When you’re creating a new Facebook ad campaign, it can feel like there are a million and one decisions to be made. While most of them only live behind the scenes, there are a few important pieces that customers will see.
Facebook ad copy is a seemingly small part of your strategy that can have a significant impact. While it may be tempting to sit down and write something out quickly, you’ll benefit more from a well-thought-out plan. Let’s explore Facebook ad copy best practices along your entire marketing funnel.
What is the Facebook Ad Funnel?
Facebook ad marketing is more of a marathon than a sprint. You’ll know this all too well if you’ve ever worked on boosting your ad performance. Not only does your social ad strategy take time to develop, but the marketing process also takes time for your potential customers.
A marketing funnel is a journey that people take to go from complete strangers of your brand to new (and returning) customers.
If you’ve read other marketing strategy blog posts, you’ve likely seen several ways to split up the marketing funnel. Customer journey graphics come in all sorts of shapes with varying numbers of steps.
If you’re anything like us, you probably like to keep things as simple as possible, though. That’s why we’re going to focus on three steps in the Facebook ad funnel.
Each time you create a new Facebook Campaign, you’ll need to select an objective. The magic of the three main objectives you can choose from is that they can be used one after the other to move customers along that marketing funnel.
Awareness Objective Facebook Ads
The first step in the Facebook ad funnel is “awareness.” There’s no way to earn a sale from someone who's never heard of you. So ads in this phase are all about introducing your brand to a new audience. You’ll use these ads to increase brand awareness among potential customers, or use tools such as Lookalike Audiences to virtually reach new people.
Consideration Objective Facebook Ads
After a person is aware that your company exists as a solution to a problem they’re facing, they’ll probably want some time to compare you to other companies. Facebook ads with the “consideration” objective get people engaging with your brand and website, through metrics such as website visits or video views.
Conversion Objective Facebook Ads
The final piece in the Facebook ad marketing funnel is conversion. A person has spent some time considering buying from you, and ads in this phase focus on giving the last needed push.
Writing Facebook Ads Along the Marketing Funnel
We’ve explored how a marketing funnel is a process a person takes from stranger to customer, and how different facebook ad objectives align with that journey. Now let’s get into the details of how to write the best ads for each objective phase.
Awareness Ad Copy Best Practices and Examples
To understand how to write the best Facebook ad copy for awareness ads, you need to consider what’s going on in the life of a potential customer. The people you’re targeting are experiencing some sort of pain point or frustration, and they may or may not be looking for a solution.
At this point, your focus is to introduce your company as a solution to their problem. They may not realize a solution exists, so you should address their struggle as well as the benefits of the solution.
The Facebook ad below, from running shoe brand On, was created to increase brand awareness in a new territory. The ad copy recognizes a compromise that runners might be frustrated by - finding a show with both comfort and utility. The core ad copy introduces the fact that a solution to that problem does, in fact, exist.
The copy used on the ad image aligns with the campaign while also being unique enough to catch a user’s attention. This Facebook ad resulted in an 11% increase in brand awareness and a 2.8% lift in purchase intent.
What to learn from it: Depending on your company and customers, your ad audience may not realize a solution to their problem exists at all. Use ad copy to tell them about the positive outcomes they can expect with you.
Your company may also choose to make a bold first impression with attention-grabbing awareness ad copy. Noodle company No Yolks used tongue-in-cheek ads and copy to stand out.
In the end, the adventurous ads paid off with an 11 percent increase in brand awareness.
What to learn from it: First impressions matter. Going bold with your awareness Facebook ad copy can make the first impression a memorable one for new audiences.
Consideration Ad Copy Best Practices and Examples
So people are aware that your company and product exists...now what? Your Facebook retargeting ad copy needs to help potential customers learn how you stack up against other options. Remember that people may be comparing you to competing companies as well as sticking with what they already have and not choosing any new company.
When Southern Technical College wanted to gather leads, they used Facebook ad copy that positioned their school offerings against other choices. The ad below starts with a headline that would catch the attention of someone considering more schooling since it relates to making life choices. The second line gives details about the offer, and the final line positions STC as the best choice. The Surgical Technician Certification is “exclusively at Southern Technical College,” which gives it an advantage over other schools.
In the end, Southern Technical College was able to use the ad to more leads at a lower cost than paid search.
What to learn from it: Let users know what makes you stand out from their other options. Share comparisons or exclusive features that help them make their decision.
Another way to intrigue your audience into giving you a second look is to challenge their beliefs, respectfully, of course. The New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation pointed out to its audience that there’s more to the city than they may think. The ad copy sparks curiosity, thus driving engagement.
What to learn from it: After the initial novelty of your company or product wears off, you may need to try different angles to encourage engagement. Using ad copy that makes people curious to find the answer or learn more can do the trick.
Conversion Ad Copy Best Practices and Examples
If a user has made it through your Facebook ad funnel to receive conversion ads, they’re probably close to purchasing. Your ad copy at this stage needs to help customers make their final decision. To do this, you can share success stories, testimonials, or reviews. Social proof stats in ad copy are powerful, as well as details that combat any apprehensions they may have.
The Home T used the power of customer reviews in their successful conversion Facebook ad copy. The ad included selling points about the company, such as their philanthropy. The copywriting also mentions how many glowing reviews they’ve received.
The ad copy, paired with optimized ads management, led to a 99% increase in sales over the same period in the previous year.
What to learn from it: Test different angles that set your company apart. Share testimonials, exclusive offers, or unique company features to close the deal.
Emotions are strong drivers, and you can tap into various feelings along your ad funnel. Be The Match chose to use empathy as the driving force for their Facebook conversion ad copy. Their ads aimed to increase registration for bone marrow donation matching by highlighting the seriousness of recipient’s condition.
What to learn from it: Empathy, scarcity, trust, love, and fear are just a few of the emotions used in Facebook conversion ad copy. Be cautious when using these emotions in ad copywriting, though. You should always be authentic and honest, which means no fake scarcity.
Ways Your Funnel Copy May Vary
If you want to make the most of your Facebook ad spend, you’ll need to spend a little time planning. Segmenting your ads into objectives along the marketing funnel makes it easier to write relevant copy, and leads to better results.
To review, here’s a quick recap on how your ad copy changes along the Facebook ad funnel:
Awareness ads focus on letting people know a solution to their problem exists. Put your most enticing benefits or outcomes at the center stage.
Consideration ads encourage people to interact with your content and learn more about your brand. Compare your offering to competitors, or a person’s current choice. Use copy that points out what makes your company unique.
Conversion ads need to dismiss any apprehension a person might have about buying from you. Share social proof or exclusive features in your ad copy.
It’s important to note that your ad funnel copy may vary slightly. The type of product or service you sell, and who your target audience is, make the buying cycle longer or shorter. This, in turn, affects how many times a customer will need to interact with your ads and brand before making a decision.
The only reliable way to know what works best for your company is to test Facebook ads. Remember to stick to testing one variable at a time, though, or you’ll just end up with more confusion and less money.
Interested in seeing the results of robust A/B testing without investing any of your own ad spend? You’ll want to follow along with the $10,000 a month A/B Test Facebook Ads experiment, then.