Setup

• Created in the App Dashboard at developers.facebook.com/apps.
• Live and publicly available — games in development or testing mode cannot receive C2P ad traffic. See Launch for guidance on making your game live.
• Linked to your Ad Account — your game’s App ID must be associated with the Business account that owns the Ad Account you plan to use.

• Track what players do after they arrive from a C2P ad
• Optimize campaigns for higher-value actions (App Event Optimization)
• Measure ROAS accurately

1. Open Ads Manager at adsmanager.facebook.com⁠.
2. Click “Create” to start a new campaign.
3. Select your campaign objective. For C2P Instant Games campaigns, choose App Promotion (sometimes labeled “App Installs” depending on your Ads Manager version). This objective is designed for driving installs of your app or game and supports the Click-to-Play delivery format.
4. Name your campaign. Use a descriptive naming convention that will help you identify this campaign later. A recommended format is:

   [Game Name] - C2P - [Market] - [Date]
   
   For example: WordBlitz - C2P - US - 2024-01
5. Configure campaign-level settings:
   • Campaign Budget Optimization (CBO): If you plan to run multiple ad sets within this campaign, enable CBO to let Facebook automatically distribute budget across ad sets based on performance. See Budget for more detail.
   • A/B Test: You can optionally set up an A/B test at the campaign level to test different audiences, creative, or placements. Run an A/B test on your first campaign to learn what works best for your game.
6. Click “Next” to proceed to ad set configuration.

1. In the ad set settings, find the App field.
2. Search for and select your Instant Game by name or App ID. This links the ad set to your game, which is what enables the Click-to-Play experience.
3. Make sure the correct game is selected — this cannot be changed after the campaign is published.

1. Location: Select the countries or regions you want to target. See Targeting for geographic strategy guidance.
2. Age and Gender: Set the demographic parameters for your audience. If you are unsure, start broad and let the algorithm find the best-performing demographics.
3. Detailed Targeting (Interests): Optionally add interest-based targeting criteria. For example, you might target users interested in “puzzle games,” “casual games,” or specific game titles.
4. Custom Audiences: Optionally add a Custom Audience or Lookalike Audience. See Targeting for details.
5. Exclusions: Add exclusion audiences to avoid targeting existing players. Create a Custom Audience of your current players and add it as an exclusion.

1. Automatic Placements (recommended for new campaigns): Let Facebook’s algorithm deliver your ads across all available placements (Feed, Stories, Audience Network) and optimize for performance. This gives the algorithm maximum flexibility to find the best-performing placements for your campaign.
2. Manual Placements (for experienced advertisers): If you want more control, you can manually select specific placements. Considerations:
   • Facebook Feed (desktop): Tends to deliver higher-quality players with longer sessions. Consider prioritizing this placement if your game works well on desktop.
   • Facebook Feed (mobile): Largest reach, standard performance.
   • Facebook Stories: Effective for visually engaging creative.
   • Audience Network: Extends reach beyond Facebook, may have lower quality than on-platform placements.

1. Budget: Set a daily or lifetime budget for this ad set. See Budget for detailed guidance on budget planning and recommended starting amounts.
2. Schedule: Set a start date and optionally an end date. For ongoing acquisition campaigns, you may want to leave the end date open and manage the campaign manually. For time-limited tests, set a specific end date.

1. Optimization for Ad Delivery: Select the outcome you want Facebook to optimize for:
   • App Installs: Optimize for the maximum number of game plays. Best for building initial volume. (See Targeting for more on optimization goals.)
   • App Events: Optimize for a specific in-game event (e.g., purchase, level completion). Best for acquiring high-value players.
   • Value: Optimize for maximum purchase value. Best for games with strong IAP monetization.
2. Bid Strategy: Choose your bid strategy based on your goals. See Budget for a detailed comparison of bid strategies.
3. Click “Next” to proceed to ad creation.

• Single Image or Video: The most common format. Use a gameplay video or a compelling static image. See Creative for best practices.
• Carousel: Multiple images or videos that players can swipe through. Useful for showcasing different aspects of your game.
• Playable Ad: An interactive mini-experience that gives players a taste of your game directly in the ad. Highly effective for games but requires additional creative development.

1. Upload your media (video, image, or playable HTML).
2. Add primary text — the message that appears above your ad creative. Keep it concise and compelling: highlight what makes your game fun and include a clear reason to try it now.
3. Add a headline — the bold text that appears below your creative. Use this to reinforce the call to action (e.g., “Play Now - No Download Required”).
4. Add a description (optional) — additional text that appears below the headline on some placements.

1. Select “Play Game” as your call-to-action button text. This is the standard CTA for C2P Instant Games ads and clearly communicates what will happen when the player taps.

• Track which specific ad creative drove each player
• Personalize the first-time experience for ad-acquired players
• Show different onboarding flows or bonus offers based on the ad the player came from

1. In the ad settings, look for the Deep Link or Custom Payload field (exact location may vary depending on your Ads Manager version).
2. Enter a JSON-formatted payload with the data you want to pass to your game. For example:

   {"source": "c2p_campaign_us_jan", "creative": "video_gameplay_v2"}
3. In your game code, retrieve this payload using the Instant Games SDK (e.g., FBInstant.getEntryPointData()) and use it to customize the player’s experience.

1. Verify that your app events are being tracked by checking the Events Manager at facebook.com/events_manager⁠. You should see events being received from your game.
2. Confirm attribution settings. The default attribution window (7-day click, 1-day view) works well for most C2P campaigns, but you can adjust it based on your game’s player lifecycle. Games with longer consideration periods may benefit from a wider attribution window.

1. Review all campaign settings carefully before publishing:
   • Correct game selected
   • Audience targeting matches your strategy
   • Budget and schedule are correct
   • Creative looks good in the preview
   • Call-to-action is set to “Play Game”
   • Custom payload (if used) is correctly formatted
2. Preview your ad using the preview tool in Ads Manager. Check how it looks on different placements (such as Feed and Stories), and on different devices.
3. Click “Publish” to submit your campaign for review. Facebook will review your ad to ensure it complies with advertising policies. This review typically takes less than 24 hours but can sometimes take longer.
4. Monitor the review status in Ads Manager. Once approved, your campaign will begin delivering based on your schedule settings.

• Monitor performance daily for the first week. Key metrics to watch: impressions, click-through rate, cost per install, install volume, and any event-level metrics you are tracking.
• Check for delivery issues. If your campaign is not spending its budget, your audience may be too narrow, your bid may be too low, or your creative may not be competitive.
• Review player quality. Are players acquired through C2P ads retaining at similar rates to your organic players? Are they monetizing? Use your analytics tools to compare cohorts.
• Iterate on creative. If performance is below expectations, test new creative variations. See Creative for guidance on A/B testing and refreshing creative.
• Adjust targeting and budget based on performance data. See Targeting and Budget for optimization guidance.

• Verify that your game is live and publicly accessible.
• Check that your audience is not too narrow (Ads Manager shows an estimated audience size — aim for at least 500,000 people).
• Ensure your budget is sufficient for your target audience and bid strategy.
• Review the campaign for any policy rejections or warnings in Ads Manager.

• Review your ad creative — does it capture attention quickly enough to make a viewer stop scrolling through their feed?
• Test new creative variations with different visuals, messaging, and formats.
• Ensure your call-to-action is clear and prominent.

• Broaden your audience targeting to give the algorithm more room to find cost-effective impressions.
• Test different optimization goals (install optimization may be more cost-effective than AEO for some games).
• Review your creative — higher-quality creative typically results in lower CPIs.
• Consider targeting Tier 2/3 markets for lower acquisition costs. See Targeting.

• Review your game’s onboarding experience for C2P-acquired players. Are they getting a good first impression?
• Use custom payloads to tailor the first session experience for ad-acquired players.
• Analyze whether the ad creative accurately represents the game. Misleading creative can drive installs but will result in poor retention.