Writing ads for the world’s most popular social media platform? There is a fine art to creating ads that convert on Facebook.
Whether you’re looking for more visitors or followers, getting people to download or purchase something, or simply trying to increase engagement on your Facebook or Instagram, there are a few things to bear in mind with your ad copy.
1. Understand your market
Before putting any words down, make sure you have done your market research. What does this mean?
When setting up, Facebook Ads will ask you about your users interests, their locations, their age and other demographic factors.
By building an avatar of your ideal audience and their interests, you’ll find it easier to write Facebook ads that convert.
Think about how they talk, or what kind of language they find engaging, what interests them outside of your product and how they spend their time online.
2. Use an eye-catching image/video
First and foremost, Facebook and Instagram are visual platforms. If you want to hook in those clicks and conversions, you’ll need to stand out.
Avoid using stock images, or, if you do, make a unique montage or design.
Short videos, striking images and text in the image can all help capture the attention of Facebook users.
3. Short and sweet
Capturing attention online means understanding how to get your message across in the most efficient way possible.
Written content needs to be short. Videos need to be to the point.
Your Facebook post can be up to 63,206 characters long. So should it be?
Facebook Ad copy length is best kept relatively short, as this is social media after all. People like a quick and easy to scan post that generates a simple response.
Generally speaking, the shorter your Facebook Ad copy length, the better.
However there are some exceptions, such as this ad below which isn’t entirely clear what it’s for. There are a lot of things wrong with this ad beyond just the copy… I’ll let you make your own mind up about this one.
There is some evidence that long posts can engage and get the point across like short posts can’t.
And there is a time and a place for longer posts. But if you’re specifically writing Facebook Ads that convert, aim to keep your content as short as possible.
4. The hook
The first line of your Facebook ad should instantly hook your reader in.
How do you do this?
Hit a pain point or make them stop in their tracks with an emotional response.
- Make it about them
- Give them a statistic
- Ask a question
- Offer a teaser
- Give free advice
- Say something funny/outrageous/sad
- Deliver a piece of news
As an example, this ad from Motley Fool hints that they are privy to some exciting insider information.
5. Avoid talking about yourself
It’s fine to mention your company in the first person, “We want to help you”.
In this statement, for example, you’re relating to the viewer, so all good.
But you want to avoid talking about yourself too much or making a claim about your credentials in the opening lines.
“Our company has been providing an award winning service for 20 years”
Your company being family run or winning an award is not a hook. But there are benefits to including this in your copy.
The best bet is to save this for closer to the close.
Talking of which.
6. Don’t be afraid to sell your benefits
Sticking with the theme of keeping it brief, you should also aim to convey your USP or service offering.
A freemium service might be able to sum it all up with just this. Take for example this ad for Hubspot.
This copy keeps it super short, sells the benefits and has a CTA too. All with just a handful of words.
But then everyone knows who Hubspot is and what they do.
This UK based company are tempting users with the potential to make more money, just by downloading their free guide.
Obviously this is gated content, and who doesn’t want to get more recurring revenue for their agency? Sign me up.
7. Use a clear CTA
Facebook Ads allow you to add a custom call to action. And if you’re trying to get conversions, you need to make it clear in your copy and your CTA what the customer is going to get.
It might be following you for more great information.
Or, it could be a free audit of your website.
Whatever it is, make it obvious.
To add to this, you should also avoid multiple CTAs. You’re aiming for a specific conversion in one ad, so to maximise chances of your Facebook ad converting, use one CTA for each ad.
8. Level up with power words
If you’re looking for any ads, including writing Facebook ads that convert, you’ll usually find that the best performing ones have some mixture of power words.
What are these power words?
They are words that have a persuasive or positive connection in our mind and make us more likely to act.
Words like:
- You
- Free
- Now
- Enjoy
- Happy
Understand that you don’t need to create a post full of power words, but using them at key points can improve your chances of conversions. If you want to write Facebook Ads that convert, check out any list of power words.
This post for example has some great uses of words like FREE, DARE, NOW and TODAY.
9. Tell a story
So, I mentioned not talking about yourself too much, and making your content relate to the reader.
But, we all love a story, don’t we?
Highlighting the story of a member of your team, or the story behind how your brand came to be can be a great way to capture some hearts and minds.
“It was a chance meeting with a plantation owner in Guatemala that started my love affair with small batch coffee”
“Meet Nora. Five years ago she was homeless and with no formal education. Today, she’s leading our customer satisfaction department #winning”
This would also need to be accompanied by a lovely picture, of course.
10. Use trending topics
One more way to engage an audience on Facebook is to capitalise on an event that is happening right now. This does mean you’ll need to keep an eye on the calendar throughout the year, and be relatively responsive with creating relevant copy.
For example, if there is a popular TV show, a sporting event, a global crisis, a scandal or anything else that people are searching for, see if your product can relate.
Your ad will be seen more and you’ll stand more chance of your Facebook ad copy converting new customers.
How to write a Facebook Ad – A template
There are several ways to write Facebook Ads that convert. These simple templates will help you build your own Facebook Ad with your own content.
AD 1:
Relate a pain point to a loss of revenue, time or other valuable resource. “Is mowing the lawn costing you valuable time with your kids?”
Make a statement about how much something helps with a verifiable fact. “Did you know 40% of Americans hired a professional gardener last year”
And how it can help them. “For just $XX a month, you’ll have more time to enjoy your garden. Not just work on it”
Add a CTA. “Ask for your FREE QUOTE today”
AD 2:
Ask a question and relate it to quality, general concern or price. “Love chocolate? But don’t love the thought of low paid workers picking your beans?”
Statement of quality/reassurance. “Our hand picked cacao beans are chosen by fair trade cooperatives, working to make a better life for their community”
Add the quality and CTA. “Enjoy responsibly sourced, premium chocolates every month with our subscription box. Order now.”
All about Facebook Ads
So, you know all about how to write Facebook Ads, and how to get them to convert.
But did you know, many clicks on Facebook Ads come from non-genuine traffic including bots, fake accounts and malicious users?
Read our in-depth guide about Facebook ad fraud and how to prevent it on your ads.
