With over 266 billion monthly active users, Facebook is the place to be for launching ads. Here’s how to write Facebook ad copy that can get you ahead. We’ll also show you what a good one looks like and some examples that you can learn from as a digital marketer.
Narrow Down Your Audience
Gone are the days of traditional advertising methods when people write copy, get it out there, and hope somebody reads it. This sounds cliche, but you need to know who your audience is. Think of it as looking at the eyes of the person you’re speaking with when in a face-to-face conversation.
You need to write Facebook ad copy specifically catered to your exact audience. The good thing is, Facebook has the option that allows you to do this. It’s called Core Targeting. That said, you can still gather more information about your potential customers when you ask these questions:
- What are the demographics of my website visitors?
- Are they using Facebook?
- Where are they located?
- What do they do for work? Hobbies? Interests?
The more data you can find about them, the better. After this, head on to Facebook Ads Manager to build your precise target audience profile. When you know who you’re writing for, doing it will become easy and effective. This process is essentially conversion rate optimization.
Keep It Short and Simple
Admit it, you don’t want to read huge blocks of texts. Even if you want to, you’d still prefer to just scroll down and find the next interesting read, one that is shorter. This will test your creativity as a writer: to begin ad copywriting in the most attention-grabbing way.
As redundant as you think the K.I.S.S. principle is, it still works. You’re not looking to impress readers, rather, you want them to buy/engage/do whatever you want them to do. There is no total number of facts and high statistics on the usage of the most highfalutin words. Getting your point across is what works.
Write Varying Facebook Ad Copy
We talked about writing for your exact audience. What if you can convert a number of active users that are not in your list of target audiences? Of course, that would be ideal, getting new leads that can eventually lead to a higher conversion rate. On the off chance that they read your ad and want to know more, you need to come prepared.
Writing a variety of Facebook ad copy ensures that you get your message across to more people outside your buyer persona. Also, this allows you to target a subgroup, say, the women, when you’re selling shoes for men and women. Furthermore, another example is writing copy for budget-conscious buyers if you’re a high-end brand.
Making sure that you are core targeting your main audience is the goal. However, leave room for a broader audience as well. This will help increase brand awareness for your company.
The example above shows how Dove steered away from its usual style of advertising and focused on one of its many advocacies.
Hook Them With Your Words
In marketing and advertising, there’s a term you need to learn to get people’s attention quickly. It’s called a Copywriting Hook. This means precisely what it says, getting the reader hooked and eager to learn more.
It’s more than just an introduction. It’s like a fishing rod that reels in the readers and gets them to know what you have to offer. This series of Facebook ads from Netflix uses reviews to hook readers to check their ads:
Below are a few tips and tricks to create that perfect hook:
- It has to be short – you only have 125 characters to make that attention-grabbing hook before you see the dreaded …See more.
- Supercharge it – use these four emotions in your hooks to get people to respond: desire, fear, threat, warning. We respond immediately when we encounter these fight or flight response emotions in content marketing.
- Give them a sense of validation – do this by confirming their beliefs. Your target audience needs evidence that will support your products and services. Take a look at the example below:
Add Compelling Visuals
Social media is massively visual. Make sure that your hard work does not go to waste. Improve your conversion rate and duration by adding compelling visuals.
Even if you do not have a graphic designer on your team, it is no problem. Penji is here to help you! Click or tap on this link to know more.
If you plan on creating your own visuals, it is good be sure of a few elements. For instance, the images must have high resolution, have good composition, and express your vision well.
Carefully Craft Your Facebook Ad Body Copy
Now that you’ve hooked them with the correct text and visuals, let’s do the ad body copy. This is where you’ll present your solution to their problems. In this section, you’ll also want to empathize and establish a connection with them.
Your knowledge of your audience will determine how long the ad body copy will be. The more you know them (defining activity), the shorter your copy is because you already know what they need and how to help them. You may also want to add more interesting facts or data at this point to have them stay longer and do your bidding.
Pro tip: Set your voice into a tone of authority to build trust. Do this by acknowledging their pain points, providing a solution, and adding your call-to-action.
Don’t Forget Your Call to Actions
This leads us to call-to-actions, the very reason for you writing Facebook ad copy. These will depend on what your Facebook ad goals are: they can be to raise awareness, boost traffic, increase the number of conversion or sell your wares. Whatever they are, treat these call-to-actions like dessert, you have to leave room for them.
The Facebook ad above is a great example, not only because of its excellent call-to-action buttons but also because of its other positive points. It has this sense of urgency when they added the time limit on the orders.
Do Some Cruel Editing
Be hard on yourself when it comes to editing your work. This will make you conscious of your mistakes and make you mindful of what you write. You have to make it a habit to ask yourself, is this sentence hard to read?
Is this easy to follow for everyone? Contradict yourself by asking, why would I buy these when the competitor’s is much better? This will allow you to learn to write more justifiable yet creative Facebook ad copy.
The Elements of a Good Facebook Ad Copy
Aside from all that we mentioned above, an effective Facebook ad copy contains the following elements:
Credibility and/or Social Proof
While writing with an authoritative tone can be mastered, it pays to have some badges to show proof. You can either add an expert’s stamp of approval or a person of authority’s endorsement. Take a cue from this Facebook video ad of Calm, a mental fitness app:
Notice how the headline says it is “iPhone App of the Year,” plus the five-star rating and positive feedback on the video. Showing these on your ads helps reinforce your trustworthiness and authority.
Benefits
Instead of writing about your company’s features, write about how the consumer will benefit from your product or service. Make a list if you want to, just make sure that they will know why they need your products in their lives. This series of Facebook ads from Intercom shows us how:
Correct Spelling and Grammar
Not only does poor grammar and wrong spelling affect SEO, but they can also scare away website and social media visitors. These can also result in loss of credibility, dampen user experience, and cause visitors to choose the competition.
The Use of Emojis
The use of emojis is a must for businesses even outside Facebook, according to Forbes. So, if you can, use emojis on your Facebook ad copy. These will help you communicate better as they help you set your tone of voice, add a human touch, and are universally understood.
Your Unique Value Proposition
What’s a more compelling argument for your prospects other than your unique value proposition? Add statistics, the number of users, awards won, limited-time offers, and discount promos to your Facebook ad copy to help you stand out.
A Few Other Tips in Creating Facebook Ad Copy
Make sure to do your research, tests, and experimentations. Explore what Facebook has to offer, and you’re sure to find that it has everything you need to craft effective ads. Learn about the frequency of ad placements and how to get and measure the results of your ad campaigns.
If you need help with Facebook visuals, you can always count on Penji for your graphic design needs. Watch our demo video here or click on this link to get our designers working.
