Facebook Marketplace is a sort of social media Craigslist. Users can post items for sale at no cost and find buyers quickly. The tab for Facebook Marketplace is prominently displayed at the top section of the mobile app and desktop version, in the main group of functions that includes Newsfeed, Messenger and Watch.
Recently, the Facebook™ team decided to give pages access to Marketplace, by adding it to its list of ad placements. To be clear, pages cannot post items for sale. However, being able to post an ad in this section of Facebook™ is a great opportunity and you should not miss it.
Why Advertise on Facebook™ Marketplace?
The term Marketplace says it all – this is a place where Facebook™ users go to in order to buy products. Anyone browsing this section has more than a general interest in a specific product – they have a clear need and intent to make a purchase.
This is what you are working so hard to achieve with brand awareness and consideration ads on Facebook™, either on the Newsfeed or on Messenger. The type of ads you can share on Marketplace goes straight to the core of the issue: closing a sale. This is the best place to advertise your products and take the users to your online store or Offer page on Facebook™.
Basic Rules for Marketplace Ad
Facebook™ Marketplace ads cannot be set up as standalone ads. You must choose the Newsfeed ad placement and add Marketplace as a secondary placement.
Once you have made this selection, you will set up your ad following the usual steps in the Ad Creator platform. Here are a few technical specifications you should keep in mind:
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Headline length: 25 character, link description: 30 characters, text body: 125 characters;
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Recommended image resolution: 1,200 x 628 pixels for single image, 600 x 600 pixels for carousel images;
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Aspect ratio: 1.9:1 for single images, 1:1 for carousel images.
As you can note, Marketplace ads support less text than Newsfeed ads, so you must strive to focus on the visual part. Another limitation you will note refers to the campaign objectives you can select for this kind of ads. You can select one of the following objectives:
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Reach
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Traffic
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Conversions
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Catalogue Sales
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Video Views
Also, although Facebok Marketplace is organised by product categories, you cannot opt for your ad to be shown in a specific category. However, this will certainly change in the near future, as Facebook™ is trying to keep its business accounts active and happy.
When it comes to the types of ads you can display on Facebook Marketplace, there are no restrictions. You can choose between:
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Single image
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Carousel
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Single video
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Slideshow
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Collection
Last but not least, at the moment, Marketplace ads are available only for mobile phones.
Why Should You Consider Adding Marketplace to Your Facebook™ Ad Placements?
With all the rules and restrictions above, you would naturally ask yourself: “is it really worthwhile investing in Facebook Marketplace ads?” Our answer is yes. Consider the opportunity, besides the users’ intent to buy. The Marketplace section does not contain photos shared by friends, cute cat videos, memes, GIFs or any other type of content you see on any newsfeed.
The Marketplace section is dominated by static product photos – most of them unprofessional photos made by the sellers with their phones. Here, your carefully crafted ad visuals have the chance to stand out. It is even better if you decide to share your video ads on Marketplace – at the present users cannot upload videos of their products.
As time goes by, more and more marketers will see the opportunity of advertising on Marketplace, and the bidding prices will certainly go up. Once they do, you will at least have the advantage of having discovered the success formula for high engagement by experimenting with this new type of ad at lower costs.