The Facebook Pivoted Action Types connector brings your Meta (Facebook and Instagram) ads conversions and other actions into Funnel as rows instead of columns. This article explains what the connector does, how to report on its data and what to expect.

For the full field list, see Facebook Pivoted Action Types: Dimensions and metrics.

What the connector does

The connector reads the same Meta Marketing API insights as the Facebook Ads connector, but only the actions and action values: purchases, leads, link clicks, app installs, custom conversions and every other action Meta reports.

Instead of one column per action type, every action type becomes its own row with:

Action Type: which action it is
Action Type Count: how many times it happened
Action Type Value: the conversion value, if the action has one

This is how the same data looks in each connector:

Facebook Ads connector

Campaign	Purchases	Leads
Summer sale	12	40

Pivoted Action Types connector

Campaign	Action Type	Action Type Count
Summer sale	purchase	12
Summer sale	lead	40

When Meta adds a new action type, it shows up as new rows. You don't need to map new fields.

The connector also has an Ad Set Snapshot report, a daily record of the settings of the ad sets in your active campaigns.

How data sources are set up

Each data source covers one ad account with one configuration:

Level: campaign, ad set or ad
Breakdown (optional): for example Age + Gender, Country or Publisher Platform + Platform Position
Attribution: either Use attribution setting (each ad set's own attribution setting, as in Ads Manager) or a view window and a click window that you choose

The data source name shows its configuration, for example Action Type | Ad | Age | Gender. If you need the same ad account with different breakdowns, connect one data source per breakdown.

What's not included

The connector only has actions. It has no cost, impressions, clicks or reach. For those, use the Facebook Ads connector alongside it. Campaign ID, Ad Set ID and Ad ID are the same in both connectors, so you can report on them side by side.

Reporting on the data

Always filter or split by Action Type

Action Type Count adds up every action type on a row's date, campaign or ad. A total without an Action Type filter mixes purchases, link clicks, video views and everything else, so it doesn't mean much on its own.

Some action types also overlap, so adding them together counts the same action more than once. For example:

omni_purchase includes purchases from your website, app and offline events, so it overlaps with purchase and offsite_conversion.fb_pixel_purchase
post_engagement and page_engagement include other actions such as link_click, reactions and comments

Pick the one action type that matches each KPI and report on that. To build a metric such as cost per purchase, filter on that action type and divide the Facebook Ads cost by Action Type Count.

Custom conversions

Custom conversions have the action type offsite_conversion.custom.<ID>. The Custom Conversion Name dimension gives the name you see in Meta, so you can filter on the name instead of the ID.

Attribution

How Action Type Count is attributed depends on the data source setup:

Use attribution setting: each ad set's own attribution setting, which is what Ads Manager uses by default. Use this setup if you want your numbers to match Ads Manager. The attribution window metrics are empty with this setup.
Attribution windows: you also get the window metrics, for example Action Type Count (1d View) and Action Type Count (7d Click).

The window metrics are parts of the attributed total. Don't add them to Action Type Count, or the same actions are counted twice. For more about attribution, see Facebook Ads - What is Attribution Setting?.

Breakdowns

Only report on one breakdown at a time. Don't add data sources with different breakdowns together, because each one contains the same actions split a different way.
Totals from a breakdown source can differ slightly from a source without breakdowns. Meta doesn't always assign every action to a breakdown value, for example some actions have an unknown gender or age.
Action Device is the device the action happened on. Impression Device is the device the ad was seen on. They can differ, for example when someone sees an ad on their phone and buys on a desktop.

Rows with no action type

If a campaign or ad delivered on a day but had no actions, Meta still returns a row for it. These rows have an empty Action Type and no counts. You can filter them out.

Currency

Action Type Value is in the ad account's currency, shown in the Currency dimension. Funnel converts it to your workspace currency like any other monetary metric.

Creative fields

At ad level, Creative ID, Creative Name and Creative Object Type show the creative the ad uses at the time of each download. If you change an ad's creative, rows that are downloaded again show the new creative.

Data freshness

Recent data is downloaded again regularly. The last 7 days are refreshed several times a day and the last 31 days once a day.
Meta keeps attributing actions for days after an ad is seen or clicked, up to 28 days for click attribution. The numbers for recent days usually go up a little before they settle.
SKAdNetwork (SKAN) actions for iOS apps are reported by Apple with a delay, so they can arrive several days later.

Ad Set Snapshot report

The Ad Set Snapshot report is a picture of your ad set settings on the day of each download:

History starts on the day you connect the data source. Meta's API only returns current settings, so earlier dates can't be loaded.
Only active campaigns are included. Ad sets in paused or deleted campaigns aren't in the snapshot.
Each date is a full snapshot. Filter on a single date, for example the latest, instead of summing across dates.
Frequency cap values aren't summed. Ad Set Frequency Cap and Ad Set Frequency Cap Interval Days are settings, not totals.

Why numbers can differ from Ads Manager

Attribution: if the data source uses attribution windows, Ads Manager's default columns (which use each ad set's attribution setting) can show different numbers. Use a data source with Use attribution setting to compare.
Action type: Ads Manager columns such as Purchases can combine several action types. Make sure you compare the same action type, for example omni_purchase.
Recent days: Meta is still attributing actions for recent dates, so a recent download and Ads Manager can differ until both are updated.
Breakdowns: Ads Manager totals aren't split by breakdown values, and some actions aren't assigned to a breakdown value.

If the numbers still don't match, see Reporting a Facebook Ads data mismatch.

Connection errors

If a data source shows Permissions Error: please reconnect your credentials, the Facebook user that connected it no longer has access to the ad account, or the login has expired. Reconnect the data source with a user that has at least advertiser access to the ad account.

Facebook Pivoted Action Types: Working with the data