What Makes a Great Meta Ad Image or Video?

Ask: What do I want people to feel, understand, or do?

• Promoting a service? Show it in action.

• Driving local engagement? Highlight familiar scenes or people.

• Offering a deal? Make the offer visually clear.

• Avoid pixelation or blurry images—Meta penalizes low-quality visuals.

• Use natural light where possible for photos and videos.

• Keep compositions clean and uncluttered so the message is clear at a glance.

• Faces draw attention—use smiling, approachable people when relevant.

• Show your service in context (e.g., a dog enjoying your treats, a freshly painted wall, a happy senior client post-move).

• Avoid stock photos if you can. Authentic visuals perform better.

• Square (1:1) or vertical (4:5 or 9:16) formats perform best on mobile.

• Skip corporate or overly produced visuals. Social content should feel native to the platform.

• Add motion if possible—short video clips or subtle animations outperform static images in many cases.

• Meta recommends less than 20% of the image area be text.

• If you use text, make sure it’s readable on mobile.

• Let the visual tell the story. Use ad copy to fill in the details.

• Use your logo or brand colors, but don’t overpower the visual.

• The goal is recognition without looking like a banner ad.

Some combinations will make more sense than others. Test different styles (product close-ups, testimonials, lifestyle moments) to see what works.

Avoid:

• Excessive text

• Misleading images

• Non-functioning CTAs (e.g., fake buttons)

• Before/after body images (for health/fitness brands)

Use Meta’s official ad guidelines as a reference.

• Painting Franchise: A 5-second timelapse of a room transformation.

• Pet Food Franchise: A dog running to the door when the food delivery arrives.

• Moving Franchise: A smiling team helping an older adult carry a plant to their new home.

Flamel’s asset manager lets you upload and use branded content with ease. Don’t have content? Explore media with our Pexels integration or ask your franchisor for brand-approved assets.