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Originally Posted On: Creative Ways to Make Your Facebook Ads Stand Out | BYK Digital Marketing

Video content tends to garner more views and hold people’s attention longer than still images.  But video content can also be quite a bit more costly and complicated to produce.  If you want to create video ads, but do not have enough high-quality video content, consider using the Slideshow format for your ads.  Slideshow rotates through up to 10 still images of your choosing in a cycling, slideshow format.  It has been shown to be the most effective way to capture and keep an audience’s attention using still images.  If you’re unable to get video content, or just want to show off your images in the most attention-grabbing way possible, give the Slideshow ad format a try.

Another creative ad format to try beyond just photos or videos is Collections.  Collections allow businesses to employ multiple types of creative in the same ad.  This format is especially great if you are wanting to display a variety of your product offerings.  You will choose one primary photo or video to grab viewers’ attention, along with four smaller images to go along with it in a grid-like format.  Oftentimes, companies struggle with the transition from discovery to purchase for their customers.  Collections help bring all of those steps together into one format.  The audience can see the primary photo or video, become interested, and transition directly to shopping the selections underneath.

Check out this Collections ad we made for online golf retailer Pro Am Golf USA.

In every Facebook ad format, there is at least one space to add original copy.  Use this opportunity to get creative, connect with your audience, and make your ad feel personal.  One great way to build a connection through your copy is to tell a story.  Talk about your origins, your mission statement, or another characteristic that makes your company unique and may be meaningful to your audience.  The visual creative components are likely what will grab your audience’s attention first, but your copy can really reel them in and make them feel a connection to your brand.

When you are creating videos for a Facebook ad, you want them to look cool, convey your message, and capture attention.  You may be tempted to repurpose videos you have used for other marketing purposes, such as television ads or pitch videos, to employ as Facebook ads.  However, you need to keep in mind the unique way that most viewers watch videos on Facebook.  The majority of people do not have their sound on, so you want to be sure your video makes sense even without the audio.  Most viewers are also watching on their mobile devices, so you will want creative that is optimized for mobile.  Your video ads should be designed specifically for Facebook, knowing the ways in which people tend to view them.

Here’s a cool video ad we made for local deli Pickles Deli recently.

To make your ads stand out, you will want to focus a lot on the creative itself, as discussed above.  However, you can also help your ads succeed with effective and creative targeting.  Your ad spend dollars are valuable, as are the resources you probably spent to create your ad creative.  You do not want all of that to go to waste by showing your advertisements to an audience who is not interested.

There are many different ways to choose your ad audience, all of which can be quite effective.  One of the best tools offered by Facebook for this is the Facebook Pixel.  The Pixel is a bit of code you can install on your website to help track events, and better target a precise audience. By using the Pixel, you can reach audiences on Facebook who are directly linked to your website.  For instance, you could show your ad to a Custom Audience of people who have visited your website but not made a purchase, to encourage them to return and buy something.  You could also show your ad to a Lookalike Audience created from your past customers, so it will be shown to people who have not purchased from you yet, but share important characteristics with those who have.

By making use of Facebook’s tools to create unique ads and show them to the right audience, your Facebook ads will stand out from the rest, and help you bring in new sales.