An integrated campaign uses both Facebook and Audience Network. What is the primary benefit of including Audience Network for reach expansion, and what is a common challenge to be aware of?

The primary benefit of including Audience Network for reach expansion is its capacity to extend an advertiser's reach to users beyond the immediate Facebook and Instagram platforms. The Audience Network is a collection of thousands of third-party mobile applications, mobile websites, and instant articles where ads from Facebook advertisers can be displayed. By leveraging this network, advertisers can connect with their target audience across a wider array of digital environments, even when those individuals are not actively using Facebook or Instagram. This significantly increases the total number of unique people a campaign can reach, tapping into a vast additional inventory of ad placements while still utilizing Facebook's precise targeting capabilities to ensure ads are shown to relevant users across this expanded network. A common challenge associated with Audience Network is maintaining precise control over ad placement quality and ensuring brand safety across its diverse ecosystem of third-party publishers. Unlike placements directly within Facebook or Instagram feeds, where the environment is more controlled, Audience Network involves a wide variety of external apps and websites. While Facebook provides tools for brand safety such as category exclusions and publisher block lists, the sheer scale and diversity of the network mean there is a higher potential for ads to appear on lower-quality inventory, in less brand-safe contexts, or within environments that do not perfectly align with an advertiser's brand image or performance expectations. This requires careful monitoring and optimization to mitigate risks such as accidental placements in irrelevant applications or diluted brand perception due to surrounding content.