Carousel Ads Vs Collection Ads: What’s the Difference?
Have you ever noticed how different ad type of Facebook looks different? Sometimes we may consider the facebook ad type same, but there are difference in each of them.
Most of the people get confused between two common type of facebook ad which is– Collection ad and Carousel ad.
Today, I will clear your confusion and discuss what is Carousel ad and Collection ad, When to use these ad types and the best practices.
Carousel Ads Vs Collection Ads: Definitions
What is Facebook Carousel Ads?
Facebook Carousal ads are nothing but an ad type offered by Facebook where you can see some photos sequentially. It allows you to showcase up to ten images or videos within a single ad, each with its own link.
As you are getting more creative space within an ad, you can highlight different products and details about the products.
What is Facebook Collection Ads?
Collection ad is an ad format on Facebook through which users can browse for products easily from their devices. A collection ad is a great tool for marketers to drive users’ action and increase website or app engagements.
Each Collection Ad features a primary image or video with three smaller accompanying images underneath in a grid-like layout. When users interact with a Collection Ad, they are taken to an “Instant Experience,” which is a full-screen, mobile-optimized experience within the Facebook app. This provides a seamless and immersive environment for users to browse and explore the showcased products.
Carousel Ads Vs Collection Ads: Examples
Carousel Ads
Collection Ads
Carousel Ads Vs Collection Ads: When to Use?
When are Carousel Ads Best Option?
For Showing Multiple Products
In carousel ads, you can show multiple products in one ad. You can use images or videos to show different product or tell a story. Use the space of Carousel ads to share a new collection, best-sellers, or a category of products of your business.
Craft a Story
For telling story of products and brand, carousel ad works best. You can share a number of creative sequentially and tell your story. Carousel ads also can be used to show a step-by-step tutorial or series of tips.
Engage People with Your Ad
Carousel ads are all about interaction. While this ad format naturally encourages a user to swipe through multiple images and videos, there are opportunities to optimize your carousel ad further for maximum interaction.
Highlight a Feature
Instead of showing multiple product, you can choose one product and highlight the features. In each card, you can mention the benefits and encourage audience to purchase the product.
When are Collection Ads Best Option?
Drive product discovery
In carousel ads, you can show multiple products in one ad. You can use images or videos to show different product or tell a story. Use the space of Carousel ads to share a new collection, best-sellers, or a category of products of your business.
Convert Demand into Sales
In Collection ad, if someone clicks in a product, they’re taken to an instant experience. A customer can explore a wide range of product and be interested to buy the product. As a link can be placed in each card, a customer can directly place order by clicking on it.
Show off Product Catalogue
Collection ads give you the opportunity to show a product catalogue with multiple products. This is particularly beneficial for businesses with a diverse range of offerings.
Immersive mobile experience
Collection ads give a good experience for the mobile users. When a user clicks on a Collection Ad, they’re taken to an Instant Experience, a full-screen landing page inside Facebook. This page can include videos, slideshows, or carousels, providing a rich, engaging experience
Carousel Ads Vs Collection Ads: Specifications
To ensure these ads display well across platforms and devices, follow these specifications from Facebook.
Carousel Ads
Design recommendations
Image file type: JPG or PNG
Video file type: MP4, MOV or GIF
Ratio: 1:1
Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels
Text recommendations
Primary text: 125 characters
Headline: 32 characters
Description: 18 characters
Landing page URL: Required.
Technical requirements
Number of carousel cards: 2 to 10
Image maximum file size: 30 MB
Video maximum file size: 4 GB
Video duration: 1 second to 240 minutes
Aspect ratio tolerance: 3%
Collection Ads
You run carousel ads, make sure you tell a good story with the available components like headlines,
Design recommendations
The cover image or video that is displayed in your collection ad uses the first media asset from your Instant Experience.
Image type: JPG or PNG
Video file type: MP4, MOV or GIF
Ratio: 1:1
Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels
Text recommendations
Primary text: 125 characters
Headline: 40 characters
Landing page URL: Required
Technical requirements
Instant Experience: Required
Image maximum file size: 30 MB
Video maximum file size: 4 GB
Carousel Ads Vs Collection Ads: Best practices
Best Practices for Carousel Ads
Tell your story with all of the available carousel components.
When you run carousel ads, make sure you tell a good story with the available components like headlines, and call-to-action buttons. Try to add context, details, etc.
Use images or videos that are cohesive and engaging.
In carousel ads, try to add similarness in the images or videos so that each image/videos relate to each other. If you use video in carousel ads, try to keep the aspect ratio to 1:1.
Provide a variety of links
If you want to promote multiple products or services, provide a link to the product featured in each carousel card. For example, include a link to your blazers in a carousel card with a blazer, and a link to your shoes in a carousel card with shoes. Note that you can promote external links, Facebook Pages, Facebook events and Facebook offers within your carousel ad.
Combine static images with videos
Where applicable, try to use a combination of static images and videos. For example, if you’re selling a physical product, you can use a few pictures of it to grab attention, and then add a video that shows the product in action.
Try carousel optimizations
In Meta Ads Manager, you may see these options to choose from: Automatically show the best performing cards first, Display carousel cards as a video, Add a card at the end with your Page profile picture, Add music, and Add a map card showing your nearest stores.
Use a Large Product Set
If you choose to use a product set from your catalog for your carousel ad, select a fairly broad set. To display in your ad, items must be in stock, not rejected, and not variants of the same product.
Best Practices for Collection Ads
Include a cover image or video that captures attention
Use an eye-catching image or video to increase interest in your ad and encourage people to click on your products.
Highlight a variety of products
If you choose to manually add products to your Instant Experience, choose a variety of products to display in the images below your cover image or video to encourage people to click and discover more
Send people to a destination that includes multiple products
Add more products to your destination website or app than those shown in your ad. This will give your audience a chance to explore further.
Add a URL parameter to your ad
Include a URL parameter to help identify where your ad traffic comes from when people interact with your collection ad. With this, you can track important metrics that will help you make important decisions.
Use a large product set of more than 50 products
Include a large product set to increase the variety shown in your ad. When you pair a catalog with your collection ad, you’ll need a minimum of four products. A large product set allows the ad delivery system to select the most relevant products from your product set to show, which encourages people to explore more of the products that you offer on your website or in your app.
Between Carousel Ads and Collection Ads, which Is Best For You?
This can vary from business to business and the goal of the businesses. If the business wants to drive sales and give an instant experience of the product within Facebook ad, definitely Facebook Collection Ad will work for them. On the other hand, Carousel ads work best for showcasing multiple products and telling the story of the brand. It encourages the audience interaction.
So, Based on the need, a E-commerce platform can choose ad type between Carousel ads and Collection ads.
References:
About collection ads | Meta Business Help Centre
Awareness Carousel ad specs on Facebook Feed
Carousel ads showcase multiple products with swipeable cards, while collection ads offer an immersive product experience within Facebook.
It depends! Carousel ads work well for brand awareness and showcasing options, while collection ads excel at driving sales and product discovery.
Collection ads feature a main image/video with smaller product images, leading to a full-screen “Instant Experience” for product exploration within Facebook.
