How to Choose Images for Your Facebook Ads
The image is responsible for 75-90% of your ad's success. You can write the best Shakespearean sales copy in history, but if the image is boring, nobody will stop scrolling long enough to read it. But what makes an image 'good'? It isn't about being artistic; it's about being effective. Here is the framework for choosing images that convert.
When selecting an image, run it through this 4-point checklist.
1. Relevance to the Hook
Your image and your headline must talk to each other. If your headline is about 'Back Pain,' your image should show someone holding their back in pain, or a diagram of a spine. Don't show a generic photo of a smiling doctor. The disconnect confuses the brain.
2. The Focal Point
Is it obvious what you are selling? If you are selling a coffee mug, but the photo is a wide shot of a messy kitchen with a tiny mug in the corner, you fail. Crop in tight. The product should be the star of the show.
3. Emotional Connection
People buy outcomes, not things. Don't just show the drill; show the hole it makes (or the picture hanging on the wall). Use images that show the result of using your product. A happy person, a clean floor, a relieved face.
4. Authentic vs. Polished
We mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: Authentic usually wins. A photo of your product in a real hand, taken with an iPhone, often beats a sterile white-background product shot. It feels tangible. It helps the user imagine holding it themselves.
5. Brightness and Color
Facebook has a white background (in Light Mode). If your photo is white or light grey, it blends in. Use images with saturated colors or dark contrast to visually separate your ad from the content around it.
Sourcing Images
You don't always have time to take new photos. Stirling allows you to create images from scratch using AI, or enhance your existing simple photos to make them ad-ready. It helps you visualize your product in different environments without needing a photoshoot.
Generate high-converting images with Stirling at TryStirling.com
