Facebook has launched a new ad format called Collections that it says will help retailers tell “visual product stories.”
The mobile ad format will display a product photograph or video ad to users and, if they express an interest and want to see more, they’ll be taken to a full screen option showing up to fifty items from that retailer. To seal the deal, shoppers can click on those images and be taken directly to the retailer’s website or app. You should start seeing these ads shortly because they went live last week.
You can create your Collections advert in two ways. You can manually build a Collection and choose which images and products you want to feature under your primary image of video. Or Facebook will build it for you, drawing on the product catalogue you have provided to Facebook.
Maz Sharafi, Facebook’s director of product marketing said: “Our idea was to create a powerful, engaging ad format that pairs video and related products, but that also delivers a fast experience. Ultimately, we want to get people quickly to where they can buy the product.”
If you’ve spotted this new feature in the wild already, do let us know what you think. Ecommerce is a big prize for Facebook and it’s interesting to see them innovating and investing in different ways to helping buyers shop.
