How do I create Facebook Ads data sources?

Visualize, discover, and act on your data with Klips and Klip dashboards.

Ready to get the most from your Facebook advertising data? Get started by setting up a connection between Klipfolio and your Facebook Ads data and adding some data sources.

When you're finished adding Facebook Ads data sources, you'll use them to power your custom Klips.

Note: To bring Facebook Ads data into Klipfolio you'll need access to a Facebook Ads account. See this Facebook Ads article to learn how: How do I add people to my Facebook Ads account?

This article includes:

• Connecting Klipfolio to your Facebook Ads data
  • Finding your Facebook Ads Account ID
• Adding a Facebook Ads pre-built data source
• Adding a Facebook Ads custom data source
  • Custom building: About APIs and queries
• Creating Facebook Ads custom Klips

Connecting Klipfolio to your Facebook Ads data

The first step in creating a Facebook Ads data source is to connect Klipfolio to your data.

Here are a couple things to note:

Your data is safe with us. The first time you connect your Facebook Ads data to Klipfolio, you'll be prompted to sign in to Facebook and give permission to allow Klipfolio to securely access data within your Facebook Ads account. We are serious about protecting your data privacy.

Managing your connections. By default, your connection name looks like this: yourname@Facebook <date and time created>. You can modify the default connection name when you create a new connection or from your list of connections, accessed by clicking your Account Name (located at the bottom of the left navigation sidebar) and selecting Account > Connected Accounts or by clicking the button in the left navigation sidebar and selecting Connections. You can use the same account connection every time you connect to Facebook Ads. If you have trouble accessing an existing connection, your OAuth token may have expired. If that happens to you, check out these troubleshooting tips.

How do I find my Facebook Ads Account ID?

If you choose to create a custom Facebook Ads data source, you may need to enter your Facebook Ads Account ID into a specific spot in the query.

To find your Facebook Ads Account ID:

• Navigate to your Facebook Business Manager page. Your Account ID is located on the homepage, under the Ad section. Copy the number after Account ID.

Adding a Facebook Ads pre-built data source

Our pre-built data sources focus on the most sought-after Facebook Ads data. Either use them as complete solutions or as starting points for custom building.

To add a Facebook Ads pre-built data source:

1. In the left navigation sidebar, click the 3-dot menu beside Data Sources and select +New data source.
   If you don’t see this option, go to the bottom of the left navigation sidebar and click your Account Name > Data Sources > +New data source.
2. On the Where is your data? page, select Facebook Ads.
3. Select a pre-built data source from the left section of the Choose a pre-built or custom connection page.
4. If this is your first time connecting to Facebook Ads:
   • Click Login with Facebook. Enter your Facebook login credentials and click Next. If prompted, click Allow Access to enable Klipfolio to securely access your Facebook Ads data. Click Continue.
5. If you've connected with Facebook Ads before:
   • Select an existing connection (token) from the drop-down list and click Continue.
6. On the Configure your data source page, select your Facebook Ads Account Name from the drop-down list, and then, if requested, select a Campaign.
7. Click Get data or, if you want to modify the pre-built data request, click Switch to Custom settings.
   Note: If you switch back to the Basic settings page after making changes in the Custom settings page, your changes will not be saved.
8. Ensure this is the data you’re looking for and, optionally, select the checkbox to Model your data. Learn more about modelling your data source. Note: Facebook Ads returns JSON formatted data. Learn how to model JSON data.
9. Click Continue.
10. Name, choose refresh settings, and, optionally, share your data source.
11. Click Save.

If you clicked Switch to Custom settings:

1. On the Configure your data source page, modify the Query URL to get the data you want. You can use the existing information in the Query URL text box as a base. It was auto-filled based on the pre-built data source you selected on the Choose a pre-built or custom connection page.
2. Click Get data.
3. Ensure this is the data you’re looking for and, optionally, select the checkbox to Model your data. Learn more about modelling your data source. Note: Facebook Ads returns JSON formatted data. Learn how to model JSON data.
4. Click Continue.
5. Name, choose refresh settings, and, optionally, share your data source.
6. Click Save.

The data source is added to your account and is ready to use for custom Klips. You can see all your data sources in your Data Source Library, accessed by clicking Data Sources in the left navigation sidebar.

Adding a Facebook custom data source

Need a unique set of data? When our pre-built data sources don't include exactly what you're looking for, create your own custom data source. You can either use a pre-built data source query as a base or write your own queries from scratch.

To add a Facebook Ads custom data source:

1. In the left navigation sidebar, click the 3-dot menu beside Data Sources and select +New data source.
   If you don’t see this option, go to the bottom of the left navigation sidebar and click your Account Name > Data Sources > +New data source.
2. On the Where is your data? page, select Facebook Ads.
3. On the Choose a pre-built or custom connection page, click Create a custom Facebook Ads data source.
4. If this is your first time connecting to Facebook Ads:
   • Click Connect an account. Enter your Facebook login credentials and click Next. If prompted, click Allow Access to enable Klipfolio to securely access your Facebook Ads data. Click Continue.
5. If you've connected with Facebook Ads before:
   • Select an existing connection (token) from the drop-down list and click Continue.
6. On the Configure your data source page, adjust the Query URL information to replace any generic placeholder query information with your own. For example, replace <your-account-ID> with your own Facebook Ads Account ID.
7. Edit the Query URL to return the data you need. Refer to the Facebook API documentation for details.
8. Click Get data.
9. Ensure this is the data you’re looking for and, optionally, select the checkbox to Model your data.  Learn more about modelling your data source. Note: Facebook Ads returns JSON formatted data. Learn how to model JSON data.
10. Click Continue.
11. Name, choose refresh settings, and, optionally, share your data source.
12. Click Save.

The data source is added to your account and is ready to use for custom Klips. You can see all your data sources in your Data Source Library, accessed by clicking Data Sources in the left navigation sidebar.

Custom building: About APIs and queries

Klipfolio connects to hundreds of services in the cloud that have a REST API. If you take the time to learn your service’s API to create queries for the data you want, your possibilities are endless. Here’s a quick overview video on APIs and Klipfolio:

Klipfolio API's 101

If you need help using APIs, ask a data analyst or developer.

Use the Facebook API Explorer to build and test your Facebook Marketing API queries before you use them to bring data into Klipfolio.

Refer to the Facebook Ads API documentation to discover more data requests.

See the reference table below for API related information and sample queries.

Creating Facebook Ads custom Klips

Now that you've created a Facebook Ads data source, you can return to it and use it to make custom Klips. A single data source can be used to create a single or multiple custom Klips.

To create a Facebook Ads custom Klip:

1. In the left navigation sidebar, click Data Sources to open your Data Source Library.
2. Select the Facebook Ads data source you want to use for your custom Klip.
3. On its details page, click Create a Klip.
4. In the Klip Editor, configure your custom Klip.
   If you need help, go to this article. (You can skip the “Choose the data source” step in the linked article. You’ve already chosen it.) You'll also find lots of articles on working with Klips in this section of our Knowledge Base.
5. Click Save.
   Your new Klip is ready to add to a dashboard. Learn about dashboards.

Note: You can also add Facebook Ads pre-built Klips. You'll find them in the Klip Gallery or, if you're a White-Label customer, in the Integration Gallery. Go to this article for detailed instructions on adding pre-built Facebook Ads Klips to your dashboards.

Want to learn more?

Check out these related articles:

• Klips: Introduction to data sources
• Klips: About JSON and XML data sources
• Klips: Guide to REST API data sources