What are Facebook ads?

Why do Facebook ads matter?

Currently, there are more than 7 million Facebook sites in the world pulling a monthly active user base of more than 2.9 billion people. That doesn’t mean that Facebook will only charge you when your ad works the way you want it to, but you can choose how they bill you, such as being charged by the number of views or clicks. You have different options depending on the goals you set for your ad.

How much does it cost to advertise on Facebook?

Facebook ad costs vary based on factors like audience targeting, ad placement, campaign duration, industry competitiveness, time of year, time of day, and location. Generally, narrower audiences, Instagram ads, longer campaigns, competitive industries, peak times, and higher-priced products or valuable leads lead to higher costs.

Types of Facebook ads

Knowing how to advertise on Facebook starts with knowing the types of Facebook ads available to you.

You can choose between different Facebook ad types and formats to suit your campaign goals, including:

• Image,
• Video,
• Carousel,
• Slideshow,
• Collection,
• Instant Experience (Canvas),
• Stories

The wide range of Facebook ad formats means you can choose the best ad type that matches your business goal.

Here are each of Facebook’s ad formats explained in more detail:

1. Image Ads

Description: Banner ads are easy to implement and are an excellent method of instantly grabbing your viewers’ attention and presenting the information as soon as possible. Usually, they make use of one image, one headline, one brief text, and an unambiguous CTA at the bottom. This format is suitable for presenting products, calling to attention certain events, or just raising brand visibility.

Best Practices:

• Choose high-quality images: Make sure the picture is clear, attractively taken, well-lit, and if applicable, related to your content.
• Create a compelling headline: The headline of your ASP net article or news should be catchy and pass on the message in a way that is easily understandable by anyone.
• Write concise text: Make the text description simple and concise.
• Use a strong call to action: Make it obvious viewers to what you expect them to do or to focus on (like clicking, buying, or coming to know more).
• Test different variations: Try having different images, headlines, and short textual descriptions to see which kind attracts the most clicks.

2. Video Ads

Description: Video ads are a great way of narrating a story, showing how a product works, or sharing a day-in-the-life type of content. With the right content, visuals can be employed to relay intricate information, elicit some form of emotion, as well as encourage more meaningful interactions with your brand.

Formats: These video advertisements are in categories such as feed, Stories, and stream ads. News Feed ads are placed in the News Feed feed, Stories ads are placed in the Stories tab, and before/ during videos in-stream ads are displayed. Best Practices:

Best Practices:

• Keep it short and sweet: Ideally, you should keep the videos in the region of thirty seconds maximum.
• Start strong: Start with an introduction by the use of an attention grabber such as an opening shot.
• Use clear visuals: Just like a PowerPoint Presentation, try as hard as you possibly can to make your video graphics-friendly and clutter-free.
• Include a clear call to action: Finally, make up their minds about what you want your viewers to do – for instance, click here, buy this product, or subscribe.
• Use captions or subtitles: This means you should adjust your video to ensure that as many people as possible can view them.
• Test different variations: Try videos on different platforms and in various lengths and talk about segments and topics that are effective for your business.

3. Carousel Ads

Description: As the name suggests, carousel advertisements enable you to share multiple images or videos in a single ad but, each of the images or videos includes its own link. This format is perfect when it is possible to explain different perspectives of your brand, product, or service to the audience.

Best Practices:

• Use consistent branding: It is also important to make sure that all the cards have composed with the same style.
• Tell a story: Design a story written on the cards, so that each of them represents the next step in the story.
• Use strong visuals: Select vivid images or videos to place on each card.
• Include a clear call to action: Users should be motivated to take the preferred action.
• Test different variations: There are many possibilities here – try different card layouts, images, and text.

4. Slideshow Ads

Description: Slideshow ads are one of the most affordable methods of creating rather engaging video ads. They use still pictures, short video clips, and or text to convey exciting information without the expenses and complications of video production.

Best Practices:

• Use high-quality images: The images should be well contrasted so that their message can easily be understood by the target consumers.
• Keep it simple: Do not overload your slides with too much writing or images at least stick to small print in case of the latter.
• Use a consistent theme: Ensure you keep on with the same theme throughout the preparation of the slideshow.
• Include a clear call to action: Inform your viewers what you expect them to do.
• Test different variations: This is a good time to try different image characteristics as well as texts and transitions.

5. Collection Ads

Description: Again there is a collection of mobile ads only that displays a rich cover image or video and several goods images. When a user taps on an ad, it expands to the full screen, which gives consumers the possibility to interact with your products.

Best Practices:

• Choose a compelling cover image or video: This will attract the eyesight of the user and force the user to click on the Advertisement.
• Curate your product selection: It is, therefore, important to select products that are in line with your target demographic and ones that are likely to convert vis-a-vis.
• Use high-quality product images: Make sure the images you use are sharp and well-lit with no parts that are blurry, subdued, or obscure.
• Include a clear call to action: Remind users that they should shop now, or else they can gather more information.
• Test different variations: Try all the options for the products to display, the cover photo, and the CTA to see what customers prefer.

6. Instant Experience (Canvas) Ads

Description: Instant Experience (Canvas) Ads are ads that are full-screen and interactive and appear as soon as they are clicked. They always provide a rich media feature incorporating images, videos, and the carousel feature. Best Practices:

Best Practices:

• Use a strong opening image or video: Engage the users from the get-go.
• Keep it simple: Don’t make the users confused or intolerant by providing a lot of information at once.
• Use interactive elements: Learn more about carousels, galleries, and quizzes and how they can be used to captivate users.
• Optimize for mobile: Make your Canvas ad easily viewable on the mobile interface.
• Test different variations: Try various layouts and images, as well as focus on the utilization of different sorts of interactive items.

7. Stories Ads

Description: Stories Ads are an effective ad format, which is placed in the Stories section of Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. Instead of appearing as separate entities, these ads are incorporated into the user’s regular Stories content, which makes them less annoying, but more interesting. They can be an image, video, or both and generally contain features like swipe, tap, or even polls.

Best Practices:

• Captivate Quickly: Withstand the two-second rule of the Web by using bright graphics and an appealing teaser.
• Vertical Format: Be conscious of your video content to make sure images do not get cropped vertically.
• Keep it Concise: Here, get your message across quickly as the lifespan of a Story is but a few frames.
• Use Sound Wisely: Add voice-over to your ad but be careful with the ones who have their video muted.
• Encourage Engagement: To make the content more impactful, opt for polls or swipes that would increase its exposure and recall.

Each type of Facebook ad serves a different purpose and can be strategically used to meet your specific marketing goals, from driving sales to building brand awareness.

👉 Explore additional articles for further reading.