Introducing Facebook Canvas
The greatest challenge for advertisers and brands has been to share compelling product and brand stories in enjoyable and immersive ways, which drive results. This week Facebook has introduced a new type of Ad, which may just solve this problem. Behold the Canvas, a mobile only Ad, which involves videos, still images, text and panoramic photography all in one!
With the Facebook Canvas Ad Advertisers are able to use a mix of still images, video, text, and call-to-action buttons all effectively and beautifully presented. Canvas Ads use the same technology that makes photos and videos load quickly on Facebook, loading 10 times faster than average mobile websites. These Ads appear on newsfeeds as sponsored posts. Instead of the sponsored Ad leading to an external site, the user is taken to a Facebook-hosted page where you can scroll and flip through original content.
According to Facebook, early tests of Canvas ads have shown people do enjoy the experience enough to stick around for ads. 53% of people that open a Canvas at view ad least half of it before abandoning, with an average viewing time of 31 seconds. The more popular Canvas ads have seen more than 70 seconds of viewing time per person.
Trends continuously suggest that advertisers need better ways of sharing information once people have clicked on their ads, allowing for quick loading times, beautiful content, and a way for people to take action easily. Facebook now provides brands and advertisers with the necessary tools to offer their audience interesting and engaging experiences with the use of video and its carousel formal allowing for plenty of creative freedom.
Moreover, not only are people spending a majority of their time online these days, they are also increasingly spending it on mobile through the use of various apps. However, most websites are not optimised for mobile, therefore users experience slow loading speeds and disjointed content, leading them to abandon mobile sites within seconds. For this reason, it is essential that advertisers have access to vast creative tools in order to give people these great experiences and Facebook is now able to solve this issue. Advertisers are able to build these Ads with a very straight forward self-serve tool. No code is required, and Facebook’s design tool allows them to drag images, videos, GIFs, and more around, as well as set attributes and get their Ad live within a short time.
Not only will these Ads not cost more than the standard rate for Facebook news feeds Ads, Canvas Ads Facebook’s mobile app users also won’t be exposed to more Ads than before either. As of now, Canvas Ads are only available in the Facebook app, but they are working to bring them on to other platforms, Instagram being one.
Find out more and watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Hj0Ym8Ve4
