Social media ads are rapidly becoming an essential part of any complete marketing package. Advertisers are starting to realise the value of social media ads in driving traffic and, more importantly, leads to their website. Because of this new found value, there is a demand for more sophisticated and polished ad creative.
Ad creative is the deciding factor in whether or not your ad campaigns are successful. The ad creatives needs to be designed in such a way that it captures the reader’s attention. This blog post will discuss the best practices for ad creative that will help you drive more leads.
Don’t Clutter your Ad Creatives with Too Much Text
Do you know why the TV ads are less than 30 seconds long? They will end in just a blink of an eye! It’s because people have short attention spans. If you use overly long videos or a huge steep of text, people will rarely see and listen to your ad. The same is with social media ads. For example, Facebook has a 20% text rule for ads, so if your ad contains more than 20% text, it will be less visible in people’s newsfeeds.
It’s important to remember that not everyone will read every word of your ad creatives. In fact, most people will only skim them. So don’t clutter your ad creatives with too much text. Keep the text concise and to the point. Use clean and concise headlines and subheads. And use bullet points to highlight key points. Keep the focus on your key message and put the important information in front. Check Facebook’s guidelines for avoiding too much text on images.
Look at this ad by Burger King
Make your Ad Creative Visually Eye-Catching
Remember that people are most likely to engage with your ad if it is visually appealing and easy to understand. When it comes to creating an eye-catching ad, the sky’s the limit. There are countless ways to make your ad stand out from the rest, so get creative! Give your ad a thumb-stopping creative, that makes people stop scrolling down.
Use high-quality visuals that are relevant to your brand and messaging. Big Corner Creative mentions that, in spite of the fact that your customer might not be fully absorbing what he or she is seeing, images can elicit emotions within 13 milliseconds.
Make use of bright colors to attract attention and make your ad stand out from the rest. Keep your text and images arranged in a way that is easy to read and visually appealing. You can make use of various tools like Canva, Pinterest to keep the design game high with high-quality templates to choose from.
Check out this ad from ELF.
If you are Using Videos, Design for Sound Off
Video is dominating the content on social media. Videos should be 15–30 secs in length to grab-attention. In Forbes’ survey, 80% of consumers said subtitles made video watching more enjoyable, and 50% said captions were important since they watched videos without sound. Videos as a video editor, you will be responsible for creating videos for social media ads that can be watched without sound.
This will be a creative challenge, as you will need to convey the message of the ad without relying on audio. Most people scroll through social media with the sound off, so you want to make sure your video is still engaging and visually stimulating without sound. Use text or on-screen graphics to convey your message. Alternatively, you could use animation or even just still images with text to create an engaging and effective ad.
Check this creative Levevo’s Smarter Healthcare video ad.
Ads Platform and Placement Matters
As a marketer, it is important to understand that the platforms and placements you use for your social media advertising campaigns can have a big impact on the effectiveness of your ad creative. We are all in the habit of choosing the same creative across platforms, which might do more harm than good. For example, Facebook and Instagram have different algorithms and user demographics, so the same ad may perform differently on different platforms.
Similarly, choosing the right placement for your ad such as News Feed on Facebook or the Explore page on Instagram can also impact its reach and effectiveness. And if you’re advertising on Twitter you’ll want to use a lot of images but limit the amount of text. When it comes to creative social media ads, the most important thing you can do is research the platform. Each platform has a different audience and the content they tend to share. While you should always strive to create interesting, engaging content, the platforms themselves each have different demographics.
Decide on the Right Creative Format for your Ad
Most people ignore the importance of choosing the proper ad format. But they don’t know that to get the most out of their social media ad spend, choosing the right ad format is the key. No doubt, making a decision on choosing the right creative format for social media ads can be a tricky process. From image, carousel, slideshow, banner, native display, to inertial display, there are different formats you can test.
Based on the objective of your campaign, you can choose from different ad creative formats available on Instagram and Facebook. For example, if you’re looking to raise awareness for your brand, a simple image or video ad is a great option. But if you’re trying to drive conversions, you’ll need to be more strategic. Select the format that is well suited to your specific goals and objectives. Try out different formats and see which ones generate the most engagement and leads.
Make use of a strong CTA for Social Media Ads
A call to action is a key element of effective marketing and advertising. By using a strong CTA, you will increase the likelihood of getting the desired response from your audience. It can help you improve your click-through rate and conversion rate, while also making it easier to track the performance of your ads. According to Forbes, CTAs are the medium to drive more sales.
Here are few tips for creating strong CTA’s
- Use actionable language
Your CTA should be clear and direct, using language that encourages users to take action. For example, instead of saying, “Click here to know more,” you could say, “Click here to sign up for our newsletter.”
- Use urgency and scarcity
Urgency and scarcity are powerful motivators. If you can convey a sense of urgency in your CTA, users will be more likely to take action. For example, you could say “Sign up now and get 10% off your first purchase.
- Use first-person pronouns
Using first-person pronouns (“I,” “me,” “we,” “us,” etc.) can make your CTA more personal and relatable. For example, you could say “Sign up now and get access to my exclusive content.”
- Keep it short and sweet
Your CTA should be short and to the point. Users should be able to understand it at a glance.
Take a look at this powerful CTA from Glossier
We hope you enjoyed our blog on best practices for social media ad creatives. Remember that the most important part of a social media ad’s creative is that it captures the attention of the viewer. This means that you should use striking images or videos that capture the viewer’s attention. We believe that these tips will help your social media ads more effective.
But if you are still not convinced? We encourage you to contact our digital marketing team today. Explore our creative services, so we know we can help you with your business’ online advertising!
FAQS on Social Media Ad Creative Best Practices
What is creative in advertising?
Creative advertising is any ad that breaks away from the traditional, expected methods of advertising. This could mean ads that use humor, shock value, or other techniques to capture attention and stand out from the rest.
What are the 5 key elements of a creative ad?
A creative ad should have a catchy headline, an interesting visual, a clear message, a call to action and a sense of urgency.
What is the one thing that makes an advertisement stand out?
There is no one single thing that makes an advertisement stand out. However, several factors can contribute to making an advertisement more effective and memorable. These can include using strong visuals, an attention-grabbing headline, and a clear call to action. Additionally, ads that are relevant to the target audience and that align with the brand’s overall messaging are more likely to be noticed and remembered. Ultimately, it is important to create an ad that is both creative and strategically sound in order to maximize its impact.
How many different creatives should your campaign have?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the number of creatives needed for a campaign will vary depending on the campaign’s goals, target audience, and other factors. However, as a general rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to have at least a few different creatives for your campaign, so that you can test out different messaging and see what resonates best with your audience.
