Mastering the Art of Facebook Ad Copy: A Guide to Writing High-Converting Ads
With the changes in privacy policies, such as Apple's iOS 14 update, social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram are less able to track user behaviour and interests, making it more challenging for advertisers to target their desired audience. This means that advertisers need to rely more on creative and compelling copywriting to capture the attention of their audience and persuade them to take action.
Here’s a breakdown of copy hacks, tips and examples to help increase your conversion rate.
Primary Text:
This is the main text shown at the very top of a Facebook ad. It’s where you need to hook your audience and convince them to click over to your website and BUY your product / service. Below are some tips on exactly how to do that:
Ask yourself 'why' someone wants to buy your product.
Think about the features of the item such as the defining qualities or characteristics, but also make sure you accurately highlight the benefits; what advantages your product has and how it’ll positively impact them. Benefits are the reason people buy.
Highlighting features only example - “All The Social Lab’s clothing is available in breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding options. The breastfeeding option has a discrete zip along the front of the item that opens all the way across from both sides”.
Highlighting benefits example - “The benefits of the easy to use zips is that they allow for easy and discreet breastfeeding access, and can be worn at any stage of the motherhood journey”.
Drill down to truly understand the reason why people would buy the products.
EG. The Social Lab’s clothing can be worn at any stage of the motherhood journey, while allowing you to breastfeed in confidence! Why is that good? Because you can easily breastfeed in a public setting, without the worry and stress of having to find somewhere to be discreet, PLUS these products can be worn for years to come (even if you’re no longer breastfeeding).
Identify a problem then offer a solution.
EG. “Wish you could find comfortable, stylish and on trend clothing that ALSO has easy breastfeeding access? Well, the Social Lab has you covered”.
Suck people in immediately!
Once your copy goes over 125 characters, a ‘see more’ hyperlink will appear. Typically, only the first line and a half of text is shown in an ad before viewers are asked to 'see more'. This is why you NEED to ensure any crucial information is in the first couple of lines, ideally the first sentence. This is so it will always appear on feed without having to get your audience to click anything extra. The more ‘steps’ to get to your website, the lower the conversion rate.
Utilise reviews
Testimonials are a great way to get people excited about your product and build trust with your brand as well.
EG. We are in LOVE with this ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review from Sarah. “I’ve always wanted to purchase clothing from The Social Lab and I am SO glad I did! It has made my life with my little one so much easier especially when he needs to be breastfed in public! I can’t rave about these products enough."
That was just the beginning! We have a few more tips we’re going to let you in on. You may think the primary text is the only important element of an ad but it’s not. There are a few more terms you need to know of and why they are important to use when creating a Facebook ad.
Call to action (CTA) *at the bottom of the Primary Text
We’re not JUST talking about the CTA button that sits at the bottom right of your ad, we’re talking about something a lil’ extra designed to dramatically improve your click through rate.
ALL of your ads should have a CTA within the primary text. By including a CTA here, you’re ensuring there are several touchpoints to get your audience out of Facebook and onto your website.
Below are some easy examples.
Shop now → www.thesociallab.co.nz
Browse our latest collection, here → www.thesociallab.co.nz
What are you waiting for? Shop our sale, today → www.thesociallab.co.nz
Headline
The headline is crucial to get right, as it's a bold piece of text under the image / video that SHOULD capture the attention of the audience. Typically, the first word of a headline is a verb, designed to encourage the audience to take action. The headline should be short, sharp and captivating.
Here are some examples
"Try the world FIRST streak free tan!”
“Treat yourself to a wardrobe makeover!”
“Create the organised pantry of your DREAMS”
“Design a playroom your children will LOVE”
Descriptions
Descriptions are positioned under the headline of an ad. However, not every description will be visible (it depends on the device you're using or how long your headline is). This means, it’s important to not place any CRUCIAL information in this section, i.e. a sale discount or code. Below are some nice added extras for people to view when looking at an ad (but not crucial information).
Afterpay Available
Worldwide shipping available
Fast delivery
We know it’s a lot to take in and understand so here’s an example of where every key thing is in an ad!
Geo Targeted Copy
Remember, when targeting different countries with your ads, the majority of the time you’ll have to adjust the copy / content to suit these regions.
Not all countries spell things in the exact same way. EG. Colour and color, favourite and favourite etc. If you are creating ads for the USA and ANZ, it's important to remember to make these small tweaks to better appeal to customers in each location (and increase click through rate).
If you have two different websites (i.e. one for American customers and one for Australian customers), make sure you create different versions of the ads, with different URLs (.com or .com.au).
Seasonality is BIG. When one country is going into Summer, another can be heading into Winter. It's important where you can, to try to remember the seasons and find copy/imagery that works for each individual region, to remain relevant for the targeted customer.
Extra info to increase conversion rate
There are also other factors you can control that will help improve the overall conversion rate. These aren't directly related to the product but how your business operates as well. If multiple businesses sell the same product, why should consumers buy from YOUR website? Try to intertwine these in your copy if available on your site.
Loyalty points / rewards system
Free shipping
AfterPay
Sign up for 10% off
Free returns
Ethically made
Locally designed
Comment Section
The comment section isn't used when creating every ad. However, the comments section isn't monitored by the algorithm so it allows you to bypass policy. The information we would include in the comment section on an ad are as follows:
Before and after shots
Reviews
Products in use
We recommend alluding to there being more information in the comments section in the primary text to ensure people check it out!
Ad policy
Not every ad will be automatically approved. Stick to Facebook's ad policies because if there are HEAPS of disapproved ads, then your account could be shut down.
The main thing to remember is, you can't talk about dramatic 'before and afters', guaranteed results, get rich quick schemes etc. All of these can be seen as ‘misleading or 'false claims'. While a product may work for one person, it may not work for another.
Be mindful of ads with heaps of skin, or anything that could be considered sexual. EG. bikinis, lingerie sets etc.
To make it easy for, all the Facebook Ad Policies are documented, here.
UTMs
UTMS allows you to understand where traffic is actually coming from. So, instead of just seeing 'social' traffic - you'll be able to break it down. It's important that if you require a UTM, that it is placed in EVERY ad. If you miss putting a UTM in, then you won't be able to track certain traffic in Google Analytics and it'll make Facebook performance inaccurate.
UTMs are usually created by the business and you copy and paste them in at the ad level.
Now that we’ve given you all you need, it’s time to create your own! If you’d rather hand it over to the professionals, The Social Lab specialises in constructing winning headlines and ad copy to encourage a high clickthrough rate, increase average order value and maximise conversion rate. We've worked with businesses across the globe, generated over $400 million NZD for our clients and currently manage a portfolio with one of the highest Facebook and Instagram ad spends in Asia Pacific ($20 million in the past year alone).