HOW TO WRITE EFFECTIVE SOCIAL PPC ADS

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1 WHAT WHY WHO HOW CLICK ME HOW TO WRITE EFFECTIVE SOCIAL PPC ADS

2 1 introduction The digital world continues to grow and this is quite evident in the explosive popularity of social networks. People are spending more and more time on social networks such as Facebook and Linkedin. With this growth in usage, unique advertising opportunities are arising that allow a marketer to reach a very targeted audience in new ways. If you are reading this, the chances are high that you ve run successful PPC campaigns on search engines like Google. However, even paid search marketing has its limits and many marketers have been left asking for more clicks, more conversion, and more customers. Advertising on social networks (social PPC) allows you to reach beyond the search engines and tap into your target audience in much greater numbers. To unleash the potential of social PPC we will help you: Learn the science behind effective ad copy Understand how the social PPC environment differs from traditional PPC Cut through the clutter with social PPC specific techniques and best practices Increase your social PPC CTR with a robust ad creation methodology While relatively new, social PPC has already generated incredible success for marketers willing to experiment and seek their customers off the search engines. In fact, our 2011 State of Digital Marketing report revealed that over 35% of B2B companies and nearly 75% of B2C s have already leveraged social channels to drive sales and leads. Is this an opportunity that your business can afford to miss?

3 2 THE SCIENCE BEHIND EFFECTIVE ADS There are three universal things that all effective advertisements must do. Grab Attention Ignite Interest If your ad is going to be successful, the first thing it must do is grab attention and be noticed. Your ad must stand out from everything around it in the online environment the background, the content, and even other ads by creating relative difference. This is particularly important when advertising on a social network. When someone conducts a search on Google they are making their intent known and clearly asking for a particular good or service. They are in the market to buy and your job as a PPC marketer is to present them with a clear and relevant message. On the other hand, people on social networks are not actively seeking a good or service. To effectively market to this audience with social PPC, you must break through the clutter and create distraction. Your goal is to pull their attention away from their intended activity and to focus it on your ad. Once you ve gained attention, your ad must generate interest and provide a reason for the user to engage further. The following four questions help ensure that you are igniting interest and should be asked before publishing any ad: 1. What is the offer? 3. Why should they care? 2. What is the benefit to the user? 4. Is my message clear and obvious? If your ad falls short in any of these areas, you run the risk of failing to generate enough interest and losing the users attention as they quickly resume their original activity. Create Action Not only must an ad generate interest, it must also motivate and compel the user to take an action and close the deal. To this end, all ads should have a clear and compelling call to action. This message should be action orientated and focused on the benefit to the user.

4 3 ANATOMY OF A SOCIAL PPC AD Now that we understand the science behind ad copy, we can apply this line of thought to crafting an effective social PPC ad. Let s examine each element and the role it plays. Headline Image The headline is a very important element of a social PPC ad. Combined with the image (more on this below), this is where your engagement with the user begins. The headline should grab the person s attention ad provide a reason for reading further. To write an effective headline, try using traditional PPC best practices. Be relevant, direct, and to the point. However, you should also experiment with more creative titles which have proven to be effective with social PPC. Remember that the social environment is different and you need to actively engage the user. It s OK to be a little edgy and provoking, but stay within the character of your brand. Try: Asking a question Speaking to a particular demographic Provoking an emotion Using a catchy phrase or saying Stating a strong point of view Incorporating humor A social PPC ad loses most of its effectiveness without an image. People are drawn to visual stimuli and the image is very useful for helping to break through the clutter. Ideally, the graphic should be relevant to the rest of your ad and work in tandem with your title. However, this is not a requisite for success and many good ads do not follow this formula. The most important thing is that the image helps your ad stand out from everything else and grabs a user s attention. Both Facebook and LinkedIn have similar color palettes with grey and shades of blue making up the background landscape. To keep your ads from blending into the background, avoid these colors as the basis for your ads. Instead, use colors which are bright and vibrant. One good technique is to pair contrasting colors together to create a visual shocking image. Some advertisers even use a reverse color palette. Another way to draw attention to your ad is to add a colored border to your image.

5 4 ANATOMY OF A SOCIAL PPC AD Description Effective description copy should generate further interest and push a user down the conversion funnel. Use the description to add detail, supporting facts, and additional information to complete the message begun by the headline and image. The description should emphasize the benefits to the user, provide a simple incentive, and finish with a strong call to action. One key to writing strong descriptions is to key them short. Shorter ads tend to generate higher CTR than longer ads. This not only impacts the amount of clicks you receive, but also how often your ad will be served. Advertisers often try to place disclaimers and legalese in their ads; instead, see if you can shift these to the landing page. If you must write a longer description, try highlighting the important elements by placing them at the beginning or end of the copy.

6 5 conclusion Social PPC presents a tremendous opportunity to digital markets willing to embrace a new medium. It offers the advantages of reaching users beyond the search engines and offering stronger ROI due to less competition. As users spend increasingly more time on social networks, this opportunity will only grow. To be effective, your social PPC ads must attract attention, generate interest, and invite action. Create relative difference and contrast with your ads to stand out from the background noise. Be creative and test alternative forms of messaging which speak directly to your target audience. Choose images which capture attention. Above all, don t forget to test, optimize, and test again. Webmarketing123 wants to help you achieve your goals online. Whether it means boosting your conversions, optimizing your ad spend, or engaging with prospects online, we can help you discover proven solutions that are right for your business and your performance goals. CONNECT WITH US Webmarketing123.com Twitter.com/webmarketing123 Facebook.com/webmarketing123 Linkedin.com/webmarketing123