STRIKE BLOG HERO FACEBOOK CAROUSEL ADS

Everything you need to know about using Facebook carousel ads

Learn the basics of Facebook carousel ads and how to get the most from your paid social budget.

Facebook is arguably (maybe inarguably) the go-to place for paid social advertising.

Over 500 million people watch videos on Facebook every day, and views of sponsored video content have risen by 258 percent over the last two years.

How much does this help Facebook carousel ads?

Facebook says they could give you 30 percent to 50 percent lower cost-per-conversion and 20 percent to 30 percent lower cost-per-click rates than single image ads. And they have a lot of case studies to back these numbers up.

  • So, why are carousel ads so effective?
  • They give you plenty of space to work with. You get several images with room for text to communicate with customers.
  • They’re engaging. Users can interact with your ad by swiping or clicking through the images.
  • They’re adaptable. You can use up to ten cards that feature pictures or videos and create an ad that fits your product.

Using carousel ads seems like a pretty good idea, right? Well, here’s everything you need to know about using Facebook carousel ads.

Facebook carousel ads can be effective for just about any business or industry. But some businesses and industries have qualities that make them especially well suited for using carousel ads.

Facebook carousel ads may be an especially good fit for you if:

  • Your brand or product is especially visually distinct. Designer clothing or travel destinations are good examples.
  • You have multiple products to showcase. Think e-commerce stores.
  • You’re just starting with Facebook advertising. Carousel ads are simple and flexible, so you have a lot of room to work with.

If you’re concerned that Facebook carousel ads might not be right for you, you can still give them a go. They’re easy and fast to set up, and there’s actually less room for error in using carousel ads than there is in, say, running Facebook video ads.

Here are some ideas and Facebook carousel ad examples that will help you think of how you might use them to promote your own business.

There are a handful of established ways that you can use Facebook carousel ads. But remember that there’s plenty of room for innovation in this area, so feel free to get creative. You might even invent a completely new kind of carousel ad!

These are ads that feature a separate product in each frame of the carousel. Multiple product ads are excellent for any business that focuses on selling a lot of different products.

Here’s a great example of a multiple product ad from H&M:

HMSource

Feature highlight ads use each frame of the carousel to highlight a single product feature. You can use a separate picture of your product for each slide, or you can break up a single picture of your product into multiple images to give your product a larger-than-life feel or show the scale of larger products.

Here’s a great example of a feature highlight ad from Tieks:

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These are Facebook carousel ads that use the slides to tell your story. This could be the narrative of how your product was created, how your company started or how other customers have used your product.

Storyboard carousel ads are particularly effective for businesses that use their culture, production methods or social responsibility as part of their marketing.

Here’s a great example of a storyboard ad from Project Repat:

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These Facebook carousel ads use the slides to demonstrate how your product or business works, or what it’s like to use it. These are especially effective for services or products that have distinct steps in their use.

Here’s a great example of a process ad from Deezer:

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Content promotion ads

Content promotion ads give a quick preview of the content from your other marketing channels. Content promotion ads are great for businesses who sell content as their product or who are gathering subscribers for email marketing or newsletter campaigns.

Here’s a great example of a content promotion ad from Precision Nutrition:

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Most businesses can easily use more than one type of carousel ad. Gather some pictures and play around a bit to get a feel for which ones you think will work best for you. Then jump into the fun part!

Creating Facebook carousel ads is pretty quick and easy. There are two ways to create carousel ads on Facebook: from your Facebook page and using the Facebook Ads Manager.

We’ll cover both in the next section.

Regardless of which method you use to create your Facebook carousel ads, here’s what you’ll need before you start:

Pictures or videos. You’ll need a separate picture or video for each carousel slide. If you want all the cards to pan across a single image like the Tieks ad, it’s best to split the picture into multiple images beforehand (check the Facebook guidelines in the last section for image specs).

Campaign objectives. Just as with other advertising, it’s important to start with a clear goal for your ads. This will help you choose the type of ad you want to create. Facebook also requires that you select a campaign objective to create a carousel ad.

A budget. Quite simply: know how much you can spend. Facebook ad costs can add up quickly if you’re not careful.

Now that you’re ready, here’s exactly how to create Facebook Carousel Ads:

Here’s the step-by-step process for creating Facebook carousel ads from your Facebook page:

  • Click the Promote button in the upper right-hand corner of your Facebook page.
  • Select Get More Website Visitors.
  • Fill out the Audience, Payment, Budget and Duration fields.
  • Enter the URL you want people to visit when they click your ad. (Handy tip: You can have each carousel card send visitors to a different URL. Edit your ad in the Facebook Ads Manager after you’ve created your ad to do this.)
  • Write the text for your ad.
  • Under “Images” click the + button to add carousel slides.
  • Click the number on each slide to add an image to it.
  • Click the Upload button to add a new image from your computer, or click the Select Image button to use an image from the library of images that you’ve already uploaded. (Handy tip: You can crop your images by clicking the Reposition Image button and placing the Crop Image Tool over the part of the image you want to show.)
  • Write a headline for each card.
  • Click the Save button in the upper right-hand corner of the Ad Creative section.
  • Click Promote.
  • Sit back and watch your Facebook carousel ads go live!

You can access the Facebook Ads Manager by clicking on the Promote button in the upper right-hand corner of your page and selecting “Manage Ads” from the drop-down menu.

Or you can use this direct link: Facebook Ads Manager.

Before you can create a Facebook carousel ad, you’ll need to create an ad campaign. As you’re creating your ad campaigns, it’s best to use the Guided Creation workflow unless you’re very experienced in working with Facebook ads.

You can select the Guided Creation workflow by clicking the Switch to Guided Creation button in the upper right-hand corner of the ad creation window.

You can select the Guided Creation workflow by clicking the Switch to Guided Creation button in the upper right-hand corner of the ad creation window.

Once you’ve got an ad campaign for your ads, here’s what to do:

  • Select the page you want to promote.
  • In the Format section, select carousel.
  • In the Media section, click Upload Image to add images for your carousel cards or click Select Image to choose an image from your library of uploaded images.
  • Write the headline for your ad and the text that will be displayed with each image.
  • You may also add a Call to Action button if you’d like. (Handy tip: carousel ads with a Call to Action button get more clicks.)
  • Once you’ve completed your Facebook carousel ad, click the Confirm button at the bottom of the creation workflow. (Note: the first time you create an ad, you’ll be asked to enter your payment information. For subsequent ads, you’ll simply need to select your payment information from the list.)
  • Your ad will go live as soon as you click confirm. Relax and reap the rewards of your new Facebook carousel ad!

Now that you’re all set with the process of creating Facebook carousel ads, here are some tips for ensuring that your ads get approved by Facebook and get the most distribution and exposure:

These are Facebook’s requirements for carousel ads. Facebook may not approve your ad for publishing if it doesn’t meet these ad specs:

Image/Thumbnail size: 1080 x 1080 pixels

Image/Video aspect ratio: 1:1 (square)

Headline: 40 characters

Text: 125 characters

Link description: 20 characters

Number of cards: 2-10

Max image size: 30MB

Max video size: 4GB

Max video length: 240 minutes

Although there’s no set specification for it, it’s best to avoid using images with a lot of text. They tend to get a poor response from viewers. Facebook can also reject your ad if your images have too much text.

Put your strongest image first

The first image in your carousel ad is the one that your audience will always see, whether they swipe through the rest of the pictures or not. So it’s really important that this image stops the viewer’s thumb and encourages them to check out the rest of the ad.

Be entertaining and helpful

Even if the purpose of your Facebook carousel ad is to drive conversions, it’s best to avoid being a salesman in people’s Facebook feeds. Focus on entertaining, helping and getting your viewer’s interest and your carousel ads will get a much better response.

That’s all there is to it!

We know this was a lot of information to take in. So feel free to bookmark this guide and come back for help as you build your Facebook carousel ads or share it with your marketing team.

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