Billed as a “A full-screen ad experience… [that brings] brands and products to life on mobile,” Facebook Canvas is the new way to advertise on Facebook. Summoning a full-screen creative in users’ timelines that can include images, .gifs, and videos, Canvas is a way for businesses to tell their story to fans on their favorite devices.
Without leaving the social media platform, users can be served an immersive advertisement relevant to what they’re interested in, per Facebook’s exhaustive targeting practices. Early studies done by Facebook show that users spend quite a lot of time with these ads, with an average viewing time of 31 seconds. This is hopefully linked to higher ad recall, as users allow media-rich creatives to take over their screens without being subjected to an annoying wait time or — the horror — being re-directed out of the app.
So how can Canvas excel when full-screen mobile adverts often harken memories of toe-tapping, eye-rolling, wildly-hitting-the-X-button spam? Facebook promises that Canvas ads are neither intrusive or disruptive. We’re not sure if that’s because of the high aesthetic that lends itself to the Canvas experience, or the way that it has inspired many companies to come up with creatively interactive ads. Either way, coupled with Facebook’s already granular data targeting, Canvas ads are sure to change the way fans engage with your compelling content. Create a Canvas ad easily via Publishing Tools on your Facebook page with Business Manager, or have the Digital Advertising team do it for you — contact your Client Manager for more details!