Knowing which Facebook ad type to choose from is more than just a quick decision you can make at the last minute before creating your ad assets. Facebook provides the tools you need to run a successful marketing campaign.

But you need to understand the different types of Facebook ads and how to make the most of them.  Choosing the right ad for the right job is the difference between massive conversions and wasting your advertising budget .

Facebook is one of the most powerful marketing platforms for advertisers and business owners who want to increase their sales and profits. The secret to a successful Facebook marketing campaign is based on your business goals, the types of ads you pay for, and the information that users happily hand over to Facebook that you can use to target your ideal audience.

Let’s take a look at the type of Facebook ads that you should choose for a given goal, the nine most important types of ads that you can use, and general specs for each ad type. This way you can start building each one out for maximum performance today.

How To Choose Facebook Ad Types Based On Your Business Goals

The first step to creating a profitable Facebook advertising campaign is to decide the purpose of your initiative.

• Are you looking to increase your brand’s exposure to a target audience?
• Do you want to drive more traffic to a landing page to test copy or a new design?
• Would you like to generate more leads for your sales team to interact with?
• Do you need to generate more direct bookings and sales?

Facebook is the largest social media network in the world, and it is also the most advertised-on social platform, with nearly 93% of social marketing happening throughout Facebook ads.

You need to be careful with how you advertise in order to maximize your ROI. This means that you should only choose Facebook ads based on your business goals and budget.

Facebook Ad Types For Branding

The first and most common type of Facebook ad is one that aims to increase your brand’s reach across the social media network. The purpose of this ad type is to help potential customers become aware of your products and services by expanding the reach of your brand.

Here are three of the most common Facebook Ad types for branding that your company can consider using:

1) Brand Awareness Image Ads

Brand awareness ads are designed to help your target audience remember your brand based on previous actions (remarketing) or their demographics (prospecting). As opposed to generating actual leads for your sales team, these awareness campaigns generate initial demand for your product/service.

Facebook Image Ads can help your business accomplish both of these goals with a single image and some ad copy to get people to interact with the ad.

This is the most basic and common ad type, and you can set your ad to appear in the Desktop Newsfeed, Mobile Newsfeed, and the Right Column. Be sure to choose an image that is engaging and abides by Facebook’s image requirements.

An example of a classic image ad.

2) Local Awareness Ads

Local advertising is crucial for the success of your business, and thanks to Facebook’s Local Awareness Ads, you can reach customers that are within your local geographic area. This special type of ad can target people based on their physical proximity to your store.

 

A local awareness ad

 Specs:

• Description: 90 characters
• Headline: 25 characters
• Recommended Image Size: 1,200 x 628 px

3) Video Ads

Facebook Video Ads are a powerful way for you to reach your audience. You can make GIFs to attract the attention of your audience instantly, short videos to introduce a product or service, or longer videos that provide more detailed information about whatever it is you’re advertising.

Specs:

• Description: 90 characters
• Maximum File Size: 4GB
• Optimal Video Length: 15-30 seconds (but can be up to 120 seconds long)

Facebook Ad Types For Leads

Once people know and trust your brand, it’s time to start building a relationship with them. Using Facebook ads to get people to consider your products/services and drive more qualified leads is the next step of any successful Facebook marketing campaign.

Facebook ads can help you grow your business with different types of leads like phone calls, email addresses, and having your customers complete an online form.

If your business is struggling to generate qualified leads, then you should consider these three types of Facebook ads to grow your pipeline and boost sales.

4) Link Click Ads

Along with the basic Facebook Image Ads, Link Click Ads are the most common type of Facebook ad used on the platform. This ad type allows you to place an image, write ad copy, and then link to an external landing page.

This ad type is perfect if you want to promote a new product or service, have people read a new blog post, or fill out a form on your website.

Not only can you get people to engage with your brand off of Facebook, but you’re also able to download information about people who’ve clicked on your ad so you can engage with them again in the future.

This would be an ordinary retargeting link click ad.

Specs:

• Description: 90 characters
• Headline: 25 characters
• Recommended Image Size: 1,200 x 628 px

5) Multi-Product Carousel Ads

If you run an eCommerce store then this type of Facebook ad is a great way to promote multiple items from your store. You are able to upload 10 images into the ad, and each image will have its own link to the individual product pages on your store.

This ad type is a great way to tell a customer (or potential customer) about your products, feature different products, and give customers a convenient way to engage with your online store.

Scrolling left and right shows you more products.

 Specs:

• Image Sizes: 1080×1080 or 600×600
• Description: 30 characters
• Headline: 25 characters

6) Offer Claims

Brick-and-mortar stores often use this type of Facebook ad to attract more people to their store with coupon offers.

You can use this type of Facebook ad to offer discounts on specific products or services, free trials or consultations, bundles, referrals, free gifts; the list of options you can offer to attract more customers go on and on, and you can offer them all right on Facebook.

Make sure to emphasize your offer in the ad copy.

 Specs:

• Description: up to 90 characters
• Image Size: 1,200 x 628px
• Title: 25 characters

Facebook Ad Types For Conversions

Once you’ve built a relationship with your audience, they’ll come to trust your brand and that you offer the products/services they need. At this point, you can start transforming Facebook users into paying customers with Conversion Facebook Ads campaigns.

By this point in the customer journey, you should have developed a relationship and proven that your company is the best solution to address the needs of your customers. The campaign objective of this type of Facebook advertising is focused on making it a no-brainer to buy from your company with high-quality Facebook Ads.

Let’s take a look at the three most important Facebook ad types that you can use to generate more direct sales.

7) Dynamic Product Ads

This type of Facebook ad is a bit more advanced than other ad types because you can target customers based on previous actions taken. Dynamic Product Ads are highly targeted remarketing ads that can deliver the right message to the right people once they already interacted with your website.

Be sure to check out Facebook’s guide to ensure your product catalog is uploaded properly and your Facebook pixel is configured to utilize this type of Facebook ad type.

These locations like Hong Kong would be determined dynamically by past behavior.

Specs:

• Description: 90 characters
• Headline: 25 characters
• Image Size: 1,200 x 628 pixels

8) Canvas Ads

Canvas Ads provide the maximum in flexibility and versatility for advertisers, allowing for more inventive creative expression.

In general, Facebook will charge you more money if your audience clicks on an ad that takes them off of Facebook.

Canvas ads are a great way to reduce ad spend while also increasing conversions with lower loading times. You can use Canvas Ads to build a mini-landing page with a logo, text blocks, and even image carousels.

Specs:

• Description: 90 characters
• Headline: 45 characters
• Image Size: 1,200 x 628 px

9) Collection Ads

Facebook Collection Ads are an ad type that features a set of products that are sold on your site. You can this way then utilize your collection in order to build dynamic ads that tell a deeper store and actively engage your audience.

This is a great Facebook ad type if you are running an eCommerce store with several products and you can use this ad type to show similar products that your customers will engage with.

You can see the “collection” below the primary featured image.

 Specs:

• Headline: 25 characters
• Image Size: 1,200 x 628 px
• Load up to 10 products per Collection Ad set

Conclusion

Your business needs to find new ways to reach your goals at a reasonable budget. Facebook advertising offers a wide range of solutions that meet every need of your business. Whether you’re looking to increase your brand’s online presence, drive more qualified traffic to your site, or close more direct sales, you can find the right type of ad for your needs.

Now that you have a clear idea of the type of Facebook ad you should use, specs to build your ads, and what each type of ad will complete, you can begin growing your Facebook campaigns today.

9 Powerful Facebook Ad Types That You Can Use Today

PS. Don’t try to do anything without properly setting up Facebook Pixel first. Without it, you’re blindly poking to see what might work. With it, you can target people with surgical precision, with a precise message, at the right time.