10 ways to write headlines and copy that stand out.
There are several different approaches to writing potent copy. The most effective approach will depend on the goals and placement of your ad. Your copy should be driven by your intentions, and everything has to match, or else viewers will fall off. Don’t push too hard, but be clear with your copy. Be descriptive about the right things, provide imagery that matches your message and copy, and make sure everything put together represents your brand. Don’t try too hard to fit everything you want to say into the copy. It should be kept short and simple. Make sure you’re not hitting several unrelated points throughout your imagery, copy, headline, description, and most importantly, the landing page. Everything must work together as one, for the same goal. Don’t make it harder than it has to be.
Provide value. There are plenty of ways to accomplish this. The goal of your ad should determine how you approach this, and how much time you spend on it. If you are campaigning for awareness, the whole ad should be providing value. You can build value by being informative or educating the viewer. This is a great way to set you apart from the competition as well. Take the time to show what you know instead of immediately pushing for the sale. The further down the funnel you go, the less time you have to spend building value. The viewer knows who you are and what you are about at this point.
Be original. Don’t copy another company’s ads. There is really no indication as to how their ads are doing, so copying a template could prove detrimental to your ad budget. Not to mention, different ads work variably across industries. Something that works for someone in the food industry may not work for someone in the fitness industry.
Make a promise. Tell the user how your business can benefit them. Consider both strong functional benefits that set you apart from the competition, as well as emotional benefits that your product or service will produce.
Provide monetary values when possible. Being transparent is a characteristic consumers love in a company. People want to know how much your product or service is going to cost them. This can also speed up their consideration process when comparing companies to purchase from.
Use time-sensitive language. Providing the viewer with a reason to buy now is important when focusing on conversions. When you give a consumer time to think about a purchase, they will forget all about it until they see your next ad. By then, it’s probably too late. Don’t waste all of that time and budget spent on building value for them - ask for the sale! Give them a reason to buy it, before they forget and move onto the next thing. Ex: “Sale ends tomorrow.”
Tell a story. Storytelling has existed since the dawn of human existence. It’s how we communicate ideas and connect through shared experiences. By introducing a hook that grabs the reader’s attention, a problem, and building up suspense, you create the perfect opportunity to introduce your product or service as the solution. This doesn’t mean you have to elaborate on a long scenario, this technique can be done in just a few sentences. It can be done even better through the use of video, but writing can achieve a similar goal as well.
Pique their interest. Don’t give away everything in your copy. Provide them with an incentive to click on that link. Give them a cliffhanger to hold onto until they get to your landing page. Let your landing page do the work for you. Give them just enough information about how great your product or service is, and let their curiosity take over from there. If done well, you will see click-through rates you’ve only ever dreamed of. This can also be done well with providing information. We see a similar method with news headlines, “clickbait,” as you may know it. They give you just enough information for you to get a mental image in your head, pique interest, and provide you with the whole story on their landing page. Paired with making a promise, this is a lethal combo.
Entertain the viewer. People get on social media for several reasons. One thing is for sure, they do not go onto social media to be sold to. You are the uninvited guest, and it’s not hard to spot you in a crowd. The best way to fit in is to provide a source of entertainment. You can be clever, funny, or relate to interests that you know your target audience has.
Target their interests specifically. If you outlined a target audience, then hopefully you know what that audience is interested in - outside of your product or service, of course. There are lots of shared common interests between audiences that you can touch on. If you are targeting in a specific region, relate to the interests of people in that specific region. Events, sports, music, etc. If you know your audience is into a specific hobby, even better.
Provide an offer. Consumers are always looking for the benefit to buying your product. If you provide them with an offer, it will give them a reason to buy your product now, and stop waiting for an offer from the other guys (or gals). Providing an offer is a great way to increase conversions, but make sure these types of ads are retargeting users whom you’ve already built value with.
