As simple and straightforward as creating some ads and running a Facebook advertising campaign might seem, the truth is things are more challenging than they appear. Competition is fierce and getting clicks and conversions is not that easy. And given that Facebook is a visual platform, it’s crucial for marketers to learn how to create Facebook carousel ads.

What are the Facebook carousel ads?

Facebook’s carousel ads are great for advertising. So before getting to the part where you find out how to create Facebook carousel ads, let’s see what they are all about.

Carousel ads are a cheap yet engaging way to promote brands and the products or services they offer. These ads allow marketers to show multiple images and videos in the form of a carousel. There is even a link to some action or page in the same ad unit. This makes this type of ads perfect for brands that want to promote several products simultaneously. For instance, ecommerce businesses can use them to promote their online store.

Engaging, cost-effective and versatile are just a few of the words that describe carousel ads. It has been proven that carousel ads can be very effective in capturing people’s attention. They have become a very effective tool for a wide range of campaign types.

Besides promoting products or websites, this ad format is also suitable to boost a post. You can draw attention to an event to raise attendance, give a step-by-step explanation, or tell a story. You can even get video views.

Specifications of Facebook carousel ads

Using the right sizing and specs for the Carousel format is very important in the creation process. Sticking to the recommended specs ensures a smooth creation and delivery of the ads.

The following specs are the ones recommended by the social platform for those who want to learn how to create Facebook carousel ads:

• Image/Thumbnail size: 1,080 x 1,080 pixels
• Image/Video aspect ratio: 1:1 (square)
• Text: 125 characters
• Headline: 40 characters
• Link description: 20 characters
• Number of cards: 2-10
• Image file size: 30MB max
• Video file size: 4GB max
• Video length: Up to 240 minutes

It should also be mentioned that advertisers can choose the order of the images/videos in the carousel ad themselves. They can also let the automatic optimization feature to decide it for them. If your ad’s aim is to tell a sequential story or explain a process step by step, it would be better to establish the order yourself.

How to create Facebook carousel ads

The first and most important step when learning how to create Facebook carousel ads is to have a strategy and make a clear plan. Advertisers should think about the audiences they want to target with the carousel ads and the action they expect them to perform (like your page, buy a product from your store, etc.).

Then, they have to decide what content they want to use in order to convince the audience to perform the desired action. The content should include:

• high quality photos and video;
• trackable links to the brand’s website;
• a well-thought-out ad copy.

The next step consists in making the ad per se on the social platform. If you want to know how to create Facebook carousel ads from Adverts Manager, follow the next steps. Click on “Create advert” and choose a marketing objective for your campaign. The Carousel format is supported by several objectives, such as brand awareness, traffic, reach, app installs, conversions, lead generation, or catalog sales.

Afterwards, you will have to select an audience and budget, as well as a schedule. The next step involves choosing the format of your ad. Here is where you will select the carousel ad form the multitude of ad formats offered by Facebook.

Now you can begin to assemble your carousel ad by uploading images/videos, adding headlines, text and description. Next add the destination link and select a call to action. The last thing you need to do is to launch your Facebook ad. And if you want to be better than your competition, remember to spy om their carousel ads first with this tool.

Once the ad is live and running, don’t forget that monitoring its performance is also important. Check out the various metrics provided by Facebook via the ad manager. You will discover link clicks, impressions, cost per click, the relevance score.

Tips to create eye-catching carousel ads

Facebook’s newsfeed is almost always overloaded with content. Your carousel ad needs to stand out in order to catch the eye of users scrolling through all the posts.

That’s why brands need to make sure they draw people’s attention with the first image in the ad. It must be intriguing, interesting and needs to make sense on its own.

Also, adhering to Facebook’s recommended specs for carousel ads maximizes chances of success for your ad.

Given that carousel ads are supposed to make your audience want to swipe through the carousel, try to include content that tells a visual story. For this, break up one big image into cards and let the user discover it gradually.

Furthermore, make your ad more attractive by using different headlines for each card. Always use a call-to-action button on your ad, such as “shop now” or “learn more.”

Now, all the secrets about how to create Facebook carousel ads are laid out. Also remember that carousel ads drive ten times more traffic to an advertiser’s website in just three months.