Facebook doesn't only want to connect people with people — family, friends and acquaintances. It also wants to connect people to brands and products.
People, nowadays, are spending an ample amount of time on their mobile or smartphones, and majority of which are using apps like Facebook and Instagram, according to Facebook's blog post.
Recently, merchants have been trying to reach out to their customer via mobile, but find it quite challenging. It has been reported that mobile shopping experience becomes quite difficult to do in mobile because the load time is sluggish and there are too many steps to follow before you can check out.
Most of the time, when consumers click on products from the ads found in their News Feed, they are directed to a site which takes longer time to load and isn't even optimized. This increases the chance of people dropping off.
Facebook wanted to enhance the shopping experience both for the consumers and merchants or businesses. The social media site, over the coming weeks, will be testing a new Canvas experience, which will reportedly help businesses achieve their advertising objectives, such as building brands and driving sales.
Canvas was first unveiled in June, and since then, Facebook had been testing it with a number of businesses. In case you missed it, what happens is when you tap an ad on the News Feed, it will open to a full screen.
It's described as an alternate version of the brand's site, where it will allow consumers to navigate through text, videos, snaps and other contents. The difference is that it will load faster and becomes more interactive because the content is "native" to Facebook, Marketing Land reported back in September.
Facebook has been testing this format with big companies like Gatorade. Take a closer look at how it works with the video below.
Gatorade’s New Facebook Mobile AdTap to open and exit onto the streets of Brooklyn to experience Gatorade’s, "Serena Williams - 21 Slams in 21 Styles". Using Facebook’s new mobile ad format, Gatorade created an immersive experience that allows users to interact with and travel through Serena Williams' journey to history.
Posted by Gatorade on Thursday, September 3, 2015
Retailers are being urged to market and sell, basically do business, right on the platform, Wired reported. Most people find it convenient and easy if an app has it all, like a one-stop shop where consumers can discover, share and purchase products without going through a lot of hassles.
