How to Write Effective Facebook Ad Copy

Despite Facebook’s loss of users during the past few years, it’s still the number one social media channel that sees 76% of its users access it daily. And because Facebook page reach has decreased, smart marketers are focusing on their advertising strategies. For those ads to be successful you need the right audience, the right design, and effective Facebook ad copy. In this article, we are focusing on tips to improve your Facebook ads through ad copy. 

11 Tips to Write Effective Facebook Ads

Establish a Goal

You need to establish the goal of your Facebook Ad  before you begin the writing process. Whether you are selling a product, generating brand awareness, or promoting a special event, will all determine how you write your specific ad. Knowing the goal will help you establish an overall tone and strategy.

Write to Your Audience

The best part about Facebook is its targeting abilities. When you drill your audience down to a specific target you can customize the content of your ad to that person. Write directly to them, their needs and how your product or service solves their problem. 

Test your Ad Copy

The only way to know if your ad is performing at its best is to run split tests. To test your Facebook Ad copy, try running two versions of the same ad, changing the copy to see which one gets more clicks, engagement, or leads. You can do something as simple as add an emoji or make bigger adjustments by changing the copy from a statement to a question. 

Keep it Short and Simple

Don’t dance around the subject. Not everyone is a Harvard scholar, so use simple words that are easy to read and understand. Nobody wants to decipher what an advertisement has to say. They will likely move on if they can’t absorb the message quickly. When Apple first introduced the iPod, their marketing team kept the message as simple as possible. While other mp3 manufacturers advertised specific file sizes and specific battery sizes, iPod simply said “1000 songs in your pocket.” It was a massive success and led to the iPod becoming synonymous with the mp3 player itself.

Focus on One Call to Action

The Call to Action (CTA) is one of the most important elements of an ad. And it’s going to be different depending on your goal. Whether you’re trying to drive conversions or build brand awareness your CTA should be clear and concise. The more choices you give, the more confusing the ad can be. 

Write the Benefits Not the Features

Buyers don’t buy products. They buy solutions to their problems. That’s why big brands like Nike don’t focus their ad copy on the color of a shoe. They focus it on what that shoe will do for performance. Consumers want to know how your product will make their life easier, better, happier, etc. So when writing your Facebook Ad, focus the copy on answering “What’s in it for me?”

Show Social Proof

Have you ever come across an ad on Facebook from an unknown company that you wanted to purchase but you were hesitant because you didn’t know how the experience would be? I have. So the first thing I look for are reviews. I will look at the comments, I will go to the site and look for reviews of the company and the product. And if I don’t see anything or I see something negative I hightail it out of there. 

Boost credibility by including units sold, or membership numbers. You can also include personal testimonials. (Bonus if it’s a video). 

Ask Yes Questions

Asking questions will get people thinking. Asking yes questions will hook your reader and find you the right customer. This is a good strategy if you’re trying to target people who are struggling with something.

Include Your URL

Facebook requires you to include your website in the website box, but it’s also a good practice to include it with your ad copy. The more options someone has to click a link the more likely you are to get a conversion. 

Understand Audience Relationship with Your Brand

Since Facebook’s ad targeting is so customized it’s really important to not only write to your audience, it’s also important to keep the users’ relationship with your brand in mind.  A buyer goes through a journey before and after purchasing. And as a brand, you need to map your content to that journey– or match your marketing funnel to their journey. 

Online you have three types of website visitors: 

Cold Traffic includes people who haven’t made purchases or are relatively unaware of your brand. 

Warm Traffic includes people who engaged with your brand in the past through ads, video, or site visit. 

Customers are anyone who has purchased from you or otherwise has a relationship with your brand. 

Knowing this, you will communicate with each audience differently. For example, you can be a little more personal with your customers and should be more formal with cold audiences. 

Embrace Urgency 

Sometimes it’s appropriate to call out urgency. Whether it’s for a limited-time sale or low stock levels you can include ad copy that persuades your audience to act now. However, I would encourage you to tread lightly so you don’t end up sounding like an infomercial and losing trust or credibility. 

How Can AdShark Help? 

Are you feeling overwhelmed with your Facebook Ads? Do you want to see your ads succeed and grow your business? We can help! Our digital marketing experts have the knowledge and expertise to get your Facebook ads on the right track.