We all know Facebook is now the world’s largest social network. Then Facebook advertising is an essential way to connect with your audiences on this platform.
With the Facebook algorithm which is updated day by day, you can find it hard to connect organically with audiences. However, Facebook’s micro-targeting features allow you to exactly reach your target audience. Facebook ads can deliver your message directly to the people who are most likely to want your products or services.
That’s good for your budget, conversion rates, and return on investment. You only pay money to approach the most valuable potential customers.
It’s necessary to understand the different Facebook ad types and targeting options before you jump into in case you want to end up with the best result. In this article, we will guide you through everything you need to know, from planning your first Facebook advertisement to developing advanced campaign strategies.
Read this series to know:
- Different types of Facebook ads
- The way to advertise on Facebook
- Facebook ad specs
- 5 clever strategies to run Facebook ads
- Facebook ad ideas
Let’s jump into!
Different types of Facebook ads
Image ads
These simple ads are an effective way to get started with Facebook advertising. You can create one with just a few clicks by boosting an existing post with an image from your Facebook Page.
Image ads may be simple, however, that doesn’t mean they have to be boring. For instance, you might think socks are a pretty ho-hum product, however, Happy Socks puts them in stunning contexts to create enjoyable Facebook photo ads.
Video ads
Video ads will appear in News Feed and Stories, or they can be shown as in-stream ads in longer Facebook videos. These ads can show your team or your product in action, like this quick demo video ad from We Are Knitters.
You don’t need to use filmed video footage for your video ads. You can even create GIF-like graphics or different animations to capture attention or explain your offer, like in this ad from the New York Times.
Additionally, notice the targeting on this ad: It specifically mentions an offer for Europe. In your feed, you can even see which of your friends already like the NYT Facebook Page. This makes the copy extra-compelling.
Video poll ads
This mobile-only Facebook ad format includes an interactive component with video polls. It’s a brand-new type of Facebook paid to advertise, however, Facebook’s early data shows that these ads can increase brand awareness more effectively than regular video ads.
Carousel ads
A carousel ad uses up to 10 photos or videos to promote your product or service. You should use this format to highlight different benefits of one product, a variety of different products, or even use all the photos together to create one large panorama image, like this:
Slideshow ads
Slideshow ads offer a simple method to create short video ads from a collection of still photos, text, or existing video clips. You can pick stock photos directly from Ads Manager in case you don’t have your images.
Slideshow ads have eye-catching motion, just like videos, however, use five times less bandwidth, so they load well even for people on slow internet connections. They’re an easy, low-impact way to attract attention.
Collection ads
These Facebook paid ads, which are offered only for mobile devices, allow you to show five products that customers can click to buy.
Collection ads pair with Instant Experiences (more on those below) to help customers to buy your products without leaving Facebook. This makes online shopping easy when people are on-the-go and may not have an excellent internet connection.
Instant Experience ads
Instant Experience ads used to be known as Canvas. This kind of Facebook ad is a full-screen ad format that loads 15 times faster than a mobile website outside of Facebook, like this example from American Express.
You can alsolink to additional Instant Experiences so customers have access to even more instant mobile content.
Lead ads
Lead ads are designed for people to easier give you their contact information without typing a lot, so they are only used for mobile devices. These ads help you to get newsletter subscriptions, sign customers up for a trial of your product, or let people ask for more information from you.
Tokyo Marine, an insurance firm, used lead ads to generate 11,000 leads in just 17 days. In addition to an easy-to-complete lead form, the ads used a Messenger bot to further qualify potential new clients. The campaign reduced 60% of the cost of lead collection.
Because these ads are such a great way to feed your sales funnel, we’ve got some examples of successful Facebook lead ads that break down all the details you should know to take advantage of this important type of Facebook ad campaign.
Dynamic ads
This kind of ad allows you to promote targeted products to the customers who like them.
For example, if somebody has visited a product page or placed a product in their shopping cart on your website. However then abandoned the purchase, dynamic ads for that precise product will appear in their Facebook feed.
This reminds the potential customer to complete the purchase and can be a very efficient Facebook marketing strategy.
An example from the French store, Smallable used dynamic ads to retarget potential customers with carousels, collection, image, and Stories formats. Smallable showed Facebook users ads for products they had already expressed interest in, resulting in a 124 times return on ad spend.
Messenger ads
Facebook Messenger ads provide you with access to the 1.3 billion people who use Messenger every month. Choose Messenger as the desired placement when you create your ad. You also need to select Facebook feed.
Here, you can see how an ad is shown in the Messenger app:
You can even run “click-to-Messenger” ads in the Facebook feed. These ads feature a call-to-action button that opens a Messenger conversation with your Facebook Page. People can have a one-on-one conversation with one of your salespeople or customer service reps.
Stories ads
Scientific American found that 72% of millennials won’t watch videos with widescreen. Stories ads are a full-screen vertical video format that allows customers to maximize screen real estate without having to rotate their screen.
These ads have proven highly effective. A Facebook-commissioned Ipsos survey showed that more than half of individuals stated they were making more online purchases because of Stories ads.
Stories augmented reality ads
Augmented reality ads use features like filters and animation to allow people to interact with your brand. This ad format is new to Facebook, however 63% of the U.S.
Playable ads
That is another new ad format that incorporates interactivity. You create sport expertise that encourages individuals to work together together with your inventive content material.
Vans used a playable ad to increase brand lift and favorability.
