Congratulations on Choosing Facebook Ads! Now, Which of the 13 Types Do You Want?

Tenth in a series

There are good reasons to run Facebook ads while working on your website’s SEO, but how do you pick the right one for your marketing strategy?

As we explained last time, advertising on Facebook gives you an immediate boost in brand visibility while you are building out your search engine optimization. You don’t want to pick just any old ad format, however. With so many choices, it makes sense to weigh the options and choose the ad type that works best for your audience and message.

While you may be surprised to learn that there are thirteen different kinds of Facebook ads, you have no doubt experienced all of them without really thinking about it. Today, we’ll walk through the basics of each type so you have a better idea of the pros and cons before making a decision.

1. Image ad
   The most familiar kind, an image ad is a single graphic with limited text. It could even be one of your organic posts but boosted. Image ads work best if you are promoting eye-catching products.  
2. Carousel ad
   This is basically an image ad with more than one image so that viewers can click through a series of eye-catching photos of your products.
3. Slideshow ad
   While still a series of images, slideshow ads display a series of images automatically rather than requiring your audience to click on each one.
4. Instant experience ad
   Only available to mobile users, this type of ad provides interaction similar to what you could create on your own product website, but stays on the Facebook platform for quick upload.
5. Collection ad
   Sort of a cross between Carousel and Instant Experience ads, users initially see a few images in a Carousel-type display that, when clicked on, open up to the enhanced Instance Experience.
6. Video ad
   Instead of a static image, up to fifteen seconds of a video plays with your marketing message.
7. Dynamic ad
   Using a pixel and a user’s previous online experience with your products, these ads are created on the fly to re-engage your audience.
8. Dynamic creative ad
   Another on-the-fly ad, this one puts together a targeted message by choosing from a bunch of images and Calls To Action that you previously uploaded.
9. Messenger ad
   As the name suggests, this ad will appear in a user’s Messenger conversation. Or start with another kind of ad which has a CTA to move the exchange to a Messenger conversation.
10. Event ad
    Marketing for events to reach a specific audience, whether geographic or by interest.
11. Poll ad
    Try boosting engagement by posting a two-option poll below your marketing graphic.
12. Lead ad
    Rather than sending users to another website, this ad has an instant form to gather information right on the Facebook platform.
13. Stories ad
    Audiences who are familiar with stories will see this marketing message, but it doesn’t show up in feeds. Also, it’s a different format from other video ads.

Actually, there are even more kinds of Facebook ads such as Augmented Reality and Mobile App ads. As you might expect, these require a good bit of additional work on your part, even more than great photos or interesting video.  

Several of the ad options looked promising to the Sprocket team for promoting our free SEO audit lead generator, and we may try a few of them in time, but we’re choosing just one to begin. As we always suggest to clients, it’s better to focus on one goal and complete it well before moving on to the next.

Weighing the commitments of time and resources against the potential audience engagement, we believe a slideshow ad makes the most sense for several reasons:

• Using multiple images gives us more opportunity to tell a story for engaging an audience.
• Images are simpler to create than a video.
• A slideshow still provides eye-catching movement in the ad space the way a video does.
• Slideshow ads load faster than video ads so they still look good even where internet is spotty.   

Now we’re storyboarding to get the message and images just right. Of course, testing will tell which version is most “right,” but you have to start the process before you can improve on it. Are you ready to improve on your digital marketing? We have the tools to show you your starting point. Give us a call today to learn more!

Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

Kate GingoldKate Gingold

I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.

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I have been writing a blog with web marketing tips and techniques every other week since 2003. In addition to blogging and client content writing, I write books and a blog on local history.

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