the first sync

   The account appears under Connected sources with the Syncing status. The last month arrives first, within minutes; the rest of the 90 days of history comes right after. When it finishes, the status changes to Fresh.

6. 6
   Step 6

   Connect more accounts if you need to

   For more than one ad account, open Connect new source again and click Meta Ads, even with the Connected badge. Each account becomes a row on the screen and takes one source of your plan.

What Relator asks Meta for

On the consent screen, Facebook lists the permissions by their technical name. In plain terms, they are used to:

• ads_read

  What it does in Relator

  Read campaigns, ads and results.

• ads_management

  What it does in Relator

  Create, edit, pause and activate campaigns, ad sets and ads from Relator, in the Campaign manager.

• business_management

  What it does in Relator

  See Business Managers and the ad accounts inside them.

• pages_show_list and pages_read_engagement

  What it does in Relator

  List the Pages linked to your ads.

• pages_manage_ads

  What it does in Relator

  Work with ads tied to a Page.

• leads_retrieval

  What it does in Relator

  Read submissions from lead ad forms.

What happens next

• Relator imports the last 90 days and keeps updating on its own. Today's numbers refresh every hour on any plan. See How often data updates.
• Each pass rereads the last 28 days, because Meta corrects conversions afterwards. See Why numbers differ from the platform.
• Data shows up in Performance › Paid media, in dashboards and in reports.

Common problems

• "No accounts are available to select." Your login can't see any ad account, or the account was left unchecked on the Facebook screen. Check access in Meta and connect again, checking the account.
• "OAuth was cancelled." The Facebook window was closed before the end. Click Meta Ads again whenever you are ready.
• "The OAuth session expired." The account selection step stayed open too long. Start again; it only takes a few seconds.
• Plan limit warning when finalizing. Your plan has no free source. Choose a bigger plan in the window that opens or add an extra workspace (each one brings 5 sources).
• Failed status after days working. Usually Facebook access was revoked or the password changed. Use Reconnect; see Manage connections.