What Does Great Facebook Ad Creative Look Like?

Some companies go straight to Shutterstock to find the ‘perfect’ creative for their next Facebook ads campaign. Type in “man listening to music”, and the page loads with stock imagery of men listening to music. Then, you simply download the image and there you have it, the ‘perfect’ creative for your Facebook ads campaign, right?  Wrong!

The problem with Shutterstock is that 1) it looks super cheesy (sorry, but it really does) and 2) other companies are likely using the exact same image for their campaigns or on their websites.  How many times have you seen a Facebook ad and thought to yourself, “Ew, they’re using Shutterstock”?

Well, my friends, it’s time to put an end to Shutterstock imagery!  

Here are some recommendations on how you can start producing awesome creative for your next Facebook ads campaign.

Produce Custom Photography

Whether you’re selling a product or service, producing custom photography not only highlights your products and/or services the way you envision it, it also allows you to produce imagery that creates a story associated with your brand. On Facebook, carousel ads tend to perform best, so why not produce imagery that tells a story through carousel ads?  

Before hiring a photographer, or taking the shots yourself, put together a vision board of what you would like the look and feel of your ads to be. Then, write out the ad copy and call to action.  This will allow you to then produce photography that is in line with the messaging of your ads.

Create Videos

Videos allow you to share a story and experience, feature your products in action, and deliver your message concisely. According to Facebook, people are gazing 5x longer at video than at static content. So why not create videos for your next social media campaign?

Hiring a videographer can be costly, but well worth the investment. If you’re looking to create a corporate video to communicate your company story, or a video series on a particular topic, it’s important to work with a videographer to do so. Corporate videos perform well on Social ads, so it’s important to make sure it’s professionally done.  

If you don’t have the budget to hire a professional videographer, no problem! Facebook For Business created a page on their website on how to bring your business to life with Facebook video ads. Here, you can find tips and tricks on how to use video on Facebook. According to Facebook, all you need is 1) your mobile camera 2) creative apps and 3) a few ideas.

Hire Influencers

If you’re looking for a wide variety of lifestyle content that targets different audiences, look no further than Influencer Marketing! Influencers are content creators, and the majority of them have the ability to produce high quality content, and incorporate the product or service in their lives (that they share with the world).

More than ever, influencers are now creating content (custom photography and videography) for brands without sharing it on their social accounts as an #ad. This is called branded content. When done right, branded content created by influencers can tell a personal story that you wouldn’t be able to capture without having to hire a professional photographer or videographer and models, which can cost thousands of dollars. Take that branded content and turn it into static ads, carousel ads or video ads, and with the right message, there’s no doubt that these will outperform that same old Shutterstock imagery by a longshot!

I hope that you will help us in putting an end to cheesy Shutterstock imagery and try one of the above options for your next Facebook ads campaign!

If you do, please leave a comment below and let us know how your ads performed.