Despite receiving more than its fair share of negative press in the last 12 months, Facebook remains by a wide margin the biggest social media platform on earth. At the end of 2018 it reported having over 2.32 billion monthly active users. That’s a big audience.
Simply sending an ad out into the Facebook wilderness, however, won’t necessarily result in success. Such a big audience naturally means that there are huge numbers of advertisers vying for the attention of every demographic possible.
10 Tips for Writing Facebook Ad Copy that Converts
Key to achieving success through Facebook advertising is the ability to be able to craft compelling ad copy. Ad copy that speaks directly to your target audience and draws out a positive response.
Great Facebook ads showcase what you have to offer and encourage your audience to engage with your brand. However, on the days when your creative energy has vanished, it’s not hard to succumb to the pressure of composing Oscar-worthy ad copy confined neatly into a seemingly impossible character limit.
But worry not! Here are 10 tips to ensure your Facebook ad copy is contemporary, concise and consumer-centric…
1. Know Your Audience
Think carefully about your target demographic. Who are they and what does their journey to purchase/goal completion look like? Use Facebook audience insights to identify and build your audience(s) and then write to them.
2. Tailor Your Ads
In-line with defining your target audience(s), create different ads with different copy to ensure your content is relevant to who you’re trying to reach. While having a clear, defined message and maintaining a tone that is consistent with your brand is important, when it comes to creating content it’s not one size fits all.
3. Ensure Content Collaboration
While beautiful imagery lends itself perfectly to social campaigns, a lack of harmony between the images used in your ads and the accompanying message will cause confusion and could cost you clicks. Ensure there is relevance between your written copy and the visuals you use in your ads to deliver a concise message.
4. Remain Goal Orientated
Whether you’re promoting an app or trying to drive more visitors to your website, different business objectives require different ads and different ad copy. Think about your campaign goals and ensure your ad copy is aligned with your objectives.
5. Experiment
Whether it’s A/B testing or emojis, experiment with your ad copy. Test different ad lengths, calls to action and wording to optimise performance and get the most out of your ads.
6. Keep It Simple
Write for Homer Simpson not Homer the legendary author. While it’s important to stand out in a sea of organic content, over complicating your message can detract from your offering and ultimately disengage your audience.
Get straight to the point and use language that conveys your product or services simply and effectively. This will allow your audience to absorb your message easily, without them getting confused, bored (or both!) and scrolling past.
7. Align Your Call to Action
Call to actions not only enable you to tell your audience what you want them to do next, they also provide them with a seamless way of doing exactly that. Stick to one call to action per ad and ensure the one you choose aligns with your objectives and your ad copy for coherent messaging.
8. Include Motivators
Whether it’s a price listing or a time frame, including a clear (appropriate) motive for action will do exactly that - motivate your audience to take action.
9. Maintain a “Mobile First” Mindset
With 95% of Facebook visits now being made via smart-phone or tablet, optimising your ad copy for mobile is non-negotiable. Be sure to preview how your ad copy will appear across all devices prior to posting and if necessary make amendments to ensure you’re message is mobile friendly.
It’s also important to note that ads will appear differently across Facebook and Instagram, so if you’re running campaigns across both platforms, ensure your ads and copy are optimised appropriately. For example, the character visibility on Instagram is much shorter than that on Facebook, so make sure your copy aligns with this.
10. Adhere to the Rules
Facebook has an extensive list of prohibited content included in its advertising policy - ensure you’re aware of these restrictions prior to writing your ad copy to avoid your ads being disapproved.
