Creating Customer Lists with Mobile Advertiser IDs

Targeting by Customer Lists

You can create ads targeting people by customer lists. One of the data sources you can use are mobile advertiser IDs. Please read our guide Targeting by Customer Lists before using mobile advertiser IDs.

Mobile Advertiser IDs

You can use Apple's and Android's Advertising Identifier or Facebook User IDs to create customer lists. These IDs are called mobile advertiser IDs. In this guide we will explain how you can get these IDs and how you can use then when creating custom audiences for your app ads.

- How-to: Collecting and Targeting User IDs

- Supported Mobile Advertiser IDs

- Technical Implementation

- Alternative Solution: Targeting by App Activity

How-to: Collecting and Targeting User IDs

1. When to Collect

Identify when you want to collect user IDs and how you want to attribute the users. For example instantly when your app launches or when the user takes a certain action, for example making an in-app purchase.

2. How to Identify a Person

There are several technologies how you can identify a person. These identifiers are called Mobile Advertiser IDs. We support three types of Mobile Advertiser IDs.

3. Technical Implementation

See our guides below to get help on the technical implementation:

• Apple's Advertising Identifier (IDFA)
• Android's Advertising ID
• Facebook User ID

4. Storing Data

Once you managed to collect user IDs, store these IDs in a database of your choice.

5. Exporting Data

The Facebook Ads Manager requires you to provide your data as Excel or .csv file. Most database systems offer exports in .csv format. If your system offers exports in JSON format, you need to convert your data first, e.g. using a converter like http://konklone.io/json/.

6. Importing Data to Facebook Ads Manager

Follow our guide Targeting by Customer Lists. Use your exported data in step 3 "Import your Customer List".

Supported Mobile Advertiser IDs

We support three types of Mobile Advertiser IDs:

Technical Implementation

Apple's and Android's Advertising Identifiers

// This call does NOT require the Facebook SDK for iOS!
#import <AdSupport/ASIdentifierManager.h>
NSString *userId = [[[ASIdentifierManager sharedManager]
   advertisingIdentifier] UUIDString];
// Next: Store the user ID in your database

// This call does NOT require the Facebook SDK for Android!
import com.google.android.gms.ads.identifier.AdvertisingIdClient;
import com.google.android.gms.ads.identifier.AdvertisingIdClient.Info;
Info adInfo = null;
try {
     adInfo = AdvertisingIdClient.getAdvertisingIdInfo(mContext);
} catch (IOException e) {
     // ...
} catch (GooglePlayServicesAvailabilityException e) {
     // ...
} catch (GooglePlayServicesNotAvailableException e) {
     // ...
} 
String userId = adInfo.getId();
// Next: Store the user ID in your database

Facebook User ID

#import <FBSDKCoreKit/FBSDKCoreKit.h>
#import <FBSDKLoginKit/FBSDKLoginKit.h>

- (void)viewDidLoad
{
  // Enable profile updates for example in `viewDidLoad`
  [FBSDKProfile enableUpdatesOnAccessTokenChange:YES];
} 

- (void)yourSelector
{
  // Once user is logged in via Facebook Login you can call:
  NSString *userId = [FBSDKProfile currentProfile].userID;
  // Next: Store the user ID in your database      
}

// User needs to be logged in via Facebook Login
String userId = Profile.getCurrentProfile().getId();
// Next: Store the user ID in your database

Alternative Solution: Targeting by App Activity

You can also target people by app activity. Using this approach you do not need to manually collect mobile advertiser IDs, store them and import them to the Facebook ads manager.

Next you can take advantage of advanced targeting methods. For example, you can target people who previously used your app, but have not come back to your app within the last 90 days.

Next Steps