Connecting an Ad Account

Before you can run any ads, you need to connect an ad account. This is the account you already use, or are about to create, on the network you want to advertise on. Once it is linked, TribeNest can publish campaigns to it and pull performance back into your dashboard.

You can connect as many as you like, on as many networks as you like.

Networks you can connect

• Meta (Facebook & Instagram)
• Google Ads
• TikTok Ads
• Pinterest Ads
• LinkedIn Ads
• X (Twitter) Ads

Each network runs its own set of campaign goals and its own creative rules, and TribeNest follows whichever one you connect. See creating a campaign for what changes between them.

Before you start

You will need:

• An account on the network that you own or administer.
• An existing ad account there with a payment method already set up. Billing for the ads themselves stays with the network. TribeNest never charges your card for ad spend.
• Permission to manage ads for the page, channel or business the ads will run under.

If you have never run an ad on that network before, create the ad account there first, then come back here to connect it.

How to connect an ad account

1. Go to Ads then Ad Accounts in your dashboard.
2. Click Connect Ad Account in the top right, or the same button on the empty-state card if this is your first one.
3. Pick the network from the menu.
4. A window opens on the network's own sign-in screen. Sign in with the account that has access to the ad account.
5. Approve the permissions it asks for. TribeNest needs to read your ad accounts and to create and manage campaigns on them.
6. You land back on a Choose an ad account screen listing every ad account you can attach, with its currency.
7. Click Connect next to the one you want. You are returned to Ad Accounts, where it now appears in the table.

What you see in the ad accounts table

Every connected account shows:

• Account Name, the name of the ad account on the network.
• Platform, the network it belongs to.
• Status, covered in the next section.
• Currency, the currency the network bills and reports spend in.
• Timezone, the timezone the account reports in.
• Last Synced, when TribeNest last pulled fresh data. It reads Never until the first sync.

Account statuses

• Active means connected and working. You can create and publish campaigns against it.
• Token expired means the connection has lapsed, which happens if you change your password on the network or revoke access there. Reconnect with Connect Ad Account.
• Disconnected means you removed the connection.

Importing campaigns you already run

If you have campaigns on the ad account that were not built in TribeNest, you can pull them into your campaigns list.

1. Go to Ads then Ad Accounts.
2. Find an Active account in the table.
3. Click Import campaigns on its row.
4. A message tells you how many were imported.

What to expect:

• An imported campaign arrives with its name and whether it is currently running or paused.
• Budget figures are not brought across, so the budget column reads zero for imported campaigns. The budget itself is untouched and still lives on the network.
• Campaigns you published from TribeNest are skipped, so importing never overwrites your own work.
• Import again later to refresh the names and statuses of the ones you previously imported.

Running a click-to-WhatsApp ad

On a Meta ad account you can run an ad that opens a WhatsApp chat with you when someone taps it.

1. Go to Ads then Ad Accounts.
2. Click WhatsApp Ad in the top right.
3. Choose the Ad account. Only Meta accounts appear here.
4. Fill in Ad name, Headline and Primary text, and optionally an image.
5. Set the Budget and pick Daily or Lifetime.
6. Click Create ad.

The ad is created directly on your Meta ad account. To see it alongside everything else in your campaigns list, use Import campaigns on the same page.

Disconnecting an ad account

1. Go to Ads then Ad Accounts.
2. Find the account in the table.
3. Click the unplug icon at the end of its row.
4. The account moves to Disconnected.

A few things to know:

• Campaigns published from that account keep running on the network. TribeNest simply stops being able to manage them.
• Past campaign data stays in your history.
• You can reconnect the same account later through Connect Ad Account.

Common issues

The sign-in window did not open. Allow pop-up windows for TribeNest in your browser, then click Connect Ad Account again.

The network says you do not have permission to advertise for that page. Check in the network's own business settings that your account has ads permission for the page you want to use.

No ad accounts appear on the Choose an ad account screen. Usually this means the account you signed in with does not have access to any ad accounts on that network, or the authorisation was never finished. Click Back to Accounts and try again.

The connection keeps failing. Check that your account on the network is in good standing. Networks block outside connections while an account has policy or billing problems.

Where to go next

• Build your first campaign with creating a campaign.
• Turn your contacts into a targetable list with custom audiences.
• Already have campaigns running? See managing campaigns.
• Back to the ads overview.