How to Integrate Facebook Ads with Wicked Reports

This document is for Facebook Media Buyers who want to learn how to integrate and track Facebook Ads with Wicked Reports

Introduction to the Facebook Integration Wizard

The Facebook Ads setup process consists of running one simple integration wizard, with a couple of settings to select afterward. In this article, we'll walk you through the steps it takes to get integrated and all of the settings available to you. Furthermore, we'll also touch base on what comes after integrating your Facebook Ads account.

Let's get started.

Steps To Connect Your Integration

To set up your integration, you'll want to follow these steps:

  1. Login to your Wicked Reports account
  2. In your navigation menu, located on the left side of your dashboard, select the Setup dropdown menu and navigate to the Authorizations page.
  3. In the advertising data column, locate the Facebook section and press the green "Connect" button
    wicked advertising data
  4. When the Wicked Reports Integration Wizard launches for Facebook, press the green "Yes, Proceed" button:

    wicked reports integration wizard
  5. You will now be redirected to a very simple Facebook Wizard, where they will ask you a few questions.
    1. Would you like to continue as the user you're logged in with?
      1. If it's the correct user account you'd like to proceed with, then press the "Continue As ..." button.
      2. Otherwise, select "Not Now" and retry when you are logged into the correct Facebook user account.
    2. Do you want to opt-in with all your business or only the businesses you select?
      1. Select the choice "Opt into current Businesses only". Then select the individual businesses that you'd like Wicked Reports to integrate with.
        Note: These business accounts are not the same as your ad accounts.
    3. Do you want to opt in with all of your pages or only the pages you select?
      1. Select the choice to "Opt into all current and future Pages". 
    4. Lastly, they'll have you review the permissions that you've granted to Wicked.
      Press the "Save" button to continue.
    5. On the final screen, they'll prompt you that your integration was successful.
      Press the "Got it" button to continue. Once you've pressed that button, you'll then be redirected back to the Wicked Reports Authorizations page. 
Congratulations! Your integration has been connected. Continue reading to learn about the final settings you'll need to complete your Facebook setup.

Facebook Authorization Settings 

After integrating your Facebook account, you will be presented with three settings that you should give some thought to before making your selection.
  1. Do you want to turn on Facebook Auto Tagging?

  2. Do you want to push Lead Ad Contact Info into your CRM?
    multi touch marketing attribution software

  3. Which Ad Accounts would you like to connect?

Let's take a closer look at each option and get a deeper understanding of our choices. 

Do you want to turn on Facebook Auto Tagging? 
To track ad clicks effectively, you'll need your tag your Facebook Ad URLs with URL Parameters that Wicked Reports recognizes. When turned on, this option allows Wicked Reports to auto-update your Meta ads with the correct URL Parameters. However, when turned off, you'll be responsible for manually adding the correct URL parameters to each ad. 
  1. Yes, I want Wicked Reports FB Auto-Tracking (Recommended)
    1. We highly recommend turning on Auto-Tagging. This triggers Wicked Reports to automatically append the text “WickedSource=Facebook&WickedID=” to the URL params field of all existing and future Facebook ads.
    2. Wicked Reports checks for ads that are untracked every 2 hours, and then updates your Facebook Ads URL parameter fields with WickedSource and WickedID parameters.
    3. This setting will temporarily put your existing ads into review. So, if you have long-running ads with tons of social proof (likes, comments, and shares) that you do not want to risk losing, then select "No" and read more here. Otherwise, click “Yes” and this setting will update and automatically save.
  2. No, I do NOT want Wicked Reports FB Auto-Tracking
    1. Clicking here means that Wicked Reports will not auto-update the tracking on your Facebook Ads. That means you'll be responsible for ensuring you have the correct Wicked IDs on your ads. Click here to learn how to manually tag your Facebook Ads.
    2. When you have a couple of ads with long-standing superior performance and tons of social proof that you do not wish to risk the 1% chance of losing, then select “No” for this section for the time being. Next, you'll want to manually tag these ads using the instructions here.
      1. Know that after you manually update these important ads, you can turn on auto-tagging for future ads without risk.

Once you make your choice, your settings will automatically be updated.

Do you want to push Lead Ad Contact Info into your CRM?

With the right permissions, Wicked Reports will automatically attribute Facebook Lead Ads as part of the integration. However, this bonus option gives you the optional choice to push those leads directly into your CRM.

  1. Yes, I'd like to sync my Facebook Lead Ad leads with my CRM (checked). 
    1. If your Facebook Lead Ad leads are not currently synced with your CRM through another integration, then you should select yes here. This will ensure your Facebook Lead Ad leads are being added to your CRM.
    2. If you choose to sync Facebook and your CRM, then you'll be asked to select which CRM you'd like to connect to. Simply select the CRM you'd like the lead flow to populate in.
    3. This feature only works to sync lead data into one CRM.  
  2. No, I do NOT want to sync my Facebook Lead Ad leads with my CRM (unchecked)
    1. Many advertisers using Facebook Lead Ads already have integrations that push their Facebook Lead Ads into their CRM.  If so, leave this unchecked. 
Once you make your choice, your settings will automatically be updated.

Which Ad Account would you like to select?

This is the final Facebook Authorization Setting available to you. If the Wicked authorized user has admin permissions to multiple Facebook ad accounts across different Business Managers, then we'll make all those ad accounts available to integrate with. You simply need to select the ad account you'd like to integrate with. 

  1. If you only have one ad account, then this should be selected by default. However, if you have multiple ad accounts to choose from, press the "Edit" button.
  2. Select the ad account, or accounts, that you'd like to integrate with.
  3. Then, click Assign.
  4. Success will show a screen similar to this: 

That's it! Your Facebook Ad Accounts are now integrated and your settings are completed.

Steps to Validate Your URL Parameters

The purpose of validating your Facebook URL parameters is to ensure your Facebook campaigns will get the attribution they deserve. If these URL Parameters are not set up, among other key factors, then we will not be able to attribute your clicks, leads, and sales to the campaign that the users came from.

Fundamentally, all we're trying to do in this section is to ensure the WickedSource and WickedID Parameters (or custom UTMs) have been added to every single ad. Here's how:

  1. Login to your Facebook Ad manager
  2. Drill down to all the ad-level of the targeted Campaign you wish to validate
    Screen Shot 2023-03-16 at 8.21.31 PM
  3. Select all your ads
    Screen Shot 2023-03-16 at 8.20.29 PM
  4. Press the "Create Custom Report" button
    Screen Shot 2023-03-16 at 8.20.06 PM
  5. Press the "Customize" button and include the column named "URL Parameters"
    Screen Shot 2023-03-16 at 8.23.25 PM
  6. Verify WickedSource & WickedID are added to every ad.
    Note: Wicked Parameters will look like this "WickedSource=Facebook&WickedID="
    Screen Shot 2023-03-16 at 8.24.59 PM

That's it! You're Facebook AD URL Parameters have been added and verified. Great job!

What Happens Next?

Well, now that you're Facebook Ad Accounts are integrated and your URL Parameters have been validated:

  • Wicked Reports will start retrieving Ad costs at the campaign, ad set, and ad level.
  • Wicked Reports will start appending WickedIDs on newly created ads (assuming auto-tagging was enabled).
  • Wicked Reports will start pulling in Facebook Clicks, and other relevant Facebook columns, into your Funnel Vision Report

In addition, if the Wicked Tracking Script has been added to your website and forms, then: 

  • Wicked Reports will start tracking incoming Facebook clicks, detecting conversions from your CRM and Order Management Systems, and attributing revenue based on all our various models.
  • Your reports will begin to populate with Facebook Ad Attribution for all of the tracked clicks, leads, and sales that we've detected.
If you haven't already integrated the Wicked Tracking Script on your website, read more on that here. This is a requirement for Wicked Reports to track conversions and populate your reports with ad data. So, go review that document next to make sure your Wicked Tracking Script has been set up. If you have any questions about it or need assistance in setting it up, then you can reach out to your onboarding specialist or customer support. We're always happy to help.

FAQ's

  1. Can I turn on Facebook Auto Tagging after it's been turned off?
    Yes. To do so, click on the gear icon in your Facebook integration box to bring up the settings sub-menu option. Then update your auto-tagging selection to “Yes”.

    wicked reports advertising data settings

    1. All un-tagged Facebook ads will receive the WickedID tagging, and all future ads will get the tag within 2 hours of creation.
    2. After you make the change, your settings will automatically save.
  2. How do I manually add Wicked tagging to a Facebook Ad?
    Simply add this text string to the URL parameters field of your ad: WickedSource=Facebook&WickedID=. You can read more here. 
  3. Can I use Link Shorteners for my ad URLs?
    Yes. However, you need to make sure that you append the text “?WickedSource=Facebook&WickedID=” to the root link and confirm that the root link preserves and passes the parameters through to your website URL upon being clicked. 
  4. Can I use Link Redirects?
    Yes. However, you need to make sure that you append the text “?WickedSource=Facebook&WickedID=” to the root link and confirm that the root link preserves and passes the parameters through to your website URL upon being clicked. 
    1. When redirection is complete, the website URL field in your browser should show the appended query parameters, else you need to adjust your redirect settings to allow pass-through parameters (most popular redirect services have this option).
  5. How do I turn on Facebook Lead Ads?
    Facebook Lead Ads is turned on automatically. If you have the correct permissions in your Facebook account, your Lead Ad leads will automatically be attributed to the correct Lead Ad campaign.
  6. Does updating ads with Wicked source and ID for a Facebook Ad reset the learning phase of the Ad?
    1. No. Every edit you make (during the learning phase or after it) has some effect on delivery, but not every edit causes the ad set to reenter the learning phase. Only a significant edit causes an ad set to reenter the learning phase. Updating the Wicked ID manually is not considered a significant edit. 
    2. See this article by Facebook, "Significant Edits and Learning Phase", for more information.
  7. Why does my Facebook Ads say, "Posted (or Published) by wickedreports.com"?
    Have no fear - this is not customer-facing. This is only visible to the ad manager - Facebook updates this line with the last entity to edit the ad.

  8. Why did my Facebook Token expire?
    Here are the most common reasons your Facebook Token can expire:
    1. It expired automatically after 60 days.
    2. Inside Facebook, you change your login password or a security setting
    3. Your Facebook login lost access to the Facebook ads account that Wicked Reports used to get data.
      1. To fix these issues, simply deauthorize FB in your authorizations screen, log out of Wicked Reports, clear your cache, and log back in. In the case of option c, make sure you regain access before you re-auth.
  9. Why does it sometimes take my costs two days to align with Facebook?
    Facebook occasionally has a data delay with their API that impacts any 3rd-party integrator, Wicked Reports included. When our software recognizes this delay, Wicked Reports requests the cost data, once again, after two days to catch and update previously missing data.
  10. Why does my Facebook Lead Ad Campaign show more leads on Facebook than there are in Wicked for the same campaign?
    Likely, the Facebook user you have authorized with Wicked Reports does not have the proper permissions to the Facebook page where the form is hosted. Check to ensure your integrated user has the appropriate page permissions by visiting Facebook's Lead Access Manager on the page itself. If you have verified this yet are still seeing a discrepancy, then please reach out to support@wickedreports.com so that we can identify the cause.

Additional Setup (optional):

If you're interested, there are some optional choices that you can choose to set up with Wicked Reports. Remember, these are not required for a standard Facebook integration. However, if any of these apply to you, then simply read the corresponding instructions and take the actions outlined within the article.

How do I activate Facebook Lead Conversion API?
To activate the Facebook Lead Conversion API feature, read here.

How do I activate Facebook Sales Conversion API?
To activate the Facebook Sales Conversion API feature, read here.

How do I set up Facebook Boosted Posts?
You can read more on how to set up tracking for Facebook Boosted Posts here.

How do I set up Facebook ads with ManyChat?
You can read more on how to set up tracking for Facebook ads with ManyChat here.

How do I set up Facebook ads with AdEspresso?
You can read more on how to set up tracking for Facebook ads with Adespresso here.

How do I manually upload historical Facebook Lead Ad leads?
To manually upload historical Facebook Lead Ad leads, read here.

Troubleshooting

  • Are you having difficulty trusting your Facebook Ad Tracking?
  • Do you feel like something is off or missing?
  • Are you experiencing one of these issues?
    • I have no costs, leads, or sales
    • I have costs but no leads or sales
    • I have costs and leads but no sales
    • I have leads and sales, but less than Facebook says

Run through the Tracking Validation Routine. This routine is highly recommended, as it will walk you through the process you need to take to validate your tracking setup. If you're currently experiencing an issue, this routine is designed to find it. However, if you're still experiencing the issue after running this routine, then reach out to our customer support team and we'll help get things squared away!