Rich digital media has matured and expanded fast in just the past few years. Website speeds, curious users, and modern design tools have all combined to offer new, engaging visual ways to present information. With the rising costs of social and search channels, it’s time for digital marketers to explore new, more engaging types of content
What Is A Carousel Ad?
You’ve likely seen carousel ads on social media feeds such as Instagram and Facebook. This type of ad contains multiple images or videos to swipe through in a horizontal direction. A carousel ad may contain just a few images or many, to entice a reader to keep scrolling. The rotating effect led to the “carousel” name for these, similar to a conveyor belt.
Carousel ads have become a way for brands to show off multiple products in one place, making them a natural fit for B2C companies selling shoes or clothes, for example. But, companies in B2B across industries and verticals can also take advantage of this fresh format to engage their readers.
The Benefits of Carousel Ads
User fatigue (customers tired of seeing the same ads repeatedly) and creative fatigue (marketers exhausted from trying to continuously produce new ads) are real problems for modern digital marketers. Web visitors are continually bombarded with ads, images, and videos, so standing out in the crowd is more essential — and more challenging — than ever.
Carousel ads are one type of creative that can help drive a user along the path to conversion. They’re more visually engaging, they offer user control and interactivity, they’re a fun experience, and they generally outperform single-image ads. Some of the key benefits of carousel ads include:
- Showing multiple products or offerings in one place.
- Exploring or explaining multiple features of a product.
- Telling a deeper story with existing data or content.
- Getting higher engagement and click-through rates for the cost.
Carousel vs. Single Image vs. Video Ads
Each of these ad types has its place in a modern marketing mix. When you’re deciding what type of ad to create and promote, there are some key features to keep in mind.
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Carousel
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Single Image
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Video
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Standout Features
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<li”>Efficiency of messaging. |
- Concise messaging.
- Easy to create.
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- Popular format.
- Good for social media.
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Best For
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- Showcasing multiple products or features.
- Breaking through user fatigue.
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- Promotions or specific product highlights.
- Simple narratives.
- Limited time or budget for creative.
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- Product demos.
- Explaining complex information or telling a broader story.
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How Do Companies Use Carousel Ads?
Carousel ads offer businesses and marketing teams a lot of room to be creative with the format. Companies use carousel ads to tell a story, highlight how a product works, describe the results of a survey or report, and much more.
Start planning and brainstorming based on what images, videos, or data points you already have in-house to showcase in a carousel ad. Your design partners can help experiment with how to tell stories in a carousel, or use your advertising platform to automate some of the work.
Best Strategies to Create and Use Carousel Ads
Using carousel ads can boost engagement and click-through to your site. Here are some strategies to keep in mind when you’re getting started with carousel ads.
Tell a Story
Use your images and the carousel format wisely to create an experience for readers. If you’re displaying survey results, create a narrative that the carousel can illustrate. Make sure a carousel of new product features is focused on user needs and paints a cohesive picture. If you’re showing off seasonal clothing, choose images that reflect current trends and entice readers to keep clicking.
A/B Test
Carousel ads offer plenty of room to experiment and A/B test compared to single-image ads. You can change the image order, alter where and how much copy you use, and swap out the links to see what works best. Like any marketing tactic, though, test one variable at a time and then incorporate learnings into your current and future carousel ads.
Use the Platform Features
Take advantage of the built-in features of Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn when creating these types of ads. For example, Facebook allows you to show your best-performing cards first, and Instagram can automatically apply custom positioning. Use any marketing tools available to you as well, to help create carousels.
Carousel Ads Best Practices
Be Thorough
Carousel ads naturally take more time and effort than other ad types, especially if you’re just getting started. Use all the elements available, such as the headline, description, URL, and CTA (call to action) button, so each image or card is optimized. Carefully consider where readers will land if they click through your ad, such as a dedicated landing page to further the experience.
Choose the Creative Carefully
With carousel ads, engagement is the goal, so use high-quality images and videos and concise copy. Each card should be on brand and work together with all the other cards. You should experiment with different card sequences or use built-in tools to help.
Know the Specs
Each social media channel has its own carousel ad specs, including the size and shape of the images, the copy length, and how many images are allowed. For example, Facebook allows anywhere from two to 10 images in a carousel, while Instagram’s guidelines vary. Decide upfront which channels you’ll be placing the carousel ads on so you can be prepared with all the necessary creative.
Carousel Ads for B2B Companies
Carousel ads are often a natural fit for B2C companies selling products directly, since retailers already have a huge number of nice photos to create carousels. But, there’s lots of potential for B2B companies to use carousels to educate and entertain readers as well.
Do They Work Well for B2B?
B2B marketers can find lots of ways to incorporate carousel ads into their campaigns. LinkedIn carousel ads are most likely the best place to start, as the engaged, business-focused audience there can be targeted and segmented. LinkedIn carousel ads can help meet a variety of business goals.
Do They Work Well for Lead Generation?
Make sure you use a variety of CTAs throughout a carousel ad to encourage interaction and follow-through from a reader.
Carousel Ads Ideas by B2B Campaign Type
The sky’s the limit for how you apply the carousel ad format for your business and marketing goals. Consider these ideas:
Webinar or Event
For a webinar or other event, whether online or in-person, a compelling carousel ad can encourage potential attendees to sign up. Include some strong copy on what benefits the event will offer, plus all the attendance details and the registration link.
SaaS Product
B2B SaaS providers can use carousel ads to illustrate their product’s benefits with engaging details, such as customer quotes or short case studies. Carousel ads can also show off product highlights in a unique way.
Feature or Product Launch
Try announcing product milestones or important releases using a carousel ad to complement the press release, blog, or other content. You can show off the benefits to prospects quickly this way.
Carousel Ads and Performance
Carousel ads are a standout for digital marketers because they generally outperform single-image or other typical ads. This is for a few reasons:
- Engaging: Carousel ads are highly visual, so audiences are drawn to them and prompted to act.
- Interactive: Carousel ads allow readers to scroll or click through immediately, so they’re interacting with your brand even before getting to your site.
- Cost-effective: Carousel ads are targeted like any other social media ad, so you can create ads and target them accordingly — and cut through creative fatigue.
How to A/B Test Carousel Cards
Like any other marketing experimentation, you can apply A/B testing to your carousel ads by creating two different versions and seeing which one your readers like better. Carousel testing should include the copy and CTA, but also some items specific to this format. Try testing these variables in particular for carousel ads:
- First slide: This will catch a reader’s attention (or not), so see which slide keeps readers clicking or scrolling through.
- Number of slides: When does the audience stop scrolling? If there are too many, try to consolidate.
- Order of slides: Is your story or narrative cohesive, or can you rearrange the cards in a more appealing or logical way?
- Style: Try using photos vs. graphics, simple vs. more complex, or different color palettes to see what resonates with viewers.
Why Is My Carousel Ad Underperforming?
A/B testing and general experimentation will help you understand the best way to use carousel ads for your business. If a carousel ad is underperforming, there may be a few reasons, such as:
- Too much detail per card or slide.
- Too many slides.
- Illogical card sequence.
- Low-quality visuals.
- Lack of responsive design or mobile optimization.
- Vague or non-relevant CTAs.
What Kind of CTAs Work Best in Carousel Ads?
As with other marketing tactics, a good CTA should be clear, simple, and give the reader information about what they’ll get from clicking. For carousel ads, ensure that:
- You’re including a CTA button in each image description, when available.
- The CTA goes to a dedicated landing page for the carousel (or the most appropriate page available).
- The CTA is short and specific, like “Download the Ebook,” or uses active words like “Explore” or “Discover.”
- You’re continually checking CTA performance by click-through rate and conversions to make changes as needed.
How to Gauge Whether a Carousel Ad Performs Better than Other Ad Formats
Use marketing performance metrics when you’re gauging how well a carousel ad is doing. These include click-through rates, conversion rates, and engagement rates. Pay close attention to social media metrics, such as shares, likes, and comments, if applicable. Also, measure cost-per-click (CPC) numbers — with higher engagement rates, carousel ads can easily have lower CPC than single-image ads.
In addition, make sure carousel ads are aligned with your goals and have a specific outcome associated with them. You can use a carousel ad at any point in a marketing funnel, and can tailor them down-funnel to engage and convert users.
The nature of a carousel ad means that you won’t always be able to compare it directly to other ads, like single image, display, or video, since they attract and engage readers differently. Build a benchmark based on how well carousel ads do specifically for your business, which you can use for future comparison and optimization.
How Do I Build a Carousel Ad for Mid-Lower Funnel Stages?
Like any ad you create and publish, you should outline your goals and desired outcomes upfront. Do the same thing for a mid- to lower-funnel carousel ad. If the goal is to convert users or make sales, how can you use a carousel to do that? You might include more product details and benefits, or lead with a tailored discount or offer.
Other options for lower-funnel carousel ads could include highlighting a particular product category, or creating a quick step-by-step tutorial or lesson. Consider including testimonials, or tips from other users in a carousel format. Carousel ads can be very effective for a complex product, since you can break elements down into a visual story.
Realize supports a wide range of ad formats, including native, display, vertical, and carousel ads, empowering advertisers to achieve their objectives with creative flexibility.
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How to Use Carousel Ads for Retargeting
Consider plugging a carousel ad into your retargeting strategy to see how it performs. If a user looked at a specific product page on your site, you might retarget them with a relevant carousel ad. You can build the ad for this purpose, perhaps exploring the product details or creating a carousel of user comments, use cases, success stories, or product demo slides.
Key Takeaways
Carousel ads are an engaging, successful format for any business to try. They offer a new way to present information and draw in readers, and their creative possibilities are endless. Consider your audience, the story you’re telling, and the creative you have on hand as you’re getting started with carousel ads.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
How do I create an effective Facebook carousel ad?
First, define your objective and audience, then create engaging visuals and copy, along with strong CTA links, to build the carousel. Use a variety of links and prioritize the first card to draw readers in. Facebook also offers carousel templates to help make the creation process easier.
What are the image size and spec requirements for carousel ads on Instagram?
Instagram carousel ads have a recommended image size of 1080 by 1080 pixels with a 1:1 aspect ratio. These carousel cards can be either images (JPG or PNG) or videos (MP4, MOV, or GIF), or a combination, with a minimum of two cards and a maximum of 10. Video file size can be up to 4GB and the longest video duration is 60 seconds.
How do I track individual card performance in Facebook Ads Manager?
Use Facebook Ads Manager to go to your campaign or ad, then “View Charts,” then go to the “Breakdowns” feature, and filter results by individual carousel card. You can see which card is driving the most clicks and conversions.
What’s a good carousel ad layout for re-engaging cart abandoners?
Put personalization and value first when you’re designing a carousel ad to re-engage cart abandoners. You can show the user which items they left in their cart, one per card, and offer a special discount if possible. Make sure to include a time component as well, so they feel an urgency to finish the transaction.
