Facebook Ad Types to Help You Reach Your Marketing Objectives
It’s not surprising that Facebook is an incredibly popular choice for brands when it comes to social media ad placements. With 179 million monthly active users in the U.S. alone, and an average of 33 minutes per day spent on the app, this social platform is a leader when it comes to reaching a wide target audience. Therefore, when spending dollars on Facebook, it is important that you select the right ad type and objective for your marketing goal to ensure a successful campaign.
Facebook offers eight different ad formats, which dictate how the ad looks to the user, and six different campaign objectives, which determine how the target audience is prompted to engage with the ad. Each placement will combine one ad type and one campaign objective to form the final product.
Ad Formats
Photo – Uses a static image to attract the attention of the target audience.
Video – Video automatically starts to play as the user scrolls by and can be coupled with sound if wanted. Both long- and short-form video options are available.
Stories – Puts the ad into the Stories section of the platform as well as in the regular feed with edge-to-edge content that takes up the whole screen.
Messenger – Allows brands to communicate directly with customers through an instant message sent via chat.
Carousel – Leverages a scrolling selection of up to 10 images that invite the user to swipe to see more. The brand’s story can be delivered gradually as the target looks at each subsequent card.
Slideshow – Similar to video, slideshow ads use movement to catch the attention of the target audience. Slideshows consist of static images, text and sound that can be navigated by the user.
Collection – Often used by fashion and retail companies, this ad presents several items in one cohesive and shoppable experience.
Playables – Gives users a sneak peek before downloading an app. This is a completely interactive interface that allows a portion of a mobile game to be played within the ad itself.
In addition to these eight ad formats, Facebook also offers what’s known as Instant Experiences. Facebook Instant Experiences allow advertisers to create visually captivating full-screen, mobile-optimized destinations for their ads which appear on mobile devices. Instant Experiences can make use of videos, photo carousels and even product catalogs to capture the attention of the audience.
Campaign Objectives
Awareness – It’s all about reach here. Awareness ads cast a wide net to help brands reach a large selection of people. Results are measured by impressions.
Traffic – Drive clicks to an online webpage of your brand’s choice such as a landing page, product page or blog. Companies can track success by identifying the cost per click (CPC) as well as monitoring a user’s actions once they land on the page of choice.
Engagement – When your call to action (CTA) is strong, this might be a good option. Engagement ads push your target audience to take a desired step such as respond or reach out via Messenger, watch a video or connect with your brand in another concrete way.
Leads – When you want to build your customer base, leads ads are a good option. These collect information such as name, email or phone number. They can drive eNewsletter signups or phone calls to your company. This is a common ad format for direct response advertising.
App Promotion – Use this objective if you want people to download your app. This is a natural coupling with the playables ad format as it allows users to test the app and then download or take a specific action within the app itself.
Sales – Drive purchases by allowing customers to visit your website to shop or add an item to their cart without leaving the social platform. If you want to get the best conversions from your Facebook advertising, selecting the right combination of ad type and campaign objective is key. Focus on brand goals when developing your social media strategy to help determine which ad structure will work best!
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