Getting ads right is hard! We know it – you know it. Not only are there lots at stake, but also pretty often plenty of stakeholders too. Google reported that approximately 70% of success is driven by the creative – so no pressure!
Here at Arke, we’re no strangers to devising a campaign and then working to roll it out to get maximum results. Making sure your ads are as effective as possible – so that you’re getting the best ROI you can get – is a combination of factors and unhelpfully one size definitely does NOT fit all!
We’ve collated THE best practices to consider – from a creative perspective – the next time you’re planning the ads that make up your campaign. Meta found that better-performing creative can lower overall costs across ad campaigns by approximately 20%, including lower cost per link click and lower cost per website conversion – so there’s lots to play for! Start with these 3 questions:
- What’s the aspect ratio of your ad?
Is your content in the right aspect ratio? You might have spent days in After Effects making a great video – but is it designed to suit Meta? Widescreen video ads (we’re talking dimensions like 1920 pixels wide and 1080 pixels high) won’t occupy much of the screen on either mobile nor desktop 🙁 – so consider making a vertical version.
Similarly, a static graphic in the wrong aspect ratio might appear much smaller if it isn’t in the right dimensions, rendering (see what I did there?) – yes rendering your text potentially illegible.
The best way to avoid these issues is to picture your content in situ in an Instagram timeline if that’s where it is going to appear, or throughout people’s stories if that’s where you’re placing it. Context is key. Think specifically about how it is going to be seen – using a preview tool will really help you envision this, helping you catch any potential issues and optimise your content for its proposed end result. The last thing you want is people unable to read anything, or trying to turn their phones around to no avail, or ignoring your ad altogether because it isn’t displaying properly!
- Is it moving?
Thinking about the marketing funnel, should your content move? Movement is more suitable for brand awareness – the top of the marketing funnel. If your intention is focused on the top of the marketing funnel use some animation to capture attention.
Video is great for awareness: catching attention and creating a buzz, whereas static ads are more suitable for decision-making! So if your ads are more about decision-based conversions, avoid busy animation that’s less suited to Intention and Decision, where people want to be able to digest information at their own pace.
Think back to the dark patterns employed by fast fashion sites that pressure you into buying something by using micro-interactions and constant movement, leading to a feeling of pressure and FOMO. You don’t want your audience to feel intimidated when they’re making a decision to opt into something on social media.
If you’re using text in your ad – is it too long? When making a campaign, you know the copy. You’re familiar with it. Perhaps you went hard on the benefits and have now seen it a dozen times while working on the layout. Bottom line: you probably don’t read it when composing your ad. Before even getting into the copy itself (watch this space!) – make sure that people have enough time to read it!
- What’s your CTA?
What behaviour are you trying to inspire? When considering trying to get a user to actually do something – such as consider your service – is the call-to-action specific to the platform it’s on? Make it easy for your audience.
Be clear about what you’re asking, and where the user is going to be taken to by clicking on your ad… or the button…. Or…. swiping – see? It is hard to be sure. You want your ad to inspire quite literal confidence, rather than looking like a questionable, possibly-scamming, dubious ad with an opaque CTA that just wants clicks and nothing else.
So the next time you’re working through your media plan and coming up with your plan of execution, consider the shape and size of your ads, their use of motion, and the action you’re asking users to take. This will all help strengthen your campaign and tighten up your efforts in getting toward your goals!
At Arke, we’re experts in creating award-winning creative, and we can help get your ads back on track to a whirlwind of conversions…
