Every day we’re bombarded with hundreds of advertising messages on our favourite social media platforms.

For example, have you noticed that as you scroll down your Facebook feed every third post is an ad?

As consumers, we’ve become good at muting the noise online and focussing on just the bits we want to see.

And that’s why, as a Facebook advertiser, you need to work extra hard to make your ads stand out.  So, I have put together a few pointers to get you started:

#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 service provide? 

Your headline also needs to include a Call to Action (a CTA). Make it short, snappy and clear. Your CTA should only have one instruction such as ‘Request Quote, ‘Book Today, ‘Learn More’.

#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 whereever 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. If you’d like help with this, please let me know.

Here are some simple ways to personalise your Facebook ad copy:

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

• Call them out using a behaviour they’ll recognise. For example, ‘Stop wasting money using cheap services’ or ‘Who else has paid for a job they are unhappy with?’

• Call them out with a question they’ll answer yes to. ‘Want to see why we are loved by 100’s of homeowners?’, ‘Struggling to find a reliable tradesman?’, ‘Confused about how to add value to your home?”

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. Avoid using line breaks within this valuable space.

#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 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.

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

Use before/after photos of your work so you create that ‘want’

Include the sevice 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 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, please contact me for a no-obligation chat here.