How to write effective ad text in Meta Ads campaigns?

When planning an advertising campaign on the Meta platform, we need to take several issues into account. In addition to the strategy, advertising goal and budget of the campaign, equally important are the creative aspects of the planned ads, which determine whether the ad will be “clickable” or disappear in the maze of content the user encounters while scrolling through Facebook or Instagram. In this article, we will focus on the topic of ad text in Meta Ads campaigns and learn about good practices to follow if you want your campaign to succeed.

Few words about Meta Ads platform

If you’ve been following the activity on the Up&More blog then you’re certainly well aware of the advertising opportunities offered by the Meta Ads platform. However, if you are just starting your adventure with online marketing then the most important points you need to know about this platform is that it allows you to advertise your products and services on Meta properties, namely Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and through Audience Network. When creating campaigns, we can set advertising goals that will help us achieve the desired results and choose advertising placements that best resonate with that particular goal. This could be to increase brand awareness, engage users, generate conversions or something else related to your marketing strategy. This allows you to tailor the content and message of your ads to a specific goal, making your campaign more effective.

Text Elements in Meta Ads

Depending on the ad format we choose and its placement, it will contain other text elements, which we should treat individually. The most text and its types will definitely appear in the Facebook News section ad, so it is on its example that we will discuss its various elements. These can be seen in the graphic below:

In an ad with this structure, we will therefore have the following fields to fill in:

Primary text – primary text 

Headline – headline 

Description – description

Call-to-action button – CTA button

Good practices when creating ad texts

Therefore, based on the elements presented, let’s discuss the good practices we can apply to improve the effectiveness of our ads with the texts included in it.

Primary Text, basic text:

1. Concise and “to the point”: Your primary text should be concise and easy to read at a glance – ideally, it should fit into 1-3 lines. Avoid overly long sentences and redundant information.
2. Focus on benefits: Highlight the benefits users will get from your offer. Why they should click on your ad
3. Added value: Clearly articulate why your offer is unique and why it should interest your audience. What sets your company or product apart from the competition?

Headline, headline:

1. Short and succinct: The headline should be short and crisp and preferably be within a few words. Although theoretically the field for a headline does not have a limit on the characters you can put into it, a good practice is to lock in 35 characters. Also remember that the headline is the first thing users will see, so it needs to be eye-catching.
2. Use strong keywords: Try to use keywords or phrases related to the campaign topic in your ad headline text. This helps increase the relevance of the ad and reach valuable users.

Description, description:

1. Complete information: The description should complement the information in the body text and headline. In it, you can describe the benefits, features or functions of the product/service in more detail. Only the user who is already engaged with the content of the ad will be familiar with this element of the text, so you can get a little more elaborate, but avoid “pouring water”. 

Call-to-Action Button, CTA button:

1. Clear and understandable: The CTA button should be clear and clear in its message. Use the specific action you want users to take from those available to choose from when you create the ad in Meta Ads.

Don’t forget to conduct A/B tests to see which ad text produces the best results. Also ensure that the ad text is consistent with the message on the creative material used in the ad, while avoiding repeating in the ad text the text seen on the graphic or video.

Emoji in Meta Ads texts

For some advertising platforms, such as Google Ads, we will not have the option to use emoji and most special characters. In Meta Ads we do not have this restriction – we can use emoji at will, however, is it always a good idea?

The answer, of course, is “it depends.” However, let’s expand on this thought: using emoji in ad text in Meta Ads campaigns can be both a good and bad idea, depending on the context and type of campaign. Emoticons can help grab users’ attention, especially when used creatively and tailored to the ad content. They can help set your ad apart from others and make it more appealing in the eyes of your audience. In addition, they can help convey the emotion and mood associated with your ad. For example, the use of a smiley face can suggest the joy or satisfaction that a user may feel as a result of taking advantage of, for example, the promotion advertised at the time. Additionally, if your target audience is younger or frequently uses social media, emoji may be a good option. 

With the above in mind, if you decide to use emoji in your advertising texts then also remember to avoid overkill. Too many emoji in an ad can make it look chaotic or unprofessional. So try to avoid an excess of emoticons and use them in moderation – for example, only at the end of a sentence in the body text, or once in a headline. Also keep context in mind. Using random emoji that have no connection to the product or service you are advertising can be confusing to your audience. Also make sure that the emoji you use will not be misunderstood or considered offensive in your region. This is because often given emoticons and their combinations have double meanings in certain social groups and cultures. 

Using AI to create advertising texts

Fast ad text creation is one of the conveniences that artificial intelligence can offer us. This is now an increasingly common practice, as it saves the time we would normally spend preparing texts. “Prompts”, or command templates, which we can put into the ChatGPT tool, for example, are becoming a popular solution, and after modifying a few pieces of information, we will receive a series of suggestions in return. However, it is worth remembering that AI is not able to completely replace human creativity and intuition. It is important to maintain a balance between automation and manual creation of advertising content, and to constantly monitor the results. AI-generated texts should be analyzed before being implemented into a campaign, and it is worth testing them to see if we can actually count on their effectiveness.

Good text is basic

Remember that each element of the ad text on the Meta Ads platform should be consistent with the entire campaign and correspond to the advertising goal. To help you achieve your marketing goal, you can use tools and technologies such as ChatGPT to streamline the ad creation process. However, remember that human creativity, audience understanding and intuition still play a key role in creating successful campaigns. Striving to hone your skills, keeping up with trends and responding to changes in user behavior will allow you to achieve outstanding results in campaigns run through the Meta Ads platform. Be creative, be analytical and be ready for change – this is the key to success in the dynamic world of online advertising on social media platforms.