The most important thing to keep in mind when creating assets for social media is how quickly people scroll. Creative needs to be particularly eye-catching and digestible in order to interrupt this scrolling, and inspire users to stop and click.
Here are some best practices for these assets:
Keep your copy short, punchy, and streamlined.
- The message of your ad must be instantly understandable.
- Use larger and high-contrast overlay text.
- There should be only one headline; one idea.
- You don’t need to repeat information from the copy fields within the design—limit the text within the design and complement the ad copy.
- Focus on explaining the problem your product or service solves, and how. Then, gradually lead the viewer on the call to action. (This works particularly well in GIFs and videos.)
- Lead with the problem: Shaving shouldn’t give you razor burn.
- Phrase the problem as a question: Tired of razor burn?
- Frame as a listicle: 5 Ways this Razor Eliminates Razor Burn
- Lead with the product: This razor blew the Sharks away!
- Lead with the product and problem: This razor eliminates razor burn.
- When advertising a promotion, add clear offer or discount messaging.
Make sure your visual assets are eye-catching.
- Designs with high contrast and/or colors that "pop" tend to perform well on social.
- For videos and GIFs, show your product clearly and as soon as possible.
While we always advise on creative strategy, common wisdom around the marketing funnel tells us that:
- When ads are intended to attract new customers, it’s generally best to focus on lifestyle and introducing your brand more broadly.
- As you move down the funnel to audiences that are familiar with your brand, it’s wise to focus on individual products. While we sometimes leverage catalog ads for these campaigns (which don’t require custom creative), you can also absolutely use custom creative as well!
Recommended specs for Facebook/Instagram:
- Design Recommendations
- File Type: JPG or PNG
- Ratio: 1.91:1 to 1:1
- Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels
- Technical Requirements
- Maximum File Size: 30MB
- Minimum Width: 600 pixels
- Minimum Height: 600 pixels