Facebook Marketing: Your Ultimate Creative Guide (2024)
This guide to Facebook Marketing is part of our Ultimate Guide series on social media video marketing best practices. Learn more about how harnessing the power of video marketing helps brands stand out on other platforms, from Instagram and Pinterest to TikTok and Snapchat.
Does Facebook really need an introduction? Whether or not you’ve seen The Social Network, you likely know about the social media giant’s ascent to digital domination. What started as a website to connect college students in the early 2000s has dramatically evolved into a multimedia conglomerate, affecting change in everything from marketing and advertising to politics and human behavior.
Facebook wasn’t the first social media platform (we remember you, MySpace!) but it was the channel that catalyzed adoption, popularized the medium, and set the stage for the social media landscape we exist in today. While the platform initially just connected people, it now exists as a key marketing tool that presents unique opportunities for marketers strategizing video ad campaigns.
As a platform dedicated to creating communities by connecting users through shared interests, Facebook became the template for what we expect from a social media experience. Sure, it’s a great way to keep in touch with friends and family across the world, but increasingly it’s become our primary source for news and entertainment.
Today, Facebook continues to be a multifaceted digital powerhouse. And, while it’s easy for us to view social media as a tool for distraction, the core of the platform is still its ability to connect people across a vast and increasingly diverse sea of 3 billion monthly active users (MAUs).
Because of this gargantuan user base, innovative tools, and global partnerships, the company has become a social media leader, attracting advertisers and marketers from all industries. Facebook has grown into a tool for brands to reach their audience with a specific and targeted message.
This is why Facebook is the perfect platform for social media video marketing. With its advanced targeting capabilities and a suite of new features to make your ads pop, Facebook has thrown the doors open for its users to do more with video content than ever before. Whether you’re a non-profit, a small startup, or an enterprise power player, it’s imperative to understand Facebook marketing to drive awareness, consideration, and retention for your brand or product.
This guide will give you an overview of marketing on Facebook, the types of ad placements that you can utilize, as well as creative best practices and tips (for paid and organic) to give you a leg up on the competition as the race for dominance on the social platform continues.
Facebook Platform Overview
Facebook Marketing Ad Placements and Specs
Facebook Marketing Creative Best Practices
What Is Facebook? Platform Overview
In order to get a firm grasp on why Facebook operates the way it does, you first need to understand how it began.
Since its founding by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, Facebook’s mission statement has been, “To give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected.” As rudimentary as they once were, the tools Facebook initially gave its users helped us see the world as an open book. Suddenly we could know in an instant where someone grew up, what their favorite movie is, and whether or not they wanted to play Farmville. Originally a platform dedicated to students, it helped alleviate the awkwardness of meeting someone new, making it easier for fresh faces to make friends before their first day of classes.
We could poke someone we liked for attention, invite friends to our events, and create groups dedicated to our passions and interests. Before Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and others divided our online attention, Facebook was our primary source to do exactly what the mission statement intended; it gave us the tools to share who we are with the world and build stronger interpersonal connections.
After roughly 18 years of growth and innovation later, Facebook adjusted its mission statement to reflect its new goal of giving “people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.”
In late 2021, Facebook announced its plan to rebrand the parent company to Meta. Facebook, the platform, would remain the same, but now as a company within Meta. With its evolution, Facebook has become both a source of connection and a way to tap into the pulse of what’s happening in the world today. It’s why roughly one-third of Americans say they regularly get their news from Facebook.
While we’ve seen how that can easily result in an echo chamber, it has also created an environment for brands and advertisers to find audiences hungry to engage with their content. Facebook has accomplished the mission statement it set nearly two decades ago — and now its focus is on giving people, and brands, the tools to make connections. And the primary way Facebook wants you to do that is through video.
While many find video easier to consume than text, Facebook also knows viewers are more likely to retain a visually presented message. This means there is a huge opportunity for marketers to use video advertising on Facebook to attract and engage whatever audience they are targeting — and on Facebook, there are a lot of audiences to choose from.
Diverse Demographics
There are over 3 billion monthly active users on Facebook, but even more incredible is that there are 2.1 billion daily active users on Facebook. With such a high volume of consistent users, advertisers can get a lot of eyes on their content for every campaign.
Millennials and Gen-Zers like to joke that Facebook is only the preferred platform for Baby Boomers. While emerging social apps like TikTok have captured a large swath of attention from younger generations, 43% of Facebook users are under the age of 35.
When you compare that to the reach of a popular Gen-Z platform like Snapchat — which reaches 493.7 million users annually, according to Insider Intelligence — it’s clear Facebook is still a huge opportunity, even if your target audience skews younger.
But social media isn’t just a young person’s domain anymore. There is some truth behind the playful jab that Facebook is your grandparents’ favorite social platform. Since 2012, the channel has doubled its users aged 55+ and it will only continue to grow as more of the world looks to social media platforms for their news and information.
When you factor in every social platform available, older generations are adopting Facebook more than any other demographic. Baby Boomers and Gen Xers may have started dipping their toes in youthful platforms like TikTok, but when it comes to ease of use for techno-averse adults, Facebook is still the fastest way for them to make connections online.
Boundless Engagement
Luckily for your brand, you don’t need to immediately gain a huge following to start attracting viewers on your page. Of the small and medium-sized business pages on Facebook, those with fewer than 10,000 likes actually experience higher engagement rates than brands with bigger followings. Even if you have a smaller number of followers, you can reach more people with creative video marketing than you may have first thought.
Facebook’s ability to drive brand awareness is why 78% of consumers said they’ve discovered new products they love right on Facebook. HubSpot also reported that “link posts receive 73% less engagement than video posts,” making video content crucial in effectively connecting with your audience and standing out from the competition. By refocusing your video creative, you can increase the likelihood of your product advertisement getting noticed by users.
Growing Social Commerce
Another major shift across social media is the investment in building out the social shopping experience. According to eMarketer, “In 2024, there will be 110.4 million US social buyers, accounting for 42.0% of all internet users and nearly half (50.3%) of all social media users.” To keep up with this growing market, social media platforms are ramping up their own features to get in on the emerging eCommerce trend.
Over the last few years, Facebook has set itself up to meet social commerce integration demands by becoming one of the premier online marketplaces for brands and organizations to promote their products directly to consumers where they gather: the digital sphere. Now, it’s easier than ever for their users to find your products organically while they scroll through the platform.
See the data: Driving eCommerce Sales with Video
Facebook continues to add new features — including some that allow consumers to directly message brands — supporting its original mission statement to make it easier for people to connect. The platform also increased its initiatives around live-stream shopping experiences, giving us insight into this evolving industry.
Facebook’s consumer experience has only become smoother as in-app stores continue to evolve. Plus, since Shopify expanded their eCommerce tool, Shop Pay, to the social channel, customers have an easier way to pay for products. Shopify boasts that Shop Pay is the fastest and most secure way to pay for goods online. As users get accustomed to social commerce, brands will find success converting audiences with lower-funnel content on primarily upper-funnel platforms.
Limitless Opportunities for Video
In recent years, Facebook has grown its toolbox of video features to meet its users’ shifting desires for original content. It should come as no surprise that there will be continued investment in video on Facebook over the coming years — especially considering the popularity of Stories and Reels.
Stories have become increasingly popular on the platform, primarily because they’re featured the moment you open the app or log in on your desktop. Where you would have seen a customized news feed with links and static images before, Facebook has made it a point to show you video content as soon as you log in.
In addition, after only scrolling through a few posts on your Feed, you’ll find Facebook Reels. While formerly found just on Instagram, Reels are now found across both platforms.
We’re likely to see the Facebook algorithm continue elevating video placements to drive engagement and keep users on their platform. These video marketing tools have given individual users more ways to interact with their friends, family, and followers, but it has also given Facebook marketers unique ways to achieve their social media campaign goals.
Learn More: How To Make a Reel on Facebook: Step-By-Step Guide
The Key Objectives for Facebook Video Marketing
The platform now gives us the ability to disseminate our insights and knowledge to larger, more targeted audiences, but we need to know why we’re creating content in the first place. Key objectives to utilize on Facebook include:
- Awareness. Show off your product, service, or brand in new ways by showcasing unique features or telling your brand story.
- Engagement. Capture attention quickly to stay in the forefront of a viewer’s mind. Short quick bursts of content will captivate your audience and keep them engaged.
- Conversion. Convey a clear, simple message that drives consumers to take action, such as buying a specific product or visiting your website.
Facebook Ad Specs and Placements Types
As user demographics have diversified and grown over the last twenty years, Facebook has remained on top as the most widely used social media platform. This makes the channel a great option for every organization aiming to drive awareness, engagement, and conversions with every kind of consumer. For any objective, with any audience, Facebook has an advertising solution to meet your needs.
Since their big pivot in 2015, the text and image-heavy social platform has proliferated with video content. For your brand to stay fresh, feel relevant, and make the greatest impact, you need to produce a constant stream of iterative video ads. As Facebook eases barriers to entry for organizations of all sizes, video content will help you stay afloat in a sea of competitors vying for attention.
Facebook has developed a suite of creative ad placements to help support your video marketing initiatives. But if you’ve poked around Facebook’s Ads Guide, you’ll know these offerings can be a little overwhelming. For a more digestible entry point to wrapping your head around marketing on Facebook, we’re highlighting four placements that can make the greatest impact on your campaign objectives.
Related: Facebook Video Ad Specs & Placements
Facebook Feed
One of the essential Facebook ad specs to know is for Feed ads. The Feed is the first thing users see and interact with when they open Facebook. While the platform has evolved through the years, browsing through your Feed is still the primary experience of using Facebook.
Both organic and paid in-feed ads will appear in a user’s personalized feed as they scroll. Like any content on the platform, users can engage with an ad by liking, commenting, or sharing a post. Advertisers can further support their in-feed video ad ideas through calls-to-action (CTAs) that can open to internal or external landing pages.
Need help with other networks? Check out our complete Social Media Video Ad Specs & Placements Guide
For some objectives, you can utilize a 360-degree video to truly immerse your audience in the content and provide an interactive experience.
Video Ad Specs
- Aspect ratio: 1:1 (for desktop or mobile) or 4:5 (for mobile only)
- Max resolution: None, upload the highest-resolution video available
- Min resolution: 1080 x 1080
- Max video file size: 4GB
- Video length: 1 second to 241 minutes
- Recommended file type: .mp4, .mov, or .gif are recommended
Video captions are optional but highly recommended. Facebook feed videos default to a sound-off experience, meaning the user has to unmute the video manually, so captions should include any vital information conveyed in the audio of your video (e.g., dialogue or VO).
You can add supporting copy to your video ads, as well. Primary description text is limited to 125 characters, but may be truncated. If you use a headline, it and its description will be limited to 27 characters each. It’s also important to note the description will only show on mobile if Facebook thinks it’s likely to resonate with the viewer.
QuickFrame customer Nextdoor used a UI-focused, in-feed ad to communicate their value propositions by leading viewers through their product features.
Facebook In-Stream Video
Facebook In-Stream placements are ads that play before in-stream videos from publishers and content makers on Facebook Watch, or during Facebook Live streams from a select group of partners. Think of in-stream video ads like the short commercial breaks you get when watching a YouTube video.
These videos often get users’ undivided attention. This unlocks opportunities for brands to deliver more nuanced messages, resulting in higher engagement rates.
Video Ad Specs
- Aspect ratio: 16:9 or 1:1 is recommended
- Max resolution: None, upload the highest resolution video available
- Min resolution: 1080 x 1080
- Max file size: 4GB
- Video length: 5 seconds to 15 seconds on desktop and 5 seconds to 10 minutes on mobile
- Recommended file type: .mp4, .mov, or .gif are recommended
While you may be able to create longer-form video ad examples through this format, please note the video duration limit varies by device.
Captions and sound are optional but strongly recommended, as Facebook defaults to a sound-on experience when a viewer clicks a video. In-Stream ads also allow supporting copy of up to 125 characters and descriptions of up to 40 characters. While text over these limits is permitted, it may be truncated.
Need help making videos? See how our video production platform can help your business.
Facebook Video Feeds
When a user clicks on a video in their Facebook Feed, it opens a separate Video Feed player, which allows users to see additional, related video content they can scroll through and watch.
This placement allows your ads to run between the organic content in a user’s video feed, making it a great way to feature your brand or product in exciting visual ways. This is an especially effective strategy if you leverage animation in marketing to stop the thumbs of your target audience.
Video Ad Specs
- Aspect ratio: 4:5
- Max resolution: None, upload the highest resolution video available
- Min resolution: 1080 x 1080
- Max file size: 4GB
- Videos length: 1 second to 241 minutes
- Recommended file type: .mp4, .mov, or .gif are recommended
Captions and sound are both optional but recommended. Video Feed ads allow for supporting copy, with the primary text being capped at 125 characters. You can go over the limit like other ad types, but your copy may be truncated. These video ads also allow for a headline of up to 40 characters and a description of up to 30.
Small-batch meal subscription service and QuickFrame customer CookUnity was fairly new to video, but knew it was the answer when it came to an acquisition campaign on Facebook.
Facebook Stories
Stories are Facebook’s answer to Snapchat and TikTok’s short-form user-generated videos. With Facebook Stories, people can become content creators and use video to convey a message or tell a narrative arc.
Story ads will run between each user-generated video. These Facebook ad placements are full-screen vertical ads, so make sure this video size works with your concept.
Facebook Story ads can be up to two minutes long but will be split into multiple 15-second cards. These ads are skippable, so you need to have a “thumb-stopping” hook. If you capture viewers’ attention in the opening few seconds, they are more likely to continue watching the ad.
Video Ad Specs
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Max resolution: None, upload the highest resolution video available
- Min resolution: 1080 x 1080
- Max file size: 4GB
- Video length: 1 second to 2 minutes
- Recommended file type: .mp4, .mov, or .gif are recommended, but additional types are supported
Like the other ad placements on Facebook, video captions and sound are both optional but highly recommended, as viewers are most likely to watch Stories with the sound on. You can also support your ad with headlines and descriptions, but be aware of the limitations. The primary text is limited to 125 characters and the headlines to 40 characters. You can go over both these limits, but the text may be truncated.
Additionally, do not place text or logos in the top or bottom 250 pixels of the video. Profile icons (top of the screen) and CTAs (bottom of the screen) may cover essential information in these areas.
Hairstory partnered with QuickFrame to execute a performance testing plan, surfacing platform-specific learnings for Facebook marketing.
Facebook Search Results
Facebook Search Results video ads appear in, as the name implies, users’ search results. This is an effective way to connect with relevant audiences who might already be looking for your product or service.
Video Ad Specs
- Aspect ratio: 1:1
- Max resolution: None, upload the highest resolution video available
- Min resolution: 1080 x 1080
- Max file size: 4GB
- Video length: 1 second to 241 minutes
- Recommended file type: .mp4, .mov, or .gif are recommended
Captions and sound are both optional but recommended. Facebook Search Results ads allow for supporting copy, with the primary text being capped at 125 characters. You can go over the limit like other ad types, but your copy may be truncated. These video ads also allow for a headline of up to 40 characters and a description of up to 30.
Facebook Business Explore
Facebook Business Explore ads provide businesses with the opportunity to get in front of customers who are ready and willing to engage. Since these users are interested in learning more about businesses in a certain industry, you’re already giving yourself a step above the competition. According to Facebook, the Facebook Business Explore experience is similar to other Meta Explore experiences, giving users a Feed curated to show them content they might enjoy.
Video Ad Specs
- Aspect ratio: 1:1 (desktop or mobile) or 4:5 (mobile only)
- Max resolution: None, upload the highest resolution video available
- Min resolution: 1080 x 1080
- Max file size: 4GB
- Video length: 1 second to 241 minutes
- Recommended file type: .mp4, .mov, or .gif are recommended
Captions and sound are both optional but recommended. Facebook Business Explore ads allow for supporting copy, with the primary text being capped at 125 characters. You can go over the limit like other ad types, but your copy may be truncated. These video ads also allow for a headline and description, each of up to 27 characters.
Facebook Reels Ads
Similar to the Facebook Video Feeds ads, Facebook Reels ads create an immersive experience for users. Once a Facebook user clicks on a Reel, it opens up in the Reels Feed, which allows them to watch a seemingly endless stream of recommended Reels.
Video Ad Specs
- Aspect ratio: 9:16
- Max resolution: None, upload the highest resolution video available
- Min resolution: 1080 x 1080
- Max file size: 4GB
- Video length: No limits
- Recommended file type: .mp4, .mov, or .gif are recommended
Please note that these ad spots do not support automated captioning, so be sure to include on-screen text or captions to allow for an effective sound-off experience. Facebook Video Reels ads allow for supporting copy, with the primary text being capped at 72 characters. You can go over the limit like other ad types, but your copy may be truncated. These video ads also allow for a headline of up to 10 characters.
Facebook Marketing Best Practices
By joining the conversation on the largest social network, your business needs a major presence to compete. With a constant stream of fresh, relevant video ads, your brand will stand out in a social landscape saturated with content. So how do you make sure that happens?
In an effort to help cut through the bulk of ideas, we’ve identified a few top Facebook marketing tips that will inspire engagement, raise awareness, and elevate your brand. Also, knowing the best time to post on Facebook is key for maximizing engagement.
Diversify Your Ad Placements
While you need to publish a consistent stream of content, you also need to diversify where your video ads run on Facebook. Since the platform’s algorithm doesn’t optimize to show multiple posts or ads from the same Page concurrently, you have to run various ad placements simultaneously to hit a diverse audience.
Be sure to keep your creative both platform- and placement-specific. Facebook is a digital environment with its own rules, meaning audiences expect unique content they can’t find anywhere else.
Set yourself up for success by building a performance marketing multivariate testing plan to methodically understand which creative variables, across various placements, resonate most with your target audiences. With thorough pre-production planning, you can capture an array of footage in a single shoot and then leverage post-production editing techniques to shape, sharpen, and reinvent your creative.
Revamp UGC Content
TikTok’s popularity has heavily influenced the type of content that works best with audiences, even on Facebook. User-generated content (UGC) has seen increased success, so ideate ways you can bring this video type’s flair to your ads.
UGC doesn’t always mean talent needs to be visible on-screen to be effective. You can take a UGC-style approach by making your creative look like it was filmed by hand. Leverage stills, motion graphics, music, and voiceover to craft a UGC feel solely through post-production techniques.
You want to avoid overtly pushing your product with a UGC-style video as audiences look to this type of content as a way to connect and have fun. Using relatable talent and associating your brand with positive creative experiences will pay off in the long run. You can further elevate the UGC-style format by diversifying your testimonial footage with b-roll and lifestyle shots.
This video from Gobble uniquely showcases their product by reframing the UGC-style content as a how-to cooking tutorial.
Use Actual Customers
Social proof is still a powerful motivating factor, so if you plan to use a UGC-style video, you may want to use testimonials from actual customers.
Since so many consumers are now content makers themselves, audiences have come to expect creative to have a certain level of quality, even from UGC and UGC-like video content. This, however, doesn’t necessarily mean you need to raise your production budget or make all of your creative high gloss.
Instead, focus on the storytelling arc of your customer testimonial. Effectively directing your on-screen talent — especially with real customers — is key to elevating the narrative and hitting the tone that’s right for your brand or product.
This video from Homer features real customer testimonials to inspire a greater sense of relatability to their product.
Other Facebook Marketing Creative Best Practices
Promote Empathy
The last few years have been difficult. People all over the world have faced different challenges, so it’s critical to keep this in mind as you create your ads. Be empathetic to consumers’ mindsets and rethink your value props to fit contemporary lifestyles.
Stop Thumbs
Use a thumb-stopping hook to quickly capture the attention of your viewers. Design your creative to capture attention in the first three seconds. Showcasing your brand or product in unique ways, like visually arresting stop motion animation, can keep viewers engaged for your ad’s entire runtime.
Get to the Point
You need to keep your content short if you want a viewer to watch your ad until the very end. Since some ads are skippable, it’s critical to put the most important information early in the video. While content can be longer on Facebook, make sure you still aim to stop thumbs just as fast as you would want with an ad on TikTok or Snapchat.
Engage with Descriptions
For ad placements with supporting copy, put that extra text to work! Don’t just tell your target audience that they should watch your video. Tell them why your brand deserves their attention and what you want them to do next. By posing questions or enticing them with a bold statement, they’ll want to learn more.
Identify Your Objectives Early
Facebook’s Business Help Center identifies numerous objectives their video ads can support. It all depends on what you want out of your Facebook video marketing campaign. What action do you want your video ads to inspire? Is it to increase website traffic or social reach? Do you want to raise brand awareness so that potential consumers will be more willing to engage with your product?
Facebook video ads can solve all these objectives, but you need a clear picture of your goals before you get started. Combined with thorough pre-production planning and a strong creative concept, you can use Facebook to achieve whatever goal you want to accomplish.
Facebook Marketing: The Takeaway
It can feel daunting to join a competitive content landscape, but with the right tools and bold creative, your brand can make a mark on the platform. And Facebook video production is the best place to start.
Look at your creative strategy broadly, think critically, and invest in your brand voice and image. You need to establish a hallmark experience that consumers can begin to associate with your brand — and Facebook is the ideal place to scale your audience.
No matter your objective, these Facebook marketing strategies can help you capture attention, raise awareness, convert customers, and grow your brand. Combine that with a creative eye hungry for innovation and you can create mesmerizing, high-performing video content that will give your organization an advantage in our rapidly evolving digital world.
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