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Desktop and Mobile App Ads Updates

June 18, 2015ByRobby Banks

Today we're introducing two ad formats that allow you to show off your creative in new ways. We're extending our investment in video to desktop by enabling a more consistent buying experience across mobile and desktop app ads, as well as launching a new carousel format that gives you more creative real estate for your mobile app install and mobile app engagement ads.

Desktop Video App Ads

To extend the ability to use video creative in desktop app ads, we have made it available to all of our partners starting today in Power Editor and Ads Create Tool. The video unit has similar functionality to our mobile app ads: it's eligible to play automatically in News Feed, there is a persistent call-to-action over the video pop-up for ads rendering on the right-hand side of the page, and all videos now have an end card that appears after they finish with options to replay it or install the game.

Preliminary best practices for implementing desktop video app ads include:

  • Produce initial concepts based on creative from top-performing Facebook static ads as a starting point
  • Feature attention-grabbing content for at least the first 2-3 seconds
  • Leverage text overlays so that sound is not required to understand the content
  • Post simple and easy-to-digest video content that is very polished and engaging
  • Make the creative 15-30 seconds in length and show actual gameplay
  • Avoid reusing mobile creative assets for desktop as this can cause confusion
  • Ensure the actual desktop landing page that the creative points to is interesting and relevant

Desktop video app ads was previously announced as a closed beta and is now available to everyone via Power Editor, Ads Create Tool, the API and through Facebook Marketing Partners. Check out the Desktop App Ads product page to learn more.

Mobile App Ads with the Carousel Format

We have expanded the capabilities and applications of our carousel format.

The carousel format was previously only available for link ads and dynamic product ads. The application of the same carousel format is now available for mobile app install ads and mobile app engagement ads.

The carousel format gives you more creative real estate in News Feed to showcase compelling imagery for your mobile app ad. You can showcase up to five images within a single ad unit and Facebook will optimize the order of the images based on the relevance to each targeted individual.

Carousel mobile app install ads are now available in Power Editor, the API and through Facebook Marketing Partners. To learn more check out our blog.