The New Era of Collection Ads on Facebook
What are these collection ads or assortments on Facebook and what should they do or improve?
If you like, the name says it all: These ads are not about a product that is advertised, but about a collection or an assortment and thus several products. The ad does not just contain a picture or, ideally a video, because under the conventional-looking display, thumbnails of the products, which will be advertised, are shown in order to spark the interest of users more than with the previous ad formats.
But let’s start at the very beginning, because this nifty ad format requires some preliminary work: First, a product feed must be created in which it requires specific columns, such as ID, availability, or the image link. All nine are listed here:
| Name | Type | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | id (Maximum Size: 100) | String | A unique identification number for this item (which can also be a variation of a product). If an ID occurs several times, all corresponding entries are ignored. After the product has been imported, this ID will be mapped to retailer_id. |
| 2 | Availability | String | Information about the availability of the article. The following values are allowed:
In stock – Item will ship immediately. |
| 3 | Condition | String | The condition of the product. Allowed values: new, refurbished or used. |
| 4 | Description (Maximum length: 5000) | String | A short description of the article. |
| 5 | Image_link | String | Link to an image of the article. This image will be used in the feed. Use an image with the aspect ratio 1.91: 1. The image is displayed with a resolution of 1200 x 630 pixels. |
| 6 | Link | String | Link to the merchant’s site where the item can be purchased. |
| 7 | Title (Maximum length: 100) | String | The name of the article. |
| 8 | Price | String | The price of the item and the currency, for example: 9.99 USD. |
| 9 | Gtin, mpn oder brand (Maximum length: 70) | String | gtin — The Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) can be specified as UPC, EAN, JAN or ISBN.
mpn — The article number that uniquely identifies the product to the manufacturer. brand — The name of the brand. Note: Either gtin, mpn or brand are required. |
Source: Facebook
The feed file can be saved in the formats CSV, TSV, RSS XML or ATOM XML. Once the feed has been created, it can be uploaded to Facebook as a product catalog and the desired product range can be compiled. A product range must have a minimum of 6 products and can contain a maximum of 50 products. Now click on the ads type “collection” and select the product range that has been previously searched.
The user experiences this special message as follows: If he clicks on one of the products listed below, a fast-loading full-screen will open, showing the name, photo and price (optional). The image or video of the actual ad stays on top and the user can browse through the products in the range and be inspired without even leaving the Facebook app. Only with a next click, can the user leave the Facebook interface on the product page in the shop and can discover other offers and then finally convert. With this extra click, which is one click more than traditional ads, we actually find that it does not market people well or effectively. Every click increases the purchase funnel and makes it more likely that the customer cancels the process. Here, however, this is well used, as the user can directly get an idea about the products offered.
What has not been mentioned yet, but still is a very important point: This ad format is only available for the mobile sector. So, the format goes with the time, because more and more purchases are happening on smartphones and tablets rather than desktops.
Conclusion:
The new format has potential and can make a difference. The user can, even while he is still on Facebook, learn vital information about the products – a whole new mobile shopping experience. Especially for new collections or seasonal products, this type of Facebook ad is suitable. Incidentally, this type of ad can also be used with Canvas Ads.
