Social-networking behemoth Facebook is all set to introduce a brand new ad showcasing format which would enable retailers to exhibit their products like never before.
The last considerable addition to Facebook’s add structure was witnessed last year when they introduced Canvas for more immersive ways of displaying ads. Just like Canvas, collections too is basically designed for mobile users with the motive of dazzling them on Facebook itself before redirecting the to advertiser’s mobile application.
In a talk with TechCrunch, Facebook Monetization Director Maz Sharafi mentioned that the collections are rolling out with an intent of building ” a great new shopping experience for people and to help marketers really drive discovery and sales in mobile.” Collections are also designed in a way to ease the vendors to set up shop, as Facebook handles the more complex job of shortlisting the merchandise to be showcased from among vendors broad inventory.
Its is a well established facts that smartphones have emerged to be a dominating medium for e commerce and other businesses, and the videos of the merchandises, loading times of the websites and the way of showcasing the products play exceptional role in the sales of a product. Collection takes advantage of all these factors and is likely to attract more buyers for a merchant.
In the new ad format an ad appears on users news-feed in form of video or image, along with four more product images below it. Once the ad is tapped, a broader catalog of 50 different products appear on the screen. Now, you may chose from the available product by tapping on it, and you will be switched to advertisers website or app for purchasing.
Sharafi also mentioned that though the users are free to select among the initial four products in the collections, the next assortment of the products will be made by Facebook itself, depending on retailer’s choice, with an aim of creating an experience which is most relevant for the customer.
Facebook is also changing its method of delivering results to the retailers. For both collections as well as Canvas, it will not just calculate the number of taps on retailer’ ad, but will also provide them with a count of outbound clicks, specifically the number of taps the users make on retailer’s business website. Advertisers will also avail these features on Instagram.
Rebecca Watts, Performance Marketing Senior Specialist at sports merchandise maker talked about the new feature:
This new ad format has everything we need to introduce a new product and drive sales. We used collection to showcase a video highlighting the technical features of the Z.N.E. Road Trip Hoodie. People who tapped on the ad were instantly taken to a full-screen shopping experience that included complementary Adidas products to complete the look. Collection has outstanding cross-selling capabilities, and we’ll certainly explore this new format again to inspire and increase sales.
