Jani KahukiwaLearn how to create effective Meta Ads copy in this guide with our mega Meta Ads Manager, Jonathan Paquin.
Jonathan gives us the ins and outs of copywriting for Meta Ads. These include recommended character length for different ad types/formats, testing approaches for ad copy effectivity, the importance of visual elements such as emojis and formatting, and the difference between long- and short-form copy.
Table Of Contents
General Guidelines
Depending on how you advertise your product, we have different recommendations for different placements. Image, Video, Carousel, and Collection are some of the ways you can sell your products through Meta Ads.
Choosing an objective assists you in the placement of your ads. Any one of the following can define your campaign efficiency: Awareness, Traffic, Engagement, Leads, App Promotions, and Sales. For our purposes, we will focus mainly on Leads and Sales.
Every placement has a recommended character limit. For images and videos, there is a character limit of 27 for each headline and a character limit of 50 to 150 for primary text. This is considered a short-form primary text.
Facebook will take any description of 27 characters and hide a portion of it under See More if your headline exceeds the limit. Instagram may allow for a few characters more owing to brand presence and organic traffic, but try to stick with the Meta Ads parameters.
Meta Ads will take copy from your landing page if you do not supply them with a description.
Carousel is different, having small cards and limited space. You can select either dynamic or static images and videos. We’ll often provide the Carousel with a headline specific to each of the cards, highlighting the benefits or key unique selling points (USPs) of the product or service.
- Primary text 80 characters
- Headline 45 characters
- Description 18 characters
The description is almost always hidden on Carousel.
Catalogs allow for 50 to 150-character limits. On a Dynamic Catalog, the headline will simply be the product name that we pull from Shopify. There is an option to do this manually, setting one headline for all.
Although Jonathan recommends using short-form primary text so your audience does not need to click See More when scrolling, long-form primary text has its advantages, too. This is your chance to pack in a lot of information about your product or service but remember, the audience must click See More to view it in its entirety. Will they do it? That’s the risk you run.
Testing Period For Ad Copy
This pertains mainly to the creatives and videos because this is what the people see first and foremost. If we have an image, we can test it with three different types of ad copy to see which has the greatest impact on viewers.
The average testing period is approximately two weeks, depending on the client’s budget. It gives us enough time to understand how best to build on that and identify the winning formula.
Finding the right angle and identifying key triggers that get people on our side is vital. Furthermore, it’s an opportunity to see how Meta Ads allocates budget to each ad. One ad with certain ad copy might get the majority of ad spend while any others get very little. The algorithm sees each ad as it wants and it’s up to us to read the signs.
Long-Form Vs. Short-Form Copy
Long-form and short-form ad copy is tested for best results. Images, emojis, punctuation, and capital letters are all valid ways of making ad copy stand out on the Meta Ads platform.
Headlines can have uppercase letters to help them stand out, while in the primary text, occasional words may be capitalized to help get the message across.
Brand names and colors can guide ad copy to reflect a client’s values and messages. For example, if the brand logo is purple and every message is answered with a purple heart, it wouldn’t make good marketing sense to add an orange heart to the ad copy. Emojis should accurately reflect the ad copy and can do much to identify a brand name or product and service.
Meta Ads offers an optional text optimization format. It allows Meta to go between the Primary Text, Headlines, and Descriptions as it sees fit. The algorithm is always searching for the winning formula! Jonathan usually turns this function off to avoid having text cropped or omitted. It helps smooth out the overall look of the ad, making it consistent.
Long-form ad copy usually sells on the platform rather than taking people to the landing page. Including a ‘hook’ in the first two or three lines is super effective. Short-form ad copy is attention-grabbing and is all about getting the clicks.
Since long-form copy is quite ‘demanding’ for the reader, most people will only scan the information, hence, the importance of adding emojis, capital letters, and bold font to help them with significant elements of the product or service.
In addition, Jonathan likes to add a link to any relevant videos at the end with an emoji and a CTA to get the viewer’s attention. Please note: the link is not clickable on Instagram. A link in short-form ad copy is possible but looks less neat. Short-form ad copy should be concise and straightforward, without ambiguity.
Most budget goes toward a Facebook feed unless there is a notable presence on Instagram.
Angles For Great Ad Copy
Never lose sight of the purpose of great ad copy. We’re looking for perfect angles to capture a potential customer. Angles can include pain points, benefits (USPs), Us vs. Them, Luxury, Price, and Fast Service.
What is your product or service resolving and relieving? Offer them pain relief. Unique selling points should detail the benefits that a product or service gives if they buy this particular product or service. Us versus them shows how your product or service is a cut above the competition, differentiating you from competitors.
Luxury is a huge calling card for many customers. To be better than the rest is important for many buyers, so relying on ad copy to highlight the luxury factor can be impactful.
While price can often be a determining factor for customers, fast service is less so. Offering quick service and free shipping are great advantages but do not deter from buying when the product or service is amazing.
Direct messaging is becoming more popular where the ad speaks directly to the person scrolling; infomercial-styled ad copy reminiscent of the nineties is gaining popularity. Leaning into the audience can impact the ad copy strength.
Coaching the algorithm is the name of the game. We want to capture a specific consumer from a large inventory. The text can highlight who we look for: ATTENTION Real Estate Investors!! Ad copy should follow this powerful call.
Style
Looking for the right language style? Be inspired by organic posts and the client’s website overall. Focusing on reviews and comments can refine your use of language and give insights into issues or general impressions of the goods or services.
Ad copy will have a different tone when aiming to reach existing customers for remarketing purposes. Once more, the goal is to capture the attention of whoever is scrolling through our content. In addition, the style should suit the images and videos, whether they are new or existing creatives.
And based on who we are reaching out to, the meaning can change somewhat. Think about the difference between a female audience and a male audience. You can use this difference to accentuate the ad copy language. The idea is to use the best one or to test them out for the best results.
And that’s what we’ve got for you today on Meta Ads copywriting. We wish you the best as you move forward on your customer journey. For more information, get in touch with the experts at Solutions 8!
