Facebook offers a variety of ad placements that allow businesses to reach their target audience. When running Facebook ads, it’s important to test different placements to determine which performs the best for your specific goals and audience.
What are the different Facebook ad placements?
The main Facebook ad placements include:
- News Feed
- Instagram Feed
- Stories
- Marketplace
- Right Column
- Messenger
- Search
- In-Stream Video
Here’s a brief overview of each placement:
News Feed
The News Feed is the center column that displays on desktop and the main feed on mobile. It shows posts from friends, family, groups, and pages that a user follows. News Feed ads appear in between organic posts.
Instagram Feed
Instagram Feed ads show up in between posts in a user’s main Instagram feed. They’re only displayed to users who have connected their Instagram and Facebook accounts.
Stories
Story ads appear at the beginning or end of a photo or video story from a friend or page. These vertical, full-screen ads can be skipped after 5 seconds.
Marketplace
Marketplace ads highlight products and services for people browsing Marketplace on Facebook. They generally promote online shops, listings, and lead generation offers.
Right Column
The right column is the narrow column on the right side of Facebook on desktop. Right column ads are visible when browsing the News Feed or page profiles.
Messenger
Messenger ads show up as sponsored messages in the Messenger inbox. They usually promote chatbots, messaging campaigns, and click-to-Messenger ads.
Search
Search ads appear at the top of search results pages when a user looks for content on Facebook. They target people searching for keywords related to your business.
In-Stream Video
In-stream video ads play before, during, or after other videos on Facebook. They autoplay when a video is 50% completed.
How do you determine the best placement?
Choosing the best placement depends on your campaign objective and target audience. To identify which placement performs best:
- Set up conversion tracking to accurately measure results
- Test different placements with the same creatives, audiences, and bids
- Run A/B split tests or separate campaigns for each placement
- Look at both conversion rate and cost per result
- Analyze performance data in Facebook Ads Manager
Make sure to test placements long enough to collect statistically significant data. Examine the results for your unique situation, as broader benchmarks can vary.
What placement typically has the best performance?
Research from Facebook and independent experts shows that the News Feed still provides the best overall results for most advertisers.
Why News Feed performs well
- High visibility – Center placement catches users’ attention
- Context – Ads relevant to user interests and connections
- Volume – Millions of users frequent their News Feed daily
- Trust – Users expect organic and paid content together
The News Feed offers the largest reach and engagement. And cost per result is often lowest due to the sheer volume of impressions.
Success stories
Here are some examples of companies seeing strong performance from News Feed ads:
- M&M’s ran News Feed ads for their 75th anniversary, lowering cost per video view by 40% compared to video feeds.
- Dunkin’ achieved a 13-point lift in ad recall with News Feed ads versus Instagram Stories.
- News Feed drove the most conversions for Pottery Barn’s traffic campaign, over Instagram and audience network.
When is another placement preferable?
While the News Feed tends to perform well on average, other placements can be better in certain situations:
Instagram Feed
- Great for visual branding and lifestyle content
- Engages younger audiences
- Drives awareness and consideration
Stories
- Entertaining and immersive format
- Lightweight creative is fast to produce
- Short-term engagement at top of funnel
Marketplace
- Targeted reach to product-minded users
- Promotes retail offers directly where users shop
- Low cost per lead or purchase event
Right Column
- Visible on desktop when browsing content
- Expanding reach beyond the News Feed
- Drives traffic as users scroll through Facebook
Messenger
- Engages existing audiences in 1:1 conversations
- Provides personalized and interactive experience
- Delivers promotions directly into inboxes
The best placement ultimately depends on your goals, audiences, creatives, and offers. Continually test placements to find the right fit.
Tips to optimize placement performance
To get the most out of your chosen placement, keep these tips in mind:
- Tailor creative to fit the format – Stories require full-screen vertical video, for example
- Personalize ads with relevant text, images, or video
- Adapt language to be placement-appropriate
- Ensure strong thumbnail images or cover photos
- Use eye-catching animations and motion
- Leverage interactive elements where available
- Highlight limited-time urgency or scarcity
Continually A/B test creative and placements together to find the optimal combinations.
Key takeaways
- For broad awareness and conversion campaigns, start with testing the News Feed
- Leverage more immersive placements like Instagram and Stories to boost engagement
- Tailor language, visuals, and offers to resonate with each placement
- Frequently experiment with new placements as they emerge
- Analyze performance data to determine the best placement for your goals
While historically successful, remain open to emerging placements that could drive even better results. Continually monitor your audience patterns and test new formats to stay ahead of the curve.
With smart testing and optimization, you can discover the top placements to engage your audiences and achieve your marketing objectives on Facebook.