Facebook Ads to Power BI: 2 ways to import your data (free template included)

You typically have two options for bringing Facebook Ads data into Power BI—manually import Facebook Ads data into Power BI or use a third-party connector. But before you commit your time to the actual work, it’s a good idea to understand what option is the best for you.

Navigate this post:

• Manually import Facebook Ads data to Power BI
• Automatically import Facebook Ads data to Power BI with Supermetrics

Manually import Facebook Ads data to Power BI

There was a native Facebook Ads connector in the Power BI connector gallery, but it was discontinued in April 2020. You can manually import Facebook Ads data into Power BI. You first need to export Facebook Ads data as CSV files to do so:

• In your Meta Ads Manager, navigate to ‘Ads’, then select the ad campaigns or sets you want to export. Click the ‘Export’ dropdown menu on the left side of the screen and choose the file type you want to export. For example, a CSV file.
• Then, you’ll need to import this CSV file into Power BI. In Power BI, click ‘Get data’. In the dropdown, choose ‘Text/CSV’. Then, upload the CSV file from your computer.

Then, you’ll need to import this CSV file into Power BI:

• In Power BI, click ‘Get data’. In the dropdown, choose ‘Text/CSV’. 
• Then, upload the CSV file from your computer.

From our experience, we wouldn’t recommend anyone going down this CSV files exporting/importing route unless it’s a one-off task. It’s tedious, error-prone and inflexible. For example, if there are certain reports, metrics, or dimensions you want to add to your report later on, you’ll need to do the entire process again.

There’s also a chance that the data and insights you get will be outdated by the time you’re done with building your report in Power BI. This isn’t ideal if you want to optimize your campaigns on the fly. Additionally, besides Facebook Ads, you also want to bring other marketing data to Power BI, you need to do a lot of manual data exports and cleaning work.

Import Facebook Ads data into Power BI automatically using Supermetrics

If you want to automate the data collection process, a third-party connector like Supermetrics for Power BI is a better option. You’ll have more time to spend on productive work, and since Supermetrics is a Microsoft-certified connector, you don’t need to install anything. 

Here’s how to get Facebook Ads data into Power BI:

• If you don’t have a Supermetrics account, you can sign up using your Microsoft or Google account. If you already use Supermetrics, just log in to the Supermetrics Hub and select ‘Power BI’ as your destination.
• Click “Create a new query” and select Facebook Ads as a data source.
• Connect your Facebook account to get access to your data.
• Create a query. Here you can pick the properties, main metrics, and how to split them, and preview the data you’d be pulling to Power BI. 
• Once you’re happy with the results, save and name the query. Note that you’ll still be able to make changes to your data before loading it to your report.
• Launch Power BI Desktop and click ‘Get Data’.
• Search for Supermetrics in the list and connect with the same email account you signed in to Supermetrics Hub.
• Once you see the list of your queries, choose the query under Facebook Ads to load your data to your report.

Supermetrics is a great option if you want to:

• Connect multiple sources into Power BI besides Facebook Ads
• Do data transformation—clean, filter, blend—before loading your data into Power BI
• Get started with Facebook Ads reporting immediately using a pre-made template
• Have more control over the data you’re pulling
• Reuse the same queries in other reports

If you’re one of those who prefer crunching data in a spreadsheet before visualizing it, check out this article, where we discuss how to import Google Sheets data into Power BI.

What option is right for you?

The answer depends on your needs and preferences. For example, if you want to do a one-off data transfer and have a free option, you can choose the manual option. On the other hand, if you want to automate data transfer from different sources and have more control over your data and reports, Supermetrics is a better choice.

And that’s how you can get Facebook Ads data to Power BI. If you want to see how easy it is to automate data collection with Supermetrics, start a 14-day free trial.