Bringing various types of multimedia to the forefront, Facebook has launched a new ad format back in March that incorporates videos, images, and spruced-up elements within a single post. The new format is called: Collections.
As shown in the example above, the new ad format is rich with media and resembles a Canvas creative, which provides a similar experience to that of a landing page hosted within Facebook’s infrastructure. Developed for retailers with product catalogs hosted on Facebook, the objective of this ad format is to showcase collections, using an image or video as the crux of the creative. Advertisers will have the option to embed either a video or an image as the first element of the creative; however, with videos eliciting more engagement than posts using only images, it would be in the best interest of advertisers to use a video as the focal point of the creative. In fact, video content has proven to be highly effective for advertisers of all types: according to Facebook, an impressive 75% of users have stated that watching videos via social media platforms can influence their purchasing decisions.
What about the product catalog? Advertisers will have the ability to promote specific products within the creative or rely upon Facebook’s sophisticated algorithm to dynamically insert products the system believes will generate the best engagement rates depending on the user. That’s right: Facebook will automatically scour your feed and customize the products displayed to each individual user based on their profile. That level of customization will likely increase click-through rates and conversions, giving advertisers ample opportunities to scale spend upwards and invest more into Facebook ads.
Video Advertising for Ecommerce
The new wave of video advertising options in the social media realm is making it easier for brands to push their product catalogs to new audiences. For example, Pinterest launched a similar ad format a while back, allowing businesses to push videos to the forefront to market products effectively to target audiences. Video advertising is also an essential ad format available on Instagram (via Facebook), YouTube, Twitter, and Snapchat. All of these companies are pouring resources into further enhancing their ad offerings, hoping to wide the current wave and popularity surrounding video content. With all of these advertising options available, even the smallest ecommerce company with a limited budget has the opportunity to break through the clutter and create a buzz for their products. It remains to be seen how much of an impact the new Collections ad format will have for brands on Facebook, but one thing is for sure: if you’re not investing into video content, you might be missing out on huge opportunities within the social media landscape.