2022 UPDATE: Facebook is an evolving platform (as is their ads manager), so I've updated my blog to reflect the most up-to-date version available. Happy Facebooking!
You're working late one night, clearing out unwanted Facebook ads that are cluttering your Ad Manager...and you accidentally delete your best performing ad.
Your stomach drops. Hundreds of comments, shares and likes down the drain. As your life (or job) flashes before your eyes, you reach out to Facebook support in hopes that they can bring it back. You can still preview the ad and see all of the interactions, so all is not lost, right?
One business day later, Facebook support responds, "Once the ad is deleted, all the data associated to the ad is deleted as well. You can pull up the ad to see how it performed but you can't recover it."
This exact situation happened to me, and 20 stressed-induced pimples later, I'm here to tell you CAN restore deleted ads. Here's how to recover deleted Facebook ads with all of their interactions intact.
HOW TO RECOVER DELETED FACEBOOK ADS
Recovering your ads begins with locating the missing content and its visuals. Here’s how to find deleted ads on Facebook.
1. Click "Search and filter" at the top left, select “Ad delivery” and then select ”Deleted”.
2. Select the deleted ad and click "Preview."
3. Click "Facebook Post with Comments."
Now that you’ve found the post, you’ll have to do some investigative work. In the URL you’ll find a string of numbers that you’ll need to recover a deleted Facebook campaign.
4. In the URL, copy the numbers that follow "/posts/."
5. Go back to the Facebook Ads Manager and create a new ad. Once you get to the ad creation section, choose "Use Existing Post" underneath the "Ad Setup."
Crisis averted! That's all you need to do to bring back a deleted Facebook ad with all the interactions still attached. From heart-attack to Facebook master in six short steps.
If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below! If you need something specifically you can reach out to us, we're here to help you master Facebook marketing.
