Facebook Dynamic Product Ads: What Are They Really?

There has been a little talk, but not much, about the newly released Facebook Product Ads option. They were announced on the Facebook for Business blog in mid-February, and while there hasn’t been an overwhelming amount of chatter, there is a great step-by-step implementation guide from Social Media Examiner.

So first off, let’s clarify the name – while the unit is called a “product ad,” what powers it is dynamic retargeting. It’s not a product ad in the way you might think about a Google Product Listing Ad or Bing Product Ad. You do need a product feed to power it much like Google and Bing, but there needs to have been an initial visit to your site via any channel in order to put them into a remarketing list. You might not even offer a tangible product; because of the versatility and the kind of info you can submit via your feed, it could be something like e-books or stock photography. These should not be confused with the option of ads with multiple images and links, which are available through Power Editor, the API, and Facebook Marketing Partners currently.

With dynamic product ads, once a visitor has come to your site and been tagged, you can then remarket to them on Facebook using products that they viewed (via your product catalog through a submitted feed). What makes this different as an option is that you are working directly with Facebook’s API, not using FBX or a third-party tool – at least as of now. Eventually, there will be access and workability within Power Editor, but for now, the burden of adoption is on the advertiser to generate the custom audience pixel and additional pixels (View Content, Add to Cart, Purchase) from Facebook, install/adjust for your site and launch and control via the API.

Performance data (outside of Facebook, of course) is pretty much nonexistent right now, but there are platforms out there that are working on it. If you’re looking for a great quick hit list of what Dynamic Product Ads are and what they aren’t, check out Wordstream’s post from February. Additionally, check out the comments section of Social Media Examiner to see the conversation, some performance data, and stay tuned for what looks to be an exciting development of a crossroads of retargeting and product ads!