What do you think causes an ad to perform brilliantly. The images or video used? The audience selection? Special offers? 

All those are correct, but in my experience of running literally hundreds of ads the thing that takes a FB/IG advert from ok to stratsopheric is the copy. 

So, as a Facebook advertiser if you want to create compelling ads here are some pointers…

#Copy Tip 1: Use attention-grabbing headlines

The headline of a Facebook ad is the text which appears under the ad image.

It goes without saying this copy needs to grab attention.

A lot is made of appealing to our customers’ pain points but, when it comes to headlines, think gain points instead.

In other words, what benefit does your product or service provide? 

Your headline also needs to include a Call To Action (a CTA). Make it short, snappy and clear. I also find introducing a time frame here is compelling. 

For example, the best performing ads for a baby sleep consultant clients were one’s that promised to help tired parents ‘Tackle toddler bedtime TONIGHT”, “improve your babies sleep TONIGHT” or simply “Get more sleep TONIGHT”. Beware though of false promises – these CTA’s of quick results only work when they’re true and in this instance were back up with testimonials. Other examples might be incentives such as free shipping for a limited time, flash sales etc. 

Finally, keep the CTA simple, the ‘Shop Now’, ‘Book Today, ‘Learn More’ buttons are very helpful here!

#Copy Tip 2: Make it personal

Before you start writing your Facebook ad, it’s important to understand who you’re targeting and what stage of the buying process they’re at. 

This will enable you to customise your copy to meet them where they are on the buying journey. 

For example, cold customers (people who have never heard of your brand before) are unlikely to spend large amounts of money with you if they don’t know you. 

In this case, you should consider running a series of ads – known as a funnel – to build know, like and trust. The more the audience can connect and relate to your copy the more effective it will be, especially when you’re running a funnel. I also find testimonial – other people’s words and videos are particularly effective at building trust.  If you’d like help building an ad sequence (funnel), please let me know.

Here are some simple ways to personalise:

• Call out your reader using a title they identify with. This could be a lifestyle identifier such ‘Mums of teens ’, a job title, or even a hobby.

• Call them out using a behaviour they’ll recognise. For example, ‘Stop wasting time writing content no-one reads’ or ‘Who else has bought a bunch of courses they’ve never finished?’

• Call them out with a question they’ll answer yes to. ‘Want to earn more money working less hours?’, ‘Ads not converting?’, ‘Confused about SEO?”

It’s important to remember that scrollers will only see the first two or three lines of your copy before they need to click ‘See more…’ so make sure you get to the point!

#Copy Tip 3: Write like a human

Although you’re writing on behalf of your business you’re selling to a person and people buy from people.

Your ad will be competing with hundreds of updates from friends and family so it’s important the copy fits in by sounding natural and conversational.

People aren’t on Facebook to buy from businesses so you need to make your ad as easy to read as possible.

You can do this by using simple language. Avoid big words and jargon, use short sentences, break your copy up with line breaks, use emojis and bullet-point lists. 

It’s also important to make sure you use the same tone of voice in your ads as you do in your posts. You want your audience to recognise your message wherever they read it.

Facebook ads copy dos and don’ts

Do: Be clear about what you want your ad to achieve before you start writing. This will help keep your copy focused

Do: Be positive. Facebook wants the platform to be a happy place to be

Do: Test long and short copy to see which works best for you

Don’t: Use language that will make people feel bad about themselves. Avoid negative words like pain and depression

Don’t: Make claims or promises you can’t substantiate

Don’t: Send your ad to a poor-quality landing page. If the page doesn’t sync with your ad, potential buyers will get confused and click away

If writing doesn’t come naturally to you (and it certainly doesn’t to me), I know lots of brilliant copy writers who specialise in ads. In fact when I onboard a new ads client one of the first things I do is get in touch with a specialist ads copywriter! 

Let’s look at images

I can’t really discuss Facebook ads without mentioning images. After all, this is the part of your ad which grabs your reader’s attention first.

✔️ Avoid bland stock images – they’re easy to ignore

✔️ Choose images with bright colours – they stand out even on a small screen

✔️ If possible use video or animation – ads with moving images generally perform better. If using video make sure you include your branding and key message in the first three seconds

✔️ If you’re using people in your images make sure they represent your target audience and look natural

✔️ Avoid having too much text on your image. Although there’s no limit, images with less than 20% text work better

✔️ Include the product you’re selling! 

Ad inspiration

The best way to hone your ad writing skills is to look at other ads.

Make a note of ads that have been running for a long time. It’s a good sign they’re working.

Use the Facebook Ad Library <link to: https://www.facebook.com/ads/library> to see what your competitors and similar brands are doing. Don’t copy, you’re just looking for inspiration.

Pay attention to your own feed and take screen grabs of ads that stand out to you. Create a ‘swipe file’ of ads you like.

And finally…

The most important thing to remember with Facebook ads is that there is no magic bullet. No single formula will bring you untold riches. 

Every business is different, every audience is different. And that’s why the best thing you can do is keep testing your ads until you find what works for you.

If you need help with creating and running Facebook and Instagram ads, I can teach you how to do this in one of ‘Guide to Grow with ads workshops’, or I can take ads off your to do lists and manage them for you in my ‘Done For You’ service.  

Please contact me for a no-obligation chat.