Facebook Advertising: Top Brand Examples & Tips 

Social media is a highly volatile space. We’ve seen platforms that once were at the top slowly fade away without a trace. But there are some platforms that have risen above the competition and stood the test of time. Facebook is undoubtedly among the OG social media platforms. Therefore, investing in Facebook advertising is one of the best decisions a business can make. 

From global giants to local startups, brands across industries have harnessed Facebook advertising to achieve a range of goals like building awareness, launching new products, promoting events, or capitalizing on seasonal trends. With its vast pool of creative campaigns, there’s no shortage of inspiration to fuel your next ad strategy.

In this blog, we’ve curated a roundup of some creative Facebook advertising examples from top brands, sourced from the Facebook Ad Library. Whether you’re aiming to drive engagement or boost conversions, these ads offer valuable lessons to elevate your campaigns. Ready to get inspired? Let’s dive in!

The Power of Facebook Advertising – Why Brands Need Facebook Ads 

• Marketers around the world are using Facebook, are you? Yes, according to Statista, a staggering 86% of marketers surveyed are using Facebook. So, if you aren’t tapping into this platform yet, you are missing out on a lot. 
• Besides, Facebook is also the most used social media platform with more than 3 billion monthly active users worldwide. Hence, this is a great place to reach an audience of diverse demographics. 
• According to Sprout Social, Facebook is the second most popular platform for product discovery, next only to Instagram. So, if you are struggling to get people to notice your brand, advertising on Facebook and reaching the right audience can be one of the most effective ways to do it. 
• A wide range of users are on Facebook, with millennials making up about half the audience on the platform, and nearly 6.1% of users over 65 years of age. So, no matter what your target audience age group is, you’ll find Facebook to be a productive space to reach them. 
• When it comes to ROI, Facebook is among the top three choices. Hence, Facebook advertising is among the core elements to consider when setting your marketing budget. 

For all these reasons and more, you need Facebook ads. So, now let’s talk about the formats to explore. 

Popular Formats in Facebook Advertising 

A good advertising strategy takes into account the perks of different formats to achieve a good balance. Because each format serves a different purpose. 

• Image Ads – perfect to grab attention quickly. Simple and effective, this format is easy to adopt.
• Video Ads – perfect to tell a story. Short, punchy video ads are your go-to to communicate a lot of information in a few seconds. 
• Carousel Ads – perfect to drive engagement. Use them to display multiple products/services or to highlight diverse features of a product. 
• Collection Ads – perfect for retail advertising. Use catchy visuals to create an impressive mobile-first shopping experience. 

Irrespective of the format you choose, refer to Facebook’s recommendations for the file type, file size, and overall design. Additionally, there is a variety of placement options for each format. Explore the right ones depending on where your audience is most likely to interact with your ads. Even the best-designed ads do not make the intended impact if you ignore the placement and best practices. 

With the benefits and basics sorted, let’s move on to the highlight of this blog–our roundup of brands with great Facebook advertising strategies. 

Facebook Advertising Strategy: Inspiration From 6 Well-Known Brands

1. Airbnb

Airbnb keeps it simple and authentic with their Facebook advertising. One thing that stands out is their use of raw and realistic visuals and candid photos to focus on experiences for real people. In short, their content looks real instead of staged, and this is what works for them. 

But there is one campaign that caught our attention, and that is the series of Facebook Video Ads calling people to Airbnb their property. 

Instead of simply promoting listings or destinations, the ads portray short real-life scenarios where a property remains vacant for a considerable amount of time. It depicts people traveling for work a lot, people heading out for vacation, and other relatable scenes. 

What’s even better is that the series incorporates lively 3D animations, making it stand out from the rest. Besides, all of them are punchy and to the point. The message is loud and clear. 

KIMP Tips: 

• The above ads from Airbnb are so full of personality. Taking cues from these, create videos that capture the vibe of your brand. 
• You don’t need dialogue-heavy content. Strong visual storytelling works wonders, especially on mobile.

2. Nike

Each and every one of Nike’s ads has a lesson to teach. To begin with, one of the most common traits of Nike’s approach to Facebook advertising is their use of product-focused visuals. Most of their ads are clutter-free and showcase a single product in a clear background. This helps grab attention amidst all the visual chaos on social media. Secondly, there is their signature text overlay style, which screams “Nike” and therefore builds on the brand’s recognition on socials. 

Here’s an ad that depicts these traits. 

But let’s talk about a standout campaign from Nike. Their recent strategy for Facebook advertising to create a buzz around their recent launch, Vomero 18, is one campaign worth mentioning. Here’s a snapshot of their image and video ads for this campaign. What do you notice? 

Did you notice that these ads are a slight but strategic deviation from Nike’s traditional style in advertising? This one uses big bold text similar to most other Nike ads but the colors and visuals make a strong statement. 

The video posts in this series explore the power of perspectives to engage users from start to end. 

On the whole, these ads are vibrant and attention-grabbing, typically Nike but a tad bit different. 

KIMP Tips: 

• Create cohesive visuals that build on your brand’s visual style. 
• Use a mix of formats, like image and video ads if you wish to create a buzz around a product launch or an upcoming event. 

3. The Guardian 

Carousel Ads are some of the most interactive options in Facebook advertising and they work well for posts meant to tell an engaging story. Or when it comes to presenting informative content like this one from The Guardian. 

In this case, the carousel format feels perfect for the content of The Guardian and The Woodland Trust ad highlighting the “signs of spring”. 

The carousel breaks down the broader theme into digestible, interesting slides, making the content more engaging and memorable. 

The carousel also uses lively botanical illustrations that resonate with the theme, and the clutter-free background makes the text and visuals pop. 

KIMP Tips: 

• In case of carousels, the copy on each slide determines whether the user will be encouraged to swipe through or not. Use a short, catchy headline and a brief text snippet that provides just enough information to pique interest. 
• Incorporate the right CTA with each slide of your carousel ad to ensure optimal conversion in Facebook advertising. 

4. IKEA 

IKEA is another brand known to actively incorporate Facebook advertising to reach new markets and promote sales. They use a mix of image ads, carousel ads and video ads for different purposes. 

One thing that stands out is that all IKEA ads instantly communicate the proposed value for customers. This could be cost savings, the convenience of delivery, or the perks of loyalty programs. 

Take the carousel ad here, for instance. 

IKEA makes the ad attention-grabbing by adding a video as the first slide. Using a mix of media formats like videos/GIFs and images makes carousels engaging. Additionally, the subsequent slides are text-focused, but the text in big bold letters ensures that the message is loud and clear. Finally, the signature brand colors blue and yellow help with brand recognition. 

KIMP Tips: 

• To boost conversions in Facebook advertising, ensure clarity in messaging. To achieve this, align visuals with copy. 
• When using carousel ads, use a highly engaging opening slide that instantly communicates the value proposition. 

5. The Ordinary 

The Ordinary has built a strong brand identity by focusing on transparency, ingredient science, and affordability. Most importantly, they are known to deliberately avoid the traditional, expensive celebrity endorsement model common in the beauty industry. Instead, they often collaborate with skincare creators, influencers and showcase diverse, relatable individuals using their products. Here’s one such video ad exemplifying this approach. 

Most beauty brands are known to collaborate with big celebrities for Facebook advertising in order to quickly grab attention, but The Ordinary is all about preserving the authenticity of their content. 

In addition to this, the ad also demonstrates the use of benefit-focused messaging. The primary text focuses on the benefits of the product promoted. This speaks directly to consumers looking for specific outcomes from their skincare products. In other words, the copy here clearly tells who the promoted product is for and who it isn’t for. Narrowing down the message delivery makes it more effective. 

KIMP Tips: 

• When using videos, focus on authenticity. Relatable content is more effective than promotional content. 
• Show your product in action – visuals showing actual results, and before and after images are highly effective. 

6. Allbirds 

We picked Allbirds as the next on our list of brands with great Facebook advertising strategies because of the brand’s demonstration of the power of visual consistency in advertising. 

Like most other brands, Allbirds is known to adopt a mix of video ads and image ads for different occasions. However, across these diverse formats and ads, there’s one common trait – the brand’s signature visual style.

Allbirds is known particularly for their sustainable approach, and their marketing graphics reflect this in many ways. First, there is the use of green in several places, and mostly natural and neutral color palettes. Secondly, their minimal aesthetic stands out across their video and image ads. 

Finally, another noteworthy mention is the brand’s use of nature-inspired contextual photography. Accordingly, most of their ads feature leaves, flowers, and other earthy elements in the background. Here are two ads that depict this consistency. 

KIMP Tips: 

• To ensure that your Facebook advertising efforts help reinforce your brand identity, maintain visual consistency across your ads. 
• Be clear about your target audience and pick design elements that resonate with them. In this case, Allbirds’ visuals appeal to the audience who value sustainability and look for ethical brands. 

Best Practices to Ace Facebook Advertising 

Taking cues from all the brands discussed, here are some best practices and tips to take away: 

Clearly define your campaign objectives

Start by setting specific, measurable goals, whether it’s boosting brand awareness, generating leads, or driving sales. Once your goals are clearly laid out, use Facebook’s Ads Manager to select campaign objectives that align with your goals, such as traffic, conversions, or engagement. 

Choose relevant ad formats 

Selecting the right ad format is critical for optimal results. For instance, Image Ads are ideal for simple, bold messaging, while Carousel Ads excel at storytelling or showcasing multiple products. On the other hand, Video ads capture attention with motion and emotion, perfect for brand awareness. 

Taking this into account, test different formats to see what resonates with your audience, and ensure each format aligns with your campaign’s objective. For example, use collection ads for e-commerce to drive direct purchases. Here’s an example. Italian luxury goods brand Loro Piana was able to drive 2x more sales at 52% lower cost per purchase with Facebook advertising. And their campaigns used a mix of Collection Ads and other formats. 

Craft compelling creative

Irrespective of the goals of the campaign and the format you choose, there’s one thing that remains crucial – the visual appeal of your ad. Be it videos with a snappy opening or a dapper image that attracts attention instantly, visuals make or break your Facebook advertising strategy. 

Need help with your Facebook ad design? Get KIMP! 

Test and iterate 

Advertising on social media does not work with a “set-and-forget” approach. Facebook is no different! As the algorithm changes, your Facebook advertising strategy should adapt too. Additionally, explore the many AI-powered features that Meta keeps introducing for advertisers. These are handy when it comes to improving the precision of targeting and analyzing what works and what doesn’t. 

Ready to Ace Facebook Advertising? Start With KIMP Designs 

Facebook advertising offers endless opportunities for brands. It all boils down to choosing the right format and, most importantly, nailing the visuals. That’s where an unlimited design subscription like KIMP makes a big difference. With a dedicated creative team to assist you, you have the creative freedom to explore and experiment with the different formats and placements with confidence. Ready to elevate your Facebook ad strategy? Sign up for a KIMP subscription today. 

Register now for a free trial!