Ads Design: How to create online ads that drive leads

With many formats, sizes and styles it is understandable that creating social media ads for your business might be underwhelming. That’s why on this blog entry we’ll talk about the most popular Facebook ad designs that will help you reach the right audience. Let’s jump right into it.

How many types of Facebook ads are there?

In 2022 many brands are using 12 different types of ads to spread the word on social media. From images to video ads, horizontal, vertical, or squared each have a unique purpose and choosing the right one can skyrocket your campaign into the stratosphere.

Here’s a quick rundown of all the different ads available.

Type of Ad	Description
Image Ads	As simple as it gets, a still image that promotes your business.
Video Ads	These types of ads gained recent popularity as videos can be more engaging than a plain picture.
Poll Ads	Designed for mobile, ideal for A/B testing.
Carousel Ads	Up to 10 images, one after the other, creating a more engaging ad.
Slideshow Ads	A hybrid between images and video. Short animations mixing clips, pictures and text.
Collection Ads	Perfect for online stores, here the user is one tap away from buying your product.
Instant Experience Ads	A fullscreen experience that mixes video, images, and text.
Lead Ads	A mobile exclusive type of ad that collects the user contact information if they click on it.
Dynamic Ads	Targeted ads that change depending on who’s seeing them.
Messenger Ads	Appear amongst the active conversations of the 1.3 billion people that use Messenger.
Stories Ads	A full screen vertical ad that makes sure all eyes are on you.
Augmented Reality Ads	Designed for mobile, advertise your brand in a fun way as a filter for a unique selfie.

How to choose the right types of Facebook Ads for your campaign?

Now that we’ve briefly looked at the different types of online Ads to promote your business on Facebook, let’s divide them into how they can help you meet your online marketing goals.

Button CTA: Boost your business online with Bexi!

Note: Every single ad you create must have a call to action for it to be effective. 

Image Ads

Great to dip your toes into the online advertising water. 

Image ads might sound simple but a great design goes a long way. If you have already posted any picture on your Facebook Page then you can boost that content as an image ad.

One of the main advantages of this type of ad is that it works towards any objective. Take your creativity for a spin and come up with a creative way to promote your business.

Here are some examples that can inspire you.

Video Ads

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video ad is worth ten times more. 

In recent years, video ads have become a popular media for brands to advertise on Social Media. If you have less than 5 seconds to make an impression on a social media user, then you must start with a bang, right?

Videos are a great way to draw attention to your ad and increase engagement. Use storytelling and crafty editing to make your ad stand out from the rest. Yes it is more time consuming, but trust us, it is worth it.

Don’t forget to keep it short. (Less than 15 seconds if possible). Nobody’s gonna look at a 5 minute advertisement.

Poll Ads

We’ll never get tired of saying it, Social Media is to build communities, and hear what your customers have to say. If you are looking to spark a conversation and gain deeper insights on what the market is thinking, then Poll Ads are for you.

These interactive online advertisements are great for A/B testing. The user is presented with two options they have to choose from. Depending on their pick, they will be taken to a different landing page where they can continue into their buyer’s journey.

Just keep in mind that these types of ads are only available to mobile users.

Carousel Ads

Choose up to 10 images or videos to showcase your brand. 

Carousel ads are a great way to integrate storytelling into your business promotions. They are also helpful when it comes to highlighting the different benefits of your product or service. These types of ads give the chance to strengthen your message.

Now, if you have an online store you can promote multiple products on one advertisement as Facebook allows for each picture or video within the carousel to have its own link. 

Slideshow Ads

If you lack the video editing skills of a Hollywood pro, worry not! Facebook understands the effectiveness video has on its platforms and thus created a type of video ads anyone can use.

Slideshow Ads are a helpful tool to create short videos with photos, text, and existing clips that will be displayed with attractive motion and transitions. They are easy to make with a huge payoff as they are more likely to draw a bigger crowd.

Also, you can create it on the ads manager which means you won’t have to deal with overly complicated software and tools.

Collection Ads

Just like a Carousel, Collection Ads showcase up to five images of products that a user can buy with a tap of their finger, without leaving Facebook.

They are only available for mobile users but it is great for people that are on the go. 

If you are looking for a fast and effective way to drive sales of underperforming products on your online store, Collection Ads might just be the solution for you.

Instant Experience Ads

A full screen experience that combines videos, images, links and copy to simulate a mobile website without leaving the Facebook  App.

According to Facebook, Instant Experience Ads are a better alternative to an external landing page as they load 15 times faster than a website and can help you reach more people as it takes less steps for the user to get what they are looking for.

Leads Ads

These are Image Ads taken to the next level.

If a user clicks on the ad a contact form will appear with their personal information. Usually these types of ads are a great way to build up a database with leads for your sales team to contact and close the deal.

Note: Even Though the brand chooses what information they need from the user, they won’t receive anything if the person does not tap the “send” button. Also, you need to make it worthwhile. Everytime you request a user’s contact information you must give something in return. It could be a discount, a brochure, a free-sample, anything that you believe will convince them they want to be reached.

Dynamic Ads

These types of ads use cookies to enhance the user experience and show them products they are more likely to be interested in.

For example, let’s say a Facebook User visited your online store and took interest in multiple products but didn’t go through with the purchase. Well, thanks to online cookies, Facebook now knows what products were seen and can display them on a Dynamic Ad saying: “hey don’t forget about these”.

The main benefit is that it is more likely to push the sale when a user was interested in a product to begin with.

Messenger Ads

Let users strike up a conversation easily with your brand by appearing amongst their active Messenger Conversations.

Stories Ads

Just like videos, stories have become a popular media amongst Facebook users. These quick vertical videos with a short life span are a great way to make sure there’s nothing else besides your brand on the screen.

They are a great way to increase brand awareness and direct users to a special promotion.

Augmented Reality Ads

Have you ever taken a funny selfie and shown it to everyone? This is the bottom line of the Augmented Reality Ads. 

These types of ads work reversing how advertisements have been done for the last century. Instead of showing a finished product to your audience you are giving them the tools for them to create their own content.

For example, let’s say you sell lipstick. An augmented reality ad might be a great tool to show a potential customer how a specific color would look on them. 

There are endless possibilities for selfie filters. 

In conclusion

There are many types of Facebook ads to choose from, and every single one of them work differently. To choose the right one, first  you’ve got to define what you are trying to accomplish?

If you are looking to attract people onto your website then an Image Ad might just do the trick. But if you want to showcase how your product works then a video is a better choice. How about retargeting? A dynamic ad is what will work for you.

In other words, the ad that will drive the most leads is the one that best suits your strategy. Remember, if you fail to plan you are planning to fail.

Did you notice that as the list progressed the ads became more complex? Digital marketing can be intimidating for the uninitiated, but at Bexi we are here to make it simple. We believe in helping small businesses take the reins of their advertising capabilities. Take a look at our wide breadth of solutions and discover how you can make the most out of online advertising.