This may not come as a shock to you, but not all ad creative is created equal. In order to launch a successful ad campaign on Facebook, your creative has to not only look great, but match the goals of your campaign. Did you know you can even increase your conversions if you use the right type of creative in your ads? 

In order to take advantage of this there are some questions you can ask yourself. 

What type of product do you sell? Your product type dictates your creative format.

Does it need a demo? Maybe you need some videos.

Do you sell fashion collections? Try showcasing more products at once with Carousel ad format.

And so on...

The most important feature of a Facebook ad is the format that you choose, which determines how Facebook represents your creative to your fans. For each campaign objective, there are several ad formats available to pick from. Let’s take a gander at some of these ad formats and which ad campaigns they are the most suitable for.

Single Image Ads

This is the most common ad format on Facebook and probably one you have already used... It's a basic one-photo ad, a call to action button and a link. If you haven’t used it yet, you've seen it on your Facebook feed, no doubt!

Campaign objectives that allow you to use single image ad format:

In a single picture ad, it is best to use an image that tells a story. Since this is not a video, the photo you choose has to be very creative and express a clear message in one frame. A true epitome of a picture is worth 1,000 words, this is the perfect place to showcase such a picture. The benefit of a single image is your ability to control what the user sees, there are no carousels to scroll through or videos to sit through, just one attention-grabbing image to spark their interest in your product… Pick it wisely!

Video Ads

As the name suggests, this ad format uses a video to showcase your product. Facebook claims that video ads work wonders for brand awareness campaigns, and it makes sense that they would. Rather than seeing a fleeting image that may be out of context to a user that has never interacted with your brand, a video tells the same story of 1 picture but over the course of 24 pictures EVERY SECOND… and sometimes as many as 30 or 60 pictures per second. That’s a lot of story.

Campaign objectives that allow you to use video ad format:

Upload original video content that is engaging and easy to understand and bring your product to life. Nothing shows users how your product would look in their possession than a video showcasing someone using your product and demonstrating all of the key benefits. Make sure to keep the video brief and punchy, so that you don’t lose your audience attention prematurely!

Slideshow Ads

This particular ad format is a combination between photo and video ads... so to speak. Facebook will actually create a small video of several images of your choice and post it as a video, or you can also upload your own slideshow of pictures as a video. As you can see, this ad format falls squarely in between pictures and videos. You can add all kinds of effects to it as well including music or text.

Campaign objectives that allow you to use slideshow ad format:

Pay attention to your thumbnail, because this is going to play a huge role towards your slideshow's engagement. The thumbnail will act as almost an advertisement of its own for the slideshow to come. That thumbnail will be the deciding factor for some users if they want to stick around for the slideshow or if they are going to keep scrolling, so just as you would with all of your ads, make sure that the first impression is always the best! You don’t have much time to capture interest, so grab it right away with an inviting thumbnail.

Carousel Ads

This format is ideal when you need to showcase more products at once, or you want to create a “slide-able” story for your fans, connecting images to one another. Each image can redirect your client to a different landing page, if you want that. This ad format gives your audience the controls to the ship and allows them to navigate through your advertisement at their own discretion.

Campaign objectives that allow you to use carousel ad format:

This ad format is perfect for a collection of products that may be related or may be part of a greater whole. The ability to take the user to a multitude of landing pages gives this ad format the unique benefit of allowing the user the power to choose their own adventure when it comes to interacting with your brand! The world is their oyster, and you are offering them the chance to explore more than just one product on your website!

Canvas Ads

If you want to give your fans a “website-like” experience through your ads, Canvas ad format is what you're looking for. This full-screen format uses photos, videos, call to action buttons, text, scrolling, swiping, tapping, and pretty much everything but the kitchen sink… With this ad format, you are almost creating an environment and experience with your product that makes the user forget they are even on Facebook. A home away from home, a little interactive environment where the user gets to decide what they learn, how, and when! 

Campaign objectives that allow you to use canvas ad format:

Although this option isn’t for everyone and for every product, it can be a very effective tool at engaging your users, especially for products that take a lot of information and understanding. Not everyone is selling simple products like hats, notebooks, purses, etc… sometimes your product needs some more interactive education, and for that… you’ve got Canvas Ads.

Dynamic Product Ads

For this type of ad, Facebook automatically advertises products to people who have viewed, added to cart or purchased something from your website, app or somewhere else. You must upload a product catalog and set up your campaign for this ad format to work. As you would expect this advertisement is primarily intended for those who are very familiar with your brand. These are people who have either already purchased from you, or are very close to purchasing, and all they need is that final push to send them over the edge. All you have to do is allow Facebook to show them the product they’ve already interacted with at just the right time, and BOOM, you’ve got yourself a conversion.

Campaign objectives that allow you to use dynamic product ad format:

Make sure your product photos, your website, and your links are on point for this. You don't want to disappoint clients with broken links or bad quality imagery, especially if they are already familiar with your brand. The key here is to get into their flow at just the right time when a simple click on a product you know they already like can turn from a wish into a reality.

Lead Form Ads

This ad format is pretty straight forward and very specific in its intended use… as the name would suggest. What you are hoping for in this situation is for people to click your ad and when your custom form pops up,you will be able to gather important data about your fans. They can sign up for free stuff, join a mailing list, ask to receive further information…  or pretty much whatever you ask them to do. 

Campaign objectives that allow you to use lead form ad format:

This lead generation ad format is a great tool for community building. Although Facebook is already a large community, there is a lot of use in finding people who are willing to take the next step and pledge their commitment to your brand by offering more information. Of course, this doesn’t come for free, you will most likely have to offer them something in exchange such as a discount code or free sample of something. However, as we all know, having such a direct connection with your users can only lead to conversions… and lots of ‘em!

There you have it! This ought to be a great start for you to make some decisions about how you want to showcase your products to your users. Every product, every business, every company, and most importantly every campaign, has its own set of goals, and these ad formats are a great way to align those goals with results. Now the best way to figure out which one is best for you is another question that Slicedbread can help you with, or you can dive in and start trying it yourself! No telling what sort of knowledge you will uncover!