5 Tips for Writing Effective Facebook Ads

Facebook can be a great tool to generate leads & increase traffic to your website. Facebook’s 1.45 billion daily active users have become a huge market for business owners looking to advertise. However, it can be tough to stand out among the millions of puppy videos, DIY videos, and ads every day.

So how do you differentiate among these competing ads? Simple. Write killer ads for your target audience.

Easier said than done, right? These 5 tips will walk you through the ins & outs of writing a solid ad while keeping your target audiences in mind.

Jump to Tips:

1. Setting up a solid outline
2. Keeping your brand voice authentic & consistent
3. Writing for your target audience
4. Keeping the ad copy short & sweet
5. Picking the best image

Tip #1: Set up an outline

The first thing you should do when starting your ad copy is draft an outline like you would for any piece of writing. An outline will help you lay out how the ad will read & look to the audience. Below is an outline layout we use for the most common display or video feed as placements.

This outline is used to keep the ad organized with a proper layout. This outline translates to a finished facebook ad like this:

Depending on the size and scale of the campaign, you may want to review the latest Facebook creative ad specs and write ads that fit perfectly with the placements you are running.

Tip #2: Keep your brand voice authentic & consistent

Understand your brand voice & keep it consistent throughout your ads. Don’t try to make your ads different than what your brand stands for.

For example one of our clients is a brand that sells retro stereos. They have created a brand heavily influenced by hip hop music culture and a fun party lifestyle that interacts with music influencers. From there they have targeted an audience that fits into that category, creating a following that is not just for their products but for their brand.

Their audience expects lifestyle, fun, upbeat ads with matching ad text. If this client decided to go in a totally different direction, it would likely confuse their audience. Having a consistent voice makes it so your audience knows what to expect and follow.

So how do you keep consistent?

Understand your mission

No matter what your company is, your brand should be connected to your company’s core values. This translates to what audiences can expect from you if they engage with you further. For example, if you own a dental office & your core values are being family friendly, affordable, caring etc your audience should expect this from you & your ads should be consistent with that message. This may include having images that show families or kids at the dentist office and text that showcases exactly why & how this dental office is best for your family.

Keep it authentic internally & externally

Make sure you keep your brand voice honest externally & internally. Whether your brand is professional & buttoned up or casual & laid back, create that culture internal with your employees. That way whoever writes the ad copy naturally will keep the message & tone to the external audience the same. For example, if your brand sells surfboards and targets, laid-back surfers, internally your culture should match that, have a fun/ free vibe. As opposed to having a professional/ formal vibe. This would likely confuse your internal team & the message going out would not match the brand values.

Interacting with customers through your ads & organically with a consistent voice lets them know you better as a company. This creates trust and more likely the possibility of them buying from you or going to you for a service. For instance having a strong voice on your company Facebook page, Twitter, YouTube etc can create more avenues for your customers to be more familiar with you. Then, when they see your ads it creates more of a connection.

Tip #3: Write for your audience

Write with the customer in mind. Try to put yourself in their shoes, what would you want to see if you were them?

Writing for your target audience is key. Every time someone clicks or views your ad, remember you are spending money. Make sure you are bringing in promising leads. If you’re showing ads that aren’t relevant to the audience you are targeting, you won’t see the results you are aiming for.

Keep the buyer’s journey in mind

All customers go through a buyers journey within different degrees depending on the level/ expense of the service or products they are looking to buy. Align your audiences with the different points in the buyer’s journey & match your ad text with each point. Figure out where each user is depending on how they have or have not yet interacted with your brand.

For example:

Your ad copy is going to be written differently for people in different stages of the marketing funnel. Recognizing that is how you create more successful ads.

One way to check if your ads are relevant is to check your ad relevance score on Facebook once your ads have been running. Facebook gives a score of 1-10 based on the quality & engagement level of your ads. So the more relevant your image, text and destination page is aligned with your target audiences the higher your relevancy score will be.

Tip #4: Keep the ad copy short, simple and compelling

Keeping your ad copy short & simple is important for successful Facebook ads this is because users are generally scrolling quickly. If your ad is short & compelling it may make them stop and pay attention.

You want to get to the point of the ad & fast, your users are not going to click your ad unless they get some value out of it. Try to be clear and concise with your value proposition.

For up-to-date character limits, again review the Facebook ads guide to make sure you are not going over character counts in your outlines.

Tip #5: A picture’s worth a thousand words

Your ad copy & image should complement each other & work together. Can you picture a Subway ad without an image of a perfectly put together sandwich? No, right? Your ad copy & image should work in the same way. Your ad is a brief story you’re telling as to why users should click on your ad, the image should be a part of that story.

If an image doesn’t align well with the text, it will only serve to confuse the audience, ultimately resulting in less or no clicks.

Along with making sure the image is relevant, it should also be interesting. It should catch the attention of the user so this will include bright colors, vivid contrasts, etc.

Below are examples of ad copy & image working/ not working together:

Example: Needs Improvement

The image & text in this ad could use improvement because you can’t exactly tell what is going on in the image & the text doesn’t help much either. Users could interpret the image are confusing and keep scrolling.

Example: Good

This ad by PayPal showcases minimal eye-catching icons which are relevant to the ad text. The background is also bright and inviting.

Write killer ads & keep optimizing

Once you have loaded a killer ad you should keep trying to optimize for better results. Check in after the ads have been running for a while and see which are performing best and why.

Run Tests

Running different tests is the best way to optimize your campaign and ads on Facebook. Tests can tell you which ad types, images, text, etc work better. This way you’ll stay on top of the campaign and make the best out of your budget and return.

Test different placements & images

Facebook offers a variety of ad placements including single image, video, carousel, lead, collection, etc. These different ad types allow you endless possibilities to display your creative. Test your ad copy within these different ad types, from there you can see which ad type works best for your message. Images play a huge role in creating interest for the user. Test out different images with the same copy and see which performs best. You can also check the ad relevance score to see how well your image combines with the copy & landing page does for your target audience.

No matter your business whether a product based or service, you can write great ads! Keep in mind the audience, ad copy, image, and tests. Facebook is a great platform for marketers who align their ads and targets well instead of posting without thinking. Now get out there & start with an outline!