What are Facebook Carousel Ads and why are they important?

Facebook Carousel Ads allow you to get more creative and ”squeeze” your content into much smaller space than usual.  You can display up to 10 different products or stories. Each of them has its own images or videos, URLs, headlines, descriptions, and CTA in a single ad. To be more precise, you display them in an interactive format. This is such an important aspect because it boosts better engagement.

1. Helps you present different products in one ad

This possibility to display more than 1 product enables you to highlight different products. Furthermore, this enables you to have multiple CTAs under different products leading to different landing pages.  Displaying multiple products is a great way to do a product tour where each card would summarize the main features. People are more likely to buy when they know what to expect. 

2. Helps you present features of a single product

 If we talk about displaying only 1 product,  carousel ads come in handy because you can point out specific details about it. It doesn’t have to be only a product per se. You can use a carousel to show how to use a product, for example. Each card can represent a step in the process.

But Facebook carousel ads don’t just stop at products. You can use them to share and promote articles. You can share articles or blogs from your website - each article on one card. This is a great way to group your articles under one topic or theme and make them more visible. 

3. Helps You Tell a story

Facebook carousels are much more than just featuring products or services. You can tell a story with them and develop it with each next card. Storytelling is one of the most effective marketing strategies because it brings products/services closer to buyers while triggering their emotions. This way, they can envision themselves using your products. The more they can envision themselves, the higher the chance of buying.

You might think that Facebook carousel ads might be great only for eCommerce,  but they are applicable to pretty much any industry. You can use them for presentations, advertising a menu in a restaurant, etc.

We shouldn't go further without mentioning how cost-effective carousels are in comparison to single-post Ads. They drive 30-50% lower cost-per-conversion. Furthermore, cost-per-click is 20-30% lower than single-image link ads.  

Now that we’ve covered the basics, let’s see how you can actually create Facebook carousel ads.

How to Create Carousel Ads on Facebook?

Even if you aren’t tech-savvy, creating a Facebook carousel is fairly simple because there are certain steps you just need to follow. It is quite intuitive. It all starts with choosing images/ videos for your carousel, and again, there are specific requirements so you don’t need to bang your head against the wall to find the perfect image/video specs.

Image and Video Specs

When it comes to images and videos there are certain requirements that you need to follow:

You should bear in mind that there are also requirements, or recommendations, if you like, about the text:

• Headline - shouldn’t exceed 40 characters

• Description - should be up to 20 characters

• Primary text - keep it up to 125 characters

So Here’s How To Create a Carousel Ad on Facebook 

There are two ways to create a carousel ad:  

1. From your FB page

Naturally, first you should go to your Facebook Page. 

1. Find the Promote button in the top corner and click on Get More Website Visitors

2. Enter an optional ad description in the Description box

3. Next thing, choose Select Media and upload your images or videos on the Browse Media page. You can also select the existing ones. Add them according to the order you want them to appear and click Select. You can choose up to 5 images or videos.

4. Enter an optional text into each Headline box. If you click on arrows you can scroll through the carousel cards.

5. In the next step you will set up the button and the URL. Useful info, if you want to have different URLs on each carousel card, then you will have to create them from Ads Manager.

6. Next you choose Audience, Duration, and Daily Budget.

7. Now it’s time to choose where you want your ads to show. Just check the box next to Placement and make your selection.

8. The last thing on the list is to settle the payment by clicking  the Payment Method dropdown

9. Once you’ve previewed the ad and made sure everything is ok, click Promote Now to publish it.

The other way to create your carousel ad is:

2. From Ads Manager

1. Click on the + Create button in the top left corner

2. The new window would pop up and there you can choose the Campaign Objective. Another useful piece of info: you can’t use either Engagement or Video Views for carousels.

3. You can now set Special Ad Categories if there are any, add  A/B Test, Budget optimization, Delivery, and click Next.

4. You’re almost there. In the Identity section, choose your Facebook Page and if applicable, attach your Instagram account. After that, select a carousel in the Ad Setup section.

5. One of the last things to do is to fill in the fields for your carousel cards in the Ad Creative part. 

6. If you scroll down you’ll find the Tracking feature where you can set up events and URL Parameters.

7. Once you’ve double-checked everything, click Publish.

It’s high time to move to more creative waters and see how you can create carousel images.

Let’s Glorify Your Images

We know that many eCommerce store owners dread this part because they think they need to have advanced design skills to prepare carousel images. Although that might be true for some tools, here at Glorify we created a tool that caters to both designers and non-designers alike. Let’s show you what we mean.

1. Choose a Template

Once you’ve logged in you will see our ever-growing templates gallery, which is updated weekly. Don’t be confused if you don’t see Facebook Carousel Option. You can choose the Instagram Square Post since the parameters are the same. As we’ve already said, use a 1:1 ratio or 1080x1080 resolution. 

2. Create a Carousel

Now it’s time to choose the design using our personal favorite feature - infinite whiteboard, i.e. canvas. This cool feature enables you to do all the brainstorming in one place. You can put all the logos, fonts, images, etc. that you would like to use so you can easily compare, edit and change till you hit the right one for you. 

But wait, there’s more.

The best thing is that you don’t need to leave your screen to add new photos for your carousel. You simply copy the design you chose, all in one place. 

This also saves time because you don’t have to adjust every next image. Another benefit is that you can keep the same background and just change the product images. Of course, there are many features that you can use to customize and edit your images so feel free to browse through them and get to know them. And most importantly, enjoy the process.

After you finish with the designing process, save your creations in bulk, upload them to your Ad campaign, and you’re ready to go.

It’s just that easy.

Let’s Recap

Cost-efficient, engaging, and versatile is what a good carousel is.  If you take into account how simple it is to make one when you use Glorify app it would be a pity not to try it out. Start creating compelling carousels which will help raise your brand awareness, generate more leads, and save your time and money. Or as we like saying it here at Glorify: “Turn your vision into reality!”