Facebook ads on desktop vs mobile – a showdown

When you run ads on Facebook, you have to choose between several placement options: mobile, desktop or hybrid. There are many debates and opinions on different Facebook ad placements and in this article, we will help you figure out which ad placement is best for which purpose.

Desktop ad placement

There are two desktop ad placement locations – the sidebar on the right side of the news feed and the desktop news feed itself. Advertisers love to use news feed ads – they are relatively cheap, have high engagement levels and bring in a high number of conversions, although they are not as effective as Messenger or marketplace ads.

On the other hand, sidebar ads are the cheapest ad placement for a reason – they bring in very little engagement or action since there are already so many things in the sidebar that people don’t pay much attention to the sidebar ads. This placement is best used to raise brand awareness.

Mobile ad placement on Facebook

Just like with desktop, there are two mobile ad placements on mobile – the mobile news feed and “instant articles”. The mobile news feed placement has the same advantages as the desktop news feed placement. It is generally a great choice for advertisers. However, you should keep in mind that mobile visits to social media websites last significantly shorter than desktop visits and have a much higher bounce rate, so few people make it through the entire conversion process when using their smartphones to browse the internet.

Combine different ad placements for better results

If you really want to perfect Facebook advertising, you will most likely need to combine different types of ad placements to achieve real results. It’s very important to realize the circumstances under which people browse Facebook from their mobile or desktop devices.

For instance, people usually browse Facebook from desktop computers when they are at work ( while working or taking a break) or at home (relaxing or looking to purchase goods and services). On the other hand, people who look at Facebook from their mobile devices are either waiting for something or someone, commuting somewhere or looking for a quick recommendation on places, stores and restaurants to visit while they are out. You should keep these discrepancies in mind when designing ads for different placements.

For instance, if you are advertising a restaurant, you can run ads targeting brand awareness during regular work hours on desktop devices since people most likely won’t be able to just get up and drive over to your restaurant. Then, as the next step, you can recapture that brand awareness by running mobile ads enticing people to visit your establishment for a meal right away.

Frequently asked questions

Which Facebook ad placement is better for building brand awareness?

Generally, mobile ads get a lot more attention than desktop ads, therefore, they are a better choice if you need to raise awareness. This is because the mobile news feed is a lot less cluttered than its desktop version, so users can pay more attention to ads.

Can ad blockers hide Facebook ads?

Yes, ad blockers are definitely effective against Facebook ads, which is a major disadvantage for desktop ad placements. Mobile ad blockers are a lot less common, so people are more likely to see your ads on their mobile devices.

What Facebook ad placement is best for conversions?

Desktop ads have much higher conversion rates than mobile ads because many people browse social media from their mobile devices primarily for entertainment purposes. Plus, a large part of the population does not want to make purchases or enter credit card details using their mobile devices because of cybersecurity concerns.

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