Instagram ads have something for everyone. With a myriad of ad formats such as Carousel ads, reel ads, and image ads, there is something for every goal and audience. If you look deeply at the sentence, you can see we mention the goal and the audience. Why? The format of the ad you select greatly depends on these two factors. So with that out of the way, let us explore the general characteristics between Carousel vs Reel vs Image ads, and hopefully, along the way, you will know which to choose.
Carousel Ads – General Characteristics
Carousel ads are the kings of engagement. Among all formats of ads, they receive the most engagement, yes, even exceeding Reels. Sounds shocking, right?
These rotating forms of content can hold up to 10 images or videos and can build a cohesive story better than image or reel ads. With clever images and copy, you will get ample time and space to provide the details that can help convert your customers. Hence explained the engagement rate is explained.
Conversions are also easy with carousels. This fact is backed by data, where Lacoste experienced a 61% click-through rate and a significantly lower CPC with carousel ads in comparison to other ad formats.
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When to Use Carousel Ads?
Carousel ads have their own set of unique specialities. To leverage that and to make the best use of it, here is when you could use it:
- If you have multiple products under a category that you want to display in a single post, then Carousel ads are for you.
- To convey a story from start to end. Image ads are not sufficient for this objective, and reel ads can become quite expensive in the end.
- The retention time could be high, provided you make the ad irresistible for the user not to swipe.
- Detailed breakdown of your products or services, including features, key selling points, and CTA.
Image Ads – General Characteristics
Image ads are just a simplified version of carousel ads with one single image in them. These kinds of ads are simple, convey a direct message, and are engaging as well.
With image ads, you can reach a substantial set of audience without the production budget of a reel ad or a carousel ad.
When to use Image Ads?
Image ads are simple in nature and could be used for a variety of reasons, such as the following:
- When you are on a budget, image ads can be your best bet since they work well within small budgets as well.
- You do not have a lot of high-quality images to work with.
- You are promoting a product or service that is yet to be launched and want to create a sense of curiosity around it.
- Minimal production cost requirements.
Reel Ads – General Characteristics
Short-form videos have been a hit throughout all social platforms. And Reels was no exception. Ever since its inception, Reels have managed to gain and retain the attention of their audience. And businesses, too, have jumped on the bandwagon for Reels, because it allows us to tap into and get access to users who do not follow you yet.
When to use Reels Ads?
Reel ads are great when you want to tap into a new set of audience. Here are some opportunities for you to utilize Reels ads to the maximum:
- When you want to boost your business visibility and reach a wider audience.
- Reel Ads are your next best shot after carousels for engagement, so you can use these ads when you want to boost engagement.
- If your audience is predominantly from the younger generation, then you have a better chance of reaching them with reels.
- Reels ads are best suited when publishing behind-the-scenes, testimonial, and UGC kinds of ads.
Making Successful Instagram Ads With Predis AI
No matter what kind of ad you want to create, Predis AI has something that can help you get started. To publish an ad, you first need to create one. Let us check out how Predis AI can make this process a breeze for you!
- Click “Create New” in the dashboard and then click “Ad creative”.
- Select the type of ad creative that you want to create and select the ad dimension. Once done, click “Continue”.
- Add inputs on the type of ad creative you want. Be as detailed as possible. And then click “Continue”.
- Based on the input you provided, Predis AI will automatically generate an image prompt, headline, sub-headline, and so on. You can click on the “Change manually” and make any modifications you want. Once satisfied, click “Generate”, and the post will be generated as per your preference.
- If you are not satisfied, you can edit further with our in-built reader. If you are happy with the outcome, then download the creative and head to Facebook Ads Manager to make the post live.
Uploading The Post To Facebook Ads Manager
- Once you are in Facebook Ads Manager, click on the “Create New” option to start creating your ad campaign.
- Choose your campaign objective, which can be anything, irrespective of the ad format that you will pick eventually. Once you are okay with the objective, hit “Continue”.
- Next, pick the budget for your ad, the frequency with which it is supposed to be displayed, and the audience to which it is supposed to be displayed. The bar on the right-hand allows you to visualise if your ad is going to be displayed for a broad or narrow audience. (Pro Tip: Brand awareness ads need to be displayed for a wider audience, whereas conversion ads can be displayed for a narrower audience.)
- Once all the settings have been finalized, you can upload the ad creative you created before and upload it here. Preview the said creative and once you are all set, hit “Publish” and let Ads Manager do its magic.
Pro tip: Choose the Advantage+ option if you want Meta to help you with anything from creatives, audience segmentation, to placements, and so on.,
The Final Takeaway
Carousel vs reel vs image ads – all these types of ads have their own unique set of benefits. Choosing them can come with practice, but creating ones that actually retain the attention of your audience, now that is a task. A task that can be made easier with the help of Predis AI.
With Predis AI, you can create ads and social media posts either from scratch (with the help of templates!) or get them generated with AI. You can also schedule them and track their performance within the platform itself. Our time-tested templates can help you create posts that can get the attention of your users and convert them.
So, sign up for Predis AI today and find out how easily you can create an ad within a matter of minutes.
