Image courtesy of Jordan McQueen via Unsplash
If you’re looking for a way to make a big first impression with your audience, Facebook Canvas is something you definitely want to look into. This is a new way of serving ads that has been designed entirely for use on mobile devices, and its designers promise higher click-through rates and more conversions. If this sounds exactly like what you’ve been looking for, you’re not alone. Canvas is Facebook’s response to everything that businesses have been saying about the hurdles they face in reaching their current and prospective customers. Don’t miss out on this exciting new way of communicating with all of your favorite people. Here’s everything you need to know about Facebook Canvas:
Canvas is an “immersive” experience.
When Facebook began charging businesses for video ad “views”, most marketers became instantly skeptical about the efficacy of that type of ad unit, and rightfully so. A “view” is counted as anytime a user watched at least 3 seconds of a video, and it even includes those without sound. Those of us who are familiar with the way social media ad units operate have learned to press our video producers to give us as much bang for the buck as possible in those first 3 seconds. With Canvas, however, that pressure to perform may soon become a thing of the past.
When the advertising gurus at Facebook referred to this as “immersive”, they meant what they said. When your canvas is served to your audience, it has a brand-exclusive look and feel. Users will almost feel like they’ve left their Facebook app and entered into an app designed just for your business. It takes over their mobile screen and provides a user experience that seems entirely independent of the Facebook platform. What a fantastic way to tell your brand’s story!
Facebook Canvas offers flexible features that are suitable for all advertising objectives.
When it comes to social media ad unit features, Facebook Canvas is a game-changer. Through eight variable components, advertisers are able to achieve just about any objective you can think of. These components include:
- Header – While headers have always been a part of ad units, this one builds your own brand logo into the mix. Your logo image must be a maximum of 66 pixels tall and 882 pixels wide, and it must be in transparent .png format.
- Photo – Forget what you knew (and maybe didn’t like) about the old basic image ads. This is a full screen image by default. The best part? You can use up to 20 images in a single canvas!
- Text block – If you have ever felt restricted by that 90-character limit for Facebook ads, we can certainly empathize. Fortunately, you can forget about that old limitation, too. You now have 500 characters to work with. This is plenty of room to say what you need to say without losing your reader’s attention.
- Button – The button for your ad is a more visually-appealing version of the standard Facebook call-to-action. It’s 48 pixels tall, gives the options of serif or sans serif font, and allows you to choose a design with or without fill.
- Carousel – If you would like to arrange additional images in a carousel, you can include that in your canvas, as well. You can choose up to 10 image files, and the only requirement is that they all be the same height.
- Video – You are allowed to include multiple videos in your canvas, so long as their collective runtime does not exceed 2 minutes. Also, keep in mind that the first frame of each video will serve as its thumbnail. Use .mp4 or .mov format and make sure your clip has a minimum resolution of 720p.
- Product Set – This can be a bit tricky. In order to include a product set in your canvas, you’ll need to have first created a product catalogue using Facebook Business Manager. Once that has been taken care of, add up to 40 products to your canvas. You will not be able to choose the order of your products, but Canvas ensures that your top-performing products are served to viewers first.
These components can be used in any combination imaginable, making this the most customized solution that is currently available. The only downside to having so many features in Canvas is that setting up a canvas for your business is a complex and time-consuming process. If you have the capacity for it, however, we can assure you that it’s well worth the effort. This is a type of online advertising that we have never seen before, and we are very excited about what this means for businesses of all sizes.
If you are interested in putting Facebook Canvas to work for your business, contact one of our social media marketing experts to get started today.