• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Social Media Examiner

Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle

  • 🔥 Free Newsletter
  • 🎙️ Podcasts
    • Social Media Marketing Podcast
    • AI Explored Podcast
    • Social Media Marketing Talk Show
    • Our YouTube Channel
  • 🌟 AI Society
  • 🗓️ Marketing Conference
  • đź‘‹ About Us
    • Marketing Events
  • Search
  • Embrace AI & MarketingGet Ongoing Training & SupportBEGIN YOUR JOURNEY NOW

    How to Advertise in Facebook Marketplace: What Marketers Need to Know

    by Ben Heath / July 16, 2018

    social media how toHave you heard of Facebook's Marketplace ad placement?

    Want to know how to place your Facebook ad campaigns in Marketplace?

    In this article, you'll learn how to advertise your products and services in Facebook Marketplace.

    How to Advertise in Facebook Marketplace: What Marketers Need to Know by Ben Heath on Social Media Examiner.
    How to Advertise in Facebook Marketplace: What Marketers Need to Know by Ben Heath on Social Media Examiner.

    Why Consider Facebook Marketplace for Ad Placement?

    Marketplace is Facebook's equivalent to eBay and Craigslist. The major advantage it has over the competition is the existing Facebook user base. Marketplace now has over 800 million monthly users. Additionally, it now occupies the central tab on the mobile app's menu bar.

    Access Facebook Marketplace by tapping the middle tab on the mobile app's menu bar.

    When you advertise using the Marketplace placement, you're not promoting a product that you're looking to sell via Marketplace. Instead, you're advertising in the same way you would in the news feed or the other placement options.

    While Facebook offers multiple ad placement options, Marketplace is unique in that users who browse (at least a large proportion of them) have buyer's intent. They're actively looking for products to buy.

    The Facebook Marketplace ad placement is similar to news feed or the other placement options.

    Similar intent-based advertising platforms such as Google AdWords have commanded a premium online. In most markets, it costs a lot more to reach 1,000 people through Google's search network than it does on Facebook, which makes sense. Targeting people who are actively looking for something is more effective than targeting people who might be interested in something.

    Most of the products listed in Marketplace are bought and sold locally. And for businesses looking to succeed with the Marketplace ad placement, a local focus is likely to be key.

    Users expect to see certain types of products listed for sale. Businesses that offer similar products to those listed are likely to see the best results. Home & Garden, for example, is one of the most popular categories and furniture is among the most commonly offered items.

    Facebook Marketplace lets you shop by category.

    There are also a lot of vehicles listed for sale, and many people offer rental properties.

    AI Business Society

    Ready to Unlock AI Marketing Breakthroughs?

    If you’re like most of us, you are trying to figure out how to use AI in your marketing. Here's the solution: The AI Business Society—a new AI marketing community from your friends at Social Media Examiner.

    The AI Business Society is the place to discover how to apply AI in your work. When you join, you'll boost your productivity, unlock your creativity, and make connections with other marketers on a similar journey.

    I'M READY TO BECOME AN AI-POWERED MARKETER

    Facebook Marketplace offers rental properties for sale.

    If your company offers products that are similar to those commonly listed, there's a good chance Marketplace will work for you. Here's how to get started.

    #1: Create a Facebook Ad Campaign With an Applicable Campaign Objective

    Marketplace is available as a placement option only for certain campaign objectives. Right now, it can be used with the Reach, Traffic, Conversions, Catalog Sales, and Video Views objectives.

    If you have an existing Facebook ad campaign that uses one of these objectives, you can skip this step. Otherwise, head to Ads Manager and click Create.

    Click the Create button to start a new Facebook campaign.

    Next, select one of the applicable campaign objectives.

    Select a Facebook campaign objective.

    Then give your new campaign a name and click Continue.

    Enter a campaign name.

    Now you're taken to the Ad Set Creation page, and you can move on to the next step.

    #2: Choose the Marketplace Ad Placement

    Facebook's Marketplace is currently rolling out as a new ad placement. It's now available in most U.S. ad accounts but not yet worldwide. However, this functionality is likely to be available to other countries very soon.

    To check that Marketplace is available in your Facebook ad account and use it in this campaign, scroll down to the Placements section. Facebook's default setting is to advertise on all placements. To check that Marketplace is available, select Edit Placements.

    Select Edit Placements to see if the Marketplace placement is available.

    Discover Proven Marketing Strategies and Tips

    Want to go even deeper with your marketing? Check out the Social Media Marketing Podcast! Publishing weekly since 2012, the Social Media Marketing Podcast helps you navigate the constantly changing marketing jungle, with expert interviews from marketing pros.

    But don’t let the name fool you. This show is about a lot more than just social media marketing. With over 600 episodes and millions of downloads each year, this show has been a trusted source for marketers for well over a decade.

    CHECK OUT THE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PODCAST NOW

    Currently, Marketplace is available only as a mobile placement option, but it's likely to become an option on desktop soon as well.

    Marketplace is available only as a mobile placement option.

    For ad accounts that have this functionality, Marketplace is included when Automatic Placements is selected. This means that many Facebook advertisers will be advertising in Marketplace without realizing it.

    It's not currently possible to advertise exclusively in Marketplace. You need to also have Facebook Feeds selected to use Marketplace as a placement option. Otherwise, you'll see this warning message.

    You see an error if you only select Marketplace as a placement option.

    Make sure that Marketplace is selected and then enter the rest of your targeting details at the ad set level.

    #3: Create a Facebook Marketplace Video Ad

    Now you're ready to move on to the Ad Creation section. The recommended ad specs for Marketplace are the same as for news feed ads and it's not possible to alter ad creative between those two placements. Facebook recommends that single images are 1,200 x 628 pixels and carousel images are 600 x 600 pixels.

    While the ads may look the same on both placements, the context they're in is very different, so certain things are likely to work well on Marketplace and others aren't.

    Videos

    Half of the challenge with interruption advertising is grabbing users' attention. Unlike the news feed, Marketplace is dominated by static images, so videos (particularly product demonstrations) will stand out a lot more. Videos usually outperform static images across Facebook and I expect that to be exaggerated in Marketplace.

    Finding video ads in Marketplace is next to impossible at the moment. But this video ad taken from the news feed is just the sort of ad that's likely to deliver fantastic results in Marketplace.

     

    Privacy Pop Bed Tent makes a little kid’s bedroom the best room.

    **Exclusive Limited Time Offer** Save 20% With The Code PP20

    Posted by Privacy Pop on Wednesday, February 10, 2016

    The ad is promoting the right type of product to the right audience when it's in the right mindset. And the product demonstration in video format grabs users' attention.

    Not Content

    It's too early to make definitive conclusions, but I don't expect content ads to perform well in Marketplace. Expert Facebook advertisers often advocate using content to warm up cold audiences, and rightly so. But in Marketplace, ads that promote blog posts or other forms of content will look out of place and probably be ignored as a result. Of course, this is something that you can try out.

    #4: Analyze Marketplace Ad Placement Results

    As with all things Facebook advertising, I strongly recommend that you test the Marketplace placement. Its uniqueness means it's likely to deliver great results for certain businesses, products, and ad formats.

    To see how Marketplace is performing in comparison to other placements, you can filter your ad reports. Simply select By Delivery > Placement from the Breakdown drop-down menu.

    Select By Delivery > Placement from the Breakdown drop-down menu.

    If you're in the U.S. and using Automatic Placements with your Facebook campaigns, there's a good chance you've been advertising in Marketplace without realizing it. This means you may already have data you can use to assess Marketplace's effectiveness for your offers.

    Watch Out for False Positives

    When new Facebook advertising features are released, advertisers often see false negatives or false positives. A false negative refers to something that doesn't work initially but does in the long run. A false positive is the opposite.

    False negatives with Facebook advertising most often occur because users are unfamiliar with something new and therefore avoid it initially. False positives, on the other hand, are often the result of an initial lack of competition.

    With Marketplace, you may see a bit of a false positive. Because it's very new, few advertisers are using it and competition is a major factor in determining the cost of Facebook ads. Lack of advertiser competition early on will most likely lead to a lower cost than other placements initially, making it a great short-term opportunity.

    But as other Facebook advertisers start using the placement, this early advantage is likely to disappear. This doesn't mean that Marketplace won't deliver great results over the long run. It's just important to be aware of the market forces at play and not get too excited early on.

    Want more like this? Explore Facebook Ads for Business!

    What do you think? What has your experience with the Marketplace placement been so far? Has it performed better or worse than other placement options? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

    AI EXPLORED

    Curious About How to Use AI?

    Our newest show, AI Explored, might be just what you're looking for. It's for marketers, creators, and entrepreneurs who want to understand how to use AI in their business.

    It's hosted by Michael Stelzner and explores this exciting new frontier in easy-to-understand terms.

    Pull up your favorite podcast app and search for AI Explored. Or click the button below for more information.

    I WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT AI

    Tags: Facebook, Facebook Ads

    About the authorBen Heath

    Ben Heath is CEO of Facebook advertising agency, Lead Guru. Alongside executing successful Facebook ad campaigns for clients, he produces high-quality content for business owners, marketers and entrepreneurs.
    Other posts by Ben Heath »

    Get Social Media Examiner’s Future Articles in Your Inbox!

    Get our latest articles delivered to your email inbox and get the FREE Social Media Marketing Industry Report (43 pages, 60+ charts)!

    Industry Report Cover

    Worth Exploring:

    Facebook

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Instagram

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    YouTube

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    Linkedin

    Marketing Help Explore More →

    AI

    Next Frontier Explore More →

    Social Media Marketing Industry Report

    Get Free Report →

    Social Marketing Trends

    The data you've been missing!

    Need a new plan? Discover how marketers plan to change their social activities in the 16th annual Social Media Marketing Industry Report. It reveals what marketers have planned for their social activities, content marketing, and more! Get this free report now and never miss another great article from us. Join more than 385,000 marketers!

    Simply click the button below to get the free report:

    Footer

    Your Guide to the Marketing Jungle
    Copyright © 2025 Social Media Examiner®
    All Rights Reserved. Terms of Use | Privacy Policy.

    Helpful Links

    • About us
    • Our content via email
    • Our podcasts
    • Our YouTube channel
    • Our live show
    • Our social media marketing industry report
    • Our generative AI marketing industry report
    • Sponsorship opportunities
    • RSS