Living in a mobile-focused world has changed the way people discover and buy products. To keep pace with this mobile shopping revolution, Facebook continually develops new mobile ad formats to deliver a smooth user experience and that allow advertisers to exhibit a wide range of available products. Collection Ads is one such format.

A Brief Intro

Facebook Collection Ads empower advertisers to “Tell a story and showcase relevant products and features—all in a single Facebook ad.”[1] Although Collection Ads are focused on retail and
e-commerce, they’re easy to implement for any business with a product catalog that links to an online store. Advertisers are increasingly adopting this ad type, which allows them to combine video or images with other images from a product catalog.

To stand out in the digital crowd, advertisers must create Collection Ads that ‘inspire’ and ‘optimize’.

Inspire

Facebook recommends that advertisers use Collection Ads to drive and optimize for conversions. So, inspire users to convert by having your main asset tell your brand story. Use complementary images from your product feed to drive home the brand message and to highlight a variety of your products.

Keep these things in mind as you create your ads:

  • Your Story: In telling your brand story, visually highlight the people it’s designed for. Then, when you’re selecting associated images, choose ones that provide a good counterpart for the main image. For example, if you’re a fashion brand, include behind-the-scenes or runway images. Remember to include relevant messaging in the headline.
  • Theme: Explore different motifs such as seasons, promotions, or specific audiences or styles.
  • Utility: Try presenting something that demonstrates the ‘need’ for your product. Show users ‘how’, leverage influencers, and inspire viewers with the possibilities of using your products.
  • Cross-sell: Explore how you can cross-sell related products.

Optimize

Collection Ads are mobile-only, so optimizing for the experience is key. It’s also important to optimize the content itself, following a few guidelines:

  • Mobile mobile mobile: If your ads are inspiring but your mobile experience is weak, you won’t achieve the best performance.
  • Fitting content: Tailor the content for mobile feed by capturing attention quickly and designing for sound off.
  • Less text: Let the visuals spark attention.
  • Products: Use a product set with more than eight products to emphasize variety and availability.

Want to know how to create Collection Ads on Marin Social? Read how in our support center article. Or, if you’re new to Marin, just request a demo.

[1] Facebook Business, https://www.facebook.com/business/learn/facebook-create-ad-collection.