Facebook ad sizes & specifications guide

We detail important Facebook ad sizes and specs to run targeted ads on Meta.

Facebook Ad Sizes and Specifications

The main type of Facebook ads are

• Carousel ads
• Right column ads
• In-stream video ads
• Marketplace ads
• Instant article ads
• Stories ads
• Collection ads

Carousel Ads Sizes and Specifications

You can also use them to highlight different features of a single product. In this way, advertisers can tell a longer, more context-rich story through multiple creatives.

• Facebook recommends that you upload between two and 10 videos and/or images.
• Videos should be up to four gigabytes, whereas, images should be up to 30 megabytes.
• The resolution of image ads should be at least 1080 * 1080 pixels.
• Recommended image ratio should range from 1.9:1 to 1:1 and videos should be at least a second long.
• Videos can be as long as four hours.
• Recommended characters for the headline should not exceed 40 and those for the primary text should not go beyond 125.
• Additionally, the maximum character requirement for the description should be 20.

Locations for Facebook Carousel Ads

Carousel ads appear in the following locations.

• Facebook Audience Network Native, Interstitial, and Banner
• Facebook Feed (Video and Image)
• Facebook Marketplace
• Facebook Instant Articles
• Facebook Right Column

The best performing carousel ads have both text and image. Shorter headlines generally perform better.

Here is an example of a great carousel ad.

Right Column Ads Sizes and Specifications

As their name suggests, right column ads are shown on the right-hand side of Facebook pages.

There are two things to note when it comes to right column ads.

• First, they do not appear in the main news feed.
• Second, Facebook right column ads are designed for desktop users only. This means your target audience will not see this type of Facebook ad if they are using a mobile device.

Right column ads are cheaper. They require a highly engaging visual that will have a high CTR.

If you can clearly convey your USP in a tiny image, these ads are the best bang for your dollar.

In-Stream Video Ads Sizes and Specifications

One thing that makes Facebook in-stream video ads popular among experienced advertisers is that they show up after at least one minute into the main video.

Needless to say, the success rate of in-stream video ads is normally high. Another thing to note about this Facebook ad type is that it is designed for mobile users only.

Video ads are great for showing things like customer testimonials. You can also show product videos or transformational videos.

Facebook recommends you create videos shorter than 15 seconds. You should also expend efforts into choosing the right thumbnail. Avoid video ads if you have lower budget or low quality video.

Marketplace Ads Sizes and Specifications

Facebook Marketplace is very similar to Craigslist and eBay in that it is a platform where people can buy and sell various items.

One key reason why most marketers like Facebook Marketplace is that people have a high buying intent. This means the chances of them noticing your ad are higher than when you place the ad elsewhere on Facebook.

Most people come to the Marketplace to buy items available near them.

Instant Articles Ads Sizes and Specifications

Instant Articles ads are designed for media publishers.

They allow publishers to share fast and interactive articles with their readers. All of these are done within the Facebook Messenger and Mobile App.

Stories Ads Sizes and Specifications

The first thing that comes to your mind when you hear about stories ads is Instagram stories, right? Yes, Instagram has found massive success with its version of Instagram Stories. That being said, the popularity of Facebook Stories also seems to be rising quite steadily. These Facebook ads allow you to create full-screen ads (vertical orientation) that show up between Stories.

Advertisers prefer Facebook Stories Ads because they allow you to mix still images and short videos. This makes it easy to comprehensively advertise your products or services.

The reason for this is that the CTA (call to action) and profile image go there.

These ads often act as a break for users viewing their friend’s stories. Unlike the news feed, the ads are in direct focus of the user. You can even use interactive polls in these stories ads.

An example of Instagram stories ad is below

Collection Ads Sizes and Specifications

If you run an e-commerce brand, then Facebook Collection ads are highly profitable.

A Facebook user who clicks on a Collection ad will be taken to a full-screen in-app landing page called a Facebook Instant Experience.

This full-screen in-app landing page is dedicated to showing the advertiser’s products and brand. It goes without saying that Facebook users can buy your products directly from these landing pages.

What’s more, Facebook Collection Ads have many different templates to choose from, based on what you want to do with your ad. These templates include:

• Instant Storytelling
• Instant Customer Acquisition
• Instant Lookbook
• Instant Storefront