Do you find that your social ads aren’t gaining you the same exposure now as they did a couple of months ago?
If you’ve done your fair share of targeted posts online and have a solid grasp of your ad audiences, ad creation and are measuring your success it’s time to break into different styles of advertising on Facebook.
Carousel Ads
Carousel ads give you the opportunity to showcase up to 10 images and/or videos in a single post. You can include different headlines, links and/or calls to action in a single ad.
Key Take-Aways:
- Select images from your own image library on Facebook.
- Upload images from your hard drive
- Crop images prior to uploading or within the ad creation template on Facebook
- Add video; square format is best
- Add call to action buttons
Upside: Maximize your story-telling options and provide a variety of calls to action.
Downside: A reader needs to scroll thru the carousel to see each image.
Here’s you’ll need to create a Carousel ad:
- Clear images sized to 1080 x 1080 pixels (square 1:1)
- Image(s) with little or no overlaid text
- Video(s) in .mp4 or .mov format
- 60 minute or shorter video 2.3 GB max
- Link to a website landing page featuring more info
Check out the example and the ad template:
Figure 1-Template makes it easy to create a carousel ad on Facebook
Tip: Use images that you’ve taken yourself or that you own the rights to use. Consider these sources for purchasing royalty free images.
Canvas Ads
Canvas ads are a fully immersive vehicle for integrated story-telling. Imagine giving your mobile viewers a singular experience that features photos and videos along with text and links. Calls to Action buttons are available.
Key Take-Aways:
- Canvas is mobile only
- You can save your Canvas and preview it on your mobile device
- You can save your Canvas and share it with your team
- You can use your Canvas as a page post or a mobile ad
- Canvas is visible mobile ONLY
- Add components such as:
Figure 2- Get creative with these components in your Canvas ad
Upside: it’s new, exciting and loads quickly. Flexibility is key as you can move components and edit your Canvas easily. Multiple images and videos can be added.
Downside: It’s recommended to keep each video at 2 minutes or less. You may want to split up the video content with still images and text to better tell your story.
Here’s what you’ll need to create a Canvas ad
- A compelling story to engage your audience
- Two to 10 great images that you own
- If images are not the same size, they will be cropped to match your first image.
- Captions are recommended
- Link to a website landing page featuring more info
Figure 3- Canvas sample including video, multiple images, text and web link
Tip: consider customizing your Canvas to different target audiences. For example, if you’re targeting weekend hotel visitors or festival attendees you’ll want to use a different message than if you’re targeting girl get-aways or luxury travelers.
Carousel & Canvas ideas for Travel and Tourism Pros
Here’s how you may incorporate these ad styles into your marketing campaigns:
- Showcase exhibits at your attraction
- Focus on new attractions in your destination
- Spotlight a variety of room types at your hotel
- Highlight your resort or cruise ship activities
- Interview personalities that make your resort, destination or event spectacular
- Capture a day in the life of a hotel or cruise line staffer
- Take viewers behind the scenes
- Turn on the adventure! Showcase activities; ziplining, wall climbing, rafting, etc.
- Focus on travel or destination tips
- Foodies will love seeing new dining and culinary options
- Demystify the art of creating culinary or floral displays
- Highlight the activities of your next group tour
- Showcase your top selling resort or cruise ship
- Answer common questions and stimulate new perspectives
- Showcase the value of working with a travel pro
Advanced Ad Overview
Overall, these new types of advertising mediums are a powerful way to stand out in a noisy medium and attract new eyeballs to your unique content.
Social advertising is about creating the perfect mix of timing, visual appeal and communication style. The wealth of options available gives you extraordinary ways to get creative and engage your audiences.
Which will you use next?
Where have you seen the most success with your social ads?
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Social Marketing Strategies for Travel and Tourism
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