New Meta Ad Changes Copywriters Need to Know About

If you write Meta ads for clients (which you should really consider because it’s a highly sought-after service), you know that Meta likes to keep you on your toes.

Know the Rules Around Copy for Meta Ads

First of all, Meta already has some pretty strict rules about what can and can’t go into its ads.

You can’t target people by calling out personal attributes (“As a mom of a toddler, you might..”). Ads can’t make people feel bad about themselves. And you certainly can’t make sensational claims or use a sensational tone (“3 Shocking Tips to Lose All Your Belly Fat”). Here’s the full list of Meta’s rules. Breaking these rules can get ads disapproved and even, in some cases, get an entire ad account permanently shut down.

So, as a writer of Meta ads, you need to know Meta’s regulations or customs.

Incidentally, if Meta doesn’t approve your ad then it’s not the end of the world. Sometimes ads get flagged by their system when they should be. Case in my point, my ads have been disapproved for promoting a “get rich quick” mentality. When I appealed that disapproval and explained that the ads are for legitimate, professional copywriting training, the ads were always turned back on.

Know the Rules Around Design for Meta Ads

But you also have to keep abreast of changes that Meta makes to its systems—and even its designs—that may affect your ad. The most recent change is a prime example of one of those.

Meta changed the layout of page posts and ads on mobile to match the overall design they rolled out earlier this year. No big deal, right?

Well, kind of a big deal. Because in addition to changing the aspect ratio of images (essentially, the size of images), it’s also decreasing the lines of copy that will be shown before that “See More” button that expands the ad.

Let’s make that even clearer: When you’re writing an ad for Meta (and now for both desktop AND mobile), instead of getting seven lines of text to get people engaged and interested, you only get a maximum of three lines.

Here’s what that looks like:

(Here’s Meta’s best practices for aspect ratios.)

So, what does that mean? Well, it means that the first three lines of your ad have to be REALLY good. They need to catch your target audience’s attention, they need to connect with that target audience out of the entire Meta audience, and they need to entice them to either immediately either click to read more or take the primary action of the ad (click to go somewhere else, watch a video, sign up for something, etc.)

Now, that’s definitely not impossible—but it is tricky. It requires an exceptional understanding of your client’s target audiences, their desires and pain points, and exactly how they’ll benefit from what the ad wants them to do.

It requires creativity and thinking out of the box.

Don’t Forget to Test!

And it also requires testing. As a Meta ads copywriter, you’d never deliver just one Meta ad. (Or, to be clear, sign on for a project where you deliver just one ad.) There are so many factors that go into whether ads are successful that it’s essential for your clients to test their ads, and test them regularly. For each project, the minimum number of ads you should plan to deliver is three.

This new change adds another challenge to writing copy for Meta ads…but it’s also certainly not impossible to do. Skilled writers are creating amazing, interesting ads even with that “three lines” constraint and helping their clients see massive success. You can do that, too.

And, after all, isn’t that combination of challenge and creativity part of what we love about copywriting? Thanks to Meta for a fresh little reminder.

Your Turn

Did you notice the difference on Meta? How will this change how you concept your Meta ad projects? Let me know in the comments below.

Last Updated on March 29, 2024