Your advertisement is probably good. But is it as good as you think it is? Maybe even better? The only way to know is to give your potential customers an easy way to scroll past all the other ads and read your copy. You want people reading your copy, not just looking at it thinking how it’s ‘cool’ or ‘interesting.’
There are many ways to break through the clutter and capture people’s attention. With all the messages attacking your senses, getting their attention is not easy. The old-fashioned way is a catchy jingle or a powerful image, like a thundering herd of cattle or baby animals. Another old-school method is the celebrity endorsement: “Here’s John Wayne drinking Brand X whiskey. So should you.” Of course, thousands of tired clichés try to convince us that they’re talking to us. These include annoying slogans such as we work in your interest, care about your health, our employees are our most valuable asset and so on.
With all this chaff surrounding our message, it’s remarkable that anyone hears what we have to say. Make your ads stop your audience from scrolling and click on your product to know more about your business with these excellent tips.
Knowing your audience
Knowing your audience can make or break your ad. If you know who you are trying to reach, you can tailor your message to what would appeal to them in a way that makes them stop scrolling on their feed and take notice.
Knowing who you’re targeting is key to understanding what they want. The better you know your audience, the more adept you’ll be at grabbing their attention and holding on to it until you’ve told them everything they need to know about your product or service. The best start is by tapping into their emotions—but not just any old ones. It’s not enough to make them feel good or bad, excited or sad; those feelings will come and go in the blink of an eye and won’t make much of an impression on anyone. Your goal instead should be to make them stop scrolling through their Facebook feed or clicking through their Twitter timeline so they can learn more about what makes your brand different from the rest of the pack!
Headlines
The headline is an essential part of any advertisement. It’s the first thing people see, and it must be clear and compelling enough to draw their attention.
The headline is so important that it can make or break an ad. A poorly written headline will cause people to skip over your ad, but a well-written one will make them stop scrolling through their social feeds and pay attention to what you have to say.
Let’s take a look at three ways to write a better headline for your next ad:
- Be brief and compelling
Your headline should be short and compelling. You’ll have much less space than you’d like, so don’t waste it with unnecessary words or phrases. Use the most concise wording possible to communicate your message quickly and effectively. If you don’t have an important message, then maybe you shouldn’t be advertising! - Use action verbs
It helps make your headline more powerful by giving it energy and movement. Instead of “Get 30% Off Today,” try “Save 30% Today.” Don’t just describe what’s happening—tell them how they can do it! - Don’t overpromise
Don’t promise something in your ad that you can’t deliver immediately (or ever). For example, don’t say “Get Free Stuff” if there’s no way for people to do so without paying money upfront first (which defeats the purpose of free stuff).
Copy
A copy can turn your ad into a scroll stopper. A reader’s attention is the most valuable thing in advertising, and you need to hold it if you want people to read your ad. The average attention span of an individual has dropped from 12 seconds in 2000 to 8 seconds in 2015 due to the increase in our use of digital devices. Using more copy is the key to engaging your audience for extended periods.
Copy is like a spider web; if it’s done well, it can catch your customers by surprise and make them stay on your page longer than they would have otherwise. On the flip side, if the copy isn’t done well, it could get ignored or, worse yet, cause them to leave your page before they even have a chance to read it. You can tell whether your copy will keep their attention by looking at how long they are willing to spend on one page. Is it long enough for them to find what they are looking for? If not, then there might be something on that page that limits the amount of time they are willing to spend on each page before they get bored and move on to another one.
Imagery
The best way to do this is by using imagery that creates a lasting impression on your audience. This could be using a unique concept or just ensuring they catch your attention with something unexpected.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when trying to create memorable imagery is using stock photos. Other companies have used these photos multiple times because they are easy and cheap to access.
However, suppose you want your ad to stand out from all of the other ads out there. In that case, you need to find some unique pictures or graphics that aren’t taken from stock photo sites like Shutterstock or Getty Images.
You might think that it would be difficult to find images like this, but there are many places where you can look for them online for free! For example, Unsplash has over 100,000 images available for free use under Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license, which means that you don’t even have to give credit back to the creator if you use their photos in your ad campaigns!
Be the Ad stopper (conclusion)
There is no perfect formula for a great ad. The key to a successful campaign is testing, learning, and innovating. Creative formats can be a great way to break through the noise.
Remember: the primary goal of advertising is not to tell people about your product or service—it is to get your ad in front of as many eyes as possible and make them remember the brand when the time comes for them to buy. Good ads don’t just talk about what you’re selling—they tell a story, create desire, and make people think differently about their lives. To help you to be an ad-stopper, let’s connect!
