how to write facebook ads

Ads on social media are hot, hot stuff right now. I think it all started when “organic” reach on social media declined to scarily low ground. A steep  50% + organic decline in Facebook page reach, identified across a short time span in 2014, was an eyeopener for a lot of marketers (benchmark study from social@Ogilvy): Ogilvy said in the same study: “Organic reach of the content brands publish in Facebook is destined to hit zero. It’s only a matter of time. In 2012, Facebook famously restricted organic reach of content published from brand pages to about 16 percent. In December 2013, another round of changes reduced it even more. By February 2014, according to a Social@Ogilvy analysis of more than 100 brand pages, organic reach hovered at 6 percent, a decline of 49 percent from peak levels in October. For large pages with more than 500,000 Likes, organic reach hit 2 percent in February.” That’s rough. So, what can marketers do? The answer: pay a small sum and start doing ads on the platform. Facebook ads are, according to Wordstream, one of the most cost-effective advertising platforms. Check out their CPC (cost per click) study. $1.72 is an extremely low advertising cost – but that’s the “average” cost! And there have been incredible, inspirational success stories from marketers making BIG income using Facebook ads: Franklin Hatchett from Online Dimes made $550,000 by capitalizing on high-return ads in a specific niche Josh Dunlop from Income Diary doubled his money by doing Facebook ads And there are tons more stories like these. A critical element to the success of a Facebook ad is the copy in that ad. Double whammy: it can also be the hardest task on your list. Looking for more social media hacks? Download our FREE resource, A Handy Dandy Guide on How to Write Social Media Posts: Best Practices, Length, & More It’s not a predictable, plodding cow. It’s a wily horse. Meanwhile, Facebook ad copy is like a zebra in a herd of wild horses. Don’t be fooled. It looks like a horse, but it’s not. It’s something else, a totally unique task. To learn how to write Facebook ads that work, you have to know how to approach the zebra so you don’t make it shy away. You have to use a strategy separate from what you’d use for other types of ads. Let’s start with a basic question… How Important is Ad Copy on Facebook Ads? Rule of thumb: ad copy is nothing without great visuals. (The same can be said vice versa: you need great ad copy for a great ad visual.) The proof is in the stats. Take this oft-cited BuzzSumo finding, for starters: Facebook posts with an image get 2.3 times the engagement as posts without an image. On Facebook, ads show up in the news feed and look like posts. Ergo, if your ad has no image, not even a placeholder, we have an issue. The image takes up the most real estate, and has the most impact, in a Facebook ad. Facebook Ads Manager has a variety of ad formats to choose from, but note that all of them are image-centric. Okay… So, What Role Does Ad Copy Play? You may be wondering why we’re worrying about ad copy at all in the face of the facts. Here’s why: The ad copy supports the image. The two play off of each other. The image is what draws the eye, but the ad copy is what seals the deal for the click. Facebook says as much on their Ad Copy Cheat Sheet: Without the ad copy, your ad will be much more confusing. Users won’t know what to do with it. Users won’t have a reason why they should stop and pay full attention. With the ad copy, you provide that reason. You provide the essential why. You answer the customer’s dearest question: “How does this benefit me?” How to Write Facebook Ads, Step-by-Step Knowing the rules is the first step to complete knowledge. Picasso, for instance, didn’t begin his foray into abstract art without first intimately knowing the rules of drawing from life. In the same way, to write great Facebook ads, you have to understand the basic rules first. Know your limitations, then stretch them with your imaginative, creative, effective copy. Step #1: Begin with the Image Before we dig in, we need to qualify something. Steps one and two are interchangeable. Sometimes, you’ll start with a great image and can pull inspiration for the copy from that. Other times, you start with a great idea. This means you flesh out a catchy concept and find the perfect image afterward. If you’re beginning with the image, think about three things: Use as little image text as possible, if at all. Facebook only allows text to occupy 20% or less of your image. Images with more text get less exposure. The headline needs to match up with or echo the on-image text (if you’re including any). If you use on-image text, make sure it’s a value proposition, according to SEMrush. In other words, what will viewers get out of the deal? (A discount? A freebie? A better life?) Users will see your image first, your copy second. Make sure your image is relevant to your entire ad message. Here’s an example of an Amazon ad that uses image text properly: Step #2: Move to the Headline In Facebook Ads Manager, you may notice that you’re presented with one text box to enter your ad copy. Don’t start there, though. Instead, check the box underneath that says “Add a website URL” to access more options. You’ll see something like this: The text box for entering your headline is further down the page. Don’t worry about doing things out of order – you’ll want to create your headline first to give your copy a general direction. The headline is most likely what a user will see second, after the image. As such, this becomes a huge focus for your copy creation. … Read more