Ad Copy

What is ?

Ad copy is the written text inside an ad, as distinct from the image or video it sits alongside. On Meta, ad copy is built from a specific set of ad creative fields rather than one block of writing: primary text, the main body copy above the media, which maps to Meta's message field, described as the main body of the post, headline, the short line under or near the media, which maps to Meta's name field, the name of the link that can overwrite the title on preview, and description, a secondary line under the headline on formats that support it, which maps to Meta's description field, the link description, not used for Instagram ads. Meta's own Ads Guide gives each field a recommended length rather than one hard technical cap, and that recommendation changes by placement: Facebook Feed recommends 50 to 150 characters of primary text and a 27 character headline, while Instagram Feed recommends 125 characters of primary text and a 40 character headline. A distinct description recommendation only shows up on Carousel ads, at 18 characters per card; single image and video Feed ads do not carry a separate published description recommendation in Meta's current Ads Guide. Copy beyond the recommended length is still accepted, it is simply more likely to be cut off in the placement someone actually sees. Because primary text, headline, and description are separate fields with separate limits, ad copy is a structural writing task as much as a persuasion one: the hook has to survive in the first visible characters of primary text before it gets truncated, and the headline has to work as a short, standalone line rather than a second sentence.

Meta presents these as recommended lengths; longer text is still accepted but is more likely to be truncated in the placement shown.

1. 1

   Write the primary text hook to survive inside the visible character count for the placement you are targeting, not the maximum Meta technically allows. Facebook Feed shows roughly 50 to 150 characters before the rest is truncated, so the offer or hook belongs in that opening stretch, not after it.

2. 2

   Treat the headline as a standalone line, not a continuation of the primary text. Meta's own field description calls it the name of the link that can overwrite the title someone previews, so it needs to read correctly even if a person never expands the primary text at all.

3. 3

   Leave the description field blank on formats where Meta does not publish a recommendation rather than forcing text into it. Meta's Ads Guide only lists a description recommendation for Carousel cards, at 18 characters, and Meta's own field reference notes the description setting is not used for Instagram ads at all.

4. 4

   Write a distinct set of primary text, headline, and description per placement instead of reusing one block everywhere. Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, and Carousel each carry different recommended lengths, so text tuned for one placement's truncation point will not necessarily read as intended in another.

5. 5

   Draft several angles of primary text before picking a winner, and keep the image or video consistent with whichever angle a given version of the copy is making, since a hook that promises one thing in the text and shows another in the media works against both.