Some good news from Facebook for Business Page admins that use Facebook advertising as part of their Marketing Mix. A new Ad layout is coming for the traditional right hand side Ads. This new format offers a more visual design and is looking to increase engagement for Advertisers. This is a welcome more as the I have found over the past year that the tradition right hand Ad format has been losing out to the News Feed story Ad format in terms of CTR and even just plain old impressions.
New Facebook Ad Format
The new format will offer more media space so images and video should have a similar feel as the News Feed Ads. This also fits in much better with the new Facebook design that is currently rolling out to make desktop and mobile experiences the same.
Increased Facebook Ad Engagement
According to Facebook this new format is intended to offer a better Ad experience and and increased engagement from users seeing the new design. Facebook are claiming around 3x more from early testing. This probably means early adopters will see the benefit, which I guess will be the Business Pages with a high Ad spend as Facebook starts the rollout later this month. Facebook say that the remaining rollout will be later in the year.
Simpler Facebook Ad Management
To make things simpler for advertisers, and because the new Ad format mirrors the desktop News Feed ads, admins will no longer have to choose separate images for the two types, and the same image will be used for both. Especially useful for those with limited creative resources. Not only that but Facebook will be simplifying the actual advertising product options it has from the current confusing 27 into 3 clear categories. I will update once I know more about this, but it will definitely help small business who don’t have the time or experience staff to understand all the different options.
Better Facebook Ad Call to Action
Another great addition coming to Facebook Ads is a Call to Action button on certain ad types. Page Admins will be able to choose specific call-to-action buttons for their adverts. Facebook will give you a choice from 5 actions: Shop Now, Learn More, Sign Up, Book Now or Download.
These options will be available on the following two Ad product options:
- Clicks to Website: This basic advert encourages people to visit your website
- Website Conversions: For this more advanced option, you can create a pixel to put on your website that tracks conversions, including check-outs, registrations and leads
The Digital Diver 