Welcome to the Ad Creative FAQ!
If anything is missing or you have a question that is not directly answered here, then send us a message in Support via our in-app chat.
Image and video aspect ratios
Facebook uses different ad specs for video and images across Facebook and Instagram placements. To make sure that your creatives will be shown as intended, keep a look out for changes and avoid common misunderstandings.
For instance, when you use 4:5 images in a regular campaign and include the Facebook News Feed placement, the images will be automatically cropped to square on the News Feed. On Instagram, the images will be displayed in the expected 4:5 aspect ratio.
To keep track of this, Facebook has released resources on ad creative specifications:
- Best Practices for Aspect Ratios
- Best practices for image and video aspect ratios. For example, Facebook recommends using square 1:1 for images and vertical 4:5 for videos in News Feed placements.
- Aspect Ratios Supported by Placements in Ads Manager
- More information about the various specs for images and videos across Facebook/Instagram placements
ℹ️ Note: single images in Dynamic Ads only support the 1.91:1 aspect ratio.
Collection Ads FAQ
What placements are supported?
Only Facebook Mobile News Feed is supported with this ad format as it involves Canvas (Audience Network and Instagram are not supported yet).
What catalogs are supported?
Product catalogs and Hotel catalogs currently (Feb 2018).
What are the campaign types supported?
Collection is available for the Conversions and Traffic objectives in regular campaigns and Dynamic Ads Product Sales campaigns.
Is product catalog always required to create Collection Ads?
No. You can create a Canvas in Facebook using one of the available templates and upload videos and images manually. Then, in Smartly.io you can create a Collection Ad using Canvas.
Do I need to create the Canvas?
If you are creating Canvas Ads from a product catalog Facebook will create the Canvas automatically from a Product Set and the hero image or video. You can use Dynamic Image Templates to create appealing images for your collection.
Can I direct users from Collection ad to my app?
Yes you can. Both website and app are supported.
Do GIFs work with Collection ads?
We have tested this and currently GIFs are not supported in Collection Ads. (Updated: September 2017)
Slideshow Ads FAQ
What is the maximum number of products in a Slideshow Ad?
You can add 3-10 products to your Slideshow Ad.
How can I create 3 Slideshow Ads with 5 pictures each in Automated Ads campaign?
First filter your feed to include 15 products. The first 5 products will go to the first Slideshow Ad, next 5 products to the second Slideshow Ad and last 5 products to the third Slideshow Ad. The order of the images is either based on the order in your feed, or the sorting you defined in the feed tab. If you use "in" condition when filtering the feed, we use the same order as you have typed the IDs. If you have 16 products in the feed, the last product will not be used in any of the ads.
Can I upload background music to be included in the slideshow?
Unfortunately, this is not available in the marketing API (that Smartly.io has to use for creating slideshows). Therefore it is not possible, even though Ads Manager has this functionality.
Instagram FAQ
If I have one creative and two audiences, will the likes go to the same post as in Facebook?
On Facebook, multiple ads can refer to the same post.
On Instagram, each ad creates a separate post. Each post will have separate likes and comments.
Can I link to my Instagram profile?
No, at the moment the CTA can redirect only to an external website.
Can I promote an existing Instagram post?
As of September 2020, you can promote existing Instagram posts. In a regular campaign, choose the Asset Customization ad type under the Creatives > select an Instagram account for the creative > select "Post" format > and click the "Choose from latest posts" button.
You can also use Automated Post Boosting to promote your best Instagram content. Learn more by reading this article in the Knowledge Base.
Note: In Automated Post Boosting it is possible to use Instagram placement but then the Facebook posts from the Facebook page you have selected are boosted through so-called Page backed Instagram account where your Facebook page is used instead of actual Instagram page. This means that you don't have to have Instagram account/profile to advertise in Instagram. Read more from Facebook: About Instagram Account Requirements
Can I choose to publish an Instagram ad as a regular post while creating it or after I have created it?
No, but you can create an Instagram post and promote it with Instagram Business Tools.
How should I use #hashtags?
Hashtags are an important part of the Instagram experience and adding hashtags in the message will help to convey an authentic message. Keep in mind that Instagram Ads won't show organically, so you shouldn't use hashtags to be visible on the hashtags streams.
You can include hashtags strictly related to your company, so that your targeted audience is redirected with a click to all the organic creatives connected to your business (#nameofevent, #nameofpromotion, #yourbusiness, ...)
This is how we used the hashtag #marketing in our first test on Instagram.
Creative media guidelines
Check here Facebook's media guidelines for Instagram Ad Creatives.
Note that with Dynamic Ads, if the image is not square, it will be cropped when displayed.
Instagram Ads FAQ
Ads Manager shows error "Please add: Instagram Account"
This is an unfortunate bug in Ads Manager, present as of 29 January 2020. Ads Manager will show this text for ads created in Smartly.io despite them having a properly configured Instagram account. You can safely ignore this error.
