@daniel_iles

What they said

1. Every published ad has its own ID, like a fingerprint for the creative; it tracks the creative, copy, text, link, likes, comments, shares.
2. Mistake: most people re-upload an ad from scratch, so Facebook treats it as a brand new post with 0 likes, 0 comments, and must relearn who to target.
3. Fix: reuse the same ad/post ID wherever you run the ad so engagement pools: instead of five ads with 2,000 likes each you get one ad showing 10,000 likes everywhere (graphic "SAME AD ID": feed, reels, stories, other -> one engagement counter 2.4K / 860 / 538).
4. Why: social media rewards social proof; an ad with more engagement than a competitor's gets an edge in the auction -> lower cost, better placements, better results.
5. Steps:
   1. In the original ad, go to Ad setup and hit Edit; change the dropdown from "Create ad" to "Use existing post" (the screen shows Create ad / Use existing post / Use Creative Hub mockup).
   2. Scroll down to Ad creative; you will see the post ID.
   3. Copy that post ID.
   4. Duplicate the original ad.
   5. In the duplicate, go to Ad setup and again select "Use existing post".
   6. Hit Enter post ID, paste the post ID into the new ad.
   7. Tick the checkbox to pull in the existing engagement.
6. Catch: once you commit to a post you cannot change anything: no caption edit, no new headline, no new thumbnail. If the offer changes, you must kill the ad and start from scratch.
7. "If you can figure this out, it is a super easy way to scale a winner." Offer: 30-second video walkthrough via comment.

Try this

• Advertisers: When you scale a winning ad into new ad sets, use "Use existing post" and paste the post ID, so likes, comments and shares stay on one post. The claim of about 20% lower cost is unproven, so test it against a normal duplicate.
• Advertisers: Know the catch. Once you reuse a post you cannot change the caption, headline or thumbnail. If the offer changes, start a new ad.
• Advertisers: Check your setup. Catalog or dynamic creative ads cannot use an existing post, and Meta's automatic placement variations can stop engagement from pooling.
• Brands: Reusing a post also pools comments, including bad ones. Moderate comments and keep the offer evergreen.
• Agencies and freelancers: Write a short "winner promotion" process for client accounts, including when to reuse a post and when to rebuild the ad.
• Creators: A fast screen recording with yellow highlights on each click, finished with a comment keyword for a video walkthrough, works well for ad tutorials.

Links

• Meta Ads Manager (ad setup > Use existing post, ad creative > post ID, duplicate). Screens show an ads table with many ads in "Learning" status. No external tools.