17 types of advertising you should do on Facebook during the Christmas season

By Camila Ante
13 Oct

Over the years, Facebook has offered more and more advertising options. Each of the categories we will see below is classified by format and is presented in different locations on the platform.

This means that the criteria for considering them in one category or another has to do with where the ad will be displayed. The location also determines the amount of text and the measures of image or audiovisual media that can be added.

Almost all the types of ads we will see can be used for any topic, so it is up to you and your company's needs to choose the category.

1. Facebook Feed

These ads appear in the users' feed as if they were a publication of their contacts; you can use images or video. We recommend that you choose an aspect ratio that looks good on both web and mobile devices.

You can also use panoramic or 360º photos, which creates an interactive experience that is more valuable and engaging for your prospects. You have the opportunity to choose from different calls to action and objectives.

This is the most conventional ad on the platform, but that doesn't mean you can't send a strong message. In its ad guide, Facebook shares the specifications and recommendations for better performance.

Ejemplo de publicidad de Facebook en el feed de Forcepoint

2. Facebook right column

These ads are compatible with the web version of Facebook, so they will only appear to users when they access the platform from a computer or laptop.

They are ideal for offering attractive discounts, since you don't have much space to talk about your brand: you must go to what will really matter to your prospects. Since you have space to write a message (up to 125 characters in the main one) and the size of the image is small, upload photos that contain little text (or none, if possible) because it could limit the delivery of the ad.

Ejemplo de publicidad de Lanix en la columna derecha de Facebook

Image by Lanix

3. Facebook Instant Articles

Facebook noticed, several years ago, that users were using its platform more from their mobile devices. So it set about the task of offering a better experience on these devices, both for advertisers and prospects. Instant Articles fall into this category.

This format is an HTML document that loads very quickly on Facebook. It gives permission publishers the ability to tell compelling stories through an article format that can be customized and brand specific; it displays quickly on mobile devices. When you click it, you don't actually leave the Facebook app to read the post.

It was created to share content that is published on websites, so it is imperative that you have a URL to the page where you originally uploaded the article that users will see on Facebook. If you want to know the specifics of the file to implement it, Facebook explains them in its ads guide.

Among the targeting options you can choose several from the already established list, such as brand awareness, lead generation and app installs. It also allows you to choose between 10 CTAs compatible with the objective of your ad.

Ejemplo de artículo instantáneo de Letras Libres en Facebook

Image from Letras Libres

4. Facebook In-stream Video

This ad format gives you the opportunity to promote yourself with video content. Your ad will appear before, during or at the end of the audiovisual content. Facebook takes care of finding the video that best matches your ad, to ensure that more people with high conversion potential see it.

You have the option to insert an ad in video or image format, according to your preference. And you can follow the recommendations that Facebook puts at your fingertips to make the best use of this type of ad.

Ejemplo de anuncio de facebook de tipo instream

Image from Facebook Ads Guide

5. Facebook Marketplace Ad

The Marketplace was one of Facebook's innovations: it created an exclusive space for general users to sell products and services. Offering something on Marketplace is not the same as advertising in that space: the former is available to anyone who has a Facebook profile and wants to discover or buy items; the latter is an action that is reserved only for pages.

When you advertise on Marketplace, in addition to appearing in a section created for commercial transactions, you will be shown to users who are near you or within your delivery radius. In addition, they will be people who have certain interests related to your business and, therefore, will be more likely to become your customers.

Ejemplo de anuncio en Marketplace de Facebook

Image from Facebook Marketplace

6. Facebook Stories

Once Stories on Instagram became a favorite among users, Facebook included theirs as well. Of course, it didn't take long for them to open up space for advertisers by giving them the opportunity to exploit the format in a more creative and fun way.

Although they have more impact when they are videos, you can also create ads with static images, and the format should always be vertical. When you use photographs, each story has a duration of 5 seconds (or until the user advances), and it is important that you leave space above and below. This way, profile pictures or calls to action do not interrupt.

Remember that Facebook Stories can be explored both on the web and on mobile devices, so it is important that you consult the ideal specifications to implement them.

Ejemplo de anuncio en Stories de Facebook de Kettlechips

Image from Facebook Ads Guide

7. Facebook search results

Your ad can also appear in search results, along with profiles, pages, publications and other options, without users having to enter Marketplace.

As in the rest of the formats, your advertised publication will have the advertising tag so that it can be identified from the rest of the results, and it can be seen both on mobile devices and on the web version of the platform.

Ejemplo de anuncio en resultados de búsqueda de Facebook

Image from Facebook

8. Ads on Instagram

Since Facebook acquired Instagram, marketers found new spaces for their advertising strategies. So, practically, if there is the section in the app there is the possibility of sharing advertising in the different formats offered by this other social network focused on the visual.

Let's see what these options are:

Ejemplo de anuncio en Stories de Instagram para GoDaddy

Ejemplo de anuncio en feed de Instagram de istock

Anuncio en sección Explorar de Instagram de Bimbo México

One of the advantages of Instagram being part of Facebook is that you can manage the ads from the Business Manager, along with the rest of the guidelines of your Facebook page. The purpose of this is that you don't lose track of them and get all the information about their performance in one place.

9. Native, banner and interstitial from Audience Network

With the plethora of apps out there, Facebook saw an opportunity to expand its advertising reach. Why not show relevant ads to an audience that uses other apps in their daily lives? That's how Audience Network was born.

Thanks to these ads, you can have more market penetration and a better chance of reaching your goals with the investment you make. It's easy to use because it uses the same targeting, bidding, delivery and measurement systems as Facebook ads.

An Audience Network ad can open a link in a new browser window, open an app that is already installed on the cell phone or ask for permission to install it. There are different formats for this type of ad, with different specifications that you can consult in the available guide to be aware of changes and updates.

Ejemplos de anuncios en Facebook: anuncio en Audience Network

10. In Messenger

Here you can take advantage of your contacts' inbox, conversations that were already opened through direct messages and Stories that also appear in Messenger.

Advertising message

If you have had an interaction through Facebook Messenger, by this means you can send an advertisement to the user with whom a conversation was already started. It's a good way to send special offers to prospects who have shown a real interest in your product or service (they've written to you privately for a reason) or to create loyalty programs with those who are already your customers.

You can use it whether or not you have a bot in your Messenger.

Tipo de anuncio publicitario en Messenger de Facebook

Messenger inbox
If you choose this placement, your ads can be seen in the inbox of your audience's private messages, among the rest of their conversations.

Based on the information a user shares (profiles, pages, groups, etc.), Facebook decides where they are most likely to click on your ad. Once they do, a screen will open so they can see the full information and the call-to-action button. It also works for Stories that people upload to Messenger.

At the moment this location is not available in all countries, so check the guidelines to be aware of its format and reach.

Anuncio en bandeja de entrada de Messenger de Facebook

Image from Facebook Ads Guide

11. Events

In order for your concert, conference, product launch or interview with a relevant personality to reach the right people, you can make an announcement notifying them of the date, place, time and cost. You can also include a link to purchase tickets or register, if this is necessary to attend.

See the following online event announcement as an example:

Tipos de anuncios en Facebook: eventos

Image from Facebook

12. Forms

This is a type of ad you will love because it helps you capture data from potential customers: those wonderful leads that will become, if everything goes well, great promoters of your product.

The forms are added to the ad you create (video, image, offer) and can ask for a lot or little information, depending on the needs of the campaign. At the end of the ad, you can download what was collected from your page or the ad manager, and you can also connect it to your CRM to make it easier.

In addition, it is easy for people to fill in their data, since the form is displayed instantly, without the need to open a browser window or leave the platform; it also specifies each field.

Tipos de anuncios en Facebook: formularios

Image of Utel University

13. Jobs

If you want to find a valuable element to join your workforce, you can advertise vacancies in your company as well, with the option of allowing interested people to fill in some fields, just as it happens with lead forms. This will allow you to make a first filter before interviewing those people who seem to be the perfect candidates.

We recommend you to include all the necessary information so that interested people know in detail your vacancy. If you add essential data such as responsibilities, working hours, benefits and salary, you will not receive questions that will distract you from viewing valuable resumes.

Tipos de anuncios en Facebook: empleos

Image by iNBest

14. Sequenced ads

Sequential ads are ideal for showcasing several products in the same category or for highlighting the details of a single product. But not only that: they are especially useful for telling a story in a few images, either the interaction with the product or its possibilities, within a narrative framework. In addition to showing the product in use, they serve to invite people to think of themselves as the protagonists of the story. The following example is perfect to reinforce that point.

Tipos de anuncios en Facebook: anuncios por secuencia

15. Slideshow

According to Facebook's official site, "Facebook slideshow ads are like video ads that use motion, sound and text to tell a story in an engaging way across devices. They load quickly, so they play well on any connection speed."

They serve as a substitute for video when the budget is not sufficient to create a video ad campaign. They have the dynamism of a presentation and the quality of images that you would normally use in static ads, but with the addition of sound. This element can turn a very simple presentation into a top-notch ad, capable of resonating with your target audience.

This type of ad is ideal in the following cases:

Reaching people with slower than usual internet connections.
Simplifying complex processes in a few slides
Low-cost editing of presentations for the company's social networks
Create immersive experiences with image and sound
This image is a transition between slides, which slide up:

Tipos de anuncios en Facebook: diapositivas

Image from Facebook

16. Collection

"The collection ad is an advertising format with which people can move from discovery to purchase in a seamless and immersive way." This is the main advantage that collection ads offer, as they allow you to include a video or main image, plus three additional smaller images, in a grid layout that you can play with visually.

In addition, Facebook emphasizes that "customers who tap a collection ad to explore products or get more information will be immediately directed to an instant, fast-loading post-click visual experience without leaving Facebook or Instagram." Whereby security and speed remain intact for the user.

There are three templates with distinct functions, from which they take their name:

Instant Shop
Instant lookbook
Instant customer acquisition
As you can see, speed is key in this type of ad. "Impact, offer and win" could be the motto of the collections.

Tipos de anuncios en Facebook: colección

Facebook image

17. Playable ads

Playable ads "offer the ability to try apps before you buy them, a format for Facebook and Audience Network. It includes an interactive video ad that mobile app advertisers can use to attract premium users with higher purchase intent," according to Facebook's official site.

Now, the advantages are unique when we refer to this type of ads, since we are talking about interaction, ie:

Wraparound preview, as in the app.
Possibility to test the app without leaving Facebook
Find users and interested parties in the app
This type of ads is very popular among video game players, as companies compete to gain the user's attention in a matter of seconds.

The structure of playable ads consists of three elements:

Introductory video
Game demo
Call to action

Tipos de anuncios en Facebook: para reproducir

As you can see the possibilities are endless, you just have to develop creative and original ideas and look for Influencers profiles that fit your product and your brand image, which will attract your target audience.

If you want to enhance your social media campaigns, learn more about our plans and contact us to schedule a free appointment.