Meta ads are a great way to reach students of all ages. After all, we know from our latest Media Prefs data that Instagram weighs in as the #1 most popular social media channel when survey results are aggregated by age:
At +74%, Instagram is a student social media favorite!
And among older students, Facebook still reigns:
Facebook is still a fave of older students., especially those 31+.
But advertisers often run into a major challenge trying to get the word out on the social media giant. We’re talking about truncation: When your awesome ad copy gets cut off, seemingly at random.
“The top pain points come down to the headline and description text in Meta ads — especially the mobile placements,” says our partner, LocaliQ Social Advertising Manager Mikayla Rankert. “We have a very limited character count that we can use before the text gets cut off in mobile placements.”
Keep reading for the top three tips to triumph over terrible truncation with our partner and LocaliQ expert, Social Advertising Manager Mikayla Rankert!
What Is Truncation, and Why Does It Matter in Meta Ads?
“Truncation refers to where text might be cut off in the ad preview, which can vary slightly depending on the device or placement,” says Rankert. It’s when the “…” and “more” button chops your well-thought-out ad copy.
Truncation can make achieving exciting headlines and descriptions cumbersome. It can also make marketers opt for more generic wording, like “Register today!” or “Learn more!”
To make matters worse, Instagram has automatic processing beyond the advertiser’s control. Typically, Instagram allows 125 characters before truncation, but wild cards like ad placement or mobile display settings can cut the text off earlier than expected.
That’s why Rankert says, “It’s important to place key information early in the copy to ensure it’s seen by the audience.”
The Skinny on Meta Ad Specs: Your Handy Cheat Sheet
Fortunately, Rankert gave us a thorough rundown of truncation specs to stay in the safe zone:
- Facebook Feed: Up to 120 characters before truncation strikes
- Instagram Feed: Up to 67 characters
- Headline: 22 characters for carousel ads, 25 characters for static ads
- Link Description: 13 characters or less for lead campaigns and 20 or less for link click campaigns
Facebook Ad Truncation
- Primary Text: About 125 characters to avoid truncation (max limit: 2,200 characters)
- Headline: About 40 characters (max limit: 255 characters)
- Description: Up to about 30 characters (max limit: 255 characters)
Instagram Ad Truncation
- Primary Text: About 125 characters to avoid truncation (max limit: 2,200 characters)
- Headline: Usually, headlines are only displayed on Instagram Stories and IGTV ads, not standard feed ads. But if applicable, the maximum limit is the same as Facebook at 255 characters.
- Description: Instagram doesn’t typically display description text under ads, but if applicable, it follows the same character limits as Facebook. If applicable, max limit is 255.
Other Considerations for Meta Ads
CTA Button Placement
The placement of CTA buttons is set by Meta. For example, it will always appear at the bottom of a Story. So, adjust your design accordingly.
Image Safe Zones to Avoid Cut-Off Text
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. But, if you include text on your images, you’ll want to follow the Meta ad design specs to ensure your words aren’t cut off.
Thankfully, the Meta article “About text overlays and safe zones for ads in Stories and Reels” gives a helpful breakdown for your designer. This way, your content won’t be obscured.
Plus, Rankert has a handy hint:
“We should not use newsfeed images in the Story placement because Meta does not allow us to edit the way they look,” says the advertising manager. That’s because advertisers can’t edit the text, change where the CTA button appears, or move the images. “We recommend using the Story image sizes (1080 x 1920 pixels) to avoid the CTA and text being cut off.”
Story image sizes of 1080 x 1920 pixels allow the image to take up the whole frame, which is ideal.
LocaliQ’s Top 3 Meta Ad Hacks to Avoid Truncation
Now, if all those specs make you feel like the exploding head emoji 🤯, don’t worry. Rankert has some simple advertising tips that can make avoiding truncation a cinch.
1. Success Is Short and Sweet
“Keep headlines and descriptions concise,” advises the social advertising manager. “Less is more!”
After all, people’s attention spans on the internet are short. So, if you can avoid truncation and catch people’s attention by getting straight to the point, it’s a double win.
2. Front-Load Key Info
Don’t save the best for last — put your key content front and center!
“Prioritize the most important information at the beginning of the body text or in the ad image or video itself,” says Rankert.
That way, even if your content does get truncated, the viewer will be tempted to click that “more” button.
3. When in Doubt, Cut It Out for Mobile
We know it can make you tear out your hair when desktop and mobile Meta ads have different limits. That’s why you should always go with the ideal mobile character limits.
“Meta mobile versus desktop placements have different character counts before an ad is truncated,” says Rankert. “If we always go off of the mobile character count, we won’t have issues with truncation!”
How’s that for a simple and sweet hack?
4. Bonus Tip: How to Truncate to Spark Interest
Our Chief Marketing and Growth Officer, Chelsey Bowers, says truncation isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, truncation can be used as a force for good to capture your audience’s attention.
“By starting with a short, punchy statement that cuts to the heart of the issue, truncation can emphasize a key idea, making it feel more urgent or impactful,” says Bowers.
Examples of Powerful Truncation “Teasers”
- “Success is not a choice — it’s a…”
- “Don’t just dream it…”
- “College isn’t what you think…”
A Meta Ads Hack Success Story: A Simple Workaround for Stubborn Truncation Issues
Now, hold onto your hats, advertisers. This next truncation pain point might make you want to scream!
“Meta does not give us maximum character count information before ad copy will be truncated. It only gives us recommendations,” confides Rankert.
Before you howl into the abyss of social media despair, check out Rankert’s expert hack:
“I was working with a client where we would go off of the Facebook recommendations, but the copy would still be truncated,” recalls Rankert. Not one to take no for an answer, the social advertising manager devised a workaround that can work for you, too:
“I then manually went into Meta and put together different character counts to come up with my own maximum character counts that we could send to that client so that we would not have issues anymore with the copy being truncated!”
Whew. We know it’s no fun when your hard-won advertising copy gets cut off. That’s why we partner with our LocaliQ experts to ensure your Meta ads always look their best.
Pssst! What’s the Secret to Supercharging Social Ads? It’s the Interact LocaliQ Teamwork!
Like peanut butter and jelly, nothing pairs better than the premier community college marketing agency with the nation’s best digital media placement firm.
Since we partnered with LocaliQ in 2017, we’ve launched 5,000+ successful community college campaigns nationwide with full creative and strategic support! Plus, our digital campaign performance routinely exceeds most industry benchmarks! 🤩
Read more: “How to Smash Industry Benchmarks like the University of Hawaii Community Colleges (UHCC)”
Can we brag about our besties for a second? Because LocaliQ is a Google Premier Partner and Google’s only Global Premier Partner, it was awarded the highest quality score championship three years in a row, and it is a Meta Marketing Partner recognized for optimized campaigns.
We’re so proud to be a winning team with LocaliQ because, after all, two industry powerhouses are better than one!
Do you need a boost in the new year to make your Meta ads shine? Reach out for a free consultation, and let our team take the trouble (and the truncation!) out of your advertising.
