Ad Creative Generator for Apps: What Spreadcast Makes and Where It Fits

Specs read on October 11, 2026. Meta's guide was read for the app installs objective. Two Meta pages differ on the Instagram feed: the ads guide lists 4:5, while Meta's aspect ratio guidance recommends 1:1 for a single image there and 4:5 for the Facebook feed. Both shapes are accepted. Platforms change these numbers often, so open the linked page before you export.

A 1080 by 1350 Spreadcast post is 4:5, so it does not fit the 3:2 frame and is below the minimum resolution. The idea carries over: one feature, one real screen, one line of text. Build the 3:2 version in a design tool when Apple switches the placements on.

With Advantage+ placements switched on, Meta can show one ad in many of these slots. Supply a 4:5 image for the feeds and Explore, a 9:16 version for Stories and Reels and a 1:1 crop for Marketplace and search, and Meta picks the shape per slot.

• Meta: Say What the App Does and Show It on a Device

  Meta's guide to mobile app ads lists the basics: describe what the app does, put visuals ahead of text, show the app on a device so people can picture using it, prove value with a key number, and use a call to action button that makes clear where the tap leads. Its best practices for image ads add a visible brand or logo, a tight crop on the important part, and overlay text in a clean, large, contrasting font. The same page notes there is no longer a limit on the amount of text in an ad image.

• Meta: Advertise When There Is Something New

  Meta's app guide calls new app content, such as a new feature, an ideal time to run an ad. That is the same moment Spreadcast turns into an update post, so the organic post and the ad can carry one message in the same week.

• TikTok: Hook in Seconds, With Sound

  TikTok's creative best practices ask for vertical 9:16 video at 720p or better with sound on, the proposition inside the first 3 seconds, the hook inside the first 6, and text overlays paced at 5 to 10 words a second. Its mobile app advertising guide is stricter, asking you to capture attention in under two seconds, and suggests creators who show the app in real use.

• Google: Keep Images Clean and Lines Independent

  Google's asset guidance recommends that overlaid text and logos cover less than 20 percent of an image, and says images with the word Download or Install superimposed are disapproved. For video it suggests winning attention in the first 2 to 3 seconds and adding captions, because some placements start with the sound off. Each text line should make sense alone, since Google combines them in any order.

• Apple: Match the Product Page to the Search

  For the default ad there is nothing to upload, so Apple's advice is about matching. Apple's best practices for ad variations suggest pairing each ad group's keyword theme with a custom product page whose screenshots show that feature. On its custom product pages page Apple reports a 2.5 percentage point average lift in conversion over the 1.6 percent average of default product pages.

• All Four: One Message per Creative

  None of the four asks you to fit more into the frame. A feed image gets a glance, a video gets two or three seconds, and a search results ad sits next to competitors. One promise plus the screen that proves it is the common ground, which is why a single feature post makes a sound first ad.

Read on October 11, 2026.

1. Step 1

   Choose a Post With One Message

   An update post about a single feature, a rating post or a feature post you made with New Post all work. Skip anything with more than one idea on it. A feed ad gets less time than an organic post from someone who already follows you.

2. Step 2

   Download the Image

   The Free plan gives you post drafts to download, each with a small Spreadcast mark. Pro, at $29 a month, makes clean posts. See pricing.

3. Step 3

   Check What the Image Claims

   An ad runs for weeks. If the image shows your star rating, Apple's ratings and reviews page requires it to match your current rating for as long as the ad is live. If it quotes a review, you need the reviewer's permission. The testimonial post generator page explains both rules.

4. Step 4

   Upload It to a Feed Placement

   Use it as the single image in a Facebook feed or Instagram feed ad. Meta recommends 1440 by 1800 pixels, so a 1080 by 1350 image is below the recommended resolution, and it is well above the minimum widths of 600 and 500 pixels.

5. Step 5

   Write New Ad Text

   Do not paste the organic caption. Meta's guide suggests 50 to 150 characters of primary text and a 27 character headline in the Facebook feed, and 125 and 40 on Instagram. Say what the app does and what to do next.

6. Step 6

   Make a Separate Image for Stories

   Instagram Stories ads are 9:16. A 4:5 image will not fill that screen, and Meta asks you to keep the top 14 percent and the bottom 35 percent clear of text. Build that version in a design tool, or leave the placement out.

• One Feature, One Screen

  Headline: "Maps that work with no signal." Below it, the offline map screenshot at full width, and the app icon in a corner. One promise and the proof that it exists. This is the safest first ad for most apps.

• The Problem in the Headline

  Headline: "Lost signal on the trail?" Then the screenshot, then one line: "Trailmark keeps your route on your phone." It starts where the user is, which suits people who have never heard of you.

• The Star Rating

  "4.8" in large type, five stars, "on the App Store" and the icon. It borrows trust from other users in a second. Keep the number current, and name the country's store if you advertise in several.

• The Review Quote

  One sentence from a real review, five stars and a credit. Use it only with the reviewer's permission. In the United States, the FTC's questions and answers on its reviews rule say a review featured in marketing becomes a testimonial, so it has to be real and unaltered in meaning.

• The Update

  "New in 3.2: offline maps." with the new screen. This one is aimed at people who installed the app and drifted away, so it belongs in a campaign that targets existing users.

Examples only. Trailmark is not a real app and none of these lines has run in a campaign. The Google headlines each stand alone, because Google mixes them.

• Putting the Word Download on the Image

  Google disapproves App campaign images that have Download or Install superimposed on them, per the asset guidance linked above. Let the platform's own button carry the call to action, and keep the image for the app.

• Designing Ad Files for Apple Ads

  The default Apple ad has no upload, and the designed creative assets Apple has announced are 3:2 and not yet live in ads. Until they are, an afternoon spent on an ad image is better spent on the first screenshots of your product page, then on a custom product page for each keyword theme. The App Store screenshot sizes guide has the dimensions.

• Editing a Campaign While It Learns

  Meta's best practices for Advantage+ app campaigns advise against changes during the learning phase, and Google suggests waiting for the first 100 conversions. Swap creative in batches on a schedule, and judge each batch on installs.

A sensible order for a small team: get the product page right, post every release for a few months, then put money behind the message that drew the most response.

The ad platform tools cost nothing extra, but they only run inside a paid campaign. Spreadcast's Free plan is the one here that is useful with no ad budget at all, because its posts also go on your own profiles.

Prices read on October 11, 2026.

1. Step 1

   Day 1: Paste Your App Store Link

   Go to the start page and paste the link. Spreadcast reads the icon, the screenshots and the colors from the public listing, with no SDK and no access to your developer account. Then open the brand kit screen and confirm the logo, colors and screenshots are the ones you want on posts.

2. Step 2

   Day 2: Make One Post by Hand

   Use New Post to make a single post about your strongest feature while you wait for the listing to change. Keep it to one promise and one screenshot.

3. Step 3

   Day 3: Connect Your Networks

   On Pro, connect the accounts you post on: Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, Threads, Pinterest, Bluesky, Mastodon, Telegram, Discord or YouTube. Start on approve first, so every post waits for one tap.

4. Step 4

   Day 4: Publish

   Approve the feature post. It takes the next free slot on the calendar and goes out within minutes of that slot, with a caption written for each network.

5. Step 5

   Day 5: Reuse the Image as a Feed Ad, If You Advertise

   Download the same post and upload it as the single image in a Facebook or Instagram feed ad, with new ad text inside Meta's limits. The Meta steps earlier on this page cover the checks.

6. Step 6

   After That: Your Listing Sets the Schedule

   From here the triggers are your releases, 5 star reviews and rating milestones. Each one becomes a post without anyone opening a design tool, and in a week with no update Spreadcast drafts a feature post.

• Tools

  iPhone Mockup Generator

  Put app screenshots in an iPhone frame from your App Store link or your files. Transparent PNG, Instagram, story and App Store sizes, free with no watermark.

• Tools

  App Store Screenshot Generator

  Turn your screenshots into App Store slides with a headline and an iPhone frame. Loads from your App Store link, exports every slide at 1320 x 2868, free with no watermark.

• Tools

  App Store Character Counter

  Count your app name, subtitle, keywords and description against the App Store and Google Play limits as you type. No account.

• Use cases

  App Studios and Agencies

  Spreadcast designs and publishes update, review and milestone posts for up to 5 apps, each in its own brand, for $79 a month flat.

• Alternatives

  Best SocialPilot Alternatives

  SocialPilot's plans and limits, then ten alternatives compared on free plans, approvals, white label and what three real setups cost.

• Resources

  How to Get Featured on the App Store

  Apple's seven featuring considerations, how to send a Featuring Nomination and when, every featured placement explained, and what changes once your app is picked.