Configure an Export Definition - Facebook Ads

The use of a Facebook Ads Connector allows you to select Members using a Segment, then transmit those Members to Facebook Ads to use as the target recipients of paid advertising messages on Facebook, Instagram, and other Meta properties.

This article assumes that you have already created the Export Definition, either by creating it from scratch, or by copying an existing Export Definition.

To configure an Export Definition:

  1. Select Admin from the top navigation bar, then select Integrations > Exports from the side navigation menu. The Exports screen is displayed.

  2. On the Exports screen, search for the desired Export Definition (see Search for an Export Definition for more information).

  3. Click the name of the desired Export Definition. The Export Definition Details screen is displayed.

The Export Definition Details screen is split into multiple steps, identified by a series of numbered items across the top of the screen. You can complete these steps (described below) in any order you like. The Next button at the bottom of the screen navigates to the next step in the sequence, and the Back button navigates to the previous step.

Step 1: Filter

The Filter step for Facebook Ads Connectors allow you to select a Segment that defines the audience of Members to export.

  1. At the top of the Export Definition Details screen, click Filter.

  2. From the Segment drop-down menu, select the desired Segment.

  3. Optionally, to refresh the Segment before exporting, toggle Refresh Segment to On.

  4. Click Save. Or click Next to move to the next step in the Export Definition screen.

Step 2: Destination

The Destination step is used to define the destination of the export file. This step requires that you have a Connection Profile defined. For more information on creating a Connection Profile, please see Connectors.

  1. At the top of the Export Definition Details screen, click Destination.

  2. From the Connection Profile drop-down menu, select a Connection Profile.

  3. From the Account Name drop-down menu, select the desired Facebook Ad account.

  4. For the Audience ID, you can either:

    • Enter an existing Audience ID for the Audience that you want to populate with the records selected by your Segment.

    • Create a new Audience that you want to populate. Click the Add icon. The Create New Audience pop-up window is displayed. Enter the Audience Name and Description, then click Create. The platform creates the Audience in the selected Facebook Ads account.

  1. Click Save. Or click Next to move to the next step in the Export Definition screen.

Step 3: Map & Transform

The Map & Transform step is used to define the data map for the export file. When exporting data to send to the Facebook Ads platform, the export file must conform to strict field naming conventions. By default, this screen will automatically list all of the fields supported by Facebook Ads. The Destination column lists the standard Facebook Ads field names. All fields are marked as Required.

Note: Do not change the standard Facebook Ads field names listed beneath Destination .

  1. Optionally, to search for a field, enter the search string in the search field, then click the Search button. The platform will filter the screen to show only fields that have the search string within the Field Name or Destination name. Click the Clear icon to remove the search filter and show all fields.

  2. The screen lists all the available fields supported by Facebook Ads, but you don't have to send all of them. Delete each unnecessary field by clicking the Delete icon next to it.

Note: Optionally, you can map multiple fields into the same Facebook Ads platform field. For example, let's say you have a Home Email Attribute and a Work Email Attribute. You could map both of those fields into the same Email field in the Facebook Ads platform.

  1. Click Save. Or click Next to move to the next step in the Export Definition screen.

Step 4: Schedule

Export Definitions can be executed on-demand (see Execute an Export Definition for more details on that process).

In addition, you can create a schedule that executes the export once at a specified date / time, or on a recurring basis. These schedule options are described below.

Execute Only Once

To schedule an Export Definition to execute once at a specified date / time:

  1. At the top of the Export Definition Details screen, click Schedule.

  1. Toggle Enabled to Yes.

  2. From the Recurrence drop-down menu, select Once.

  1. Click into the Execute Once On field. A calendar pop-up window is displayed. Select the desired date when you want the export to execute.

  2. Within the calendar pop-up window, click the clock icon. Define the time when you want the export to execute.

  3. From the Time Zone menu, select the time zone to use when determining the time to execute.

  4. Click Save.

Executing on a Recurring Schedule

To schedule an Export Definition to execute on a recurring frequency:

  1. At the top of the Export Definition Details screen, click Schedule.

  2. Toggle Enabled to Yes.

  3. From the Recurrence drop-down menu, select Repeat.

  1. Next to Schedule Composer, select an interval:

    • 15 Minutes

    • 30 Minutes

    • Hour: Select the minute past the hour.

    • Day: Select the time of day.

    • Week: Select the day of the week, and the time of day.

    • Month: Select the day of the month, and the time of day.

    • Year: Select the day, the month, and the time of day.

  1. As you configure the interval above, the CRON Expression field is automatically populated with the associated CRON expression. Optionally, to manually edit this expression, check Advanced Mode.

  2. Optionally, using the From and To fields, define the export schedule begin and end date. If you leave these date fields blank, the schedule will run indefinitely.

  3. From the Time Zone menu, select the time zone to use when determining the time to execute.

  4. Click Save.

Email Notifications

You can configure the Export Definition to trigger success and / or failure notifications to one or more email recipients.

  1. Optionally, if you want to send error notifications, toggle Error to Yes, then enter the email addresses for the notification recipients.

  2. Optionally, if you want to send success notifications, toggle Success to Yes, then enter the email addresses for the notification recipients.

  3. Click Save.