Thursday, January 12, 2017

Facebook Ad Specs and Image Sizes [Fully Updated for 2017]

Facebook ads can be an incredible way to reach your target audience. πŸ’―

And as we move into 2017, it’s becoming more and more likely that you’ll have to pay to maximize the impact of your content on Facebook.

In the past, we’ve talked about how to get up and running with all the different types of Facebook ads and shared the lessons we learned with our own paid Facebook campaigns.

One of the biggest factors in a successful ad? The content itself.

Since it can be a real challenge to stay on top of the recommended content sizes for all types of Facebook Ads, in this post I’d love to share the most up to date ad specs for your images, videos, and copy – fully updated for 2017.

Looking to learn more about Facebook Ads? Check out our complete guide to Facebook Ads here and learn all you need to get started

facebook-ad-specs-2017

How to navigate this guide

There’s a lot of different types of Facebook Ads! And the design specs are always changing. If you want to know what size images or videos to use for each type of Facebook ad, or how much text you have to play with, you’re in the right place.

With these recommendations, you’ll be able to design ads that look great no matter where they appear on Facebook – whether it’s in the desktop or mobile news feed, or the right sidebar.

We’ll be keeping this post up-to-date with the latest ad specs and recommendations. If you notice anything that’s out of date, let us know in the comments! We’ll keep an eye out and update the post (and give you a shoutout! πŸ˜„)

To make it easier to find the specs you’re looking for, we’ve broken this guide down by the 5 Facebook Ad types. Here’s where to find any info you might need:

 

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Facebook Ad Objectives, Types, and Placements

Before we jump into the meat of this post — the specs for each type of Facebook Ad — I first wanted to share a little context about the various objectives, ad types, and placements you can use with Facebook Ads.

Objectives

Facebook offers 15 objectives for ads, which are split into three categories:

  • Awareness: Objectives that generate interest in your product or service
  • Consideration: Objectives that get people to start thinking about your business and looking for more information about it
  • Conversion: Objectives that encourage people who are interested in your business to purchase or use your product or service

facebook-marketing-objective

Once you select an objective for your advert, you’ll be guided through the process of creating your ad and get to choose one of five ad types to serve to your target audience.

Ad Types

Facebook offers 5 different types of ads to choose from:

  • Single image: Create up to 6 variations of your ad using 1 image
  • Single video: Create an ad with one video
  • Carousel: Create an ad with 2 – 10 scrollable images or videos
  • Slideshow: Create a looping video ad with up to 10 images
  • Canvas: Tell a more immersive story by combining images and videos into a full-screen, interactive experience

facebook-ad-types

Note: The ad types available will vary based on the objective you selected in the previous step.

After you’ve picked an ad type, the next step is to choose where you want your ad to show up.

Ad Placements

Ad placements determine where your ad will be shown. You can run Facebook ads in the mobile News Feed, desktop News Feed, desktop right column, and you can also choose to have your ads appear on Instagram.

facebook-ad-placements

Note: The ad placements available will vary based on the objective and ad type you chose in the previous steps.

Once you’ve decided what kind of ad you want to run and where you want it to be displayed, the next step is to put together the creative – the images, videos and copy for your advert.

Let’s jump in!

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facebook-ad-design

Create the perfect Facebook Ad: Design specs for the 5 ad types

In the following sections, my goal is to give you an all-in-one guide to Facebook Ad specs and content sizes for 2017.

So if you want to set up a carousel add, how big should your image be? Or if you want to run a video ad, what’s the best size for the thumbnail image? And how much text do you have to play with?

The specs are always evolving! And the following recommendations will help to ensure the photos and videos you use in your ads will look great everywhere in Facebook πŸ™Œ

 

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1. Single image ad specs

The single image ad type is one of the most versatile types of ad, as you can use this ad type with every objective except for video views.

Here’s an example of what a single image ad looks like in action:

single-image-specs

And here are the recommended design specs:

Image specs

  • Image size: 1,200 x 628 pixels
  • Image ratio: 1.91:1

Copy

  • Text: 90 characters
  • Headline: 25 characters
  • Link description: 30 characters

If you want your ad to get the most distribution and exposure, Facebook recommends using images that contain minimal (or no) overlaid text.

Edge cases

There are two objectives that have slightly different design specs for this ad type: promote your page and app engagement. Here are the differences in their specs:

Promote your page:

  • Image size: 1,200 x 444 pixels
  • Image ratio: 8:3

Increase app engagement:

  • Image ratio: 16:9

 

If you plan on using an image in a carousel, slideshow, or canvas ad, Facebook recommends using different image dimensions than the specs outlined above. Check out the respective sections to make sure you’re using the right design specs!

 

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2. Single video ad specs

This ad type is amazing because it let’s you use video to tell an even more engaging story with your content. And you can run video ads with every objective except for product catalog promotion.

Here’s an example of what a single video ad looks like:

single-video-ad-spec

And here are the recommended video specs:

Video specs

Copy

  • Text: 90 characters
  • Headline: 25 Characters
  • Link description: 30 characters

And if you’re interested in the technical video requirements (like video compression, audio specs, frame rate, bitrate, and all of the supported aspect ratios), I highly recommend checking out this guide provided by Facebook.

 

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3. Carousel ad specs

The carousel ad type allows you to run up to 10 images, videos, or slideshows in one ad, all linked to different pages – and your audience can scroll through the media on their device. Pretty cool, eh?

For a breakdown of how to set up carousel ads, check out our ultimate guide to Facebook carousel ads and learn all you need to get started.

Here’s a quick example of a Carousel ad:

carousel-ad-spec

And here’s example of a mobile carousel ad in action:

facebook-carousel-ad

You can use this ad type with every objective except for: boost your posts, promote your page, reach people near your business, raise attendance at your event, and get video views.

Here are the recommended design specs for your carousel ads:

Image specs

  • Image size: 1,080 x 1,080 pixels
  • Image ratio: 1:1 (square)

Copy

  • Text: 90 characters
  • Headline: 40 characters
  • Description: 20 characters

If you want your ad to get the most distribution and exposure, Facebook recommends using images that contain minimal (or no) overlaid text.

Video specs

  • Format: .MOV or .MP4 files
  • Aspect ratio: 1:1 (square)
  • Resolution: at least 720p
  • File size: 2.3 GB max
  • Facebook length: 60 minutes max
  • Instagram length: 60 seconds max
  • Thumbnail image size: 1,080 x 1,080 pixels
  • Thumbnail image ratio: Should match the aspect ratio of your video

If you’re interested in all of the technical video requirements (like video compression, audio specs, frame rate, bitrate, and all of the supported aspect ratios), check out this guide provided by Facebook.

Note: If you want to run a carousel ad using the video views objective, you’ll only be able to use videos in your ad. And if you’re using the the app engagement & offer claim objectives, Facebook will only allow you to use images in your carousel ads.

 

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4. Slideshow ad specs

The slideshow ad type allows you to create a looping video advert with up to 10 images. And they’re available for every objective except for product catalog promotion.

Here’s an example of how a slideshow ad works:

facebook-slideshow-ad

And these are the recommended ad specs:

Slideshow specs

  • Image size: 1,280 x 720 pixels
  • Image ratio: 16:9, 1:1 or 2:3
  • Video upload format: .MOV or .MP4 file types

Copy

  • Text: 90 characters
  • Headline: 25 characters
  • Description: 30 characters

Try to use images that are all the same dimensions. If you use images of different sizes, your slideshow will end up getting cropped into a square.

And if you want to learn more about creating slideshow ads, I’d recommend checking out these resources from Facebook:

 

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5. Canvas ad specs

Canvas is the newest ad type. It’s only available on mobile, it allows you to create highly engaging mobile ads, and you can use this ad type with six objectives:

  • Boost your posts
  • Increase brand awareness
  • Increase your reach
  • Send people to a destination on or off Facebook
  • Get video views
  • Increase conversions on your website.

At first glance, when you see it in the mobile News Feed it looks quite similar to all the other ad types. Here’s an example of what a canvas ad looks like on the timeline:

facebook-canvas-ad-unit

But when people tap on the canvas ad, it opens up and they’re taken into an immersive, full-screen experience where they can interact with your branded content – with the option to exit out of the ad at any time, of course 😁

Here’s a quick example of what a canvas ad looks like in action (you can check out more examples here on Facebook’s Canvas site):

facebook-canvas-ad

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The Canvas ad components

Canvas ads are made up of a variety of multimedia components, including:

  • Ad unit
  • Photos
  • Tilt-to-pan images
  • Video
  • Carousel
  • Text block
  • Buttons
  • Header

Here’s a quick visual summary of all the components that can go into a Canvas ad:

full-canvas

You don’t have to use every component, and you can pick and choose which ones you’d like to include in your canvas.

You’ll also need to provide creative for the ad unit that appears in the mobile News Feed.

And in the following sections, we’ll dive into the design specs for all of the Canvas components:

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Ad unit (what people will see in the mobile News Feed)

The canvas ad unit is the part of the ad that people will see in their mobile News Feed. Here’s what it looks like:

canvas-ad-unit

You can either use an image or a video for this part of the ad. Here are the recommended specs:

  • Text: 90 characters
  • Headline: 45 characters
  • Description: 30 characters
  • Image size: 1,200 x 628 pixels
  • Image ratio: 1.9:1
  • Video format: .MOV or .MP4 file types
  • Video aspect ratio: 16:9 or 1:1

For more details about video technical requirements, check out this guide provided by Facebook.

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Photos

A canvas photo is a full-screen image that uses the entire width of the screen by default. Here’s an example of how it looks:

canvas-image

Canvas photos have three image sizing options – each of which have different recommended specs:

canvas-photo-options

Here are the design specs for each of the sizing options:

  • Image size:
    • Fit to width (linkable): image width of 1,080 pixels
    • Fit to width (tap to expand): minimum image height of 1,080 pixels
    • Fit to height (tilt to pan): image height of 1,920 pixels
  • Image ratio:  Images use the full width of the screen by default
  • File type: .PNG and .JPG
  • Number of photos: up to 20 photos can be used in a Canvas

Facebook describes Canvas photo sizes like this:

A full width image is 1,080 pixels, but you can use wider images if you select the fit to height (tilt to pan) display option. A full-height image is 1,920 pixels high, but you can use a taller image if you select the fit to width (tap to expand) display option

And if you’re interested in the tilt-to-pan option, I’ll share more details about it in the next section.

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Tilt-to-pan images

With the tilt-to-pan option you can upload photos that are wider than the mobile device, and people can tilt their phone to rotate the image from side to side.

Here’s what it looks like in action:

facebook-canvas-ad-tilt

And here are the image specs for a tilt-to-pan photo:

  • Image height: 1,920 pixels
  • Image width: between 3,240 and 5,400 px (which is 3-5x the width of the screen)
  • Image ratio: Images use the full width of the screen by default
  • File type: .PNG and .JPG
  • Number of photos: up to 20 photos can be used in a Canvas

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Video

The video component of Canvas allows you to incorporate engaging video clips alongside the rest of your branded content – to create an experience that’s never been possible quite like this before.

Here’s what a video looks like in a Canvas ad:

facebook-canvas-ad-video

And here are the Canvas video specs:

  • Format: .MOV or .MP4 file type
  • Length: keep the collective run time of all videos in the Canvas under 2 minutes total
  • Resolution: at least 720p
  • Orientation: portrait (landscape-oriented videos will automatically resize to portrait)
  • Thumbnail: this will be the first frame of the video

We also recommend using captions – that way people can still engage with your video, even if they don’t have their audio turned on.

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Carousel

This component allows you to upload 2-10 images and show them in a carousel format. Each item in the carousel can be linked to a different page, and people can scroll left and right on their mobile device to interact with them.

Here’s an example of what the carousel component looks like in a Canvas ad:

facebook-canvas-ad-carousel

Here are all the design specs for putting together a carousel component in Canvas:

  • Image size: 1,080 pixels (maximum width) x 1,920 pixels (maximum height)
  • Image ratio: Images can be full or partial height, but all images should be the same size
  • File type: .PNG or .JPG
  • Number of images: 10 images per carousel max

Try to use the same dimensions for all the images you upload into your carousel. If your images are different sizes, they’ll get cropped to match your first image.

Also, keep in mind that images in carousels use the full width of the screen by default.

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Text block

A text block is exactly what it sounds like πŸ˜„  You can use this component to create a block of text to help add context to your ad and tell people more about your product or brand.

Here’s what a text block looks like in Canvas:

canvas-text-block

And here are the ad specs to make sure your text blocks look great in Canvas:

  • Text: 500 characters max
  • Font size: 6 point up to 72 point
  • Font color: #rrggbb
  • Font style: Bold, italic or underlined (must be applied to the entire text block, not individual words)
  • Font alignment: Left, center or right
  • Font options: Serif or Sans Serif

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Buttons

Each Canvas ad has to have at least 1 call-to-action button included in it, linking to an external URL that you’d like to send visitors to.

The Canvas editor makes it super easy to whip up CTA buttons in a snap! Here’s an example of what a button looks like in Canvas:

canvas-button

And here are the design specs:

  • Height: 48 pixels with 48 pixels of padding above and below
  • Text: 30 characters max
  • Options: Serif or Sans Serif

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Header

Last but not least, you can ad a header that stays pinned to the top of the screen, so your logo is front and center.

Here’s what a Canvas ad using the header component looks like:

facebook-canvas-ad-heading

And here are the header specs:

  • Image size: 66 pixels (maximum height) x 882 pixels (maximum width)
  • File type: transparent .PNG

 

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Over to you!

Thanks so much for taking the time to read through this guide, I hope it was helpful!

As I’ve mentioned, Facebook ad specs change fairly regularly — and we’d love to keep this guide as up to date for you as possible. If you notice that anything’s changed since we’ve published this post, we’d be grateful for the heads up!

I’d love to hear what’s been working really well for you with Facebook Ads?

What kinds of results are you seeing?

And is there anything else related to Facebook Ads you’d like to see us talk more about?

It’d be really great to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments below. Looking forward to keeping the conversation going!

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