As part of its recent effort to simplify its ad offerings, Facebook on Monday announced updates for its Page post link ad format aimed at driving off-site traffic and conversions.
The improvements include offering marketers the ability to customize images used in the ads rather than automatically grabbing a thumbnail image taken from a Web site.
Facebook wants to provide further flexibility by allowing brands to create unpublished Page post link ads within its ad creation tool, instead of having to select an existing post to
promote. Unpublished page posts ads let marketers tailor messages to specific audiences rather than have the same post appear to all fans of their brand page.
Because Page
post ads that run in the news feed perform better than those in the right-hand column, Facebook will now also let advertisers choose which location they prefer rather than defaulting to the right-side
placement. “This removes the guesswork when transitioning from advertising on the right-hand side to advertising in News Feed,” stated a Facebook blog post today on the changes.
In connection with
the announcement, Facebook ad partner Nanigans released findings showing Page post link ads delivered a 53% return
on investment (ROI) compared to standard right-hand side ads, and Page post link and Page Post photo ads overall had 26 times higher ROI than right-side ads. The results were based on 150 million
impressions across multiple verticals and included purchases made up to seven days after ads ran.
Facebook two weeks ago said it planned to eliminate half of its 27 ad units by this fall to streamline the ad-buying
process and make it easier to advertise on the social network. The initiative could help small- and medium-sized business in particular get a better foothold on Facebook.