Facebook Ads: Facebook Ad types 101, plus which to use in eCommerce with Becky Hopkin (episode 105)

by April Buencamino-dy

Becky runs my favourite Ads agency – Digital Gearbox. As well as doing great work for a number of eCommerce brands they also run our ads across Google, Facebook, and Reddit.

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Understanding the Different Ad Types

It’s important to know the different ad options available to you so you can make the right decision when you start setting up.

Becky says that a big part of optimising Facebook is in refreshing the ad creative so make sure to refresh your content to keep people engaged.

Single Image Ads

These are the classic Facebook ads that are typically in JPEG or PNG formats.

Key things to remember for single image ads:

  • Have good, high-quality, high-resolution images.
  • Avoid using images that look like stock photos.
  • Use text wisely.

There are three aspect ratios for image ads: 1:1 or square, 9:16 for stories or reels, and 1.91:1 for the right-hand column search results.

Single image ads are a good place to start but remember that video ads have higher engagement rates.

Video Ads

With video ads, it’s all about creating something eye-catching that will capture your audience’s attention and make them stop scrolling.

Some tips from Becky when doing video ads:

  • Keep them short, concise, and straight to the point.
  • Use closed captions and/or subtitles.
  • Present the most important message first because you only have about five seconds to grab people’s attention.

Video ad ratios are similar to that of the image ads. You get the choice of a thumbnail so choose the best one for your ad. But Becky says what’s important is the messaging and having those closed captions and subtitles.

If you don’t have any video available, Facebook has a tool that lets you turn images into videos like a slideshow. For eCommerce brands, this would be a good place to start.

More Ad Formats

Becky gives us three more Facebook ad formats that you need to know about this 2022:

  • Carousel Ads: This is an exciting format because it allows you to put in two or more images or videos in a single ad. These are good to use when you want to focus on a particular product range, and they also work for remarketing purposes. 
  • Instant Experience Ads: These are ads with a full-screen experience that showcases your brand products directly within Facebook, and where customers have the option to move to your website should they want to. Instant experience ads require a lot of setup which is why not many brands do this.
  • Collection Ads: This has one cover image or video with a collection of products that follows. These are very engaging and would be great for remarketing purposes and if you’re focused on the lifestyle market.

Insider Tips

If we’ve inspired someone to take their first step with Facebook Ads – what do they need to know to give themselves the best chance of success?

Facebook’s setup is complex, so getting it right the first time will give you a good chance of success.

By setup, Becky is referring to having a Facebook ad account associated with your Facebook business account and linked correctly to your page and Instagram account, and housing your data sources.

Doing this accurately when you start out is going to make it easier for you.

Once you’ve started of course you’ve got to ‘keep optimising’! So what’s your favourite way to improve Facebook Ads performance?

Keep your ads updated and fresh.

Test different things and when you get significant data, make sure to update your creative accordingly.

If someone listening wants to learn more about Facebook Ads is there one cheap/free resource you’d recommend?

Becky recommends the following:

Plus, Chloe adds to the list the Facebook Ad Library.

Crystal ball time – what’s coming up in the next 6-12 months that we should be getting ready for in Facebook Ads?

Facebook keeps changing and adding things, but Becky says they’re expanding their customer acquisition tools. With this, think about how you can integrate your sales with your Facebook marketing activities. 

But in general, think of how you can maximize Facebook particularly in lead generation and capturing first-party data.

Interview Links

Becky on Social media:

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