Many people might argue that social media ads can be considered interruption advertising. A sponsored tweet or post on Facebook is certainly less irritating than a loud television commercial.

Advertisers have the good news that people don’t shun these ads as much, as do TV commercials. On average, the ROI (return on investment) for social media marketing campaigns is much higher than that of a TV or print campaign.

Your goal is to blend in with the news feed by providing something relevant and personal to your target audience. This will make them stop scrolling. It’s a sign that your ad is not good if they scroll past it and don’t read it.

Always pay for a website click. Never pay for page likes.

Several guides have provided information on why you should spend some of your social media advertising budgets on growing the pages by buying followers or likes. In 2015, Facebook’s average “reach” for posts fell dramatically. This means that if you have 100,000 fans and reach 20% of them per post, then your average post “reach” would drop to 5-10% in 2016. So, buying likes is a waste of time.

Here is a quote taken directly from Facebook.com about the reasons for the decline in organic reach.

The second reason is how the News Feed functions. News Feed does not show all content. Instead, it shows only the most relevant content to each user. News Feed shows approximately 300 of the 1,500+ stories that a user might see when they log onto Facebook. News Feed uses thousands of factors to determine which stories should be shown.

To translate, if your post doesn’t gain a certain number of likes/shares/comments when shown to a proportion of your followers, it will be shown a lot lower in the news feed than the rest of your followers. Don’t pay for likes. These are less efficient and more costly. While there are still many ways to increase your organic reach it is becoming increasingly difficult. This is why more people are opting for sponsored Facebook ads.

So what does a good social media ad look like?

It’s not about what you say but how you say it and show it. Two key points are important to keep in mind before we get into the actual examples.

1. First, target the right audience. This is something I won’t get into, but it will make it easier to create an ad.
2. Stop the person from scrolling. There are many ways to do this, but the easiest is to use a catchy image. After you have completed the image selection and target, you can begin to write your copy.

Facebook Ads

As I am sure that everyone who reads this article knows what Facebook ads look like, I’ll go straight to it. Below is a screenshot from a Udemy advertisement. Even though I rarely visit the Udemy site, or any other related to guitars, this ad somehow knew that I wanted the guitar to learn! They knew this obviously through smart targeting/retargeting.

These elements are what I refer to as the secondary keys to creating an effective ad. We have an eye-catching image and 5 of our friends trust the company. All of this leads to trust in the ad. If they like it and my friends are happy with the company, it is trustworthy and worth my time.

There are many powerful words in the copy. The powerful words “learn,” enroll,” and “join,” create a sense of community and, most importantly, convey that the product is valuable. The ad also promotes the internet aspect. People are indolent, even though they may deny it. Having the ability to learn/earn/do things from their homes increases the likelihood that they will make the purchase. The ad mentions “interactive” and “online,” which gives the impression that it will be simple.

Advertisements should have two main goals. The first is to get people to click on the link. The second goal is to remove any pre-purchase barriers that they may have. To increase trust, you can either quote the exact price or add power words like “free”, “how to,” and “proven” to your ad.

Instagram Ads

Instagram’s Ad platform, which is connected to Facebook, allows you to advertise to your target audience in a visually stunning way. Instagram is the best place to start if you have a product that photos well. Instagram’s targeting feature plays an important role. Here is an example of an advertisement (also from Udemy), that I saw on my Instagram feed. The ad was for Gary Vaynerchuk.

Gary is a friend on Facebook and I don’t follow him on Instagram. However, the ad was still served. We receive various ad types on my fitness business channel. They mainly promote protein and workout clothes. These ads are not competition. However, they are relevant and displayed in a way that makes them look real. The only difference is the “sponsored” element.

A clear, eye-catching image is the first step to Instagram. Gary’s content is something I enjoy and know well. I will stop following him if I see his name or face. This post does both. Next, you need to interact with the ad on social media. Like Facebook, ads with more comments and likes tend to convert better. You wouldn’t click on an ad that only has 1 like. These elements are used by a lot of Instagram advertisers.

Twitter Ads

Twitter is generally considered a less powerful advertising platform than Facebook. However, it can still be a great way to advertise to a wide range of people. Similar targeting options are possible. The same style of ads that place the main focus on an image is still applicable. Humor is a key strategy to get your Twitter ad noticed. Funny ads or controversial tweets, which are also effective, are more likely to be retweeted and thus reach a wider audience. A winning format can be humorously integrated into a commercial Twitter advertisement.

Perfect banner has the right balance of value and relevance. This was a tweet I shared with my friends. It is perfect for marketers like me who are always trying to optimize conversions to make the most of projects.

The Beast sensor’s advertisement caught my attention. While the copy could be improved, I was drawn to the simple tagline of this company, “Take the guesswork out of the weight room,” which is a combination of the featured image and the stats, which will surely grab the attention of any serious weightlifter. It can give you an edge in your training by measuring the speed of reps or the average power. Although they could have written a stronger tagline than “beast sensor”, the ad still received 87 retweets from a relatively unknown company.

LinkedIn Ads

LinkedIn ads are quite different from Twitter and Facebook. While LinkedIn may be in decline its advertising platform remains the most important business-to-business marketing channel online. LinkedIn can help you gain lots of traffic if you choose the right ad type.

As with all social media advertising, the key is to narrow your target audience as much as possible. If you haven’t already done so, another strategy is to promote your business about financial news or other businesses. If you’re interested in your business, mention that a stock has fallen.

The ad links to an article that discusses the changes from the perspective of small business owners. The ad also includes a call for action to get their accounting services. This style of newsjacking may not work in all industries but it is possible to angle to many different industries and gain some traffic. This strategy is described in a case study that I have done.

A quick guide on how to write social media copy

Now you know the basics of social ads, but you don’t know how to write an ad. This ad will assume that you have an attractive image and targeted the right audience. Next, you need to decide what headline (25 characters), text (90%), news feed description, and display link to use. Here are some quick tips for a social copy when creating these:

Text – Your text must contain at most 2 power words and 1 hyper-relevant keyword. There should also be as many barrier-breaking points in your text as possible. Remember who the ad is for. Your target audience will dictate the style and vocabulary you use.

While “incredible” may be an effective word for younger people, it would not work well if you were targeting men in their 50s. It would help if you instead chose a fact-based power term such as “proven,” solution, or benefit. This book is by Frank Luntz, Words That Work.

Your headline should be the text. It is visible above the headline and, as such, it should be the first thing people read. This headline should not be too promotional or gimmicky. You could use the example of “Finally conquer your xxxx” and “9 Steps for generating more xxxxxx.”

Headline – Include a new power term (use the most assertive and powerful one here) as well as another keyword that is very relevant to the person (which you should be aware of from your targeting). As an example, I would choose “Your Professional Guitar Masterclass” instead of “The Professional Guitar Masterclass.” It adds personality and appeals to the person who is already reading the ad.

Link description for the news feed – Here you can continue to talk about the benefits and why people should try it. You can get free trials, amazing reviews, money-back guarantees, final 3 copies, and many other benefits.

Display link – This should contain your website address. However, you can use a parameter that contains selected power words. For example, website.com/free-proven-strategy/. 

Button – It all depends on the product you’re selling. However, I recommend that you have a button. You can sign up for free or learn more if your product has a price. If you have to pay, I recommend “shop now.”

Conclusion

Don Draper’s one-liner wonders and Don Draper are gone. However, it doesn’t have to be hard to write great social media ads. Check out the checklist below to make sure your ads follow the key elements.

1. Eye-catching image – Stop scrolling
2. Relevant target audience – A 5% CTR is useless if the conversion rate of your website is 0.
3. Initial likes – Getting at least 50 initial likes to the ad.
4. Use power words – Add a variety of powerful words to your copy.
5. Break down Barriers – Provide stats, prices, and figures to help individuals think about clicking on an advertisement.
6. Personal connection – Ads should not be generic. Use personal words and phrases.