When you think about Facebook ads, what’s the first thing you think about? Probably spending money, but what do you think about for the ad itself? For many, it is the visual component of the ad. But just because it isn’t the first thing that comes to mind, you still need to make sure you have some stellar ad copy. If you’re wondering how to write effective Facebook ad copy, it all starts by putting a framework into place. Successful Facebook ads usually employ the following practices.
Start With Audience Targeting
Know who you’re trying to talk to and don’t guess based on your gut. Instead, look at your audience demographics from your website’s tracking and from your current followers on Facebook. Consider who your sales team is talking to if you have one. Research the data your business has to find out more about your audience. Ask yourself:
• What demographic is visiting my website currently?
• Does my desired demographic use Facebook?
• Which hobbies or topics interest them?
• Where is their geographic location?
This might seem odd to look up all of this information just for ad copy, but it’s actually quite important.
What demographic is visiting my website currently? This is going to change how you speak in your ad if your goal is to reach like-minded individuals. If your demographic consists of 60-year-old men, you’re probably going to want to stay away from phrases like “slay”, or “hey, girlie”.
Does my desired demographic use Facebook? If they don’t, you might want to pivot and not actually invest in Facebook ads. Or, you could use this opportunity to find a brand new audience that does actually use Facebook.
Which hobbies or topics interest them? This can determine the kind of jargon you can use in your Facebook ads. If their hobbies are similar to your business, then you’re better able to use technical terms and phrases. If their hobbies and interests are slightly outside of your business, you should use more general terminology.
Where is their geographic location? This might not seem so important, but regionality can play a big role in the ad copy. If you’re a soda company and your primary market is in the North, you can use phrases like “pop”, but in the South, you’d see better results with “soda”.
Write Short & Simple Content
Some advertisements can break this rule, but at the beginning of your advertising campaign, you should write content to fit the character limits so your text isn’t cut off and users can see it all at once. Facebook ad character limits are:
• 25 characters for a headline
• 30 characters for a link description
• 125 characters for ad copy (primary text)
This is where good writing comes into play. Follow the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid(Smartie if you’re feeling a bit nicer)) principle. Write simply and use language your audience understands. Don’t use big words or try to impress them with industry jargon. Think about what pain points trigger your audience emotionally, lead with that, and present your brand as the solution. The headline is a great place to hook them, the link description shows the solution, and the main ad copy is where you do your persuading.
Always Choose a CTA To Match Your Strategy
You probably already have a CTA in mind as you’re writing, but it’s worth devoting a section talking about this. If you’re just beginning Facebook advertising, you’re still in the reach or interest phase, so one of your better CTA options is to encourage people to “Learn More.” As you move further along in your social media strategy, then you can begin experimenting with other CTAs.
Make Sure Your Copy Matches Your Visual
If your ad campaign doesn’t look cohesive, it’s a huge turn-off for Facebook users. Social platforms are heavily visual and people have come to expect clear, high-quality images. If your photo is distorted, blurry, or too posed, you won’t see good engagement from your ad campaign.
Thankfully you don’t have to be a design expert to figure out how to optimize the visual part of your ad. Facebook provides straightforward visual guidelines about what looks optimal in an ad. Plus if you’re pulling stock images from a provider like Shutterstock or Adobe, you can feel confident they’ll be good quality for social.
But when it comes to the ad copy, that’s where you’re going to have your creative juices flowing. To some, it comes naturally, but it can be quite difficult for others. If you’re one of those who either find it difficult, or you just don’t want to do it yourself, you can always reach out to us for a free consultation.