Define your ad objective
Before you begin diving into ad creation, the very first thing you should do is define your ad objective.
An objective is the main goal of your ad. Ask yourself: what is the purpose of my ad, and what action do I want people to take after seeing this ad? In fact, as you build your ad campaign in the Meta Ads Manager, you can choose from 6 objective options to ground your content around a particular business goal. By selecting your key objective ahead of creating your ad, you can create a more targeted experience to achieve your goal.
Let’s walk through these 6 options, and when you can use each objective to grow your business:
- Awareness
Awareness centers around how familiar people are with your company or the products you offer; you want as many new users to view your ad as possible. If you’re a newer business, social media is the perfect medium to get your brand name in front of new leads. - Traffic
Traffic refers to website traffic, or the amount of people clicking from your Meta ad to any URL of your choosing (e.g, catalog page, home page, Facebook shop, etc.); you want as many people as possible to land on the page you are advertising. If you are teasing an upcoming product release or launching a flash sale, driving traffic to your site is your main objective. - Engagement
Engagement measures how much people engage with your ad on Meta; you want people to interact with your ad directly or take an action specific to the message’s call-to-action (CTA). If your brand’s content marketing strategy relies heavily on blogs or videos to educate and interact with your brand community, using this content within an ad format may be the perfect avenue to boost engagement. - Leads
Leads specifically pertains to Meta lead ads, which collect contact information from someone so that you can follow up with them in the future. Use a lead ad when you want to deliver a specific experience to users in exchange for collecting their contact information. - App promotion
App promotion is getting people to install a mobile app or take a particular action on the app. If you just launched a new app for your business, you want to spread the word so that more people download it to their phones. - Sales
Sales is meant to drive conversions. For example, you may target people who resemble your current VIP customers (i.e. a VIP lookalike audience) with an exciting sale via a Facebook or Instagram ad to boost revenue.
Identify Meta ad formats
After nailing down your objective, it’s time to settle on your best ad format. Click through the gallery tabs below to explore popular Meta ad formats you can use to craft your ad campaigns, and learn key use cases for each.
Image
Image ads consist of one single image; for example, a picture of a product you are promoting. The specific type of image and its dimensions (i.e. size) is dependent on where you place your ad. It’s important to use high-resolution images for the best user experience.
Image ads are great for highlighting a specific product, whether it be a brand new product launch or spotlighted user-generated content.
Video
Video ads include videos, adding movement to your content. These grab a viewer’s attention and help humanize your brand. It is best practice for videos to be under 15 seconds long.
Video ads are helpful for storytelling, and for showing your product or service in-use.
Carousel
Carousel ads contain multiple images or videos. You can add up to 10 graphics in a given ad, and each can be accompanied with its own linked CTA. It’s best practice to make sure all items in the carousel are related, so the ad feels cohesive.
Carousel ads are useful for advertising a series of products, showcasing features of a single product, or explaining a process.
Collection
Collection ads enable you to feature multiple products in a grid-like format. This allows customers to peruse a full catalog of products in one ad, so that you don’t have to be limited on what items you advertise.
Collection ads are beneficial for creating a seamless digital experience to promote your catalog, and driving browsers to your site.
Not only do you have four strong templates to choose from, but you can also choose from a range of placements across Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger. Each of these channels have a number of different consumer touchpoints, including but not limited to:
- Feeds
- Stories
- Marketplace
- Explore pages
- Reels
- In-stream
Ad design best practices
Now that you’re familiar with ad formats and placements, let’s dive into some specific ad design best practices to help you engage your audience and drive conversions.
Be concise
Let’s face it: people skim ads. Don’t bombard them with text-heavy content. Instead, use visuals (images, videos, etc.) and be concise with your wording. Only include text that is absolutely necessary to get your message across.
If you add text over images, be strategic so you don’t distract from the visual.
Identify a clear call-to-action (CTA)
Every good advertisement has a clear and actionable CTA that aligns with the objective of the ad. A CTA will take the form of a button on the ad that links off to a URL of your choosing.
Common examples of CTA copy include: “Shop now,” “Learn more,” “Get quote,” “Like page,” or “Send message.” Notice that each includes an action verb and clear direction. For instance, “Shop now” may be applied to a button that links to a sale that you are advertising.
Have a mobile-first mentality
Many users will view your ads on mobile browsers or on mobile apps. As a result, it is crucial you optimize your ad for mobile viewing.
- Use vertical videos
This video orientation can cover the full phone screen and is often used for stories and Instagram reels. Usually, vertical videos use a 9x16 aspect ratio. - Add closed captions to videos
This is always a best practice when it comes to accessibility. Plus, with so many people browsing social media on their phones in public, people tend to watch videos with sound off or on low volume. Captions get your point across regardless of whether or not someone watches an ad with sound. - Ensure content is legible
Because a mobile browser or app is a smaller screen than a desktop, make your images pop with vibrant, contrasting colors and easy-to-read fonts. Keep accessibility in mind and make it as easy to read your ad as possible.
Optimize your ad placement
Ad placement refers to the exact spots where your ad will appear; for instance, in Facebook feeds, within messages on Messenger, in Instagram stories, etc. Placement matters, as it directly impacts where, when, and how someone views an ad.
In general, you want to surface your ad in as many places as possible given your budget. That said, you know your brand, customers, and content best — so format your ads and choose a placement that you think will best grab your customers’ attention.
To help with decision-making and budgeting, use Meta’s campaign budget optimization (CBO). Meta will automatically prioritize your most impactful ad campaigns and surface them across their platforms based on the budget you set.
Embrace short-form video content
Videos stand out in a feed and make stories more dynamic. That said, on social media, you're competing with a lot of other brands for a user's attention. So, whether it’s a boomerang of someone using your product or a quick video teasing an upcoming sale, make sure that the video is brief, to the point, and can catch someone's attention right away.
As a general rule of thumb, Meta recommends using video content that is 15 seconds or less.
Stay true to your brand
Your digital advertising should match the color, content, and tone of all of your marketing, including those in email, SMS, on your website, etc. You want to create a unified customer experience so users do not feel confused by what they are seeing from your brand.
This is especially true for lead ads. Make sure that your ad and any follow up messages align in terms of any visual branding and incentives offered. Remember, an ad often results in someone’s first impression of your brand; make it count so that they become long-term subscribers, customers, and brand enthusiasts.
Experiment to find what works
Similar to the A/B testing capabilities within Klaviyo, Facebook has an A/B test feature for their ads. This allows you to experiment with different copy, audiences, offers, etc. to find what resonates best with users on social media. Before running a test, make sure that you are only testing one element at a time. This element should help to answer a specific question, or to validate a hypothesis you have.
Looking for a place to start? Here are a few elements you can test:
- Ad copy or creative
- Ad type (video, image, carousel, etc.)
- Target audience
- Call-to-action
- Offer or incentive
- Ad placement