Facebook Ads has become a global leader of online advertising in recent years. Making up around 97% of Meta’s (Facebook’s parent company) global revenue, the platform has received numerous upgrades over the years since its launch in order to attract new businesses, as well as retain existing customers.
Within these upgrades comes the ads themselves. Whether you’re running an Advantage+ campaign or a more traditional campaign, there are several ad types you can run that offer unique experiences on Facebook and its various properties (such as Messenger and Instagram).
In this editorial, we’ll take a look into each type of ad currently available on Facebook Ads, alongside each of their key features, and our professional agency recommendations.
Single Image Facebook Ads
Single Image ads allow you to use a single photo (typically a JPG/PNG) to show off your product, service or brand.
Single Image ads can help you:
- Grow awareness of your products and services.
- Increase interest in your brand or offer.
- Drive action by encouraging purchases/leads.
Single image ads can be created from within Facebook Ads Manager, and appear in multiple placements across Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network, and Messenger.
When creating Single Image ads, we recommend:
- Using high-resolution images – Nothing is worse than a blurry or pixilated ad.
- Showing off what you’re offering – Avoid a massive wall of text. Ensure your ad captures attention instantly and stops people scrolling past.
- Use the recommended aspect ratio – Each placement is recommended to have a different size image. For example, 1:1 images are great for Facebook Feed ads, but not for Stories.
Video Facebook Ads
Video ads allow you to create eye-catching moving ads to serve on Facebook platforms.
Video ads can help you:
- Show off your offering – Due to their video aspect, you can tell your brand story, demonstrate a product’s uses, or display a short commercial.
- Capture attention – Short videos can help captivate your audience and gain their immediate attention in a memorable way.
Video ads can be created from within Facebook Ads Manager. If you don’t have video content, fear not. Facebook also offers a tool that allows you to turn images into engaging videos, such as a short 10s slideshow.
When creating Video ads, we recommend:
- Keep them short – People don’t use Facebook to watch full documentaries. Instead, they’re looking for short, consumable content. Engage and maintain your audience’s attention by keeping your ads concise and to the point.
- Use closed captions – If your video features audio that is essential to understanding your ad, be sure to include subtitles. This will ensure anybody who is in a situation without audio can understand your ad fully.
- Gain attention instantly – In today’s age, you have around a mere 5 seconds to grab attention on social media. Make it snappy, and lead with an enticing entrance.
Carousel Facebook Ads
Carousel ads allow you to show multiple ‘cards’ in one ad. These can be images or videos and can include different descriptions.
Carousel ads can help you:
- Tell a story.
- Feature multiple products.
Carousel allows you to show two or more images or videos in a single ad. People can navigate through the carousel by swiping on their mobile device or by clicking the arrows on their desktop screen.
When creating Carousel ads, we recommend:
- Use engaging media – Select media shots that follow a similar theme, and relate to each other. This will ensure your audience remains engaged from the first carousel card to the last.
- Use different links – If you’re advertising different products/services, be sure to link to each individual landing page, rather than one generic one.
- Evaluate your customers – Use product-focused imagery to target those who have already visited product pages on your website. In addition, try using lifestyle-type imagery when targeting prospective customers.
Instant Experience Facebook Ads
Instant Experience ads will create a ‘full-screen experience’ showcasing your brand, products, or services directly within Facebook once a user clicks on your ad.
Instant Experience ads can help you:
- Capture attention – They load instantly within the Facebook platform, and will expand to the full size of the user’s screen.
- Tell your brand story – Facebook offers a variety of templates that you can choose from to create your instant experience, many of which are tailored to telling the story of your brand, as well as driving action to learn more.
- Develop your ad – An instant experience will give you the opportunity to strengthen the messaging within your ad whilst you have their attention.
Instant Experience ads are shown on Facebook feeds, stories, and other placements, meaning you have the ability to reach users in places where they are most engaged.
Instant Experience ads also come with their own unique reporting metrics, such as view time, view percentage, and more. These help you report on how effective your ads are, and how much attention they are capturing.
When creating Instant Experience ads, we recommend:
- Encourage action – Make sure your ad copy is compelling and gives users a reason to click your ad and see your instant experience.
- Make it visual – Nothing is worse than a full screen of text. Ensure your instant experience includes a variety of images, videos, and text. Use the ‘full screen’ feature to your advantage.
- Streamline it – Ensure users know the instant experience belongs to your ad. Include your brand logo within all pages of the instant experience, especially within the first page.
- CTA! – Every page of your instant experience should include a call to action, such as a link to your website. This will help encourage visitors to perform an action and convert.
Collection Facebook Ads
Collection ads display a cover image or video, alongside a collection of products underneath. Once clicked, these will open an instant experience where customers can browse and purchase products.
Collection ads can help you:
- Drive discovery – By pairing video or imagery with relevant products, you’ll be able to engage users and increase awareness of your full collection.
- Seamless experience – Collection ads are built for mobile, meaning they’ll help provide a seamless in-app experience through Facebook that is fast-loading and built for driving action.
- Highlight product catalogue – Collection ads will enable you to showcase a collection of multiple products or services, and prompt multiple purchases.
Due to collection ads incorporating Instant Experience functionalities, they additionally share the same, engaging benefits.
When creating Collection ads, we recommend:
- Catch attention – Your chosen cover image/video should aim to capture the user’s attention, where you can then encourage them to view your collection.
- Lifestyle Images – Incorporate lifestyle images of your products being used in real-world scenarios, rather than stock images.
- Use a large product set – For your collection ads, Facebook requires a minimum of 4 products, however, we recommend 50+. This will help you show relevant products to each user, and encourage users to explore more products.
Our Thoughts
If you’ve previously been ‘boosting’ your posts, we hope the above is a good insight into how customizable and unique your ads can be through Facebook Ads.
Not only do you get the choice of the ad type, but you’ll also be able to flexibly control and change your budget as you please.
Promo time…
If you want to get started but don’t have the time, we’re here to help.
We’ll manage your Facebook Ads right from the word go, freeing up your time to focus on what matters most to your business.
Interested? Learn more here about what we can offer you.
