The Fundamental Principles of Creating Meta Ads

# Overview Jon Loomer frames Meta ad creation as a set of fundamental principles rather than a universal template. Following these principles won't guarantee success, but failing to follow them makes high performance less likely. Treat them as a checklist you use when building ads in Meta's Ads Manager or the multimedia creative workflow.

# What to provide Create multiple formats. Don't rely solely on a single format such as video or static images. Meta's system delivers different formats to different people and placements. If you remove formats, you remove potential customers who respond better to another format. At minimum, supply both static image and video options. Carousels are worth considering, but the priority is to include both image and video.

# Placements and Advantage+ Placements If your performance goal is to maximize conversions or conversion value, use all placements with Advantage+ Placements in almost all cases. When you expect Meta to maximize conversions, prepare creative that looks good across those placements. A common mistake is envisioning the ad only in a single placement (feeds or reels) and neglecting other placements.

When submitting creative, think beyond a single placement. Maximize performance across multiple placements rather than optimizing only for one or two.

# Aspect ratios and placement-specific creative

Examples of placement-specific notes:

• Use 9x16 for stories and reels.
• Use square or 4x5 in feeds.
• Use square or horizontal for right column and search results.
• Some placements grouped with vertical placements are better served by square assets (Ads on Facebook Reels and Marketplace can be exceptions).

Avoid placing important elements in the bottom third of tall creative because that area can be covered by UI elements. You can provide tall images that get cropped for other placements, but crops can produce poor results if not handled carefully.

# Copy options and structure

Meta supports up to five primary text and headline options. Use them, and make each option meaningfully different. Try short and long variations. Place the most important text early because primary text will be truncated after one to three lines depending on placement. Grab attention in those first few words.

# Sales psychology in copy

# Practical checklist (summary)

• Use Advantage+ Placements for conversion-focused goals and prepare creative for multiple placements.
• Provide placement-specific aspect ratios: square/4x5 for feeds, 9x16 for reels/stories, horizontal for some placements.
• Supply up to three media versions per ad and customize which placements each version appears in when possible.

• Put key messaging in the first line of primary text to avoid truncation and to capture attention.
• Use sales psychology rather than only functional descriptions.

# Outcome you should expect