In the first post of this 3 part series, I talked about how to target your ads very specifically so as to get the absolute best value from them. This is made a lot easier by the inbuilt filtering of the Facebook Ads platform so that the ads only appear on the profiles of those who you have targeted rather than them appearing on every profile regardless of that user being in your target market or not.
In this post, I will share the secrets of writing compelling headlines, the right copy and the perfect image.
These are, in some ways, the most obvious reason for an ad succeeding or failing, but it can also be very difficult to get the copy right and sometimes I have changed just a few words in the copy or changed the headline slightly or used a completely different image and the ad has gone from no clicks to hundreds in one day.
Don’t forget … I am running a special offer this week on Facebook Ads giving you 20% off the normal campaign prices. It’s only for this week and if you want to take advantage of this great offer, you need to click here now.
So let’s start with what potential customers are going to be drawn too first: the headline.
Write compelling headlines
You might have thought the image was the first thing that gains the attention of the Facebook user, but in the split testing and focus groups I have done, it consistently came back as the headline drawing people in (followed closely by the image).
And brevity is the key. You only have 25 characters to grab their attention and make them interested enough to read the copy AND click through to your landing page. How long is 25 characters? Do you want better skin? is 24, so is Free Digital Baby Photos so you can see it doesn’t stretch too far.
In my experience, asking a question has always tested better than making a statement. Even more so if the question speaks directly to a perceived need of the user at that time. For instance, if someone is having some problems with acne at that particular time when they see your ad which reads Do you want better skin? they are a lot more likely to click through on it – or at least read the copy of the ad.
A simple but effective headline that I have used to good effect lately has been on ads that appear only on the Facebook user’s birthday. The headline – no surprises here – is Happy Birthday! This has worked well because it is so, so targeted and also what’s the one day of the year that even the slackest Facebook user logs on to check who has sent nice messages to them? Their birthday.
Getting the copy right.
OK, so you’ve grabbed their attention with a snappy headline and they have chosen to read the copy of your ad. This is where the user is going to make the final decision whether to click through your ad on to your landing page or not.
So while it’s important to have a compelling headline, if it only compels the user to read the copy and the copy is awful, then the headline amounts to nothing.
In this section of the ad you have 135 characters to get them to click through. This copy is exactly 135 characters long: Jessica Simpson, Katy Perry, Avril Lavinge and Delta Goodrem cant all be wrong! Check out Australia’s #1 Acne Brand for yourself today!
Still not terribly long but that’s good in a way too, because it bring you to the point quickly too.
If your ad is for your Facebook Page and the user is being redirected to your Facebook Page from it, including something like Click on Like to find out more in your ad’s copy also serves the purpose of building your fan base on the page which doesn’t hurt either.
Remember, the copy of the ad is probably the biggest thing that causes ads to not be approved by Facebook during the application process so get to the point, don’t make ridiculous or untrue claims and split test. Changing just a few words in an almost identical ad can improve your Click Through Rate (CTR) dramatically so split your budget into at least two ads to see what works – and it’s not always the one you think.
Improve your image.
Some people are very visual in their nature. They won’t even read your headline and in some cases not even your copy and click on an ad simply because they are drawn to the image.
In my experience, if the image isn’t 100% related to the nature of the ad (but indirectly it is) then it seems to attract a better CTR.
There’s no doubt though, that using people in the image rather than a product shot or logo works a lot better, especially if the people in the image are in the same demographic as your target audience. Also close ups of people’s faces (especially women’s faces) has always worked well for me too.
There are plenty of places you can find royalty free stock photos to use (eg. Shutterstock) so try a few different ones and split test to see which your target market finds more attractive to click through on.
Test and test again.
You might have noticed a recurring theme through all of this: split testing. I am a massive advocate of testing because I am also a massive advocate of not just throwing money away – and if you are not testing your ads, that’s exactly what you are doing.
Nobody is going to get these ads right first time and every time. And from experience, some of the ads I thought were absolute crackers did nothing and some that I thought were rubbish got a really high CTR.
The point is, the ads aren’t meant to attract you. So you don’t know for sure what your market is going to like or dislike and the only way to find out is to do through split testing.
Did you know … that I run Facebook Ads and Linkedin Direct Ads campaigns for my small business clients? If you would like to find out how I might be able to help your business, call me TODAY on 02 4324 2594 or email me nick@thebowditchgroup.com.
In Part 3 of this series, I will go through being persistent (but not stubborn), how to outsource your ads and who to outsource your ad campaigns to.
Have you had a headline that you thought was awful do well? Do you have trouble getting the copy of your ads right?
Please let us know in the comments below. When you leave a comment on this site, it appears straight away – no signing up, no waiting for the comment to be moderated – it will appear below straight after you have posted it.
Related Posts: The Secret to Designing Facebook Ads that Actually Make Money
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Very nice post dear