Designing High-Converting Facebook Ads for Mobile Screens
When you are designing ads for your business, you are probably sitting at a desk looking at a large, bright computer monitor. Everything looks huge and easy to read. But here is the catch: over 80% of your customers will actually see your ad on a tiny smartphone screen while riding the bus, watching TV, or waiting in line. Let's talk about how to make sure your ads look absolutely perfect on mobile phones!
Make Your Text Big and Bold
If you use small, thin, elegant fonts on your ad image, no one will be able to read it on a phone. The text will look like tiny little ants. People will not stop and squint to figure out what you are selling; they will just keep scrolling with their thumb.
Always use large, thick, bold fonts for your main message. Keep your sentences very short so you can make the font size as big as possible. A good rule of thumb is to look at your ad on your own phone screen before you publish it. If you have to bring the phone closer to your face to read the headline, the text is too small.
Zoom In on the Product
Because phone screens are small, wide landscape shots do not work very well. If your product is just a tiny dot sitting on a table in the background of a huge room, the customer won't know what the ad is for.
[Image of a Facebook mobile feed displaying a well-optimized bright static ad]
Zoom in! Make your physical product the absolute largest thing in the image. It should take up the majority of the square. It needs to be instantly recognizable in a fraction of a second. Close-up, high-quality shots convert much better on mobile than wide, distant shots.
Check Your Colors for the Outdoors
People use their phones everywhere, including outdoors in the bright sun. If your ad uses dull, dark, or low-contrast colors, it will wash out on the screen and become completely invisible under the sunlight.
Use bright, highly contrasting colors to make sure your product pops off the screen. If Facebook's app is dark mode, a bright yellow ad will look incredible. Ensure there is a massive difference between your text color and your background color.
Top 3 Mistakes to Avoid
Using the Wrong Size: Never use wide, horizontal videos or images on Facebook. Always use a Square (1:1) or Vertical (4:5) ratio to take up more screen real estate.
Putting Text at the Very Bottom: On mobile, Facebook puts your "Call to Action" button and website link at the bottom. If your text is too low, it will get covered up.
Too Many Details: Mobile users are moving fast. Do not try to explain your shipping policy, return policy, and brand history on the image. Just focus on getting the click.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Why is square better than landscape?
A square image physically takes up more space on a phone screen. When your ad takes up more space, it is harder to scroll past, which leads to more clicks.
Should I test different colors?
Yes! Test a light background and a dark background to see which one your mobile users respond to best.
Dominate the Mobile Feed
Remember, your customer is holding your store in the palm of their hand. Make it easy for them to see what you sell.
Want ads that are optimized perfectly for mobile?
Stirling automatically designs your static ads with bold text and perfect layouts meant specifically for Facebook and Instagram mobile feeds.
