Expert Facebook Ad Design:  Recommendations & Specs

Whether you want to make money with Facebook ads or simply increase the reach and engagement of your page, a well-designed ad is essential.

A good design will help you capture people's attention and convey your message more effectively, which can make all the difference when it comes to getting people to take action.

People are also attracted to a visual design that looks professional and trustworthy, which is essential if you're selling a product or service. A good design will make your ad more visually appealing, thus increasing the chances that people will notice it and engage with it.

Even if you are only trying to build brand awareness, a visual element will make it more likely that people will remember your ad.

Moreover, when you consider that people can share the stuff they find the most interesting with their friends, it's easy to see how a great design can help you reach a wider audience somewhat organically.

In the past, Facebook required that the amount of text in your ad image was less than 20% for it to be approved.

The 20% text rule was put in place to ensure that people would see more images and less text when scrolling through their News Feeds. It was also meant to improve the quality of ads on Facebook since many businesses were using images with too much text, which made them look spammy.

However, based on advertisers’ reaction to the user experience, they decided to do away with this rule. This means that technically you don't have to worry about the amount of text in your image as long as it's relevant to your ad.

That said, even though the 20% rule is no longer enforced, it's still a good idea to use images with little or no text for your ads. This is because Facebook can still disapprove of images with a lot of text, and they are less likely to stand out and get the attention you want them to.

So, when designing your next Facebook ad, make sure that you consider the images you use and avoid overusing text to increase engagement.

Here are a few more ideas to consider regarding the ratio of text to image in your ad.

Another factor to consider when designing your Facebook ad is the type of placement you will use. Facebook offers a ton of different options when it comes to this placement.

Some of these include:

While the specification that Facebook places are similar for various placements, there are always subtle differences that you must consider if you aim to reach the maximum number of people possible.

The Facebook ad formats you use will also play a significant role in the overall design of your ad. Depending on what you're trying to achieve, different ads will be more effective.

The following are the official Facebook ad campaign design rules for the various types of ads.

If you want to get the most Facebook ads benefits, there are various design tips that you can use to make your ads more effective and engaging.

The following Facebook ad design tips will help you create winning ads that get results.

Using the Facebook ads library, we can see many excellent facebook ad designs. Some of my favorite examples include ads from brands like Nike, Hootsuite, and D&F clothing, which use bright colors and eye-catching images to engage viewers quickly.

There's only a limited amount of text in this image ad, which in this case is enough to convey the brand and message. This ads is also well-designed, using clean fonts and layouts that are easy to read on both desktop and mobile devices.

With no text being used on the ad itself, the imagery needs to explain what is being promised in the ad. In my opinion, Hootsuite does this fairly well with a simple, uncluttered image that conveys the meaning to the viewers. 

That said, some text on the image might have made this even better.

Another example is the ad for the clothing brand D&F, which uses impactful yet straightforward imagery to draw attention to its products immediately.

A bit lengthier on the ad copy, this company explains what they're all about and where they ship their products. This allows their target audience to know more about what they can offer.

They also use a collection of bright colors to get the message across.

These ads are well-designed and highly effective at getting people interested in what they have to offer.

When making your own Facebook advertisements, take some time to consider how you want them to look and feel so that they form a coherent marketing message across all platforms.

The best way to get an excellent design for your Facebook ad is to hire a professional designer. This will ensure that your ad looks terrific and catches people's attention.

There are many different ways to find designers, such as online directories, social media, and freelancer websites. Once you've found a few designers you like, reach out to them and discuss your project in detail.

Be sure to provide them with all the necessary information about your business, such as your brand guidelines, target audience, and what you're hoping to achieve with your ad campaign. The more information they have, the better they'll be able to create a design that meets your needs.

When working with a designer, give them feedback and provide as much direction as possible. This will help ensure that you get the best results from your ad campaign.

Apart from this, consider using real pictures of your products or services. Rather than using stock photos, these will make your ad more relatable and trustworthy to potential customers.

Make sure you use natural sunlight if possible when taking these pictures for the best results.

If you must use stock photos, then some websites that I recommend are Unsplash and Pexels, which offer high-quality images that you can use for free.

There are also paid stock photo options, which offer a broader selection of images and more customization options.

Finally, it's also a good idea to check out what your competitors are doing regarding their Facebook ad designs. See what's working well for them and try to incorporate some of those same elements into your ads.