Every paid social advertising expert has been there before. Your photography’s back, short form video clips are saved to your drive, and it’s now time to build out your campaign.
But where to even start?
It seems like every week, platforms are changing how you can post your ads. From static images with AI Enhancements, to short form video with trending audio, and who can forget the (now retired) Instant Articles?
With so many options to choose from, it’s surprising that any one format could be our go to solution. Yet, we keep going back to our favorite, just like the couples on Love Island.
When looking for a high-engagement format with great flexibility, carousel ads win out across the board. Consistently, we see them outperforming static ads when it comes to versatility, user engagement, and storytelling.
Keep reading to figure out why we love carousels, what you need to build them, and how to create a hyper-swipeable ad every time.
So Many Creative Formats, So Little Time
With so many creative format options available, it can be daunting to choose the right one for your campaign. While short-form video has been dominating the conversation lately, most hospitality marketers don’t have endless vertical clips ready to go.
As a result, it can be hard to find the right way to showcase your photography so that it stands out in the sea of dynamic ads. You could hire a graphic designer and hope that a single image breaks through the noise. You could turn on AI enhancements and hope it doesn’t get too off-brand.
Or, you could run carousel ads. This simple ad format allows you to feature your best photography, tell a great story, and still offer a dynamic experience. We see consistently better click-through rates and engagement with carousels, and here’s why.
Carousels Often Require Physical Engagement
On most social media platforms, carousel ads will often require a user to swipe through the cards in order to see the full ad. Each card offers a new touch point for your audience to see your message and click through to your website. The physical interaction with the ad promotes user engagement and provides more time to build a lasting impression.
Dynamic Creative with No Lift
Carousel ads provide a dynamic user experience without the need for animation or video assets. Facebook and Instagram now offer dynamic carousel cards, automatically testing and delivering your best-performing cards first. New enhancements that allow cards to be shown in rotating formats, including video slideshows and collections, also reduce creative fatigue and provide a seamless audience journey across placements.
Multi-Platform Support
You can now build carousel ads across most major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and LinkedIn. The versatility of the format means that with a quick resizing, you can adapt your ad to nearly any platform you run on – hassle-free.
What Do I Need for a Carousel Ad?
One of the best things about the format is that you only need three or more images in appropriate sizes. If you have a video, even better! Including a carousel card with a video can be a great way to showcase short clips. As always, be thoughtful about sound selection and be considerate of copyright law to avoid any unwanted headaches.
For Facebook and Instagram, we recommend following their design specifications and using placement asset customization if you want more control. Consult each platform’s best practices guide for sizing, character restrictions, and other specs.
Content is King
As the saying goes, high-quality content is still essential when building your cards.
Select images that bring cohesion and help tell a story. Seasonality is essential for hospitality marketers. Be mindful of showcasing your property with either evergreen or seasonally appropriate images and videos, and consider what images work best together.
Be wary of the new AI-generated features when it comes to content creation. We often opt to turn most of these off for greater control, though Meta has reported successful results in a recent case study.
Don’t Skip Copy
Each card offers opportunities for a headline and a description, alongside a CTA available from a drop-down list. Many advertisers choose to use dynamic headlines, descriptions, and primary text options for their carousels. If you prefer more control or are looking to tell a cohesive story, you can add custom headlines and descriptions for each placement.
Use every opportunity available to tell your story and share more about your business. Keep the copy short and punchy, but don’t sacrifice your brand voice. Each touchpoint presents an opportunity to sell your brand.
Choose Your CTA Wisely
CTA’s on most platforms are available from a drop-down list for Facebook and Instagram. They appear as clickable links and are an important part of driving conversions. Choose the one that is most relevant to your business and the stage of the customer journey you’re targeting.
A Final Note
Across platforms and industries, each ad needs to be tailored to the specific goal you are looking to drive. A carousel ad may not be the right choice in every situation, but when you are looking to drive high-engagement and high-ROI from your sales campaigns, it should always be at the forefront of your mind.
Where three&six Comes In
At three&six, we help hospitality brands build media strategies that drive real return.
Through SEO, paid media, content strategy, and small hotel website design, we create digital experiences that drive bookings and reduce reliance on third parties.
Because in today’s market, it’s not enough to be visible – you need to be chosen.
Get in touch with our team today and start elevating your direct booking strategy.
Written by Eliana Powell, Digital Marketing Manager at three&six. Eliana leads Paid Media Strategy for Hotels and their ancillary outlets, with a particular interest in independently owned, boutique, and historic properties.