How to keep comments when you duplicate a Facebook ad

You find a winner, duplicate it into a new ad set, and the copy shows up with four likes and no comments. All the proof that made the original convert stayed behind.

I’ve tried every way Meta offers to keep that proof on my own ads. Only one worked every time, on Facebook and Instagram at once. Here it is, plus why the other two let you down.

#Why duplicated Facebook ads lose their comments

Every ad runs on posts. When you build an ad in Ads Manager by uploading a creative, Meta creates a post for it that never shows on your Page (a “dark post”), and the Instagram placement gets its own post with its own comments. The reactions, comments and shares belong to those posts, not to the ad.

So a copy can go two ways. If it runs on the same posts, it shows the original’s engagement and new comments land in the same sections. If it gets new posts, it starts from zero, even when it looks identical.

#The method that works every time: copy with the same creative ID

An ad’s creative is what ties it to its Facebook and Instagram posts. Make the copy with the same creative, and it runs on the same posts on both platforms. You can’t choose that in Ads Manager’s interface, but you can through Meta’s Marketing API, which is what AI assistants with an ads connector use.

With Claude and Meta’s Facebook Ads connector

1. 1
   Connect your ad account

   In Claude, add Meta’s Facebook Ads connector and log in with the Facebook account that manages your ads.

2. 2
   Ask for the copy

   Name the winning ad and the ad set it should go into, and tell Claude to reuse the original creative ID.

3. 3
   Check the copy

   The connector creates the new ad paused or as a draft, so nothing spends yet. Compare its Facebook and Instagram posts with the original’s (see below).

4. 4
   Turn it on

   Review the ad set’s budget and audience in Ads Manager, then publish.

With the Marketing API directly

• Read the original ad’s creative ID, then create the new ad in the target ad set with that same creative ID.
• Don’t rebuild the creative. Sending the image or video, text and link again (an object_story_spec) creates new posts at zero.
• Check after creating: the copy’s creative should report the same effective_object_story_id (the Facebook post) and effective_instagram_media_id (the Instagram post) as the original.

Other AI assistants with a Meta ads connector should work the same way, as long as they reuse the creative ID. Check the posts either way.

#Why Ads Manager’s Duplicate checkbox isn’t enough

Meta’s help center says that when you duplicate an ad you can tick Show existing reactions, comments and shares on new ads to carry the engagement over. In my testing it’s unreliable: sometimes it works, and often the copy starts at zero anyway, especially when the original post is old. Meta also says ads with creative customized per placement can only carry engagement over once.

If you use it, check the copy’s posts before it spends. What to do when the checkbox doesn’t work.

#Why “Use existing post” only keeps half

Use existing post at the ad level lets you build a new ad on a post you pick by its ID. It works well for a post you published on your Page or Instagram profile.

For a dark post built in Ads Manager, which is most DTC ads, it falls short. You can only pick the Facebook post. And if you do get to the Instagram post, it becomes a separate ad. Either way you keep one platform’s engagement and the other starts from zero.

#What makes a copy lose its comments anyway

• Editing the creative after copying. Changing the media, primary text, headline or link can move the ad to new posts. If you want a new version, make it a new ad on purpose.
• Re-uploading the same video. An identical file is still a new creative with new posts.
• Formats that mix assets. Dynamic creative and ads with several text or media options can create separate posts for different combinations.

#How to check a copy kept its comments

1. 1
   Open the Facebook posts

   In Ads Manager, open the preview menu on the original and on the copy and choose Facebook post with comments. Both should open the same post.

2. 2
   Open the Instagram posts

   Do the same with Instagram post with comments. Both should open the same post with the same comments.

3. 3
   Fix it before it spends

   If either pair doesn’t match, delete the copy and make it again with the same creative ID.

#The three ways compared

Once every copy of a winner shares the same posts, those comment sections are seen by all of its spend. It’s worth keeping them answered and full of real customers. How to get more real comments.