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Ad Configurations FAQ

Common questions about ad configurations, audience types, targeting, and sync.

Answers to frequently asked questions about ad configurations. Can't find what you need? Contact support.

Audience Types

What's the difference between audience types and custom audiences?

Audience types are named configuration presets you create in Flamel (like "Database", "Mass", "Lookalike"). They define targeting strategies.

Custom audiences are Meta audiences you create in Meta Ads Manager (like website visitors, customer lists, lookalikes). They're specific groups of people.

An audience type uses custom audiences as part of its targeting configuration.

How many audience types should I create?

2-3 is typical for most brands:

  • Database — Existing customers
  • Mass — Broad awareness
  • One additional if needed (Lookalike, Retargeting, VIP)

More than 5 audience types usually means over-complicating your strategy. Each type requires configuration across all workspaces.

Can workspaces create their own audience types?

No. Only Hub users can create audience types. This ensures network-wide consistency.

Workspaces can:

  • Customize existing audience types with local targeting
  • Add their own custom audiences
  • Adjust location radius

What happens if I delete an audience type?

Careful! Deleting an audience type:

  • Removes it from all workspaces
  • Breaks any playbooks referencing it
  • Cannot be undone

Before deleting:

  1. Check which playbooks use this audience type
  2. Update those playbooks to use a different type
  3. Then delete the audience type

Targeting & Permissions

What can workspaces customize?

With the paid_ads_management permission, workspaces can:

  • Adjust targeting radius (1-50 miles)
  • Add local custom audiences
  • Set their website URL and landing pages
  • Connect their own lead forms
  • Add local interests (if permitted)

Workspaces cannot:

  • Create new audience types
  • Delete audience types
  • Modify Hub-locked settings

How do I give workspaces more control over targeting?

In your Organization Settings:

  1. Go to Permissions
  2. Find the workspace owner's role
  3. Enable paid_ads_management

Super Admins have this permission automatically.

What does the location status indicator mean?

Each tab shows a colored dot:

  • 🟢 Green — Location targeting is configured
  • 🔴 Red — Location targeting is missing

Campaigns need location targeting to deploy. A red dot means campaigns may fail.

Configuration Inheritance

How does configuration inheritance work?

Settings cascade in this order:

  1. Audience type configuration (if a field is set) → Used
  2. Default configuration (if field empty above) → Fallback
  3. Hub configuration (if empty at workspace level) → Ultimate fallback

Example:

  • "Database" tab has no website URL
  • Default tab has example.com/store
  • Result: "Database" campaigns use example.com/store

Do CTA settings inherit from Default?

Yes. CTA fields (website URL, display URL, lead forms) inherit from Default if not set on an audience type tab.

Configure CTAs once in your Default tab—audience types automatically use them.

What happens when Hub updates a configuration?

It depends:

New audience types:

  • Created at workspace level after "Sync All Workspaces"
  • Workspaces get Hub defaults as starting point

Existing configurations:

  • Workspace configurations are NOT overwritten
  • Workspaces keep their customizations
  • Only missing configurations are created

Syncing & Validation

Why do I need to sync audiences from Meta?

Custom audiences exist in Meta, not Flamel. Syncing:

  • Pulls your available audiences into Flamel
  • Updates audience sizes and status
  • Identifies deleted or invalid audiences

Sync regularly (at least monthly) to keep audiences current.

What does "Validate Audiences" do?

Validation checks if audiences referenced in your configuration still exist in Meta.

Common issues found:

  • Deleted audiences
  • Expired audiences
  • Audiences you no longer have access to

How do I clean up invalid audiences?

  1. Click "Validate" on your configuration
  2. Review flagged audiences
  3. Click "Cleanup" to remove invalid references

For Hub-wide cleanup:

  1. Click "Cleanup All Workspaces" at Hub level
  2. Removes invalid audiences from all workspace configurations

What happens if I don't clean up invalid audiences?

Campaigns may:

  • Fail to deploy
  • Show targeting errors
  • Reach unintended audiences

Clean up promptly when validation flags issues.

Playbook Integration

How do playbooks use my configuration?

When you opt into a playbook:

  1. Playbook specifies an audience type (e.g., "Database")
  2. Flamel extracts YOUR configuration for that audience type
  3. Your custom audiences + your location = campaign targeting

Same playbook, different targeting per workspace.

Can I override playbook targeting at opt-in?

Limited. During opt-in you can:

  • Adjust location radius (if allowed)
  • Select your budget
  • Upload your creative (if required)

You cannot change:

  • Which audience type is used
  • Core targeting parameters
  • Campaign objectives

To use different targeting, opt into a different playbook or ask Hub to create one.

What if my configuration isn't set up when I opt in?

The deployment may fail if required fields are missing.

Before opting in:

  1. Check your configuration status (green dots)
  2. Ensure location is configured
  3. Verify custom audiences are synced (if used)

Lead Forms

Do I need to create lead forms in Meta first?

Yes. Lead forms are created in Meta Ads Manager:

  1. Go to Meta Ads Manager → Instant Forms
  2. Create your form template
  3. In Flamel, click "Sync Forms"
  4. Select your form in configuration

See Lead Capture Playbooks for detailed setup.

Can I use the same lead form across audience types?

Yes. If you configure a lead form in your Default tab, all audience types inherit it.

You only need to set forms on specific audience type tabs if they need different forms.

Why isn't my lead form showing in Flamel?

Possible causes:

  • Form not synced (click "Sync Forms")
  • Form on different Facebook Page
  • Form was deleted in Meta

Fix:

  1. Verify form exists in Meta Ads Manager
  2. Ensure it's on your workspace's Facebook Page
  3. Click "Sync Forms" in Flamel

Advantage+ Audience

What is Advantage+ Audience?

Meta's AI-powered targeting that automatically expands beyond your defined audiences to find people likely to convert.

When enabled:

  • Meta uses your targeting as a starting point
  • Expands to similar people based on your conversion data
  • Optimizes within your demographic bounds

Should I enable Advantage+ Audience?

Enable for:

  • Conversion campaigns
  • When you want Meta to optimize for outcomes
  • Testing new markets

Disable for:

  • Strict compliance (housing, credit, employment)
  • Very specific geographic requirements
  • When you need precise audience control

Does Advantage+ override my targeting?

Partially. With Advantage+ enabled:

  • Your audiences become "suggestions"
  • Meta can expand beyond them
  • Age/gender become soft limits
  • Location still respected

Troubleshooting

My changes aren't affecting existing campaigns

Expected behavior. Configuration changes apply to new campaigns only.

Existing campaigns keep their original settings. To apply new configuration:

  • For playbooks: Cancel opt-in and re-opt
  • For manual campaigns: Create new campaign

Workspace can't see audience types

Check:

  1. Has "Sync All Workspaces" been run?
  2. Does workspace have connected Meta ad account?
  3. Does workspace user have paid_ads_management permission?

Deployment failing with targeting errors

Common causes:

  • Location not configured
  • Invalid custom audiences
  • Audience too small

Fix:

  1. Check configuration status (green dots)
  2. Validate and cleanup audiences
  3. Ensure audience size > 1,000 people

"Custom audience not found" error

Meaning: A referenced audience no longer exists in Meta.

Fix:

  1. Click "Validate" on your configuration
  2. Remove the invalid audience reference
  3. Select a replacement audience if needed
  4. Click "Sync Audiences" to refresh available options

Still Have Questions?

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