It’s an age old story. Sign a client, enquire whether they’ve advertised before – “yep, in the past.”. Great – here’s our partner ID, simply share across your assets for us to manage.
But then comes that cursed step – no ad account. But they’ve advertised in the past.
The client’s old agency has set the client up in their own ad account. Now this agency owns the account, and the client’s left with nada. It happens a lot.
Why you should never let an agency set up your ad account (nope, not even us!)
Many agencies will offer to run your Facebook ads under their own account. True, this way lets you get set up more quickly, but it’s never wise to take this shortcut. By using their own ad account instead of setting up one under your ownership, you’re losing out on many benefits, and putting yourself at risk going forward.
We will never set up a client under our own agency account. We will work closely with clients where accounts need to be set up – this does take longer, granted, but it’s the right way to do things.
Here’s why you should never let your agency create your ad account under their own account.
You lose all your historical data
It’s always better to use a matured ad account that includes your old ads. Facebook rewards advertisers who run great ads, making things cheaper going forward. Furthermore, advertisers whose ads comply with Facebook’s guidelines tend to get their ads approved faster. If your agency runs your ads from under their own account, you’ll lose all of this. It will be tougher to start from zero with a fresh account as you won’t have customer behaviour data.
You’re at the mercy of their payment method
If your agency is running your ads under their account, you run the risk of their payment method failing and your ads grounding to a halt. Using your own ad account means you’ll be set up with your own payment method, so you’ll be fully in control of your campaigns and their delivery.
You won’t be able to control access (and this can cause huge problems in the future)
When your agency controls the ad account, they’re in charge of who gets access to it. Firstly, they may choose not to give you full access (especially if they have lots of other clients on the same account). This means you won’t be able to get involved, and you’ll always be waiting around for the agency to make any changes. Worst case, if you part ways with your agency (and you should if they’re using these methods!!), you’ll lose access to the ads and all the historical data. If you want to set back up in the future, you’ll have to start from scratch with a new account.
You might not receive honest reporting
If your agency doesn’t give you full access to the account, they’ll be able to pick and choose which data they report on. If your ads are underperforming on a certain metric, it’s likely they’ll offer a report talking up a certain other metric instead. When you have access to your own account, you can jump in and check your stats whenever, wherever.
Pro tip: if you sign up with DMT, we’ll set you up with a handy dynamic report, which you can access whenever, in addition to your account 💡
The agency can shut you out whenever they want
If you and the agency disagree about something, they could very well simply remove your access to the ad account, using that as leverage against you. They could also charge a fee for you to download data, transfer audiences etc. This is your data, so there’s no way you should be held to rights to do this.
You won’t get any credit card bonuses
One great thing about spending in your own ad account, is you can use any card as the payment option. Many savvy business owners and advertisers use the likes of an AmEx to rack up points and air miles. You’ll be spending the money anyway, so why not earn a little something back off it? It’s a no-brainer.
How Digital Media Team set up clients
When we begin working with a client, we will give them instructions on how to assign us partner access to their accounts. If they don’t have an ad account, we’ll walk you through how to set up your own ad account, using a screenshare where necessary. We’ll show you how to give us just the right amount of access. If we stop working together down the line, we’ll disconnect from your ad account, and you walk away with everything intact.
Want to see how Digital Media Team can help your business succeed online? Get in touch, or follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.
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