Setting Up Facebook Audience Network Ads
Introduction
Facebook Audience Network Ads represent another way for Andromo developers to monetize their Android Apps. Adding Facebook Audience Network banners and/or interstitials to your app is a very simple procedure much like other ad networks. If you're looking for information beyond what is provided in this article, refer to Facebook's Getting Started documentation. If needed, you can also contact their support department using their support contact form.
Note: Facebook's Audience Network only shows ads to users that are logged into the native Facebook app on their mobile device. As a result, fill rates can vary, so you may want to enable a second ad network that will be shown at times when no ad is available.
The steps needed are:
1. Register as a Facebook Developer
2. Create an App in Facebook
3. Create your Ad Placement IDs
4. Update your App's Basic Settings
5. Add your Placement ID(s) to your Andromo App
6. Build and Test your App
7. Publish your App for Review
8. Enter Payment Information
Register as a Facebook Developer
In order to register as a Facebook developer you'll need a Facebook account that has also been verified.
1. Go to the Facebook Developers site and click the "Log In" button at the top of the page.
2. Log into Facebook using your account credentials, or if you don't have a Facebook account yet, click the "Sign up for Facebook" link.
3. Once you're logged in, click the "Register" button at the top of the page (if visible), which will require you to verify your account by providing a telephone number.
Create an App in Facebook
If you've successfully registered as a Facebook developer the next step is to create an app in Facebook.
1. Go to the Facebook Developers site and click the green "Start Now" button.
2. On the "Link your mobile app or mobile website to a Facebook app" dialog, click the green "Create Facebook App" button.
3. On the "Create a New App ID" dialog enter the name of your app in the "Display Name" field, and click the "Create App ID" button.
4. If you see a "Security Check" dialog, follow the instructions and click "Submit".
5. Read Facebook's terms of service and if you agree, click the "Get Started" button.
Create your Ad Placement IDs
Now that you've created your app, the next step is to create an Ad Placement ID for each of the types of ads you want to include in your app - banners and/or interstitials.
Creating a Banner Placement ID
1. Ensure "Audience Network" is selected from the list along the left side of the page.
2. Select the "Placements" tab and click the "Create Ad Placement" button.
3. In the "Name" field enter a name for the banner placement such as "banner_placement".
4. In the "Steps to Trigger Ad" field, describe how the ad will be shown. For example, "Shown on every activity in the app".
5. Under "Display Format", select "Banner".
6. Select "No" for "Refresh rate handled by mediation".
7. Select the desired "Refresh Interval".
8. Under "Status" select "Enabled".
9. Click the "Save" button.
Creating an Interstitial Placement ID
1. Ensure "Audience Network" is selected from the list along the left side of the page.
2. Select the "Placements" tab and click the "Create Ad Placement" button.
3. In the "Name" field enter a name for the interstitial placement such as "interstitial_placement".
4. In the "Steps to Trigger Ad" field, describe how the ad will be shown in your app based on the "Interstitial Ad Settings" you've configured in your project. For example, "Shown when navigating between activities at a time interval of 10 minutes".
5. Under "Display Format", select "Interstitial (App Only)".
6. Under "Status" select "Enabled".
7. Click the "Save" button.
Update your App's Basic Settings
Once you've created your placement IDs, the next step is to provide your app's package name as indicated in step 2 - "Update Basic Settings" on Facebook's dashboard.
1. Select "Settings" from the list on the left side of the page.
2. Click the "+ Add Platform" button and select "Android".
3. Enter your Andromo app's package name in the "Google Play Package Name" field. You can find your app's package name on the "App Info" tab of your Andromo project under "Package Name". Normally it will be a value such as "com.andromo.devXXX.appXXX" or "net.andromo.devXXX.appXXX" where XXX is a number. If you're using a custom package name, you'll find it in the "Custom Package Name" field under "Professional Features". Enter that value without quotes.
4. Leave the rest of the fields blank and click the "Save Changes" button. You may see a warning if your app isn't live yet, but you can ignore it as stated on the dialog.
Add your Placement ID(s) to your Andromo App
Now that you've created your app's ad placement ID(s) in your Facebook Developer account, the next step is to go to the Monetization tab of your Andromo project, enable the types of ads you want to include - "Facebook Banner Ads" and/or "Facebook Interstitial Ads", and enter the "Placement ID" values that have been created. You can find each "Placement ID" by selecting the "Placements" tab and looking under "Active placements".
Build and Test your App
After you've enabled Facebook Audience Network and entered your Placement IDs, rebuild your app and test it until you start seeing test ads. It may take a few ad requests before ads start to be served to your app, so don't be alarmed if you don't see them right away.
Publish your App for Review
In order for your app to be served public ads, it must be reviewed and approved by Facebook. In order for them to review your application, you need to submit your App Store URL. Your app will be ready for submission when you see step 3, "Placement Review" highlighted, and a section visible labeled "Audience Network - Update your App Store Information". Once your application has been published, click the "Submit Your App Store URL" button and enter the URL where your app has been published (such as it's Google Play URL).
Enter Payment Information
Once your app is live as indicated on Facebook's developer page, you'll want to enter your Payment information. You can enter that information by selecting the "Payout" tab. Further information can be found in Facebook's Payment Setup Guide.