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Facebook App Install Campaigns: Complete Guide

App install campaigns on Meta drive users to download your mobile app from the App Store or Google Play. Choose the 'App Promotion' objective, register your app in Meta's developer platform, set up the Meta SDK for in-app event tracking, target your audience, and create video or image ads with an 'I

Campaign Types & Setupfacebook app install campaigns

Quick Summary

App install campaigns on Meta drive users to download your mobile app from the App Store or Google Play. Choose the 'App Promotion' objective, register your app in Meta's developer platform, set up the Meta SDK for in-app event tracking, target your audience, and create video or image ads with an 'Install Now' CTA. Optimise for installs initially, then switch to optimising for in-app events (purchases, registrations) once you have enough data.

Prerequisites

Register your app in the Meta Developer portal (developers.facebook.com). Integrate the Meta SDK into your app for tracking installs and in-app events. Register your app's store listing.

Process Flow

Interactive diagram — drag to pan, scroll to zoom

Step-by-Step Guide

Follow these 3 steps to complete this guide

1

Campaign Setup

Create campaign > App Promotion objective > select your app > choose optimisation goal (App installs or App events) > configure targeting > create ad with direct install CTA.
2

Creative Best Practices

Show the app in use — screen recordings, feature demonstrations, and user testimonials work well. For games, show gameplay. Video ads outperform static images for app installs. Keep videos under 30 seconds with the value proposition clear in the first 5 seconds.
3

Optimisation

Start with optimising for installs. Once you accumulate enough in-app event data (50+ events per week), switch to optimising for valuable in-app actions. This helps Meta find users who will actually use the app, not just install and abandon.

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