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In the summer of 2004, a friend who was heading to the same college I was that September sent me a link to join some website called “The Facebook” and said I could use it to see the other incoming freshman.
I signed up and got to see the profile photos, majors and favorite movies of several hundred other 18 year olds at Boston College.
Did I stalk my soon-to-be roommate? Of course.
Did it change my life? Not really.
But fast forward 16 years… and (like it or not) Facebook has changed the way everyone does just about everything: communicate, shop, advocate, learn, share, consume media… and so much more.
It’s also completely changed the way we advertise.
In 2020, Facebook still has the largest user-base of any social platform and the most sophisticated advertising system.
2.7 BILLION (!) people now use Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, or Messenger (their “family” of services) each month.
And video remains the highest performing digital content on Facebook: it drives more views and more engagement than any other form of post.
So if you’re planning a campaign, you should definitely be using video ads on Facebook.
Read on to learn what you need to know: file sizes, aspect ratios, formats and other hot tips for advertising with video on Facebook.
Facebook Feed Video Ad
MINIMUM DIMENSIONS: 600 x 315 (1.9:1 landscape) or 600 x 600 (square)
ASPECT RATIOS: Horizontal: 16:9, Square: 1:1, Vertical: 4:5 or 2:3 and Full Portrait: 9:16
FORMAT: .MP4 or .MOV recommended
MAX FILE SIZE: 4GB
THUMBNAIL IMAGE: no more than 20% text
?>> HOT TIP: Roughly 85% of video views on Facebook happen with no sound. So if you want to create video ads that have an impact, you need to design a video that works without sound.
A great way to do this is to design a video that either has eye-catching text built in or utilize captions that match your brand, see below for examples.
Eye-catching text means the message gets across even when the sound isn’t on.
Built-in captions (with fonts that match the brand) for Yours, Mine & Ours.
Facebook Carousel Video Ads
RECOMMENDED RESOLUTION: 1080 x 1080 pixels
>> Minimum 2 cards and max of 10 cards per Carousel Ad
ASPECT RATIO: 1:1
FORMAT: .MP4 or .MOV
MAX FILE SIZE: 4GB per video
Video thumbnail image no more than 20% text
?>> HOT TIP: Use the heading/subheading text to provide information about your product/service that didn’t make it into the video.
Or, add a short teaser phrase or question that compels people to watch it and engage.
Facebook In-Stream Video Ad
Wait, what’s an In-stream video ad? Glad you asked:
Facebook In-stream Video Ads are 5-15 second, non-skippable, mid-roll video ads shown to people who are already watching Facebook videos on a mobile device.
Basically, they’re just like the ads you see on YouTube — kinda like commercial breaks.
But, they don’t appear until at least 60 seconds into the main video and by that point, people are usually fully invested in watching the video and are unlikely to stop watching simply because of an ad — so they’re actually very effective.
RECOMMENDED RESOLUTION: the highest possible
RECOMMENDED ASPECT RATIO: 16:9 (but can be between 9:16 to 16:9, depending on the aspect of the main video)
FORMAT: .MP4 or .MOV
MAX FILE SIZE: 4GB
MAX VIDEO LENGTH: 5 to 15 seconds
CAPTIONS: optional but recommended
? >> HOT TIP: Everyday, 75 million users visit Facebook’s video platform. ? So keep an eye on this emerging space for advertising!
Facebook Stories Video Ads
Just like the ads you see on SnapChat and Instagram Stories, Facebook Stories now offer ads.
You can create full-screen vertical ads that appear between Stories. Facebook Stories can use a mixture of still images and short videos, and ads can do the same.
RECOMMENDED RESOLUTION: as high as possible
RECOMMENDED ASPECT RATIO: 1.91 to 9:16
>> Leave 250 pixels at the top and bottom free from text and logos
FORMAT: .MP4 or .MOV recommended
MAX FILE SIZE: 4GB
MAX VIDEO LENGTH: 15 seconds
?>> HOT TIP: photo Story images are visible for 5 seconds unless the user swipes out of the Story and videos last for the length of the video (up to 15 seconds)
In conclusion, if you’re like us and you’ve been on Facebook since the beginning…it may feel like the platform has lost it’s it-factor.
It’s been rife with scandal and certainly isn’t the cool place for teenagers to hang out anymore.
But despite that… over 1.5 BILLION people still use it EACH. DAY. ?
And that means it’s still an incredibly effective place to advertise.
Given that, it’s important that you design each ad properly to match the optimal sizes and formats. So we hope this guide will be a helpful resource for you when planning your Facebook video ads.
(Feeling a bit overwhelmed by all this talk of aspect ratios and captions? Don’t fret. Our video editing service can help. Contact us to learn more.)
And lastly, get creative with the content you’re sharing! Show off your real community and create videos that look organic in people’s feeds.
Those are the ads that get everyone’s attention AND get all the likes. ??
P.S If you liked this post, you might also like How to Optimize Videos for Facebook.
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