Why Your Facebook Video Ads Stopped Working (And How to Fix Them)

• Facebook video ads not working could be a delivery problem or a performance problem.
• Delivery issues can be resolved by checking account settings in the Ads Manager.
• In order to fix performance issues with your video ads, you typically need data-driven improvements to your creatives.

Facebook is the ad platform of choice for many marketers. It’s also one that benefits from regular attention.

If you’ve ever run video ads on Facebook, at some point, you will have received an error message telling you that your ads are rejected, not delivering, or something similar.

Worse yet are situations where your creatives are approved, and the campaign is live, but for some reason, there’s little or no engagement on your ads.

While this can be frustrating, the good news is that there is almost always a way to fix these issues. Here’s a rundown on different problems you might encounter with your Facebook video ads and how to fix them.

Your Ads Aren’t Delivering

There are typically two categories of problems with Facebook ads. The first is where they´ve stopped delivering altogether. The second is where they’ve stopped performing.

With the former, it’s usually a straightforward solution. Here are some of the reasons why your ads might have stopped being served to Facebook audiences.

• Issues With the Ad Creative

One of the more easily identifiable reasons for Facebook video ads to have stopped delivering is problems with the ad creative. Facebook will typically give you an alert in the Ads Manager if this is the case. Here are some reasons this might have happened:

• The video is no longer available to promote either because it was deleted from your account or media library, or the post you promoted was accidentally unpublished. Ensure your creative is still available and publicly accessible to resolve this issue.

• Your video is flagged by Meta for violating its advertising guidelines and is restricted for use. Ensure your creatives comply with Facebook’s ad policies to ensure they’re not flagged either during the review process or retroactively after they’re live.

• Budgeting Issues 

• Your Facebook video ads might have stopped because you hit your account’s spending limit. This is easy to fix; simply go to your Ads manager and adjust or remove the limit.

• You haven’t allocated enough budget to target your chosen audience size. You might have to increase spending.

• Your bid cap is too low. If you’re targeting audiences in a very competitive industry, you’ll likely have to bid higher.

• Narrow Audience Targeting

If your audience selection is too narrow or specific, Facebook may struggle to find enough viewers for your video ads, leading to poor or no delivery. Consider broadening your targeting by adjusting location, demographics, or interest selections.

• Overly Ambitious Targeting

Facebook works best when there is some conversion history in your account to help optimize future ads. If you have a brand-new account and you’re targeting purchases in a niche industry, Facebook might struggle to serve your ads.

Consider starting with easier conversion goals. Look to target video views, link clicks, and landing page visits initially to build account history. As you progress, you can move on to more complex MoFu and BoFu goals.

Your Ads Aren’t Performing

Aside from account-related issues, there are other reasons your Facebook video ads may have stopped working.

1. Creative Fatigue

Sometimes, your Delivery status can show the message “Creative Limited” or “Creative Fatigue.” This typically happens when your cost per result far exceeds that of your previous ads.

What it means is your audience has simply seen your creative too many times and is no longer engaging with it. There are some easy ways to fix this issue with your video ads:

• Consider changing up your video’s thumbnail and hook (the first three seconds). Compare your current ad to your top-performing ads. Identify what you did differently and perhaps revert to the previous strategy with revamped creatives.
• If you’re getting play-throughs on your Facebook video ads and only CTR is low, consider running an A/B test with different messaging to see if that’s the issue. Ensure your offer is attractive and the CTA is prominent.
• You may also want to try expanding your audience size to reach new people with your creative.

2. iOS 14 Impact

In 2020, Apple released its iOS 14 operating system, which included new data privacy provisions for internet users.

Essentially, the update restricted the amount of user data that is available to advertisers, changing how effectively marketers can target relevant audiences. Facebook advertisers in particular have seen their ads become much more expensive since the introduction of iOS 14. Retargeting is now harder on Facebook, its conversion metrics are less reliable, and its ad optimization is less effective.

What does this mean for advertisers on Facebook? Look for workarounds that aren’t affected by Facebook’s pixel data.

• Target based on Facebook’s own vast array of data points about its users, instead of Apple-reliant data.

• Consider uploading shopping lists of your customers to Facebook to create custom audiences and better personalize your video ads and messaging.

• Try setting up ad campaigns that don’t rely completely on retargeting data. You could set up lead generation efforts with form fills to capture new prospects.

Consider Partnering With Industry Experts to Resume Growth

At Chamber Media, we’ve seen highly successful Facebook campaigns before and after the introduction of iOS 14. Over the course of running over 300,000 video ads, including on Facebook, we’ve generated over $1BN for our clients. Here are a few extracts from our portfolio.

1. Team Keto

Team Keto was looking for a way to cut through the clutter, and there were initial struggles with engagement on Facebook. By consistently testing and tweaking our approach, Chamber Media was able to quadruple its revenue from $1M to $4M in just 12 months.

2. Poolfence DIY

Poolfence DIY was looking to introduce a new product to the market and break through revenue stagnation. Chamber Media’s efforts achieved over 8M views on Facebook, generated $1.7M in annual revenue over the next five years, and earned an ROI of 6X on the ad spend.

3. Nerd Skincare

Chamber’s Facebook and YouTube advertising services for Nerd Skincare drove over 24M views on both platforms combined and boosted customer LTV from $40,000 to $4M in just seven months. The company was also featured in Forbes and Adweek.

Like What You See? Reach Out Now!

If you’re looking to Facebook or other platforms to put your brand on the map or revitalize growth, Chamber can help. Reach out to us for a consultation on how we can level up your brand’s trajectory today. Follow our blog for more insights on Facebook video ads and how to fix them.