How Users see ads (Facebook Ads edition)

Since I often talk about Facebook ads, I’d like to share something that frequently goes unnoticed and that few marketers pay attention to.

We can spend hours discussing perception and how we react to ads or even organic posts on social platforms.

Remember, every ad we create must stop the scroll and capture attention. To achieve this, we tap into a primitive part of the brain that responds to impulses.

The very first "hook" should appeal to your users' primal instincts as human beings. This is why an attractive woman or a muscular man often works well, regardless of the goals or products.

But beyond just capturing attention, you need to drive users to click.

Ads have a visual structure that should follow this pattern:

Visual – does 90% of the job

Avatar & Page Name – the eye bounces back here, especially on X and Instagram, less so on Facebook

Text – keep it concise

Title – confirms what the offer is about CTA – aligned with the offer.