FB now allows attaching and viewing 3D objects to posts, and there is much buzz about it. While the update is being rolled out to all users, it is a high time to think how to make money on it.

Captain Growth believes that you can boost your FB campaigns with 3D ads — if you know how to use them like a boss. Let Captain show you how Facebook 3D Posts marketing works and what milestone updates they will have. We will also find out how to get and adapt Facebook 3D objects for your business, and what are best advertising applications for 3D content.

Why Should I Use 3D Posts Right Now?

Facebook 3D Posts is a new feature, and before marketers spam every single ad with 3D content, users will pay much attention to it. Attention means high CTR and conversion — things that SMM craves the most. Some industries will benefit the most from 3D.

• • Game developers — if you make games, you already have all the content you need to post. Users are tired of colorful and deceptive clickbait arts, and with 3D content, your ad can show the best of your in-game content.

• • Accessory & Jewelry Retailers — glasses, bags, jewelry and all other kinds of small stuff look lovely even with FB limitations. You can enhance your FB Carousels with 3D instead of photos. Users are now able to play with your offering and see all its beauty, so they may be more interested in making a purchase. We will explain how to make Facebook compatible 3D models for a small price — previously expensive marketing trick is now affordable to anyone.

• • Furniture, Kitchenware & Tech Stores — same thing with accessories. However, you should be picky as not all the goods will look good with FB limits. Say, a ceramic dish or a computer mouse will look appealing, but a big and sophisticated art deco drawer will look cartoonish and unattractive after the compression to FB format.

• • Gift and Decoration — people love fancy boxes with stuff, and with interactive 3D, they will love them even more. That can be easily combined with sales campaign of other products: 3D jewelry in fancy craft box looks more attractive than jewel that floats in vacuum.

• Food & Grocery — nicely-looking fruits, snacks and drinks will catch attention and urge appetite. Moreover, if you have online delivery, hunger will translate into sales if you find the best time to place ads with analytics.

However, almost every business can win on 3D posts, especially while they 3D is new to users. We will show some universal tips for successful 3D advertising, but before that, let us see what Facebook really allows us to do with 3D content.

What are Pitfalls Behind the Curtain of Facebook 3D Posts? (Useful Tech Information)

FB announced 3D post feature as a straightforward one: you just drag-and-drop 3D object, set the background color, and your content is good to go. However, those who have dealt with 3D content before know that 3D things are never that easy. These are some real limits and terms on Facebook 3D posts.

• • The only supported file format is *.GBL — that is what is meant by mysterious glTF 2.0. Being an “industry standard,” it is not widely spread now, especially among the free 3D stuff. Thankfully, you can easily convert it, which we will discuss further.

• • The max size for a file is 3MB — it includes both model, which is a geometrical shape of the 3D object, and texture, which is its colors, appearance, and materials. That is why the majority of 3D posts you see now have a pretty low level of details. 3MB is too small for 3D, so you may have a hard time optimizing high-detail stuff — usually, they are real-world objects scanned by apps.

• • There are only two types of textures that can be applied — JPEG and PNG. JPEG has a small size and helps to make more detailed objects, but PNG is a must when you need transparency. In turn, transparency is needed when you want to model glass or thin cloth like in bridal veil, so use JPEG whenever you can.

• • You cannot change the position of camera and light settings. Thus, you need to check FB 3D Assets Requirements guide to adjust your model before posting.

• • The background is limited to plain color or gradient. It means that you cannot paste a picture of the store to create a setting for your shopping ad. At the moment, all 3D objects on FB will be floating in the midst of colorful nowhere.

The good news is that the size limit on the object is likely to increase soon, and the current functionality is quite enough to make appealing ads. For instance, textures of the object can be adjusted to look matte, shiny or metallic, and texture compression helps some marketers to post realistic models within FB’s limits.

Upcoming Changes in 3D Posts that Will Make a Future of Marketing

After the research of developers docs of Facebook, Captain found out that animations and morph functions for 3D Posts will be available in future. It will open an immersive variety of opportunities.

• • Animated objects are far more appealing and catch significantly more attention than GIFs, which is all the madness of marketers.

• • Moreover, 3D posts will be interactive. That means that users will be able to open and close objects, bend hands and lags of game characters and slice food products to see what is inside, to name a few.

• • With the spread of VR and AR, users will be able to try your product before the purchase, literally. If you sell real-world goods, it is a dream-like marketing opportunity for you.

All these facts mean that you should try 3D features as soon as possible to get some experience. Facebook is apparently enthusiastic about the future of 3D content, and marketers of big companies have already rolled out 3D Post ads. Thus, it is only a matter of time when images and videos will become an outdated and condemned ads format, the fate that is reaching pop-up banners and traditional display ads.

Where Can I Get 3D Content for Ads? (DIY and Free & Cheap)

Now, when you know everything about 3D posts, it is high time to figure out where to get 3D models for Facebook. Previously, 3D content was associated with hefty bills from model artists and pricy object scanners, but in 2018, there are many options to consider. In the end, Captain will show you how to convert non-GBL objects into the Facebook format.

Do It Yourself

If you will run 3D ads for your products, and you are not a game developer or 3D content studio, you will need to get 3D models — preferably those that match your unique products exactly. The most comfortable and accessible option is to use a 3D photometry app for Android or iPhone, or 3D generator for the desktop.

What Captain has looked for is an app with affordable pricing and no need for specialized equipment, be it the latest Sony Xperia, iPhone X or external device.

• • Qlone – 3D Scanning Solution on iTunes — the best option for iOS. It is delightful that it does not need iPhone X 3D scanner to make models: you can only take a bunch of photos from different positions, and Qlone will make a 3D model with textures for you. Moreover, it already supports FB format. It is free to download and try scanning but exporting a model costs $0.99 per unit.

• • SCANN3D is a Qlone alternative for Android phones. Basically, it has all the same functionality to Qlone; the difference is pricing. You will need to choose subscriptions that will affect model quality. The U.S. price for High-settings subscription is $6.99, but it will be much more affordable than Qlone for e-commerce. The main con of SCANN3D is that the app does not support cropping and Facebook GBL format out of the box, so you will need some hassle with editing and converting.

• • ReCap Pro by Autodesk is one among dozens of PC solutions with the best cost-benefit ratio. For $40 monthly of $300 a year, you will be able to make and edit as many 3D objects from photos taken on smartphones and cameras as you want — with reasonably high quality. While $40 may seem too expensive, ReCap’s competitors are not ashamed of taking $100+ per month or thousands for a lifetime license.

You will surely find many other apps, so it is up to your wallet and consideration what tool will make your 3D object. Just remember that you do not need supreme quality — FB’s limits are quite strict, so an expensive app with photorealistic output will be useless for you now.

Free & Cheap Tier

If you do not have specific requirements for objects and just want to use thematic 3D content for your ads, you may consider free or cheap 3D models stocks. There are many of them, so Captain picked up a couple that is used by his creators.

• • CubeBrush — a 3D content store that has dozens of free models for commercial use. It is the most appealing feature is pay-what-you-want offerings, where you can get 3D models for any price you want above $1. It needs your email to sign up and view models, but no credit card or confirmation is required. Caution — be careful with license! Licensing of free and paid options are different for each model on CubeBrush, so you need to check whether you are allowed using it in advertisement and editing it.

• • TurboSquid — another 3D store with many free models for commercial use. Its main benefit is simple Royalty Free License: you can use any free model you download in advertising.

• Dozens of other 3D stocks that Google finds for you. They all have thousands of unique free and below $1 objects.

The only thing you always must consider is license. Some stocks have legal teams that browse the web for unlicensed use of content and ]file suits to courts, which may result in painful litigation and fees for your company. Even small companies may suffer — if legal suits are not applicable, stocks may blackmail marketers with copyright strikes to Google and Facebook. It may end with a permanent ban on your Ads account, exclusion of your website from Google Search and other atrocities you do not want to experience.

How to Adapt 3D Content I’ve Got to Facebook Posts?

As you may see, there is a little of apps and stocks that support the Facebook-friendly 3D format. Therefore, you will need to adapt models you get.

• • Captains recommends you download the most popular *.OBJ files — they are supported by every scanning app and 3D stock. There is a free OBJ to GBL converter, which will help to get the Facebook-ready file.

• • Moreover, Facebook’s partner Khronos has a gIFT overview page, where you can find more online converters, editors and a list of free tools to work with Facebook-compatible 3D content. Here you may see some free 3D desktop editors like Blender that will allow you to crop and resize your model — it is an only procedure you are likely to need.

• After you get GBL file, you need to open Facebook 3D Model Validator that checks the compatibility for your 3D model to Facebook requirements.

Now, you are good to go!

What are Special Hints for Facebook 3D Posts Advertising?

It is a matter of next two-three months to make 3D Posts familiar for FB Feed users. It means that the very presence of 3D content will stop making mad engagement and conversion. Thus, Captain has a couple of tips for you that will work in long-term perspective.

• • Make 3D content a rewarding game. A right way is to put a promo code somewhere behind of beneath your 3D models (you can even make it in Paint 3D) and urge users to find it. Once the user sees it, promo turns from another-annoying-ad to the fruit of their work — even if this work is a couple of finger movements. People value their efforts, which means that hidden promo will bring you conversion.

• • Use data analysis. FB optimization algorithms and marketers know well user targeting by conversions, clicks and app installations, but 3D content users demographics are currently obscure. Captain Growth uses machine learning to find demographics, device breakdown and best display time setting for 3D ads to optimize their CPA — you will see that they are significantly different from your usual ad sets. It will help you to become a pioneer in 3D advertising.

• 3D is not a universal remedy. Facebook 3D Posts are all the madness now, but AR and VR intrude fast into our routine. It means that you still need to test your ads and marketing funnels, analyze ads effectiveness and avoid some intricate pitfalls like Geotraps, which make some advertisers lose as many as $1,000 per day on mistargeted ads.

Now imagine that 3D Models will jump all over AR environment and spam your attention. Got it? Your ad should always be outstanding.

Concluding Words

So, 3D Posts are a new useful tool, but no groundbreaking changes have occurred. As months before, you need to analyze your marketing data, tailor marketing to your audience and improve your products. If you lack time to dive into mysteries of 3D content marketing and spend 80% of your time on browsing marketing reports on dashboards, Captain Growth can take all analytics on him. Use AI data insights and be among the first who will earn their fortunes on Facebook 3D posts.