Joshua Dreller
Sr. Director, Content Marketing @ Skai
Facebook Ad Formats: Dive into the ins and outs of Facebook’s diversity of ad types to find the one that will help you achieve your marketing goals. Today’s guest contributor is Marcel Hollerbach, Chief Marketing Officer of Productsup.
A successful Facebook ad is evocative and unique, inspiring the user to take action and make a quick decision. Marketers do this by telling a certain story with their ads – a story that comes in the form of product information, good titles, and compelling visuals. However, it also comes in the form of the ad’s layout. Fortunately, there are several Facebook ad formats that marketers can choose from to tell the most compelling story.
Each format offers different benefits. If you’re looking to drive product sales, you’ll be using the “catalog sales” objective in ad creation. This enables you to use the rather famous “Facebook Dynamic ad.”
Facebook Ad Formats
Let’s take a look at the current Facebook ad formats available and figure out which one will drive the most sales for you.
Single image ad
This is your classic advertising option, where one ad uses only one image. This allows marketers to make a single, strong statement about their products and brand. While the right image may leave a great impression on a user, these are not usually ideal for driving product sales.
Perhaps your single image ad is so intriguing that it stops the scrolling user in their tracks. Then what? The shopper will wonder what the product looks like from another angle, or what happens when it’s really in use. Without supporting images and information, it’s unlikely the ad will convince the user to click. Similarly, perhaps that user isn’t quite interested in the one product shown in the ad. But what about your numerous other popular products?
Adding more images means a higher likelihood one of your products will “click” with a user. That’s why ecommerce advertisers usually opt for multi-image ads. Luckily, Facebook ad formats include this option.
Carousel ad
Carousels are used to promote multiple products or types of products at once, making it more likely a user will see something they connect with. However, the collection of products used within the Carousel ad should be carefully planned, so you can make the most of each and every image.
Up to ten images or products can be dynamically inserted into the Carousel ad. Fixed cards can also be added to ensure that certain products or messages will appear for every user, providing a consistent and branded experience no matter which products appear.
Here are some of the most popular ways to use carousel ads:
- Promote one product per image
- Promote one product category per image
- Add a fixed card at the beginning or end to showcase your brand or promotions no matter what products are generated
- Add a map card to show your nearest physical location
Slideshow
Carousel ads can also be used to create ads with a little something extra using slideshow. Among Facebook ad formats, this one can help you create an extensive and immersive experience for the user, without the production costs of video. This format is also particularly useful for products that may be hard to grasp or visualize.
Great uses for the slideshow format:
- Highlight the benefits and features of a specific product
- Show off different styles and colors of the same product
- Show how to use a product, step-by-step
Collection ad
Want to tell a curated story about your products and brand? Then you’ll want to use collection ads. This format should be used to express the overall personality and narrative of your brand and what it offers. This is ideal for brands that focus on their uniqueness and personality. Great examples may include an artisan boutique or brands that rely heavily on values and purpose.
The format uses templates to generate ads, meaning marketers can simply create their own template and then let it be dynamically populated with the right products and images.
Facebook offers four templates to get started:
- Storefront
- Lookbook
- Customer acquisition
- Storytelling
The storefront option is designed to showcase and dynamically organize products, making it the best option for ecommerce businesses. While the other options are also useful, they aren’t designed to directly generate sales.
Note that, while these look fabulous and compelling on mobile, they are not available for desktop. Marketers will need to choose a different format for their desktop audiences.
Video ads
First there were text ads. Then there were image ads. Now, there’s video. Video makes 
a product come alive, and it also makes it much easier for the viewer to absorb the information. However, video ads are not usually used to directly drive ecommerce sales. Dynamically generated ads leverage user data to pinpoint which product will interest a specific user. They then pull up-to-date product data and images to create an ad tailored to that user at that exact moment. This can’t be easily done with video. Video requires production and the choice of just one or a few products.
Furthermore, Facebook offers such incredible targeting opportunities. It makes more sense to focus on creating ads that are highly targeted and unique in order to drive real product sales. Use video for purposes like branding and awareness.
Facebook marketers looking to use video ads should consider how video can support other use cases such as brand awareness, page likes, or app installs.
Additional Options for Facebook Ad Formats
Even within Facebook Dynamic ads, there are several subtypes. That means for certain industries and businesses, there are options to make your ads even more targeted and powerful.
For example:
- Businesses with brick-and-mortar locations should consider the “store visits” objective
- Brands looking to drive sales of their products can leverage collaborative ads
- Businesses working in a specific vertical should see if Facebook offers a specific ad format for their industry (Facebook currently supports travel, real estate, and automotive)
The Importance of Your Product Catalog
No matter which Facebook ad formats you choose, you’ll need a strong product catalog.The product catalog is the backbone of your ads, whether it’s on Facebook, Youtube, or any other channel. Be sure that you have the tools necessary to create high-quality feeds (complete with click-worthy titles and tantalizing images) in order to create great dynamic ads.
Managing your Facebook campaigns and crushing your metrics is easiest when you use a powerful social advertising platform like Skai Social. Contact us for a demo today!
