Some people still believe that Facebook ads are not a good channel to drive conversions, but instead drive a lot of low-value impressions and clicks.
This preconception stems from the fact that Facebook is still often seen as the platform people primarily use to connect with friends and family, not the place where we “do business.”
As such, many brands underestimate the importance and potential of Facebook Ads as a key acquisition channel.
In part, that’s because maybe we should start doing a better job of defining what a conversion is.
The problem is that too often we classify a conversion as the last step in the acquisition funnel, and therefore for most, a conversion is a sale or a transaction with a revenue value attached.
However, the reality is that conversions (or, should we say, conversion points) can be much more than that, and identifying them requires us to look beyond the sale or the lead.
In the modern world, where the relationship between users and brands is increasingly complicated due to the multiple ways and channels they can use to communicate and interact, each point of contact is (or can be) as important as the previous one.
Therefore, every interaction can be defined as a conversion, which means smart marketers and businesses need to plan, track, and measure accordingly.
So now that we have more clarity on what a conversion is, how can you make the most of the powerful medium that is Facebook and create ads that convert?
For that, we have nine proven tips that are guaranteed to help.
1. Carefully segment your target audience and frame it with AIDA
First of all, you should always take advantage of Facebook’s audience targeting capabilities.
That requires mapping and planning your campaigns and ad sets to target different users with highly relevant ads that can grab their attention, generate genuine interest, convert it to desire, and ultimately action.
Whenever possible, smaller audiences will allow you to create more relevant and compelling copy that can resonate with your target audience.
The trick here is finding the right balance between audience size and the platform’s ability to collect enough data to optimize.
That said, the Attention, Interest, Desire, Action (AIDA) framework, which some define as “the four stages a consumer goes through before making a purchase decision,” should be what underpins your strategic approach and keeps everything together.
2. Create audience personas and use them to define your (conversion) goals
A clear audience profile will always help, so if possible you should create personas that represent your key segments.
You need to understand what motivates your customers and what triggers you can take advantage of to get them to take action and convert.
What is your need? What is important to them?
And how can you help them with that?
Are they driven by emotions or are they more of a rational type that resonates with numbers and facts?
Understanding and answering these questions will allow you to create ads and copy that are more effective and more likely to convert.
3. Take advantage of psychological triggers
Emotions move human beings.
We take actions because we have an intention, either to satisfy a need or for simple gratification, such as entertainment.
But for that to happen, we need to create a connection. Therefore, we need a trigger.
In the example below, it’s hard not to feel connected!
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Screenshot of Facebook Ad Library, June 2022
Also, one of the most powerful triggers is the fear of missing out (FOMO).
When relevant, highlight items in your ad copy like scarcity, hot deals, or anything that might be too good to pass up.
4. Address the pain points of your audience and highlight the benefits you can bring
With a deep understanding of your target audience comes the opportunity to clearly address their pain points within your ad copy and highlight the benefits your solution will bring them.
If you’ve done a good job of segmenting and narrowing down your target audience, you can leverage empathy to connect and engage with them.
Letting your prospective customers know that you understand their problem and that you can help them is a surefire way to reach users who are most likely to respond to your ads and may be ready to convert.
Once you get their attention, clearly (and concisely) stating how you’ll help, you need to focus on enticing them to take action.
A strong ad call-to-action (CTA) is also highly recommended.
The following example shows how Nike takes advantage of one of the biggest pain points for people who want to exercise: motivation.
Also notice the strong CTA: “Come run with us.” Clear, straight to the point, effective.
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Screenshot of Facebook Ad Library, June 2022
See more in the CTA below.
5 Have an option for those who may be less emotionally motivated
While the emotional trigger may work for most people, a more rational approach might trigger others.
For those sticking to the facts, using numbers and stats will likely work better and lead to conversions rather than emotional triggers, which might also be more relevant to certain industries than others.
For example, while you can see how some people might resonate with numbers and statistics when talking about a home or mortgage loan, the same might not be true for the travel industry if you’re selling vacation packages.
6. Always have a (strong) CTA
No matter what the goal of the ad is, whether it’s to attract attention, instill desire, or trigger an action, the ad copy should always have a clear, strong, and unique CTA.
Even in ads, people respond to instructions, probably because they don’t want to think about what to do.
Guiding them in their decisions is more likely to succeed than leaving them in doubt.
7. Test, test and test more
Going back to the previous example and the importance of thoroughly segmenting our target audience, it goes without saying that a strong testing framework should always complement segmentation.
Key to the success of any campaign is not only to test different messaging and targeting setups, but also to proactively evolve and update the creative and specifically, where applicable, the copy.
That way, the ads stay fresh and relevant, increasing your chances of conversion.
8. Whenever possible, always tell a good story with your ads
Speaking of ads that evolve over time, I strongly believe that advertisers often miss out on the opportunity to deeply engage with their audiences in favor of what (to me) is more like instant gratification.
As marketers, we are often so focused on getting “that” conversion that we ignore the fact that with a (large) portion of our audience, the first job is to help them move through the funnel.
Yes, we’ve talked about audience segmentation and the need for ads that are relevant to each stage, but what about having the vision to connect all those stages through consistent messaging and communications that also evolve?
In simple words, what about the narration?
If you can create ads and copy that tell a meaningful story that resonates with your audience, your chances of conversion will certainly grow with it.
In a storytelling format, you can address pain points, offer solutions that benefit your audience, validate them with social proof, address barriers and reservations your audience may have that are preventing them from converting, and more.
9. Use creative and copy that are specific to the ad format
This one is too often overlooked.
In an attempt to be efficient and effective over time, we often make the mistake of using or adapting the same creative and copy for different ad formats.
But the reality is that different ad formats are intended for different contexts, and as such offer the opportunity to speak to our customers in different ways.
For example, Facebook and Instagram stories are very different from carousel ads and therefore require a different approach.
With Stories, it’s important that the copy is on point and complements the image or video, while that might not necessarily be the case if the copy accompanies a single image, carousel, or video ad.
For the latter, the ad copy can take on more of the hero role and, while still supporting creativity, help address some of the points we mentioned earlier (ie pain points, benefits, etc.).
conclusion
While many of the tips we’ve discussed today are great for improving our Facebook ad copy and can be transferred to other platforms as well, mastering the art of copywriting is an excellent skill that requires talent, perseverance, and resilience.
What might work for some might not work for others.
Our foolproof tips for writing Facebook ad copy that converts are like the good ingredients in a good recipe, but to make it great, it takes a good chef and a lot of work.
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Featured Image: Alissa Kumarova/Shutterstock
