How to create the perfect Facebook Ad: Part I Ad Text

2019 was another astonishing year for Facebook as social media. Even though it peaked several years ago, Zuckerberg’s creation still masses more than 2,4 billion users under its colors. It’s an understatement to say that their algorithm, reviewing and approving the ads, is full of bugs and, more often than not, disables whitehead campaigns, while all over the newsfeed, we can see products that violate their policies. The support is even more horrendous. Nevertheless, Facebook is where people mass, and this makes it an essential part of every company’s marketing strategy and budget. This is THE place for B2C communication and more often than not- B2B 

That is why every advertiser should know how to create the perfect Facebook ad. Like it or not, you will have to run campaigns on this platform if you want to be where the people are. Of course, creating the perfect ad consist of many elements. Budgeting, targeting, placement, creative – everything plays an irreplaceable role in the final result. Unfortunately, this will be exceedingly lengthy for just one article. That’s why I’ll separate it into a series of posts that will focus on one element at a time. 

Why is the Ad text so important?

Many advertisers disregard the ad text as a small contributor to the overall performance of the ad. And statistically, they are right. The ad text is usually regarded to have only around a 5% impact on the whole ad. Nevertheless, in my experience, a good ad text will surely bring more customers to your landing page. A polished copy might be the difference between 5 and 10% CTR, between 0.10 and 0.05 CPC, and between 20k visitors and 25k visitors on your landing page. Furthermore, the Ad text is the only place where you can introduce your sales pitch and persuade people to take an interest in what you’re offering.

We all know how important the first impression is when you meet for the first time a potential customer or a prospective business partner. Well, you can compare your Facebook ad to your first meeting with the customer. The visual will be your appearance. The Headline will be your firm handshake and charming “How do you do?”. The ad text in this scenario is the person that presents you. Neither your appearance nor your performance will have any impact if you don’t have the proper presentation beforehand. 

How long should the ad text be?

Generally, the best ad text size should be tested for any specific product. Starting several ad texts in several ad sets is an excellent idea with the campaign budget optimization option Facebook introduced more than a year ago. If you don’t have the budget to make tests, though, recently, the best performers prove to be the one paragraph in length. Many advertisers bet on the bullet point + emojis strategy, but most of the time, it shows a 50-70% higher CPA than the one-paragraph strategy. 

What I’d recommend is to stick to a one-paragraph ad text, composed of 3 to 4 sentences. It’s best if the sentences are clear and straightforward. If you have more information you need to share, go to the three-paragraph ad text. 

The bullet point strategy is usually very tempting since you can share with your customers the benefits of your product. But that’s not the Facebook ad’s job. The benefits of your product are reserved for your landing page. The FB ad is the tool to persuade people to go there and read them.     

The good people in Ad Espresso made astounding research on this topic, which I highly recommend you read: Facebook Ad Copy Length: Short or Long Which is Best?

What should an ad text say?

As I mentioned earlier, the ad text is your sales pitch. It’s your prime B2C communication device in your ad, so construct it carefully. If we take the one-paragraph strategy, you have 3-4 sentences to persuade the customer to visit your shop (website). Knowing your customers is paramount for this task, so creating a correct buyer’s persona is a must. Remember, you can’t target everyone, so know your customers. 

The first sentence should address the customer’s need you are fulfilling. Keep in mind that FB shows only the first three rows of your ad text before the customer must click on the “see more” button. So keep it short and straightforward. Don’t ever start the first sentence with “I” or “We.” Your first address to your customers should be proactive. So try something in the lines of “Sweeten your day with Brand’s newest healthy chocolate.” It’s best if you can avoid imperative verbs such as “Try” or “You must”and starting your sales pitch with something negative like “Don’t miss out,” “Never before.”

The second sentence should inform the customer of the benefits and how they are going to fulfill his/hers need. For example (if we stick with the chocolate example from before), “100% natural, without added sugar and artificial ingredients.” 

After that, in your third sentence, you may attack your customer’s emotions. For my imaginary ad text, I haven’t done any research to know the target group, but as I was writing it, I imagined it was targeted at ladies in their thirties, with at least one child. Specific for this group of people is their frantic care of their families and children’s health. So a sentence like “The perfect healthy treat for your loving family” makes sense.  

The fourth sentence is a call to action. You should actively invite your customers in your shop (website). You can do it simplistic like “Read more below” or “Find out more here.” Adding a short link to your lander in the ad text doesn’t show any improvement, so I’d recommend just to avoid it. 

The best thing you can do, though, is adding some flavor to your call to action – “Check out our bonbons, specially designed for your kids, in the link below.” Here would be the place to put a discount you are offering – “Check our family sweet sets and get 20% off.”

Should there be emojis in the ad text?

Emojis are a potent tool if used correctly, but can be extremely irritating if done wrong. Emojis should be placed only when you are absolutely sure what will be your customers’ emotions while reading your ad text. DO NOT substitute words for emojis. Emojis are representations of feelings and thoughts, nothing more. If you are determined to place an emoji, use only 2-3 maximum and do not place them at the beginning of your ad text.

To sum it up

The ad texts are essential for your FB ad since they are your sales pitch, your prime B2C communication tool, and the place you will persuade your customer to visit your website, like your page, follow you, go to your event. 

The ad text should be one paragraph in length, consisting of 3 to 4 sentences. The sentences should be short and straightforward. If you need to share more information, use the three-paragraph strategy. Leave the benefits listing for your landing page.   

Start your ad text proactively with positive verbs. Adress the primary need of your target group. The second sentence is reserved for the main benefit of your product and how it will help them fulfill their demand. In the third sentence, you may target your customers’ emotions. And the fourth sentence is a call to action. 

These are the first steps towards building up an outstanding Facebook Ad. Keep in mind, though, that people’s preferences and their behavior change over time, so take this advice with a grain of salt, and remember that creating a profitable ad is only possible if you know your customers and their needs.