Facebook Creative Hub Is Great News For The Mobile Marketer

It’s a great day to advertise on Facebook. The social media giant has formally introduced its new Creative Hub—a mobile marketing tool that allows companies to create advertisements, preview them in a mobile environment and find inspiration from what other brands are doing. The idea was first unveiled at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June and since then, Facebook has tested it with more than 30 creative agencies.

“We developed Creative Hub in response to the needs we heard from the creative community, who told us they needed a tool to help them experiment with content creation on Facebook and Instagram,” the company explained on its business blog, “including trying new formats, previewing ideas on mobile screens, collaborating internally and sharing mock-ups with stakeholders.”

Now, marketers can browse ad options across Facebook and Instagram in a number of creative formats including 360-video, carousel, canvas and traditional video.

“Facebook’s forays into video, particularly live video, have brought back younger audiences that have migrated to niche social apps,” says Erik Schmitt, social media strategist for Ayzenberg in the fourth quarter EMV Index. “Both the viewers and the creators are now coming back to Facebook.”

Social video is here to stay and with the demise of Vine, the race is on more than ever for platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat to attract its orphan viewers. With 1.7 billion users, Facebook continues to pave the way for creators—brands and influencers alike—to reach their audiences in new and engaging ways. While Facebook continues to prioritize updates from friends and family, brands have found ways to stand out with the use of Facebook Live, 360-degree photos and videos.

Instagram, too, has introduced a number of new ways for brands to engage their audiences, such as the new “see more” feature, the ability to tag other accounts and the addition of business profiles.

Facebook’s Creative Hub is welcome news for a growing mobile audience, especially influencers and the brands who work with them. According to July 2016 research by SheSpeaks, 32 percent of US influencers who currently work with brands cite Facebook as the best platform for influencer marketing, followed by Instagram at 24 percent.