How long should Facebook ad copy be

Last updated: June 9, 2021

Let’s be real for a second–if you’re spending even a penny on advertising, you should be considering Facebook. Why? Nearly everyone is there. Facebook continues to attract all types of audiences as part of their daily routine.

And that’s why it’s important to make sure your content looks pristine by using the correct Facebook ad sizes. Click the jump links below to skip ahead!

• Facebook Feed ads
• Facebook Carousel Ads
• Facebook Stories Ads
• Facebook right column ads
• Facebook in-stream video ads
• Facebook Instant Articles ads
• Facebook Marketplace ads
• Audience Network native, banner and interstitial ads
• Sponsored Message ads
• Messenger Home ads
• Facebook Collection ads

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Facebook Feed ads

Every advertiser is fighting for space on a user’s Facebook Feed. This is the prime real estate for Facebook ads to stand out to users. Available both in image or video format, these ads will appear on both mobile and desktop. Let’s get started:

Feed ad image dimensions and guidelines

• Recommended resolution: 1080×1080.
• Minimum width and height: 600 pixels.
• Recommended aspect ratio is between 9:16 to 16:9.
• Recommended image formats are JPG and PNG.
• Images with 20% text or more could increase chances of failed delivery.

Feed ad character limits

• Text: 125 characters.
• Headline: 25 characters.
• Link description: 30 characters.

Feed video ad specs

• Recommended to upload the highest resolution video possible.
• Recommended resolution: 1080×1080.
• Captions are recommended.
• Recommended aspect ratio is between 9:16 to 16:9 (Horizontal: 16:9, Square: 1:1, Vertical: 4:5 or 2:3 and Full Portrait: 9:16).
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV (see full list here).
• Max video file size is 4GB.
• Video length max is 240 minutes.

Feed ad character limits

• Primary text: 125 characters.
• Link description: 30 characters.
• Headline: 40 characters.

Learn more about Facebook image sizes

Make sure both your paid and organic content on Facebook has the right design specs with these resources:

• Always Up-to-Date Guide to Social Media Image Sizes
• The Picture-Perfect Facebook Cover Photo Size
• Facebook Event Photo Size & Dimensions Guide

Facebook Stories ads

Facebook Stories are the disappearing content feature for the network that last only 24 hours on users’ feeds, similar to Instagram or Snapchat Stories. Similar to Instagram, they have a highly visible placement near the top of the desktop or mobile app’s newsfeed, and are a great way to capture immediate audience attention.

Here are the specs and recommendations you need to know for Facebook Stories ads:

Facebook Stories ad image dimensions and guidelines

• Recommended image size: at least 1080 x 1080 pixels
• Recommended ratio is 1.91:1, and while 1:1 and other aspect ratios can be used, the image may be adjusted or masked.
• Max image size of 30MB.
• Recommended image formats are JPG and PNG.

Facebook Stories video ad specs

• Recommended resolution 1080 x 1080.
• Aspect ratio is 9:16.
• Max video file size is 4 GB.
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Video duration range is 1 second to 2 minutes.
• Video max frames 30fps.

Stories ad character limits

• Text: 125 characters.
• Headline: 40 characters.

Facebook Carousel ads

Facebook Carousel Ads are a perfect way to showcase your brand with multiple images or videos. Carousel ads are a kind of advertising format that combines multiple videos or images that users can scroll through into a single ad placement. It’s great for brands and business that want to:

• Showcase multiple products at once
• Display different features of a service
• Highlighting offers, reviews or testimonials in one ad

For retailers, it’s great to show various colors, sizes and other key details to convince users to buy. This format is available for both video and image for all Carousel ad placements.

Facebook Carousel Ads are available on multiple different ad types:

• Facebook Feed (Image and Video)
• Facebook Right Column
• Facebook Instant Articles
• Facebook Marketplace
• Facebook Stories
• Facebook Audience Network Native, Banner and Interstitial
• Messenger Inbox

Luckily, there’s only a few differences between each ad type within Carousel for image and video ads. See the specs here:

Carousel ad image dimensions and guidelines

• Recommended image size: at least 1080 x 1080 pixels
• Minimum width and height of 600 pixels (minimum 254 x 133 pixels for Messenger Home Carousel Ads).
• Minimum 2 cards and max of 10 cards per Carousel Ad.
• Recommended ratio is 1:1.
• Max image size of 30MB.
• Recommended image formats are JPG and PNG.

How to optimally use text and which slides of your carousel are immediately visible are the primary differences between each type of placement. You can learn more and even create a mockup at Facebook’s business center.

Carousel video ad specs

• Recommended resolution 1080 x 1080.
• Aspect ratio is 1:1.
• Max video file size is 4 GB.
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Video duration range is 1 second to 240 minutes.
• Video max frames 30fps.

Carousel ad character limits

• Text: 125 characters.
• Headline: 40 characters.
• Link description: 20 characters.
• Landing page URL required.

Facebook right column ads

While these small ads only appear on desktop, data shows they have the highest CPC (cost per click) among other Facebook ad types.

Right column ad image dimensions and guidelines

• Recommended resolution: 1080×1080.
• Minimum dimensions: 254×133.
• Recommended aspect ratio is between 9:16 to 16:9, but crops to 1.91:1 with link.
• Recommended image formats are JPG and PNG.
• Images with 20% text or more could increase chances of failed delivery.

Right column ad character limits

• Headline: 40 characters.

Facebook in-stream video ads

Facebook in-stream video ads are different from regular feed ads as they only last 5 to 15 seconds. According to CPC Strategy, the average on-target rate is nearly 90% and have a completion view rate of 70%. The quick, digestible videos are perfect for brands trying to catch the attention of users with small interactions.

In-stream video ad specs

• Recommended to upload the highest resolution video possible.
• Recommended aspect ratio is 16:9 (ratios fall between 9:16 to 16:9).
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Max video file size is 4GB.
• Video length is 15 seconds to 10 minutes.
• Highly recommended to include video sound.
• Captions are likewise optional, but recommended

For more info on the video specs across social networks, check out our complete guide on social media video dimensions.

Facebook Instant Articles ads

Looking to promote a piece of content across Facebook? The release of Facebook Instant Article ads allows quick-loading, mobile optimized content through Facebook’s app. Additionally, advertisers have the option to place ads within the articles as well. This ad format is available for image and video:

Instant article ad image dimensions and guidelines

• Recommended resolution: at least 1080×1080.
• Recommended aspect ratio is between 1.91:1 to 1:1 (with link)
• Recommended image formats are JPG and PNG.

Instant article video ad specs

• Recommended resolution: at least 1080×1080.
• Recommended aspect ratio 16:9.
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Max video file size is 4GB.
• Video max length is 241 minutes.

Instant article ad character limits

• Headline: 40 characters.
• Primary text: 125 characters.
• Description (images): 30 characters.

Facebook Marketplace ads

Facebook Marketplace works as a hub on the network to buy and sell items with others in your community. While scrolling through this feature, you’ll run across Facebook Marketplace ads. This is ideal if you’re wanting to attract users to your site searching for a specific product or even location. Both video and image are available formats.

Marketplace ad image guidelines and dimensions

• Recommended resolution 1080×1080.
• Recommended aspect ratio is between 9:16 to 16:9, but crops to 1.91:1 with link.
• Recommended image formats are JPG and PNG.
• Images with 20% text or more could increase chances of failed delivery.

Marketplace video ad specs

• Recommended resolution 1080×1080.
• Recommended aspect ratio 4:5.
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Max video file size is 4GB.
• Video max length is 241 minutes.

Marketplace ad character limits

• Text: 125 characters.
• Headline: 25 characters.
• Link description: 30 characters.

For more information on other social media image sizes, check out our always up to date image size guide!

Audience Network native, banner and interstitial ads

If you’re looking to advertise to users on other valuable spaces, but through Facebook, this format is perfect for you. Facebook Audience Network ads work natively, on banners and interstitial ads. Whether it’s pre- or mid-roll placements, it’s nice knowing your content will appear on trusted publishers. Think of this as Facebook’s own Display Ads. Again, there are both image and video options here:

Audience Network ad image dimensions and guidelines

• Minimum resolution of 398 x 208 pixels.
• Recommended aspect ratio is between 9:16 to 16:9, and 9:16 is recommended with link.
• Recommended image formats are JPG and PNG.
• Images with 20% text or more could increase chances of failed delivery.

Audience Network video ad specs

• Recommended to upload the highest resolution video possible.
• Recommended aspect ratio is between 9:16 to 16:9.
• Recommended video formats are .MP4 and .MOV.
• Max video file size is 4GB.
• Video minimum length is 10 seconds and the maximum is 120 seconds.
• Video thumbnails with 20% text or more could increase chances of failed delivery.

Audience Network ad character limits

• Text: 125 characters.
• Headline: 25 characters.
• Link description (optional): 30 characters.

Did you have a prospective customer interact with you on Facebook Messenger, but they didn’t convert? If you want to re-engage and target these users, you can use Sponsored Messages to reach back out. However, selecting this format turns off other placements and again, you can only target those with existing conversations.

Sponsored message ad image guidelines

• Recommended resolution: 1080×1080
• Aspect ratio 1.91:1.
• Recommended image formats are JPG and PNG.
• Images with 20% text or more could increase chances of failed delivery.

Sponsored message ad character limits

• Text: 125 characters.
• Headline: 40 characters.
• Link description: 30 characters.

Facebook Messenger ads

When users scroll through their Facebook Messenger Home, sponsored ads are available to appear between conversations. This ad format is only available for image content and only appears on the Facebook Messenger app.

Facebook messenger ad image guidelines

• Recommended resolution 1080×1080
• Aspect ratio 1:1
• Recommended image formats are JPG and PNG.
• Images with 20% text or more could increase chances of failed delivery.

Facebook messenger character limits

• Text: 125 characters.
• Headline: 40 characters.

Facebook Collection ads

Facebook Collection ads are a great way to provide a highly visual product highlight feature all within the ad placement. While it’s only available in Facebook Feeds, this ad type allows a cover photo or video (both available on Collection ads) to showcase several products. Additionally, when users click the full-screen version, users are sent to an Instant Experience (formerly called Canvas). Here, users are brought to a scrollable mobile engagement experience to learn more about a brand.

Facebook Collection ad image & video specs and guidelines

• Collections ads use the first image or video in asset from your Instant Experience
• Recommended ratio is 1:1 for square images, and assets may be masked to this aspect ratio.
• Recommended resolution: 1080×1080.
• Collections ads can show off your products in different ways, including Instant Storefront, Instant Lookbook and Instant Customer Acquisition. Learn more about the specific details of each type at Facebook’s business center.

Facebook Collection ad character limits

• Text: 125 characters.
• Headline: 40 characters.

For more information on the various ad sizes and specs, check out Facebook’s video requirement page and ads guide.

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