4.4 Messaging & Communication

I hope you enjoyed that last episode on targeting as much as we did. This episode focuses specifically on messaging and communication. We are going to look at ad copy and how the best ad copy is written.

Here’s another look at a Facebook ad to refresh your memory on what they look like (not that you need any reminding - you see hundreds of these everyday whether you like it or not). As you can see, there are several pieces of text on an ad copy - the headline, the primary text, the news description and the CTA or button text.

A quick neuromarketing lesson for you: The first thing that a user will see in your ad is the image. The image is what gets the user to stop and take notice. We will be diving into Facebook creatives in the next episode but for now let's acknowledge the ad creatives as being the first thing that the user's eyes will fall on.

Once the user has seen the image, the immediate next thing that they are going to look at is the headline. It's right below the image and is in the largest font.

At this point, the user has taken the time to check out the image and read the title. If they are still interested, they are going to read your text to find out more about what you are offering. And then finally they are going to look at either your link description, or your CTA. Now with this context in mind, let's talk about each of these pieces.

The headline -‍

What you communicate here makes or breaks the ad. The image has held the attention of your user for the first few milliseconds but now it's the headline's job to reel the user in. This is your ONE shot at hooking your person. So what will you say?

Here are some tips on how to make that headline count -‍

Ask a question - This is one of the most popular headline techniques out there. When you ask someone a question, you are drawing them in to answer. The only logical response for the user would be to read the rest of the ad. An example of this is: "Tired of trying to get fit"?‍

Make a command - This might seem like a weird tip, but when you tell a person to do something, they tend to notice. Telling the user what to do increases your chances of them noticing what you have to say. Something like: "Take responsibility for your health!"‍

List a benefit - Technically, your ad is an interruption to a person scrolling on Facebook or Instagram so you need to make it worth their while. If you list a benefit or talk about WHY what you have to offer will benefit the person, you will grab their attention. For example: "The easiest way to lose weight"‍

Inspire Curiosity - If you can pique a user's curiosity by saying something that's intriguing, they are bound to at least explore what else you have to say. Here’s an example: "The secret to getting fit". I’m sure you’ve seen this one before‍

Use power words - The top 5 performing words on Facebook ads are You, Free, Because, Instantly and New. Use them! Here's one way: "A food plan that is designed for you".‍

Keep it crisp - The best headlines are 5 words long: "Get our free fitness plan".‍

Touch a pain point - If you address a pain point that your audience is facing, you will probably get them reading. "Can’t seem to lose that belly fat?”‍

These are just a couple of tips to get you going. You’ll be rolling out some world-class copy in no time.

And then you have the text -‍

This is the larger body of text that comes above the ad. As we mentioned earlier, it's what the user will probably read after they have read the headline. When a person reaches the point of reading this text, you now have their attention.  Here is where the conversation actually happens so what you say here will close the deal. Here are some things to keep in mind while writing the text. ‍

Keep it simple - Don't over complicate it. The job of this text is to elaborate to the user what your offer is and draw them in. You won't achieve that if your message sounds too complex.‍

Follow up from the headline - Treat this copy of text as a transition from the headline. Imagine you say the headline to someone and then they ask you to explain further, what would you say?‍

Make the sale - If the headline is not talking directly about the offer, then it falls on this copy to make the sale. For example if your headline talks about a pain point, then it's the body copy's job to tell the user how you will solve that pain point.‍

And then you have Link Description -‍

This is the text that comes below the headline. It’s not really the highest priority but it is a nice little spot to give the reader some additional information that you weren’t able to add in the headline or text. Like terms and conditions, an additional discount or perhaps a hidden feature. Put them here.‍

And finally, the CTA - ‍

This very term will be a large part of your life as a marketer. It stands for Call To Action. The CTA or Call To Action is basically a button on an ad or on a web page asking the user to take an action. You’ve seen it everywhere on the internet or on your apps.

Facebook gives you a set of CTAs to choose from which are - Download, Learn More, Sign Up, Shop Now, Watch more, Book Travel, Use App, Play Game, Open Link and Other. How you use these CTAs is very important. Make sure your CTA's message ties into the message of the overall ad. If you’re asking them to buy something, you can choose from Shop Now or Learn More,

If you’re giving away something for free you could go with something like Download, Sign-up, and so on.

A smart CTA is important because it can really take your ad places.

Now in this episode, we’ve given you a bunch of different best practices when it comes to the ad copy but here’s a little marketing secret - there are no rules. Sure, this is a good place to start, but you can make your own set of rules and best practices.

A marketer never stops experimenting and never stops learning. That's you now. And with that we’re done with this episode. Now, we’re ready to start building our first ad campaign together.