The Ultimate Guide To Collection Ads And Instant Experiences On Meta

If you’re running an eCommerce brand, you already know how competitive it can be to succeed on Facebook or Instagram. 

Thankfully, paid advertising makes it easy to find an edge to get ahead of your competition. 

But as you may not know, not all paid ad formats are created the same. 

In fact, many brands run single image or video ads, only to find that their budget gets eaten up, and they don’t end up with any more conversion than they had before. 

That sucks, right?

Well, collection ads are an ad format, just like single image or video ads, but pumped up on adrenaline! 

That’s right! 

You don’t need to waste your ad budget on basic, boring ad formats that don’t even work! 

With collection ads, you can level up your campaigns to attract new potential customers, drive those prospects to take action, and convert them into paying customers.

And it’s all done from a single ad! 

What Are Collection Ads and Instant Experiences on Meta?

Technically collection ads and instant experiences are the same thing. 

Essentially, the collection ad is the ad format. And the instant experience is the new page that opens when a viewer clicks on your ad. 

The collection ad consists of a hero, image or video, quite similar to a single image or video ad. 

But when a viewer clicks on it, it opens up the instant experience, which allows the viewer to experience your FULL message. 

So the collection ad lines ‘em up, and the instant experience knocks ‘em down! 

This ad format is designed to be more immersive, making it more likely that your viewers will click on the ad, interact with it, and follow through with making a purchase or converting in some other way. 

Are Collection Ads a New Feature on Facebook and Instagram?

No, collection ads are by no means a new ad format. 

In fact, they were first released by Meta in 2017 and designed specifically for use on mobile devices since they generally have slower connection speeds than desktops.

Because of that lag, it’s faster to load an instant experience page instead of loading an entire website. 

It’s also just easier for advertisers to create instant experience instead of getting their IT teams involved in designing entire new pages on their sites. 

So basically, the idea behind collection ads was to increase performance by increasing load speeds! 

And it works! 

The only problem is that, even though collection ads have been around for more than half a decade, many eCommerce brands still aren’t using them! 

So if this is you, you’re missing out on a seriously awesome piece of that pie!  

Why Collection Ads Are So Powerful for eCommerce Marketing

Well aside from being more immersive and fast, collection ads are also really customizable.

So you can easily tailor your collection ad to be in line with your brand and its style. 

They’re also pretty much just like putting a mini website store right in your user’s feed, which makes it feel like they’re not even looking at an ad. 

So collection ads are also extremely shoppable and great at driving conversion. 

Finally, collection ads combine all the best elements of a great marketing into one: 

Branding, conversions, and performance! 

It’s all there! 

Key Benefits of Using Facebook and Instagram Collection Ads

Now, let’s sum up some of the main benefits of using collection ads: 

• Highly customizable ad formats that you can design and align with your brand 

• Collection ads are a more immersive ad experience

• Interactive ads make it easy for viewers to interact with, click, and take action

• Designed for mobile, which is where most of your potential customers are

• Underutilized by eCommerce brands, so it’s easy to gain an edge over your competition

• Combine branding and conversion in a single swipe

• Versatile ad format that can be used in Feed, Stories, and Reels

• Ideal format for product discovery, storytelling, or seasonal campaigns

On the other side of the coin, one of the downsides to using collection ads is that they’re a bit more complicated to set up than other ad formats. 

So they can take a bit to get used to! 

But that fact is easily outweighed by the fact that most of your competitors probably aren’t using this immersive ad experience! 

Collection Ads vs. Other Meta Ad Formats: Which Performs Best?

While collection ads are great, carousel ads and single image or video ads also have their time and place in the world of advertising. 

Actually, we believe it’s important to run a mix of different ad formats, so that you can offer your viewers the type of content that resonates the best with them. 

So for some brands, industries, and niches, collection ads might be the best option. 

And for others, their customers might be more likely to click on carousel ads or single image ads instead.

Collection Ad Performance Benchmarks: ROAS, CPA, and CTR Compared

Let’s ground this in some real-world performance data from Meta ads, we see for our clients on average. Here's how the different ad formats perform compared to the average Meta ads:

Let's do a deep dive into the difference between Collection Ads and the other ad formats

Collection Ads vs. Carousel Ads: Which One Converts Better?

Carousel ads are another popular ad format that are great for getting your audience to engage and interact with your brand on Meta platforms. 

With a carousel ad, your viewers can swipe through different products, images or videos all from a single ad. 

This is actually quite similar to a collection ad, but the format itself, as seen in the viewer’s feed is a little different. 

So what’s the difference between a carousel ad and a collection ad? 

Well, collection ads = an immersive shopping experiences, which can be clicked on to open up the instant experience

But…

Carousel ads = simple ad format that’s great for scrolling through multiple products, but sends the viewer to your website or online store, instead of opening an instant experience

So both ad formats are great for showing your viewers a range of products in a single ad. 

But the collection ad makes it easy for them to ad items to their cart and checkout, without being sent to a different website. 

Collection Ads vs. Single Image or Video Ads on Meta Platforms

Ultimately, single image or video ads are simple and elegant. They show nothing more than a single image or video on the user’s screen with a bit of text to go with it. 

So when a user sees it, there’s no question that it’s an ad. 

And there’s only two options: 

1) Click on the link 

Or… 

2) They keep scrolling. 

In other words, single image/video ads are less immersive than collection or carousel ads. 

But they can be effective in their own way. 

They’re also simple to set up, and won’t require as much work on your part.

Which is why they’re often used by new brands and advertisers.  

But when it comes down to it, collection ads offer a much deeper level of engagement for your potential customers.

And this can make all the difference when trying to succeed as an advertiser. 

How to Use Your Product Catalog in Meta Collection Ads

Collection ads already really do work wonders on their own. 

But when you integrate a product catalog with your collection ads, you my friend, have got yourself a solid ad strategy!

Here are just a few statistics to illustrate why catalog integration is vital for your collection ads: 

• When combined with a product catalog, collection ads have an insane 90% higher ROAS than manual collection ads without a product catalog. 

• The Cost-Per-Purchase (CPA) is on average -45% lower for DPA collection ads compared to manual collection ads. 

• The click-through rate (CTR) for DPA collection ads is 66% higher! 

Plus, integrating your product catalog also just makes it wayyyyy easier to build your instant experiences since Meta automatically does it for you!

That’s right! 

As long as you’ve integrated your product catalog, Meta automatically changes the products in your instant experiences to show viewers items that they’re already more likely to want to buy. 

Talk about a winning combination, right? 

Step-by-Step: How to Set Up Your First Collection Ad with a Catalog

There’s a bit more to setting up and integrating your product catalog with a collection ad campaign. 

But here’s a quick rundown on how you can build your first collection ad with a product catalog in 4 simple steps!

1. Create an ad creation flow from the Meta Ads Manager 

2. Select the cover image or video you want to use

3. Choose an instant experience template you think your viewers will interact with 

4. Link to product sets from your catalog

That’s it! 

And as we’ve mentioned, Meta takes care of showing your viewers the items they believe they’re already most likely to buy based on their behavior! 

So once you’ve created your campaign, it’s time to launch it! 

Sit back, collect performance data, tweak and update if needed, and watch those conversions roll in one by one!  

And if you need any help with setting up or integrating your product catalogs with your collection, you can book a free Demo with a Catalog Expert at Confect! 

Using Collection Ads in Top-of-Funnel vs. Bottom-of-Funnel Campaigns

Collection ads are a versatile ad format that can be used in both the top or bottom of your sales funnel. 

But is there any difference in how they perform? 

Do top-funnel collection ads work any better than bottom-funnel collection ads? 

They do - but not that much actually:

Lets' compare Bottom funnel collection ads head to head with Top funnel collection ads as well: 

• Bottom-funnel collection ads have a 24% higher ROAS than top-funnel collection ads

• Bottom-funnel collection ads have a -5% lower click-through rate compared to top-funnel

• Bottom-funnel conversion rates are 33% higher than top-funnel collection ads

• Cost Per Purchase is as much as 24% lower for bottom-funnel collection ads. 

Now all this might seem impressive…

But the higher ROAS for bottom-funnel collection ads is actually much smaller than the difference between other top and bottom-funnel ad formats. 

In fact, for other ad formats, bottom-funnel ads usually have a 56% higher ROAS than top-funnel ads.

So what else can we surmise from this data? 

Well, we can also see that people interact less with bottom-funnel collection ads than they do with top-funnel ads. 

Which can be a good thing! 

Because the Cost Per Purchase is lower for bottom-funnel collection ads. 

Lastly, we’ve found that top-funnel collection ads have as much as a 26% higher click-through rate than other top-funnel ad formats. 

So overall, top-funnel collection ads are better at getting clicks than other types of top-funnel ad formats! 

Do Top or Bottom Funnel Collection Ads Perform Better?

Well, it really depends on the goals of your ad campaign. 

If you’re looking for a higher ROAS, bottom-funnel ads are where it’s at. 

Bottom-funnel collection ads also have a lower Cost Per Purchase, so they’re great for keeping your advertising costs down. 

Bottom-funnel collection ads also have a higher conversion rate than top-funnel collection ads. 

On the other hand, if your goal is to get a lot of clicks, collection ads work better at the top of your funnel! 

So putting them at the top of your funnel can help you get those clicks and build up your audience. 

But when used as bottom-funnel ads, they can truly rake in conversions and help you close those sales!  

Now, let’s take a better look at how you can use collection ads effectively in both types of funnel! 

Best Practices for Top-of-Funnel Collection Ads on Meta

For a broad, top-funnel audience, when the viewer probably doesn’t know your brand, collection ads should be used to introduce yourself to your viewers and explain why they should interact with you and your products.

Most times, brands include a selection of their products in their top-funnel collection ad, which gives the viewer an immediate look into what they have to offer. 

You can also use your top-funnel collection ad to educate your potential customers on certain pain points or problems, placing your brand or products as the solution they need. 

These are great ways to build awareness and stoke desire for your products!

Collection ads are also great at getting people to click on them.

So they can help you build up your audience, which you can then retarget later on when running bottom-funnel collection ads. 

Tips to Optimize Bottom-of-Funnel Collection Ads for Conversions

At the bottom of your sales funnel, viewers already know about your brand and its products. 

So the task here is to simply nudge them towards making that final purchase or conversion. 

Now you don’t want to be pushy.

But you can be a bit more direct with your messaging, and show your viewers why they should buy/convert RIGHT NOW! 

You can even use wording like BUY NOW! Or FINAL SALE! to create a sense of urgency! 

In bottom-funnel collection ads, you’ll want to basically include as much information as possible in the hero image or video to help the viewer immediately decide whether or not they want to purchase something from you. 

Here are a few more tips you can use in bottom-funnel collection ads to make them more effective: 

• Show products included in an ongoing sale

• Include specific information that makes your brand more trustful, like showing reviews, testimonials or other types of social proof

• Use bold fonts and image overlays that attract attention. 

• Use offers like free shipping or free returns that can really turn heads

So all of these are great tricks for making your collection ads even more effective. But are there other ways to make your next campaign even more powerful?

YES!  

Proven eCommerce Strategies to Boost Collection Ad Performance

Just like any other type of advertising campaign, there are tried and true tricks you can use to improve your overall ad performance. 

Let’s take a look at some of the most important factors to keep in mind when creating collection ads! 

• Your product images need to match your hero image - background, colors, style, etc. 

• User-generated content, reviews, testimonials and social proof should be included in your layout whenever possible

• Use bold overlays and fonts to highlight specific offers or product benefits

• Make it easy for your users to explore, shop, and make a purchase! 

Lastly, test, test, test! 

You’re going to need to run A/B tests on your collection ads first to find out what does and doesn’t work.

So try different cover types, hero images or videos, layouts, CTAs, etc. Then, once you land on a designs and layouts that work, stick to it! 

Should You Use Collection Ads to Scale Your eCommerce Business?

Unequivocally, YES! 

Collection ads are one heck-of-a great way to take your advertising campaigns from zero to hero in no time!

Collection ads and instant experience are highly immersive ads that barely feel like ads at all. 

They can draw your viewers in, entice them with your product offering, and persuade them to make a purchase…

And ALL FROM A SINGLE AD! 

Plus, not very many brands are using collection ads, which means you can easily gain an edge over your competition! 

The only real downside to collection ads is that they’re a bit trickier to get up and running. 

But that’s where we come in! 

Here at Confect, we’re dedicated to helping eCommerce brands just like yours kill in on their next advertising campaigns. 

Need help getting your collection ads setup? Try Confect today for FREE!