Thanks to the new design, ads appearing in the right-hand column are now bigger and more effective due to their larger image and new ad positions.
The long-awaited makeover of Facebook ads for the right-hand column (RHC ads) announced earlier this year, finally came to life. Introduced on the 24th of June, new ads look better than ever. The new update brings us a look that is visually more consistent with the ads appearing in the newsfeed (sidebar ads), which makes ad campaign management and image design simpler and easier.
This post will cover the following:
New look for Right-hand Column Facebook ads
Recommended Facebook Right Column Ads Specs Summary
20% text policy
Timeline of the RHC rollout update
New look for Right-hand Column Facebook ads
This new, large image format is more consistent with other ads appearing in the newsfeed. Until recently, image size for RHC ads ranged from 100×72 px to 128×128 px, but now, image dimensions of Facebook sidebar ads go all the way up to 254×143 px. For some of the most used ads in RHC, like ads driving clicks to your website, new dimensions are 254×133 px, but it is recommended to use 1200×627 px for best viewing experience on all displays across various devices. Ads for getting more likes for your page (page like ad) will have an image with an aspect ratio of 2.7:1 and dimensions of 254×94 px, but it is recommended to use an image with 1200×444 px for the best experience.
Here’s how those new ads will look like:
Recommended Facebook Right Column Ads Specs Summary
Here are some basic specs that might be useful, but please, have in mind that the image dimension mentioned further in this post, like 254×94 px for the page like ad, are OK to use, it is better to use recommended image dimensions. Looking at all displays and positions across various devices, it is recommended to use ads with these specs:
Page like ad
Page like ads are used for getting more likes on your Facebook page. We recommend using 25 characters in your link title and 90 characters in ad text. The optimal image dimension is 1200×444 pixels with the image aspect ratio of 2.7:1.
Link ad
If you plan on using link ads in your campaigns, we also recommend 25 character titles and 90 character ad length, while the resolution of your images should be 1200×627 pixels.
Event ad
If driving responses to your events is in your campaign goals, you should create an event ad. The recommended image dimensions for those types of ads are 1200×444 pixels, with the aspect ratio of 2.7:1. Your ad title and text should consist of 25 and 90 characters, respectively.
App ad
Driving application installs is best achieved with app ads, and we recommend that your creative follow these rules. Title and text should be 25 and 90 characters long, while your image dimensions should be 1200×627 pixels with 1,91:1 aspect ratio.
Offer ad
While creating offer ads on Facebook, you should follow the same rules you would follow while creating app ads. Ad titles should be up to 25 characters long, while your ad text should be 90 characters long. Images will look best if their dimensions are 1200×627 pixels with an image aspect ratio of 1.91:1.
20% text policy
One very important thing that will come with the redesign is the 20% text policy that is already a part of ads appearing inside the newsfeed. Ads located inside the newsfeed, except for page like ads, couldn’t include more than 20% of text in the image.
Starting on the 1st of August, all new right-hand column ads will be subject to the same 20% text policy that currently applies to news feed ads. This means that all images used in RHC ads will have to have less than 20% of text on them.
Here is a timeline of those changes, so brace yourself and make a note of these because you’ll need it. 🙂
June 24: New RHC ads started appearing on Facebook.
June 24 onwards: You might experience a slight increase in CPMs and/or CPCs as the ads start appearing in a larger format. This will probably increase over time as more and more advertisers adapt to the new format.
August 1: All new RHC ads created on or after the 1st of August will have to be in accordance with the 20% text rule.
September 1: Small format ads will stop appearing across all of Facebook, so make sure you update your ads on time. The 20% text rule will apply retroactively to all existing RHC ads.
I advise you to start using the new format early on with the recommended image dimensions and the 20% text rule in mind because those new changes and new image dimensions will surely affect your ad campaigns.
Feel free to leave your questions and comments. We’ll be happy to answer all of them!
