Making ad creative is no easy task. You have to speak in the voice of the brand, convey the unique selling points of the product, and entice audiences to want to learn more and begin their customer journey. But having to do all of that while also aligning with the creative guidelines and best practices of the various social media ad platforms makes the creative development process that much more difficult. However, by approaching the creative development process with best practices in mind, you can create outstanding work that not only reflects the brand’s culture and vision, but also seamlessly aligns with the various placements where the ads will appear. Below are a few key creative best practices for each of the primary social media advertising platforms.
Facebook/Instagram
Use Recommended Sizes – Facebook and Instagram have a variety of placements where ads can show up, and each placement has its own unique best practices for how the creative should be sized. For example, standard in-feed placements can utilize the 1080x1080 square format for images and videos, while the Stories or Reels placements can leverage 1080x1920 vertical-sized creative. Trying to use the same size creative across multiple placements can result in the creative being cropped or adjusted in undesirable ways.
Consider Text Overlays – Facebook no longer has text overlay restrictions for ads, meaning that you can overlay important text and headline-type copy onto the image to help capture attention. With users quickly scrolling through their social feeds, being able to immediately capture a user’s attention is paramount. To do this, Facebook recommends using a modern, clean font in a large enough type size and contrasting hue.
Test Mobile Shots – Mobile shots (shot from a mobile phone) can work well for ads in the Stories placement and tend to outperform studio shots for ad recall and intent; however, studio shots tend to drive higher brand awareness.
YouTube
Attention – Get to the heart of the story fast, and immerse users with audio and visuals that pique their interest. Reinforce the message with audio and text overlays, and ensure visuals are optimized for all devices.
Branding – With users being able to skip in-stream YouTube ads after only 6 seconds, it’s important to introduce the brand early, often, and richly, and make use of branding elements to show and tell viewers who you are.
Connection – Help people think or feel something by creating connections through the experience of your product/brand. Feature people’s experience with your product.
Direction – Ask users to take action. Direct people to do exactly what you want them to do. Reinforce your on-screen CTA with voice-over to ensure the next step is clear.
Snapchat
Early Branding – Establish brand moments before the :02 mark to maximize ad awareness, but avoid opening to a solid frame of a logo/product.
Use Simple Creatives – With users quickly swiping through content in Snapchat, it’s important to keep ads to a relatively short length (5-6 seconds) and to ensure the top and bottom are free of any graphics/logos to avoid clutter (top 150px, bottom 330px).
Think Native – Ads that feature more organic/UGC-style content and ads that have users speaking directly to the camera drive stronger view-through performance.
X (Twitter)
Keep Copy Concise – The best-performing posts are only 50-100 characters long. Get straight to the point, and focus on one clear message.
Include a Strong CTA and Convey Urgency – Be clear and straightforward with your desired action and explicitly say what you want the user to do. Additionally, give users a reason to take the action (visit your site, download your app, etc.) by being clear about the unique value you’re bringing.
Avoid Unnecessary Exit Points – Whenever possible, keep your ad free of #hashtags and @mentions since they can be clicked and drive users away from your ad. The only exit point should be your website or app.
Make Brand the Focal Point – Put your product/service front and center. Avoid using abstract images or lifestyle images that don’t clearly showcase your brand or product.
Show, Don’t Tell – Some Pinterest users watch video with the sound turned off, so use text overlay or captions to help tell your story.
TikTok
Actors – Feature creators, employees and/or customers in the creative to capture users’ attention.
Aesthetics – Go for a DIY style (not overly-polished) to fit with the UGC-style of TikTok.
Align with Trends – Lean into trends to make ads feel more relevant and engaging.
Be Quick About It – Introduce the main point in the first 3 seconds for better recall and awareness, highlight unique selling points to hook in users, and end with a clear CTA.
Capture Attention – The background color in LinkedIn is neutral, so images with bright colors are more likely to capture attention.
Ad Copy – Keep headlines under 60 characters, start with a question or quote to hook audiences, and use “You” to speak to your audience.
Silent Film Director – A large portion of LinkedIn members will watch the ad with the sound off. Consider adding subtitles.
Thought Leader Ads – Share a unique perspective on an industry trend, best practice, or other news, and start a conversation by asking questions that spark dialogue and respond to comments to encourage engagement.
Document Ads – Use a PDF file, avoid using multiple columns of text and small font sizes, and keep the PDF under 10 pages to make it easier to browse. Additionally, use an attention-grabbing cover for the PDF and make the first 3-4 pages of the file enticing so that users will want to learn more, especially if it is gated after a certain number of pages.
Aligning with these creative best practices will ensure that your creative and ad campaigns are set up for success across the various social media ad platforms.
