Facebook Unveils New Shopping Ad Format 'Collection'
Mobile e-commerce, or m-commerce, has hit a few hiccups over the last few years. One of the greatest challenges is mobile shopping cart abandonment, which means that shoppers might click on an ad, go to the product page, start the checkout process, and then leave the site.
What causes shopping cart abandonment? Issues like slow-loading pages, poor designs, and tedious registration forms top the list. That's why Facebook has rolled out its new shopping ad format, which it calls "Collections."
What Is a Collection?
A Collection is a grouping of product shots and descriptions underneath a primary video or image on Facebook. Users can click on the ad, which takes them to a dedicated shopping experience on Facebook’s platform, and brands can showcase up to 50 different products with this one step from their catalog.
It's a unique ad format because the advertiser can decide between traffic and conversion as its goal. Facebook will charge advertisers based on the number of clicks to open the product description page (for traffic) or based on the total number of impressions (for conversion). In the latter case, Facebook will make sure it exposes those ads to consumers who are most likely to convert.
Either way, Collections have the potential to dynamically engage consumers who enjoy watching videos on social media. Facebook built Collections specifically for the news feed as a way to help advertisers increase ROI and to capture purchases that might otherwise have never occurred because of shopper frustration.
The Need For Speed
We live in a fast-paced world that demands instant gratification. Any interruption or frustration can cause a mobile shopper to abandon a purchase and move on to something else. Facebook has unveiled Collections as a resolution to that problem thanks to the social media giant's speed-optimized platform.
Advertisers can connect their product descriptions to their own landing pages, microsites, or apps, depending on how they want customers to buy. With mobile wallets growing in popularity and more people using their smartphones to shop for products, Collections might improve advertiser ROI significantly.
Best of all, the product shots and descriptions that appear as Collections will be relevant to the video or image above them. Tommy Hilfiger was among the first brands to try out Collections, and its response has been overwhelmingly positive. By targeting consumers who are most likely to find the featured products appealing, fewer advertisers waste money and time.
You can conduct A/B testing on Facebook Collections and experiment with different ways to improve the buying experience for your customers. The faster and more inviting the checkout process, the more likely you become to boost revenue. This is especially true for users who primarily access the internet via mobile.
If you want to get better results with your social advertising efforts, you might want to utilize Collections. Sometimes, a mixture of Digital Marketing channels can help bring your sales to the next level. If you’re interested in learning more, read our case study: Search, display, and social advertising boosts high-end retailer's YOY sales by 70%. It demonstrates how a holistic approach helped our client reach and surpass their goals.
You Might Be Interested In
