Social media is undisputedly one of the strongest marketing tools today. Businesses, brands, and marketers all understand that social media can make a world of difference when it comes to brand awareness. On top of that, they’re using social media to promote their products or services, build loyalty with customers, and show off brand personality. And, with the possibility of using social media advertising, the sky is the limit.
But, not everyone’s an expert on writing a great social media ad copy. And, if your ad copy’s not spot on, all your efforts may be in vain. That’s why we’ve prepared a guide with 9 powerful tips that will teach you how to write an effective social media ad copy.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Table of Contents
Why are Social Media Ads so Powerful?
Before we skip to the writing part, let’s take a moment to consider the importance of successful social media advertising. What makes it so special, and why do you have to invest in it?
Here are the facts:
- there are more than 3.7 billion social media users worldwide
- the average person spends 142 minutes on social media daily
- Facebook ads are used by 70% of marketers
It’s clear that social media is a dominant platform for reaching people and sending them a message about your brand or business. But, apart from the huge number of people using social media, what else makes it so powerful?
Social media advertising allows you to:
- target specific groups of people, customers, or leads
- target people based on their location, gender, interests, and other specific factors
- keep track of each ad’s performance and engagement
- keep track of the peak hours for posting
- continuously learn about your audience
Luckily, all of this is simplified thanks to the ad tools that social media platforms offer. So, your main and most complex task will be to write a social media ad that converts. And we’re going to help you do it.
How to Write an Effective Social Media Ad Copy?
Writing an ad copy for social media may seem overwhelming to you, especially if you don’t have a lot of experience. But, the step-by-step guide we’ve shared below is everything you need to know about it. Let’s take it one step at a time.
1. Set a Goal
Generally speaking, the goal of every social media ad copy is to reach as many people- both existing followers and those who’ve never heard of you. But, you need a more specific objective that will help you write an ad copy that hits the bull’s eye.
So, before you even start writing, ask yourself about the specific goal you want to achieve. It could be a number of things:
- show off brand personality
- promote an event
- present a new product
- increase sales
- drive traffic to your website
- build a community around the brand
- get more followers
Once you set a clear goal, you’ll be able to start working on your ad copy.
2. Set the Right Tone
Who are you speaking to through this ad copy? Your target audience. And, what type of language do they expect you to use? Only you can answer this question.
The point is, you need to set the right tone and use it consistently in all your ad copies on social media.
Every brand will speak differently to their followers, based on their typical age, sex, geographical location, interests, and other factors.
For instance, Pantene is a haircare brand that targets women of all ages, according to their official statements. Here’s one of their Instagram posts with product promotion.
source: Instagram
Their tone is casual and friendly, just like it would be if you’re talking to a good friend. So, think about how your target audience speaks to their friends and stick to that tone.
Related Article: Best Time to Post on Facebook
3. Share Your Vision
People online love brands that carry a message other than ”buy this”. If your brand has a vision or mission you’re proud of, make it a part of your copy.
For instance, the clothing brand PHILOSOPHYmoonstore made its brand message one of the main elements of the ad copy.
source: Facebook
”Philosopher is all about quality, not quantity.”
The message is short, sweet, and as clear as it gets. Incorporating such messages into the ad copy will not only tell the audience something new about you, but also help you distinguish yourself from the competitors.
Related Article: Essential steps for using Social Media to boost business marketing
4. Address the Pain Points
Your social media ad copy needs to speak to your target audience. It needs to be addressed directly to them and make them feel like it’s written for them specifically.
But, how can you achieve this effect?
It’s actually all about following these simple rules:
- use more ’’you’’ instead of ’’I’’ or ’’we’’ e.g. What’s your New Year’s resolution?
- describe emotions, e.g. Are you scared of going back to the office?
- address accurate problems e.g. Is your digital marketing strategy not showing results?
Try to make every copy about the target user and their everyday issues, dilemmas, or thoughts. This will make them stop scrolling and take a moment to have a closer look at your ad copy.
5. Highlight Key Attributes
Are writing an ad copy about a product or a service? Make sure your audience focuses on one main attribute that you’re most proud of.
If you start listing a ton of great things about your product, it won’t be strong enough to get anyone’s attention. But, if you make it about one key attribute, people will know what to focus on. That’s exactly what this next example is about.
source: Facebook
’’CHUNKY ORGANIC KNITS’’ is what this ad copy is all about. There’s no need for any additional descriptions or convincing. It’s as simple as that.
6. Emphasize Benefits
The customer needs to know what’s in it for them if they decide to trust your brand. So, if they buy your product or try your services, what are they gaining?
Talking about the benefits is another key element of your social media ad copy. You have to let the people know about:
- how this might change their lives
- what are they getting from you
- how this might solve their problems
So, give them a couple of reasons to click that ad and learn more (another great CTA!) about your offerings. Here’s how Maybelline did in this social media post.
source: Instagram
In a single sentence, they tell you this is the best foundation you’ll find, and explain why you’ll love it so much. It’s all the reason you’d need to get interested in this brand.
7. Add CTAs
Calls-to-action are super important for an engaging social media ad copy. Why? Because they tell the people exactly what to do and how.
Powerful CTAs are:
- short
- clear
- creative
- motivating
You want people to see your ad, read the CTA, and instantly react. Here’s a great example from Spotify.
source: Facebook
Their entire copy is a combination of CTAs, both in the caption and on the image itself. Here’s what they used:
- escape reality
- dive into music listening
- don’t miss out
- sign up
- enjoy 3 months free
CTAs will make your copy more interactive and effective, so use a combination of CTAs for each ad copy you create.
8. Edit & Proofread
Imagine the embarrassment of publishing an ad copy that has a typo? Your followers and potential leads would discard you as unprofessional and sloppy.
The same goes for copies that use unnatural language, are poorly written, or have sentences that sound strange.
This is why the final stage of writing your social media ad copy needs to be editing and proofreading, several times.
Luckily, you can get help with this writing assignment from professional writers. I just recently learned that a writing service that can write a thesis for me can also do the editing and rewriting I need. So, if it’s too much to handle on your own, hire these professionals.
9. Test
Finally, there’s no one ultimate type of social media ad copy that would work for all brands. Different audiences will respond differently to the same type of content.
This is why you have to test.
So, run A/B testing regularly to find out what content types, formats, and styles work best for your target audience. Once you see what drives the most traffic or gets the most engagement, you’ll know how to craft better ads in the future.
Make sure you keep track of ad performance and results to be completely sure you’re doing a great job.
Final Thoughts
Writing for social media is far from easy. But hopefully, after reading the 9 tips we’ve shared above, you’ll start feeling ready to write a superb ad copy for your social media.
Use our tips to develop your writing strategy. Apply it to each copy, and you’ll start seeing results sooner than you expect!
