You’ve probably noticed how busy the online landscape is. Especially now that Meta has added a new platform, Threads. If you haven’t yet jumped on and know what it is, it’s basically similar to Twitter. There’s no need for polished images or perfectly written captions. It’s a place where you can be yourself and simply have some banter, at least so far that’s what I’ve noticed.
You might be resisting because it’s ‘yet another thing’ and I’m hearing you. It’s exactly why I don’t have a Tik Tok account. I just can’t add another thing to my already full social media platform plate. I usually resist for a long time but somehow I jumped onto the Tread wagon really quickly, and I like it because I don’t have to come up with perfect content. I can just ‘chat’.
So yes, things are busy and noisy which makes it much harder to stand out as a business. Even in the advertising space it’s crowded and ads are competing for attention. It’s more important than ever to be able to create something that stands out and the first thing that stands out in the feed is your creative aka your image, carousel or video. At least it should stand out.
So let’s look at what makes your creative compelling and how you can create something that people are actually keen to take action on or engage with.
Tune in
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Transcript
Episode 132 – The importance of compelling copy and creative for Facebook ads; and how to create yours
Welcome back to the new school of marketing podcast. I’m so grateful to you for tuning in. Before we dive in I would love to pay respect and acknowledgement to the palawa people of lutruwita who are the traditional owners of the land on which my business operates and pay my respect to their elders, past, present and emerging.
You’ve probably noticed how busy the online landscape is. Especially now that Meta has added a new platform, Threads. If you haven’t yet jumped on and know what it is, it’s basically similar to Twitter. There’s no need for polished images or perfectly written captions. It’s a place where you can be yourself and simply have some banter, at least so far that’s what I’ve noticed.
You might be resisting because it’s ‘yet another thing’ and I’m hearing you. It’s exactly why I don’t have a Tik Tok account. I just can’t add another thing to my already full social media platform plate. I usually resist for a long time but somehow I jumped onto the Tread wagon really quickly, and I like it because I don’t have to come up with perfect content. I can just ‘chat’.
So yes, things are busy and noisy which makes it much harder to stand out as a business. Even in the advertising space it’s crowded and ads are competing for attention. It’s more important than ever to be able to create something that stands out and the first thing that stands out in the feed is your creative aka your image, carousel or video. At least it should stand out.
So let’s look at what makes your creative compelling and how you can create something that people are actually keen to take action on or engage with.
Firstly, you need to know who your audience is. I keep saying this in just about every episode, but it’s so important for your marketing message.
Knowing who your audience is means that you know what kind of creative they’re most likely to engage with or take action on. You’d know whether your audience is more likely to take action from an image or a video, or if you don’t know yet you’ll be able to create visually appealing images and engaging video content so that you can test which one they are actually interested in.
The visual aspect of your facebook and Instagram ad is important because it’s the thing that makes people stop their scrolling and investigate what the ad is about. Knowing your audience means that you’ll be able to create images that your audience will love, including using colours, graphics and photos that they will most likely engage with.
Your images should be somewhat on-brand and maintain consistency with your brand’s visual identity because it helps establish brand recognition and enhances credibility.
Ideally you want to avoid very generic looking stock photos and use something that you know your audience will really resonate with. Of course make sure that the quality of your images is high and not blurry.
If you’re using text on your images, make sure that it’s clear and readable on a number of devices. Use contrasting colours, appropriate font sizes and minimal text. Think about where on the image your eyes go first and place the most important information in a spot that’s looked at first, of course it has to stay legible.
Experiment with a few different variations of creative. I generally create 3-5 different images for client ads to test which one is the most effective. Make sure that you create your images and videos for the right platform placement, so you’d resize your images to look better on Instagram stories and reels.
If you’re using video, make sure that it’s relevant to your message, try to incorporate captions where you can as a lot of people will not have their sound on. To stop the scroll the first 3 seconds of your video really need to stand out so don’t waste this on something that’s not relevant or bold in a way it stands out.
Now let’s talk about copy. While your image or video is generally the first thing people see, your copy is the thing that makes people either want to keep engaging and take the next step or it makes them want to scroll on.
Your copy is the part that needs to speak to your audience in a way that compels them to take action.
To create copy that actually converts, you need to, again, know your audience so that you’re writing for them. Or even to them.
Firstly, decide whether your ad is to drive sales, generate leads or increase brand awareness. Your ad needs a purpose because it will help you create copy that aligns with your goal.
There are three parts to Facebook ads copy. Your headline, your main text or body copy and your description. The headline can generally be seen underneath the image or video in a Facebook newsfeed ad, and your main text or body copy usually goes above it.
Your headline should be concise, compelling and attention grabbing. It’s not a whole lot of space you have for your headline so use powerful words, ask a question or highlight a unique value proposition. The aim is to get people to read further and take action.
Inside your main copy you want to elaborate on your ad’s offer. This is where you write to your audience in clear, concise language and tell them what you need them to know. Focus on benefits and not just features. Explain how your offer can solve a problem, save time or improve their lives.
Remember that the feed is a busy place? You want to say enough for them to be inspired to take action but you don’t want to be writing a novel.
Also include a clear CTA, call to action. You need to tell people what you want them to do next. Facebook gives you a few options for the CTA button such as Shop Now, Sign Up, or Learn More. There are others you can use too, but you want to also add a CTA in your copy. For example, if you’re running a challenge or webinar you want to say something like ‘sign up for the free challenge’.
With Facebook ads copy it’s important to stay within the rules. Facebook has a few rules that, if you don’t follow them, will land you in Facebook ads jail and have your ads rejected and possibly your account suspended.
Avoid ‘you’ focused copy wherever possible, especially when it comes to personal attributes like gender, race, age, finances, health, religion etc. Instead make it self-focused or group-focused.
Also avoid saying ‘most’ as Facebook looks at that as lumping one group of people in a common category.
It’s ok to say ‘you’ sparingly when you’re not addressing attributes.
Your copy can be as short or long as you want and I’d test a few different versions, but generally I follow these recommendations. Short form copy – up to 100 words for ecomm and sometimes service businesses. Mid form copy – up to 200 words for ecomm, service businesses, coaching and consultants and sometimes I use Long form – up to 400 words for coaching and consultants.
For example, for high ticket coaching and consulting long form, transformational stories are what works best.
If you’re not sure about what to write for your ads, try using ChatGPT with some clear prompts or use a copywriting formula. There are plenty of formulas around, so type ‘copywriting formula’ into Google and get started.
In a nutshell, your images and videos are what generally stops people from scrolling so you need to make sure that they stand out. Then your copy is what should hook people and make them want to take the action that you’re trying them to take.
Your ad creative and copy is essentially what someone would see as a first point into your world so you really need to make it enticing and stand out. They’re only going to see the rest of your assets, like your landing page or website, if your hook is enticing enough to make them stop in their tracks and take action.
As always, you get to use different variations of creative and copy so test, test, test to see what works and then keep refining. Remember, hardly anyone gets this right on the first go (not even me) so if it’s not working, go back to the drawing board and try again. It really comes down to knowing your ideal audience and creating copy and content for them.
Outro
Thanks for joining me on this episode of the New School of Marketing podcast, I hope this episode was helpful and I can’t wait to share more marketing tips with you next week.
If you’re ready to take your business to the next level with Facebook and Instagram advertising, make sure you visit www.newschoolofmarketing.com to download practical free resources, plus subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. I can’t wait to go on this journey with you. Until next time, take care and market your business every day.
