If you’ve been in any type of advertising for any length of time, you know the importance of writing quality, compelling ad copy. The same is also true for online marketing.

Many people in the traditional marketing sphere have a bit of a learning curve when transitioning to online marketing because of the technological aspect, website coding, and measurements of success. However, we should not neglect the continuing importance of advertising copy or creative material that will interest our prospective customers enough to click, sign up, get more information, or make a purchase. Here are some of the most important tips to write compelling ad copy to ensure your online creative generates the leads or sales you need to increase your bottom line:

1. Get to the point. We live in a fast-food, fast internet, and fast decision-making age. Most people cement their first impressions within seconds. If you are an online advertiser, your challenge is to emotionally connect with your target audience, describe why your product or service is the one to meet their need, and create a quick method for that customer to take the action you want them to take – and you’ve got to get all that across quickly, before they click the “back” button. Use images where applicable to drive your point home, and be compelling enough so that even if they don’t take the action you want immediately, your message will stay with them.
2. Use a Call-to-Action. Don’t underestimate the power of suggestion. We all recognize the effectiveness of peer pressure; well, advertiser, turn that negative into a positive. End your ad copy with simple, but persuasive language. Phrases like “Click here for more information”, “Free shipping, limited time only”, or “Reserve online!” tell consumers there is value in taking action then and there. These phrases also convey the message that someone else knows what they want, and is willing to help them along.
3. Don’t Play Hard to Get. For Pete’s sake, make it easy for the potential customer to take the action you want them to take! If they are interested enough to get to your website, help them complete the desired action within one or two clicks using easy to understand messages, bright colors, and a logical organizational structure. The longer your navigational funnel is, the more likely visitors are to leave your site before taking an action.
4. Test, Test, Test. No advertiser knows what works best the first time around, and no one knows for sure what effects market and technology changes will have on searchers. For that reason, A/B testing is vital and should be done regularly. Test your creative, your images, your layout, and your landing pages. For assistance, free programs such as Google’s Website Optimizer can help you track your testing.
5. Use a Tracking Mechanism. Use an analytics platform (one of the many free platforms, such as Google Analytics, will work well for most websites). You will need to add a bit of tracking code to your web pages, but that will be well worth the ability to track which type of advertising and ad copy is most effective, and what web pages are most preferred among your visitors. After all, if you’re not using a tracking mechanism, you’re missing out on one of the major advantages of online advertising.

There are many types of advertising available, but one of the aspects common to them all is the need for compelling creative. Don’t neglect this vital piece of your advertising puzzle in your online advertising campaigns; contact a creative or SEO agency to assist you in determining what type of ad copy drives the most traffic with online audiences.

Like everything else you do in marketing, successful social media interaction requires that you have a game plan. Here are a few social media marketing tips to keep in mind as you plan your business’ social media strategy for Facebook and Twitter.

Remember Social Media Interaction is Reflected in Search Engines

Your company’s engagement in social media affects your search engine profile, so think of it as an aspect of your overall search engine optimization plan. Make positive use of this fact by creating social media content that is relevant, links to reliable sources, and invites interaction.

Brand Your Conversations

Be committed to making your social media presence consistent with your business strategy. When starting out in social media, identify one or more words that embody the heart of your business’ values that you want to communicate to your audience. Base the content of your tweets and Facebook posts on these areas. Tweets can also be used to generate buzz about specific marketing initiatives.

Use #Hashtags on Twitter to Make Your Tweets Searchable

When mentioning these words on Twitter, use hashtags (#). For example, if your business is about marketing, using “#marketing” in tweets will allow your posts to come up when people search that topic. You can also post your twitter feed on your website to increase exposure.

Determine What Kind of Followers You Want & Speak Accordingly

The kind of follower you want will dictate the voice you adopt as well as the content of your tweets and Facebook posts. A young, hip, techno-savvy crowd would be more responsive to edgy or humorous content, but a corporate crowd would be more responsive to content that is more straight-laced and to the point.

Following Back

Make it a practice to check in on your fan base. When someone you know follows you, it is considered polite to follow them back. Search engines look at the ratio of followers to those you are following on Twitter. It is considered more favorable to have the number of your followers exceed people you are following. Be careful who you follow. You don’t want your company’s name showing up as a follower of a porn star.

Welcome New Followers

When new people follow you on Twitter, it is polite to give them some type of “shout-out” (recognition). This could be a well crafted “direct message” that is given to all new followers. If you have a special promotion going on, you can include it in your direct message. Some businesses use the welcoming message as a way to cross promote and ask people to visit their Facebook page. You can also give a welcoming message that mentions the handles of some of your new followers in a status update.

Ask Questions

Asking questions is a good way to engage readers and get a conversation going. Open-ended questions are best because they allow the responder to say more than “yes” or “no.” On Facebook, engagement increases the number of people who say they “like” a particular post or your page in general. Questions on Twitter can yield a response, a retweet or garner a new follower. Search engines pay attention to responses, likes, and retweets, which works well for your search engine optimization strategy. You can use the “ask question” option on Facebook, located next right above the status update field.

Post Pictures/ Videos.

Pictures make for good currency on the Internet. Studies show that people are more likely to be engaged by pictures and videos. Using one or more photos for every Facebook post can pay dividends. Pictures are more likely to get a comment or a “like” response on Facebook, so use the option to attach images.

Include Your Social Media Handles and URLs on Your Business Cards and E-mails

Websites are Internet real estate that should be treated like properties in the brick and mortar world. One way to invite social media interaction is to treat your profiles as a prime real estate by letting people know what your social media URLs are. It’s a good idea to include your website, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn URLs on your website, on your business cards, and in your e-mail signatures.

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Contributed by Amanda Finch, VP Operations

Facebook offers a dynamic advertising system that allows you to customize the recipients in conjunction with your business’ specific target market. With that said, you are only allowed one small picture and a strand of text in a Facebook Ad to really pack a punch, so it’s important to make every move count. Find out how to get the most out of Facebook Ads below.

Create Highly Targeted Ads

The wonderful thing about Facebook advertising is the ability to choose who your ads are reaching. Leveraging this capability by creating highly targeted campaigns will result in more successful Facebook ads. Think about who you are targeting and why. Who are the main users of your product/service?

 Is a majority male, female or both?
 Are your customers typically older or younger?
 Where are most of your clients coming from?

Use Facebook Insights to get an idea of the gender, age, and location of individuals who like your page and use this data when creating your ads.

The individuals who like your page indicate the type of people who would respond positively to your ads. Focus your Facebook advertising around these statistics and choose options that make sense. If you own hotels in the United States but notice that a significant number of your guests travel from Canada, be sure to include Canada when creating your ad. On the other hand, including too many locations only raises the cost per click and won’t necessarily increase interaction with your ads. You can also target users by state, city and zip code if your business’ reach isn’t national or global.  Use the same Facebook Ad strategy when considering age, gender, and interests by choosing options that make sense for your brand.

Customize Ads to your Target Market

Once you’ve focused on your target market, the next step is creating ads that cater to that particular group. If the majority of your client base is female, create ads that speak to women. If your brand relates to adventure and family fun, add a photo of a family and create an exciting statement with a call to action.

Since you are able to hand-select the demographic you are targeting in your ads, you also have the option of running several different ads targeting different individuals, such as males and females. An ad that may be popular with men may not be as effective with women; why not split them up and create custom ads for each gender? Splitting up your target market and creating custom ads for those individuals will increase the success of your campaign. Create specific ads based on location, language, age, and gender, and target the right groups of people. Using a specific strategy will result in a higher click through rate and will lessen the cost per click (CPC) since your ads focus on a smaller target market. Learn which audiences to exclude from your campaign here.

Create Ads That Stand Out

Since businesses are only allotted one thumbnail photo and a maximum of 135 characters, you’ve got to make it count. Use clear, up-close images to really make an impact. Avoid images that are ambiguous or zoomed out. People are more apt to click on Facebook ads that interest them and draw in their attention; vibrant and clear images are attention grabbers.
It is also important to have interesting text along with your image to encourage a click. An enticing photo may cause individuals to look, but the text is what ultimately makes someone click. Think about what would make you click on an ad. Would you be more likely to click on an ad that says:

“Carrie’s Beauty Supply has the best hair and beauty products around” or
“Want to make an impression? Find beauty products that make a statement at Carrie’s Beauty Supply”

The latter is clearly more catchy, invokes the reader’s interest, and includes a call to action. Using text that makes an impact is very important to the success of your ad. Specials and discounts are also catchy and can be successful in advertisements on Facebook.

Continuously Test Your Ads

Continue to test your Facebook ads to find out what works and what doesn’t. It’s beneficial to run several ads for a certain period of time and see how they perform. Switch up the pictures or text in ads that aren’t performing well and look for any measurable improvements. Run the successful Facebook ads in a campaign, but remember, people are continuously changing their tastes and new trends surface, so it’s important to always re-evaluate your target market and create ads accordingly to drive quality leads.

Facebook ads offer a great way to promote your brand to the individuals who matter most. If you have any questions about Facebook advertising or how to gain more exposure for your brand through Facebook ads, contact your SEO agency.

Submitted by Erica Machin, Titan Growth