Video Ads vs Image Ads: What To Use on Facebook

 

• Facebook Feed - 241 minutes max 

• Facebook in-stream video (mobile) - 5 seconds-10 minutes 

• Facebook in-stream video (desktop) - 5-15 seconds 

• Facebook Marketplace - 241 minutes max 

• Facebook Stories - 1-120 seconds 

 

Just because some placements provide you with a long length of time, you need to remember – you’re stopping people in their tracks from scrolling. If you take a long-winded approach, you’re relying on your audience sticking around to find out what you’re actually trying to sell them – and for many, they’ll want to know the facts straight away. Keeping things short, sweet and simple can be the crucial difference between hooking the audience in and waving them goodbye. 

 

A successful Facebook Video Ad tells a story – if you start strong, you can capture attention in the first few seconds. By using visuals, a question or directly addressing your audiences’ pain points you can create an add that resonates with your ideal audience member. Think about using captions for accessibility or for those watching with sound off, focus on the benefits of your products and services, ensure your branding is present and have a clear CTA. Avoid the hard sell, but make it clear that what you’re offering could be the key to solving your audiences problems. 

 

Finally, how do you know if it’s the right creative for you business? Facebook Video Ads can benefit everyone, but they can be really impactful for: 

 

• Businesses who really need to build trust with their audience, such as those in fitness, driving instructors, salon owners – make people really see the value in you, your expertise and how you can help them. 

 

• Those who have testimonials to hand – if you’ve already had success with customers, getting some video testimonials from the people that have used your business before can help to sell you and your business to the audience. 

 

• Those in creative industries that rely on visuals to impress audiences such as fashion or home décor companies. 

 

• E-commerce businesses that are showcasing new products, showing your audience exactly how they work. 

If video ads don’t sound like something that will work for your business, then single image ads could be the right choice for you. One of the most effective ways to reach your audience, it can still help you make an impact without needing to invest in video content. 

 

Meta has the following recommendations for single image ads: 

 

• File type: JPG or PNG 

• Ratio: 1.91:1 to 4:5 

• Resolution: 

• 1:1 ratio: 1440 x 1440 pixels 

• 4:5 ratio: 1440 x 1800 pixels 

 

Competing with so many other image ads can feel like a big ask – but if you want to stop people mid-scroll, you must ensure your visuals are bold, bright and clear in order to catch the attention of your audience, include some short text to get your message across, is branded to your business including your colours and logo, includes a CTA and, most importantly, clearly puts the focus onto the products or services you are selling. These types of ads are perfect for local, small businesses, those who provide services like consultations or electricians, event organisers or e-commerce businesses who are announcing sales or promoting specific products. 

Finally, we take a look at Carousel Ads. These ads allow you to display multiple products in a singular ad, linking specifically to each, or for explaining something to your audience. Carousel ads have the following placements: 

 

• Facebook Feed 

• Facebook Marketplace 

• Facebook video feeds 

• Facebook right column 

• Facebook Stories 

• Facebook search results 

 

If you’re using Carousel Ads, you can either include images of your products in a straightforward fashion, or make multiple, flowing graphics that have rolling information that lets your audience know a little more about what you have to sell. Tell a story, add value with each of the 10 cards you have available to you and end with a CTA, telling people what the next steps are. They’re designed for interaction and can be super effective for retargeting campaigns or highlighting collections – so if this is where you’re at, Carousel ads could be great for your business. They’re fantastic for pretty much all businesses – particularly for ones who focus on travel, fashion, food, or those in the property market. 

 

Whether you’re leaning more towards video or images are more your thing, creating ads that perform can take some time and tweaking – but by picking the right creative, you can create a campaign that stands out from the rest and wins you business every time.