Sometimes crafting ad copy can seem like a particular kind of wizardry – an alchemy that only the privileged few can magic into existence. 

At Unity Online we have always believed that digital marketing needs to be demystified and democratised, so it’s not only available for those with deep pockets and a desire to dominate their market, but for savvy SMEs, scale-ups, and start-ups ready to take the world by storm.

Here we have set out to lift the lid on creating ads that convert, with our guide to crafting compelling copy so that it resonates with audiences on different platforms.

1  Headline figures 

It probably goes without saying that ad headlines are important. It’s that all-important first impression that needs to grab attention in a split second of consumer scrolling, whether or not your product or service was on their mind at that moment in time. 

That’s easier said than done, especially if there’s any layer of complexity to what you’re offering, particularly as it’s estimated that when it comes to social platforms viewers make a decision on whether to stop and find out more in approximately 1.7 seconds.

It therefore stands to reason that headlines matter, and to make them both compelling and convertible, you don’t just want to keep it snappy, there are also some helpful rules to live by:

1. Be clear and relevant about what you’re offering so that you attract the right leads.
2. Keep it short – remember, you have less than two seconds!
3. Don’t be afraid to appeal to the emotions, whether it’s humour, curiosity, relief at finding a solution to a problem, or those warm and fuzzy feelings.
4. Add keywords to your copy to boost visibility, but only if they’re relevant – don’t forfeit the other elements for keywords.

2  Crafting with keywords

Social media ads do play a role in SEO, helping to improve visibility, website traffic, and click-through rates. It’s not good enough just to get people to your website however – you want them to become paying customers as well. If the content is interesting but irrelevant to the subject, the prospect will soon discover that and bounce off the site, making the efforts wasted. How well ads are written, and how relevant the information is influences the dwell time and ultimately the conversion rates. 

With that in mind, including relevant keywords in the ad copy is a good idea, galvanising your objectives and helping the posts to rank in organic search. Use a combination of high-volume broad keywords and low-volume long-tail keywords for optimum impact, and steer clear of negative keywords where possible – they tend to make the content misleading.

3  Use the AIDA acronym

The AIDA model is a technique used in advertising to describe the four stages of consumer behaviour in the lead up to making a purchase. It stands for:

• Attention or awareness: Create excitement and interest about what you’re selling.
• Interest: Nurture that interest with persuasive language or insights.
• Desire or decision: Show how your product or service can take the customer from where they are to where they want to be.
• Action: Make it easy to move onto the next stage with a simple and compelling call to action.

The idea is to keep this in mind when you’re crafting your ad copy, taking your user on a journey and filtering out those who are relevant and those who aren’t in the process. 

4  Consider the reader in the content

Consider the reader in your copy, using language that feels relatable, appropriate and reassuring as necessary. How you write and what that means in context will be influenced by the business that you’re in and the subject matter you’re talking about. 

Addressing the viewer directly with words like ‘you’ is a good way to create a sense of inclusion. If relevant, you can write in the vernacular as well to help people feel comfortable. For example, if you’re a retail brand you might want to speak as if you would in-store. 

However, if you’re in a business like financial services or healthcare, familiarity might be counterbalanced with a professionalism and formality that helps people to feel as though they’re in knowledgeable, safe hands.

5  Let users ‘speak’ for you

User generated content including reviews and testimonials have been a powerful part of advertising since time immemorial. That hasn’t changed with the rise of digital marketing – in fact, more than ever people want to know less of what you have to say about yourself and more of what other people have to say about you. Leverage authentic feedback from platforms like Trustpilot to let your customers do the talking in your ads. Just make sure you get permission from the author or keep it anonymous.

6  Adopt an AI advantage 

The best of us can benefit from a little outside input when it comes to our work, giving us fresh new ideas, starting points and inspiration. The same goes for copywriting. With the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) including ChatGPT, test, try and proofread different tagline ideas to see if it comes up with something you hadn’t thought of before. Just make sure it isn’t a copyrighted phrase before you pop it in your ad!

7  Data driven desire 

It’s important for sales and marketing teams to work together when it comes to creating strategies. No one knows the customers and the barriers to conversion better than the sales team. In addition, numbers speak volumes in a short space, so using sales data as part of your ad copy can be extremely powerful. Liaise with your sales team to see if you can discover juicy tidbits of information that address any potential pain points for customers or provide them with a sense of reassurance in a tantalising ad. For example, ‘90% of customers saw a difference immediately’.

8  Value-add actions  

When you’re creating your call to action at the end of your advert, don’t just think about what you want the customer to do; think about why they might do it. Could your text be used to add value to the experience? That might be as simple as ‘buy now’ or it may be something like ‘check my eligibility’ or ‘get a quote in 30 seconds’. Your call to action is your moment to give the customer a compelling reason to click through. If they’re not ready to purchase quite yet, what value will they get by continuing the journey?

9  Less is more

Obviously you don’t have a lot of space in most adverts to get your point across, so it’s important to stick to the point and keep it pithy. That can be a lot harder to get right than great big long sentences and elaborate phrases, requiring you to be strict with your word use whilst still keeping it interesting. It takes a talented copywriter to get that right, and often a few rounds of editing to pull back words and phrases with accessible language and tight sentence structure. 

10  Make your words work for their space

We all like a little drama in our content, but it’s best used sparingly. If you want to make an impact, keep the grand statements and adjectives to a minimum, only using them where you really want to emphasise a key point and where they tell the reader something. Don’t just use them to fill space.

Terms like ‘amazing’, ‘outstanding’, and ‘exceptional’ can become easily diluted if they’re in a sea of hyperbole. That doesn’t mean you should use muted terms like ‘nice’ either – it means you need the copy to really work for its space on the page. 

For example, a ‘stunning’ view from the hotel room doesn’t tell you anything, but a ‘forest’ view does; a ‘sensational experience’ is subjective, whereas a ‘hilarious experience’ gives you a sense of what you’re in for.

At Unity Online we’re committed to helping all brands unleash their potential and grow online with digital marketing that generates real ROI. That includes crafting ads that convert. Want to find out what we can do for you? Contact our team to find out more