New Considerations for Creating Effective Stories Ads

by The Latest News from Facebook for Business November 12, 2019

New Considerations for Creating Effective Stories Ads

November 12, 2019

Stories have become a beloved way for people to enhance the creativity of their communication and easily interact. Brands have embraced Stories too - marketers are leaning into the uniqueness of Stories to push the creative envelope and reimagine visual storytelling. We know that when it comes to driving business outcomes in Stories, creative is incredibly important. To help you drive performance in Stories, earlier this year, we shared some considerations for creating Stories ads. Since then, we've continued to conduct research to understand more about creative's role in driving performance in Stories. Today, we're excited to share our latest findings:

Approach: What specific creative strategies should I consider to drive effectiveness?

Take a Stories-first approach or secondarily, Stories-optimized approach, whenever possible - We define Stories-first as a fullscreen vertical asset designed specifically for Stories with creative considerations in mind, that also incorporates the Stories consumer experience, design, and/or the creative tools (e.g. natural tap and hold interactions to pause the ad, or the interactive polling sticker). Stories-optimized is originally a non-fullscreen vertical asset that was repurposed from other placements for Stories. In majority of our tests across brand and direct response campaigns, a Stories-first approach was found to drive the best results. If you need to repurpose assets and take a Stories-optimized approach, be sure to:

Add short context and/or a caption to help clarify your value proposition.
Use native elements wisely; don’t create clutter
Don’t loose critical information when cropping/zooming existing assets

Enhance your static ad with motion - Motion can be used to give more context or detail to a product, or to share a detail of a product that is not possible with a static image. When using motion to add texture to your ad, there’s a 76% chance that the ad will outperform for conversions when compared to a static image. Consider adding slight motion when you have a static asset. Try also to include persistent branding, bold headlines, product-focused imagery/motion, short copy, and place emphasis on CTA to help drive brand recognition. Facebook data, global, Sept 2019

Try out mobile-shot - Mobile-shot refers to creative that resemble organic Stories content, similar to the effect of using a mobile phone camera, or “selfie-mode”. Studio-shot appears to be of higher production value, more like traditional ads. Depending on your objective, strategies may vary:

Brand:
- Ad recall: There is a 78% chance of mobile-shot driving higher ad recall than studio-shot. Facebook data, global, Sep 2019
- Brand awareness: There is a 97% chance of studio-shot driving higher brand awareness than mobile-shot. Facebook data, global, Sep 2019
- Intent: There is a 80% chance of mobile-shot driving higher intent than studio-shot. Facebook data, global, Sep 2019

Direct Response:
- View content: There is an 84% chance that of mobile-shot outperforming studio-shot for View Content. Facebook data, global, Dec 2018
- Purchase, app install and checkout: There is a 63% chance a mobile-shot asset outperforming for purchase, app install and checkout when compared to studio-shot. Facebook data, global, Dec 2018

Brand: How should I integrate brand elements & value prop to drive impact?

Limit inclusion of price - Campaigns that did not feature a price had a 77% chance of performing better for purchase, and a 73% chance for brand awareness campaigns. This indicates that calling out a price or promotion that falls within people's expectations will likely not trigger additional incentive to convert. Facebook data, global, Sept 2019 However, if the price of the product surprises them positively (great promotion, lower price than expected), then they might be interested in engaging further. If adding price, make sure it's integrated in a thoughtful and strategic manner.

Design: How can I design creative elements in my ad to maximize impact?

Pair text with creative focal point - There is a 75% chance your creative will perform better when text is centrally placed for add to cart objectives. Ensure text does not cover crucial information and pair with key shot or frame of person/product to draw attention to focal point.

There will always be more to learn about what works in Stories, especially as consumer behaviors and preferences evolve. We’re looking forward to continuing to uncover more insights to help you further unlock your storytelling potential.

Note that we recommend adhering to these considerations when creating ads across Stories platforms, including Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. To view all creative considerations, check out the creative section of our Stories guide.

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New Considerations for Creating Effective Stories Ads

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tories have become a beloved way for people to enhance the creativity of their communication and easily interact. Brands have embraced Stories too - marketers are leaning into the uniqueness of Stories to push the creative envelope and reimagine visual storytelling. We know that when it comes to driving business outcomes in Stories, creative is incredibly important. To help you drive performance in Stories, earlier this year, we shared some considerations for creating Stories ads. Since then, we've continued to conduct research to understand more about creative's role in driving performance in Stories. Today, we're excited to share our latest findings:

Approach: What specific creative strategies should I consider to drive effectiveness?

Add short context and/or a caption to help clarify your value proposition.
Use native elements wisely; don’t create clutter
Don’t loose critical information when cropping/zooming existing assets

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Brand:
- Ad recall: There is a 78% chance of mobile-shot driving higher ad recall than studio-shot.²
- Brand awareness: There is a 97% chance of studio-shot driving higher brand awareness than mobile-shot.³
- Intent: There is a 80% chance of mobile-shot driving higher intent than studio-shot.⁴

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Direct Response:
- View content: There is an 84% chance that of mobile-shot outperforming studio-shot for View Content.⁵
- Purchase, app install and checkout: There is a 63% chance a mobile-shot asset outperforming for purchase, app install and checkout when compared to studio-shot.⁶

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Brand: How should I integrate brand elements & value prop to drive impact?

Limit inclusion of price - Campaigns that did not feature a price had a 77% chance of performing better for purchase, and a 73% chance for brand awareness campaigns. This indicates that calling out a price or promotion that falls within people's expectations will likely not trigger additional incentive to convert.⁷ However, if the price of the product surprises them positively (great promotion, lower price than expected), then they might be interested in engaging further. If adding price, make sure it's integrated in a thoughtful and strategic manner.

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Design: How can I design creative elements in my ad to maximize impact?

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Text Placement
(Top)

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Text Placement
(Middle)
Best performer

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Text Placement
(Bottom)