7 steps to create the perfect Facebook ad

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No? 

Good, get in. 

We’re going on a quest to make the perfect Facebook ad. 

“Being advanced means never not doing the basics,” says the muscular business bro Alex Hormozi. 

In the quest to make the perfect ad, there is no one single thing. 

It’s a lot of little things working together. 

It’s learning the basics. And then executing them a little better every time.  

Today, I have a challenge for you, a quest if you will. 

Improve one of the seven principles of amazing ads.

Each principal has a quest to improve your skills. 

Pick one thing. Do the homework. And apply it to your next ad. 

Choose your ad quest below 👇

1. Find a more creative POV hook

POV is still one of the most viral organic formats. It’s easy for people to create. And will continue to dominate TikTok and Reels for years to come. 

The problem is that brands have gotten quite lazy with this format. Often, it is not even a POV—it’s just a text overlay with “POV: something, something” and then shot in the 3rd person! 

Here are a few examples of brands who got more creative with their POV. 

Savannah Sanchez shared this clever example she made for Fi with the ad coming from a dog’s POV using a Trickster voiceover. 

McDonald's gave delivery ads a new twist, showing what the food sees. 

How could you blow people away with an unexpected perspective? Get creative and go beyond the standard camera angles. 

⚔️ Your quest ⚔️

Use ChatGPT to brainstorm creative angles to tell your story. Ask ChatGPT to think of unexpected angles. Refine the ideas. And come up with a POV that you haven’t used before.

2. Test a new mood or message 

Every product has a certain mood that will sell it best. 

Think of luxury goods—there is a reason why they all have beautiful stores, meticulously placed products, and stylish staff. It creates an environment to buy.  

Here’s an ad I loved from Bumble. 

It’s so personal. It feels like you’re going through someone’s camera roll which fits perfectly the product being sold—finding someone to create a life with. 

Creative diversity isn’t just about videos vs. static ads. It’s about the different concepts and aesthetics you’re testing. 

⚔️ Your quest ⚔️

Read the section on the eight core human psychological triggers in Cashvertising by Drew Eric Whitman. See if there is a new emotional angle you could test. Brainstorm how you might express the mood of this emotion—what will the ad look like? 

3. Make it more native to the social platform

“This year, brands are asking me for more and more organic-looking content,” Savannah Sanchez told us recently. 

“Brands are saying—’don’t do 3-reasons why ads, don’t do formulaic, we want it to look like a regular TikTok video.’”

To make ads that feel native, you need to spend more time beyond your own FYP as the algo has no doubt stuffed it with marketing content by now. 

I like to log out of TikTok and open TikTok’s Explore Page in Incognito mode. 

Then, I start absorbing organic trends, aesthetic choices, and angles. 

I like to dive into the Explore Page’s different categories. 

For example, if you sell an app, mobile game, or tech product, use the Technology tab. You’ll see interesting tutorials and ways of showing off products. 

In my research for this issue, I found this viral organic series below. I think the simple, dramatic editing style could be applied to before-after and problem-solution ads. 

Pure absorption of organic TikTok content will fill your head with ad ideas. So pick a category and start scrolling. 

⚔️ Your quest ⚔️

Spend 30 minutes on TikTok’s Explore Page. 

Dive into a specific area—such as ‘Technology’—and make a note of the new angles you’re seeing, editing styles, and voice-over techniques. Bring these back to your ads. 

For example, let’s say I work at Ruggable—would applying the dramatic before-after style I found above work to show a room without and with a rug? 

4. Make your brand promise more specific 

Last year, researchers analyzed data from over 2,000 campaigns and published their findings in the Harvard Business Review. 

They evaluated ads based on whether the ads made an explicit and verifiable promise to customers.

The TL;DR? 

Effective ads often have a “clear and specific promise to the customer that can be demonstrably fulfilled.”

Think of True Classic. They make a clear promise to customers—that our shirts will fit you better than anything else at this price point. 

It’s the first thing you’ll hear about in their ads. Their homepage even shows you side-by-side, True Classic’s fit vs. other brands. 

But your promise can’t be fluffy. 

As the researchers wrote, “the value of any customer promise is precisely that it is a guarantee, which requires that the customer be able to determine that the promise was fulfilled.” 

For example, when I bought my first True Classic product, I was excited to test it out—”Okay,” I said to myself, “Let’s see if this shirt actually fits better.” 

⚔️ Your quest ⚔️

Is your brand promise specific and demonstrable? 

Come up with a new static ad that tries a more specific version of your brand promise. 

Or if you have a strong brand promise, think of ways to further invite customers to prove it like True Classic does on their homepage. 

5. Improve your lighting 

The perfect ad needs to have amazing lighting. 

With iPhones, you can shoot a decent ad without much lighting knowledge. 

But going a little deeper into your lighting knowledge will help you make beautiful ads like this 👇

I love the warm colors, the depth created by other lights in the room, and the overall cozy aesthetic that is essential for selling things like furniture. 

To create an ad like this, you can’t just point and shoot in any light condition. 

You need to know how to get the right light temperature (aka Kelvin scale). 

⚔️ Your quest ⚔️

This video shows you mistakes to avoid and different moods you can create with lighting. Give it a watch and see if you can add any tips to your briefings. 

Then, download an app like BeastCam and spend 30 minutes playing with Kelvin settings and compare how different light temperatures change the mood and story of your shots. 

Play with 5600K (outside light temperature) and 3200K (indoor light temperature) and see if you can recreate the vibe of the ad above with the warm colors. 

As you can see below, these two settings dramatically change the mood. 

This is what you get if you just point and shoot with the iPhone. It’s good but isn’t a cozy mood. 

This is what you get if you warm the colors using BeastCam, a little closer to the ad above. 

And this is what you get if you use a lower Kelvin setting—though, this would work if you want a less cozy vibe. 

6. Hire high-energy UGC creators 

Many brands are reporting that UGC isn’t working like it used to. But often, the UGC acting is low-energy, not believable, and the ads have become too formulaic. 

“The energy of your creators,” says Savannah Sanchez, “is incredibly important to the success of your ad. No one wants to listen to someone just ramble off product value props.”

Savannah says one of her secrets to success is that she is like a talent scout. 

She finds people who can deliver on camera and have great energy. And then trains them to create ads.  

⚔️ Your quest ⚔️

Take a stroll down Instagram or TikTok. Find a high-energy creator who is not yet popular. Think like a talent scout, looking for potential. Try them out in an ad. 

7. Try a dramatic demonstration ad

Demonstration is powerful. As advertisers, we should always be thinking about new ways to give people irrefutable proof that our product works. 

But most demonstrations are quite boring. How can you dramatize your key product strengths? Make it wild and totally persuasive. 

⚔️ Your quest ⚔️

Spend 10 minutes reading this past Thumbstop issue on demonstration ads, covering the art of making demonstration ads. We’ve included some amazing ad examples. 

Then, brainstorm a creative demonstration with lots of drama and a scroll-stopping test of your product’s strengths. 

How to make the best DTC ads 

Finally, the best ads defy formalization. 

You can apply all the principles you like. 

But originality is the true point of creativity. 

As Ryan Bartlett, the Co-founder and CEO of True Classic, told me: 

“To marketers trying to check the box on creative: start treating it like it’s real art and you’ll be amazed at the difference in performance. Thoughtfulness is always the most important ingredient.” 

So try something completely new. Test a wild swing. Trust your creative instinct. You might just uncover the next trendy ad format in DTC. 

Go make some really good ads this week!