Facebook Ad Formats & Tips
Facebook Ad Formats & Tips
From the Desk of David O’Toole/copywriter
We’re all familiar with Facebook, it’s pretty much everywhere these days. It’s even seen in highstreet ‘real world’ shops and stores. The ‘Like Us on Facebook‘ ad shown on the doorway or main window, or on a business card handout, business flyers .. FB are everywhere.
Advertise on Facebook Rules & Image Dimensions
If you want to advertise on FB itself, you just need to set up an Advertisement, build the ad, and off you go.
Of course, you will have to pay Facebook for the privilege of running your ad. That’s where FB makes their money. They’re not in it because of their love of your funny surprised-cat Tee-shirt, they don’t care about Grumpy Cat, they want money.
Nothing unusual in that, it’s the way the advertising world works.
Now if you do run an ad on FB, you need to get your campaign set up properly and stick to their rules. Your ad dimensions must be the exact sizes required, or else they will point blank refuse your ad.
Here’s a quick look at the Facebook ad dimensions you can use.
- Facebook Ad – Large (1200 x 900 px)
- Facebook Ad – Medium (1200 x 628 px)
- Facebook Ad – Small (1200 x 444 px)
As you might suspect, it’s crucial that you use an image that will appeal to your target audience. It’s got to grab their attention on their busy newsfeed.
FB Ad Engagement is CRUCIAL
Whether or not they will even see your ad will depend on a number of factors. But the main criteria here is ENGAGEMENT. Are people actually clicking on your ad? Or are they just ignoring it? Note: By the way, that’s how Google is operating these days aswell. They’re basing their stats and your results on engagements too. They want to see people interacting with ads, and with your blog or website. Ok, back to FB ..
Engagement will drive the number of times FB will display your ad, and it will also drive the ad cost either up or down. So it is absolutely vital that you bear this in mind when you are creating your ad media.
The FB Text Rule
One thing that you have to keep in mind when designing your FB ad, is their text rule. Basically FB states that you must keep your text to a minimum on your ad. They actually prefer it if you don’t have any text (ad copy) on your ad. Here’s an example large size FB ad (1200 x 900 px):
This is what FB says about this particular ad example above:
“Image Text: Medium
Your ad’s reach may be much lower.
Your ad reach may be much lower than usual because there’s too much text in the ad image. Facebook prefers ad images with little or no text. Consider changing your image before placing your order.“
What? They prefer your ad to have no text whatsoever. As an advertiser, this doesn’t make much sense, because you must have the relevant text/copy on your ad to tell people what they can expect if they click on it. How will it benefit them? Interested visitors want to know, why else would they click on it?
This suits FB because they make more money out of it, but it’s a kiss of death for a marketer. So you have to figure out a way to grab attention with your ad copy, but at the same time keep the number of words down or they’ll cut off your reach. It’s a real dilemma for advertisers.
I redesigned that ad example above in order to get it to be accepted ‘normally’ by FB:
Now it’s getting through their filter. It’s got the text I wanted to include, but I had to shrink down the size of it. It’s also got a ‘Call-to-Action’ (CTA), saying “Ask Me How”. A CTA is vital to have if you want your ad to be effective. Tell people exactly what you want them to do next.
Go Garish
Another useful tip you can use for making your FB ad stand out is to use a colored border that’s different from the regular FB colors. You can even go so far as to use a ‘garish’ border, even something ‘ugly’ some might say. Here’s an example of a cool Ancient Egypt T-Shirt and related merchandise:
That graphic gets away from the usual blue colors that FB uses, and this makes it stand out on the reader’s feeds
You need to use every trick in the book at your disposal. Because, as ‘Mr. Somewhat Cynical‘ maintains, FB is doing exactly that. They want you to run ads with no copy on them. You could say that that’s a sneaky tactic. I strongly suggest that you do use strong copy on your Ad images.
You can check how your text on an ad is doing at facebook.com/ads/tools/text_overlay
I designed a few FB Ads for you to have a look at. Click an image below to access and click the magnifying glass. Double-tap to expand/contract, scroll through with the >
Are These FB Ads Worth It?
Yes, they are a proven way to advertise. But you need to play the game by FB rules. Spend time learning about what they require, and then use them to get the results you are looking for.
To get maximum exposure on your FB ads, make sure to use strong copywriting, matching graphics, and attention-grabbing creatives. Why not save yourself the heartache and hassles involved and talk to me about the best steps you can take here. Get a free consultation by using the contact form below to reach me.
Thanks for visiting and reading, hope you picked up something useful my digital marketing friend.
From the Desk of David O’Toole/copywriter