Since Facebook went public, it’s been hard at work finding exciting new ways for you to invest your advertising budget. As mobile traffic overtakes desktop, Facebook is uniquely positioned to help you connect with eager prospects for your business. One advertising experience Facebook has designed are Canvas Ads, which went live for all advertisers in February 2016. Canvas Ads are immersive, highly visual ads especially designed for the way people interact online through mobile devices.
A Truly Unique Mobile Advertising Experience
Many times, people are less than thrilled to encounter ads. The tuning out of advertisements presents a huge challenge to the industry – one Facebook tackles through an ad type that’s truly inviting and interactive.
Let’s look at the core traits that make up a Canvas Ad:
Canvas Ads are Complete, Multimedia Experiences
A Canvas Ad can consist of a wide variety of elements, including text, video, imagery, product feeds, carousels, and more. No two Canvas Ads are alike. This helps advertisers combat “ad exhaustion,” prospects tuning ads out after encountering them a number of times.
Canvas Ads are Fully Self-Contained
Once users click a Canvas Ad, they scroll through the content – which can be much longer than a traditional ad block. The ads can include five images and accompanying text. The ad whisks you away and commands full attention before returning you to your Facebook feed.
Canvas Ads are Fast-Loading and Convenient
Canvas Ads have been compared to Instant Articles, another mobile-focused innovation. But where Instant Articles draw content from a website feed, Canvas Ads launch as full-screen, rich media pages embedded into Facebook itself. The design decisions here help cut load time.
Using Canvas Ads for Your Enterprise
Creating a Canvas Ad is fun and easy!
- Through your brand’s Facebook Page, access Canvas Builder under “Publishing Tools.” From there, start a new Canvas with the “Create” button.
- Start by selecting a “Theme” that provides a coherent, user-friendly color scheme across your ad. Components you can add include buttons, carousels, photos, text blocks, videos, and product sets, plus an optional persistent header for your entire ad. Components are optional and can be arranged to your liking.
- Each component has requirements – for example, maximum photo size and minimum video resolution. Specifics are constantly updated, so check the Facebook Ads Guide for the latest. Use “Preview” after every change, because you can’t go back and edit a Canvas Ad once it goes live.
Canvas Ads are an exciting new frontier for advertising: More creative and engaging than ever before. Try them today!