Facebook ads are one of the most popular pay-per-click (PPC) ad platforms, and for good reason. Facebook’s audience is large and diverse, ad engagement is fairly high overall, and the targeting options are impressive—with plenty of room for creativity.
It’s easy for businesses to get caught in the trap of getting comfortable with a single ad format that works well for them. They stick to the single-image newsfeed post, and occasionally switch up the image or text. If you’re looking to grow your business, however, you’d benefit most from using several different types of Facebook ads to do so.
Different ad formats and ad types offer different benefits, and in this post we’re going to look at four that businesses shouldn’t overlook.
Bonus: Download a free guide that teaches you how to turn Facebook traffic into sales in four simple steps using Hootsuite.
1. Video Ads
Video ads can convey a large amount of information in a way that is quick, concise, and engaging. Which would you rather do: watch a one-minute video, or read a minute’s worth of plain text?
If you’re like 59 percent of executives and 80 percent of consumers, you’d rather watch the video.
Video ads are great for building brand awareness. An introduction video that’s designed to appeal to customers in the discovery stage of the digital sales funnel can be one of the best ways to grab attention.
There’s no pressure to convert the audience right away either. All you need them to do is watch the video. Later on, you can run a retargeting ad from the audience that watched the video up to a certain point, and show them an offer ad or lead ad.
2. Lead ads
Lead ads are one of our favorite Facebook ad features. They started out as mobile-only placements, but now are available for desktop placements, too. When users click on a lead ad, a lead form will pop up. Facebook automatically fills in as much information for the user as possible (often with name, email address, and potentially phone number), making it exceptionally easy for users to convert on both mobile and desktop.
Lead Ads are ideal for pushing users into the consideration stage. They allow you to gain a lead’s contact information so you can then nurture them with email campaigns…
