How to Get Facebook Ad Post ID
Running a successful Facebook ad campaign involves more than just great copy and creative, it's about building credibility and trust. A simple way to boost that trust is by consolidating all your ad's likes, comments, and shares onto a single post, a powerful tactic that many marketers overlook. This article will show you exactly how to find and use your Facebook Ad Post ID to leverage social proof across all your campaigns.
What Exactly is a Facebook Ad Post ID?
Every post on Facebook, whether it's a personal photo or a paid advertisement, is assigned a unique string of numbers called a Post ID. Think of it as a specific, permanent address for that piece of content. This applies to both regular Page posts and "dark posts" — ads that are shown to a specific audience but don't live on your Page’s public timeline.
While you might not think much about this number, it’s the key to one of the most effective strategies for maximizing ad performance: consolidating social proof.
Why is Consolidating Social Proof so Important?
When you create a new ad or duplicate an existing one in Facebook Ads Manager, Meta essentially creates a brand new, separate post in the background. Even if the creative and copy are identical, the social proof — all the precious likes, comments, and shares — gets split. Imagine three different versions of your best ad running simultaneously. One has 15 likes and 2 comments, another has 30 likes and 5 comments, and the last has 10 likes and 1 comment. None of them look particularly impressive on their own.
However, if you use the original post's ID for all three ads, they're no longer separate posts. They are all simply versions of the same post pointed at different audiences. Now, they all share the combined social proof: 55 likes and 8 comments. An ad with dozens of positive interactions looks far more credible and is more likely to stop someone scrolling a crowded news feed. It signals to potential customers that other people like and trust what you're offering, which can significantly lower your cost per acquisition (CPA).
By using the Post ID, you can:
- Pool All Engagement: Combine every like, comment, and share from different ad sets and campaigns onto a single, master post.
- Increase Ad Credibility: An ad with healthy engagement seems more trustworthy and established.
- Maintain Consistency: Ensure the exact same creative (including any potential replies you’ve made in the comments) is seen by everyone, whether they're in a prospecting audience or a retargeting audience.
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How to Find Your Facebook Ad Post ID (Step-by-Step)
Finding the Post ID is straightforward once you know where to look. There are a few easy methods you can use directly within the Meta Ads Manager. Let's walk through the most common one.
Method 1: Find the Post ID Using the "Share" Preview Link
This is arguably the fastest and easiest way to locate the ID for any live or past ad.
Step 1: Navigate to Your Ad in Ads Manager Open your Meta Ads Manager and navigate to the campaign, then the ad set, and finally the specific ad creative for which you need the Post ID.
Step 2: Open the Ad Preview With your ad selected (make sure the checkbox next to it is ticked), click the "Preview" button located on the right side of your screen. This will open a panel showing you what your ad looks like on different placements.
Step 3: Click the Share Icon In the top right corner of the Preview panel, you'll see a small square icon with an arrow pointing out of it. Click this "Share" icon.
Step 4: Select "Facebook Post with Comments" A dropdown menu will appear. From this menu, select the option labeled "Facebook Post with Comments." This will open the ad in a new browser tab as a standalone Facebook post.
Step 5: Find the ID in the URL Now, look at the URL in your browser's address bar. This is where you'll find the Post ID. The URL structure can look one of two ways:
https://www.facebook.com/YourPageName/posts/12345678901234567https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=12345678901234567&id=98765432109876543
In either case, the long string of numbers (usually 16 or 17 digits) is your Post ID. In the examples above, 12345678901234567 is the ID you need. Simply copy this number to your clipboard.
Method 2: Use the "Manage Facebook Comments" Option
If for some reason the preview method doesn't work, this is another reliable way to get to the same destination.
- Navigate to the desired ad in Ads Manager.
- Click the "Edit" button to open the ad editing panel.
- Scroll down to the "Ad Creative" section.
- Underneath your ad copy and media, find the text link that says "All Comments" with a number next to it. Or, click the three dots (...) and select "Manage Facebook comments".
- Clicking this link will open the post in a new tab, where you can find the Post ID in the URL just as described in Method 1.
How to Use an Ad Post ID in a New Campaign
Once you have your Post ID copied, you can use it to create new ads that are linked to this original post. This is how you consolidate social proof.
Step 1: Set Up Your New Campaign and Ad Set Go through the normal process of creating a campaign and an ad set. Choose your objective, define your audience, set your budget, etc.
Step 2: Go to the Ad Level When you arrive at the ad creation level, go to the “Ad Setup” section.
Step 3: Select "Use Existing Post" Instead of the default "Create Ad," change the setting to "Use Existing Post."
Step 4: Choose How to Select Your Post Under the "Creative" section, you'll see a button labeled "Select Post." Click it. A new window will pop up.
Step 5: Enter the Post ID Ignore the tabs like "Published" or "Feed". Instead, click on the navigation menu on the left side of the window and select "Enter Post ID". A text field will appear. Paste the ID you copied earlier into this box and click "Submit."
Facebook will instantly load a preview of that ad, complete with all its likes, comments, and shares. Now just finish setting up your ad tracking and hit publish. Any engagement this new ad receives will be added to the grand total on the original post.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
While the process is usually smooth, you might run into a couple of common hiccups. Here’s what to do if you get stuck.
"I get an error saying the ID is invalid."
This is the most common issue. First, double-check that you copied the correct sequence of numbers and didn't include letters or any other part of the URL. Second, and more importantly, you must create the new ad using the same Facebook Page that published the original ad post. You cannot use a post ID from Page A in an ad for Page B.
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"I can't edit the ad's creative after using a Post ID."
This isn't an error, it's a feature. When you use an existing post, you are agreeing to use it exactly as-is. Meta Ads Manager will lock the headline, primary text, and creative (image/video). This is to ensure consistency, as any changes would need to apply everywhere the original post is shown. If you need to change the copy or creative, you must create a new post and start accumulating social proof from scratch under a new Post ID.
"This post ID cannot be used in an Instagram placement."
Some posts, particularly those designed specifically for certain formats like carousel ads or Instant Experiences, might not be fully compatible with being reused across all placements in the same way, especially on Instagram. If an ad was originally created for the Facebook feed, using its ID will work perfectly for other Facebook feed placements, but you might need to use a separate creative for Instagram Stories rather than reusing the Post ID there.
Final Thoughts
Consolidating your ad engagement with the Facebook Post ID is a simple yet powerful technique to make your campaigns more effective. By channeling all your social proof into a single, highly credible ad, you build trust with new audiences and can ultimately drive better results without any extra ad spend.
Of course, knowing which ad creatives are performing best requires tracking data beyond Facebook. Instead of manually pulling reports from Facebook Ads, Google Analytics, and Shopify to figure out your true return on ad spend, we built Graphed to do the hard work for you. You can connect all your sources in seconds and use simple, natural language — like "show me my best performing Facebook campaigns by revenue" — to instantly build real-time dashboards and reports. It’s the easiest way to see the full picture and make smarter decisions without the data headaches.
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