How to Spy on Your Competitors

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⏰ The Summary

• This one tip will change your social media game

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Today I will show you a simple tip that will change your social media game.

It does not require any tools and is completely free.

Can be done in any industry or vertical you want.

It will help you create better content, ad creatives AND help you see what your competition is doing.

When I share this tip with my clients, they’re usually shocked such information is available in public.

Let’s dive in!

The Secret Tools to Spy on Competitors & Improve Your Content

I’m talking about two tools for Meta (FB and IG) and TikTok that do the same thing for their respective platforms.

1. Meta Ads Library

2. TikTok Top Ads Dashboard

What are they?

Both are free tools where we can search and view active and past ads from any advertiser.

Meta and TikTok make this data public to increase transparency.

Meta’s tool was launched in 2018 for ads related to political and social issues, but it has since expanded to include all advertisers on Meta’s platforms.

Both tools offer a completely exhaustive, and transparent look into any advertiser on Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.

Why this should Matter to You

Beyond spying on any brand’s ads, these tools help you do three things:

1. Find new content ideas: Because you can search by keyword or topic, you can use these ad libraries to inspire new ideas.

2. Find opportunities to stand out: You may find that many of the ads in your industry look similar, use the same type of language, or highlight the same value propositions.

3. See what’s ‘working’: Find out if any common formats, specific hooks, or trending lingo seem to be working.

4. Insider tip 💡: Look at how long these ads have been active. The longer an ad has been running, the more likely it’s been bringing in positive results to the brand.

How to Use the Ad Libraries

1. You can access:

   • Meta Ads Library here

   • TikTok’s Top Ads here

2. Type in a business name (like a competitor) or a specific topic or keyword in the search bar

3. From there, you’ll be able to see all the relevant results for your search

4. Choose the filters you want

5. Enjoy! 😉 

Practical Example

I love Magic Spoon Cereals’ content and ads. So here’s an example of us looking at their ads libraries:

• See Magic Spoon’s ads on Meta

• See Magic Spoon’s ads on TikTok

Bonus Tip: TikTok’s AI Analysis 🤯 

TikTok takes this a step further and provides AI analysis for any ad you choose.

The AI analysis shows me:

• Industry, region, and objective

• Ad performance

• A detailed analysis of the video (problem/solution, USPs, a transcript of the ad)

Taking it to the Next Level 🔥 

To take it up a notch, I supplement these free tools with Foreplay*.

I’ve been using Foreplay to save ads, share inspo boards, do market research, spy on my clients’ competitors since January—I love love love it! 😍 

If you know me or we’ve worked together recently, you’ve definitely received a Foreplay inspo board of ads from me.

*Affiliate link

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