Ad Content and Copy Ideas to Generate More Clicks

Utilising digital media such as online ads has become increasingly crucial to a brand's success. As such, the content and copy used within ads is critical for lasting impressions that can lead to conversions from potential consumers. Try implementing some of the techniques below to amplify your store's online presence and legitimize your content marketing campaigns.

Understand Configuration of Ads on Desktop and Mobile Interfaces

In order to effectively manage your advertising campaign, you need to understand how the various elements of your campaign perform on different devices. You also need to consider the growing number of people using software such as ad blockers on their mobile devices, which means that your ads may not appear as intended to the end user and target audiences.

If you are running ads on a CPC basis, you'll only see a slight difference in the number of views between desktop and mobile users. On average, 56% of mobile and 57% of tablet users search for products on a weekly basis, compared to only 37% of consumers using desktop, proving that mobile configurations, more than ever, should be an important consideration when creating online advertisements.

Conversions are similar on desktop and mobile, except that on a mobile device, you can't usually see the conversion happening. This is due to the limited viewport of a mobile devices, which only shows the ad once users have clicked on it. As a result, if you're looking for immediate and direct engagement, you might want to consider an ad format that doesn't require users to click to see the full value proposition. For example, full-screen video ads get a lot of engagement because users can see the value proposition without having to click on something else.

Thinking about your ads from the perspective of your consumers will allow you to create the most profitable and engaging user interface. Remember to configure images and text so that it can be easily accessible and legible for users on any device!

Blend makes this process incredibly easy taking your content and creating multiple versions compatible across channels and formats automatically!

‍

Implement Eye-Catching Product Images, Keywords and Emoji's

People are most likely on their smartphones, so displaying ads in a place where people are used to seeing content is likely to get you a click, a share, or a purchase. When you think about keywords, you may immediately think about search engine optimisation (SEO), but, SEO is only one part of the equation. When performing SEO, you typically want to choose keywords that are relevant to your service or product and that are commonly searched for by people looking for that product or service. For example, if you run a children's clothing store and choose the right keywords, you may notice that customers often search for "kids' clothing" or "children's wear" rather than simply "clothing". Think about your specific niche and what you'll use as keywords for your site and social media accounts. Keyword search and inclusion will boost your brand awareness online!

While it's best to have at least some visuals associated with your store ad, having pretty pictures of your products isn't necessary. In fact, having nothing more than a logo and a couple of well-designed products can be just as effective. But, if you're using a service like iStockPhoto etc, you can choose from a library of stock images that are perfect for displaying on your website if your product is not tangible.

Alternatively, organic images of your product that you have been taken by you are fantastic for approachability etc. For example, a company that sells ceramic tiles may choose to use the hashtag #ceramictiles to help people find their posts related to this product. They may also choose to use the hashtag #sale to mark a special promotion or to let people know about an ongoing sale.

Also, try to write a concise but informative description for each product ranging from a few sentences to a few paragraphs (dependent on whether the ad is focused on one product or a product list). For example, the phrase "Beautiful and functional ceramic tiles for kitchens and bathrooms" would make a good description for a product offering ceramic tiles. But if you're using the tiles as a showcase for your kitchen's design, you may want to write something like "Glamorous and functional ceramic tiles for kitchens and bathrooms – inspired by the artistry of X Design Group."

Additionally, emojis allow for further engagement, with posts that use emoticons having a 57% higher like rate, a 33% higher comment rate, and a 33% higher share rate by humanising your brand and emphasising communication of your posts through headlines with symbols. Emojis also allow for context for your copy, it keeps the information fun and approachable and, especially in email marketing, allows your store to stand out from the crowd.

Look at the two examples below for a candy brand and see how creating great content can change the efficacy of your advertising.

Ad A). Facebook Mock-Up has a generic copy with no specificity, little amounts of visual excitement (through use of black and white, and a cartoon image) and no call-to-action for customers to purchase item

Ad B). Facebook Mock-Up invites users in with an offering of 'some of the finest confectionery', includes visual aids, and provides a clear purchase call-to-action so users can move on to the next stage of the interaction process within the store, it also hosts a physical image of the goods.

Which ad do you think is better suited to effective online promotions?

Ensure Language is Consistent When Talking About Your Store

Having a strong, concise call to action that compels the reader to take action is essential to any successful ad. Although the target audiences may differ for your store platform to platform, finding a consistent and sustained voice is exceedingly important to maintain professionalism and tone.

For example, if you're an eCommerce store, you could create content that is directly related to product recommendations or reviews. If your goal is to increase web traffic, you could create content that is highly searchable and relevant to your industry. This content will become the backbone of your strategy and will help you determine which platforms you should use to reach your audience. But most importantly the use of language, and the consistency in messaging you're pushing out through advertising, is critical.

It's always a good idea to keep an eye on your competitors' ads and see how they're engaging with their audiences. To create a compelling offer, set yourself a goal and then find the best, most cost-effective ways of achieving it. This will not only make your content stand out, but it will also make you a more valuable expert in your field.

‍For example, if your goal is to secure repeat business from existing customers, you'll want to consider offering special discounts or deals. Or, if you're looking to gain new customers, you could offer a free trial version of your product or service. Ensure that these incentives are not only feasible for your company, but that they match the value that your audience provides to your brand, otherwise, you'll lose credibility.

The most effective content creators understand the difference between a compelling offer and an inflated one, and they ensure that each piece they create matches the former instead of the latter. When done right, content marketing allows you to speak to your audience where they are, and allows you to create a brand voice that will resonate with them. You don't want to speak to your audience in a way that makes them feel like they're being sold something, you want to provide them with value that will make them eager to hear from you again, turning your product from a want in to a need.

‍

Dos and Don'ts of Content and Copies

DO Create a Call-To-Action For Consumers

An important consideration when designing a store ad is the call-to-action (CTA). The CTA is what will prompt a customer to click on your ad or continue reading your content. For example, a "Visit our site" button may appear below an Instagram story ad or a "Shop now" link may appear below an online store's content. This could be something as simple as a single button or link, or it may be something more elaborate such as a shopping cart. By guiding the online user to your retailer website, they can purchase the featured product in your ad. If you have a shopping cart available, get the customer to add their items to the cart which will then prompt a push to the checkout.

DON'T Have Inconsistent and Elementary Messaging

Avoid using negative words and expressions when writing your ad copy. Readers will naturally assume negative connotations when they encounter negativity in your writing, even if it's unintentional. Keep language clean and positive, and if you can, add a little humour if it seems appropriate to your client base. Negative or uninteresting words and phrases generally make a content piece less appealing, creating a less satisfying experience for your user. Even more so, making sure the copy displayed in your ad is representative of your business as a whole, and other ads or offerings that may exist regarding your brand, match the same tone.

Instead of saying, "this product is well designed", say, "designing for maximum user experience has always been a key consideration for us, and we're confident this product will fit into that category", for example. Using high modality and descriptive language allows for increased legitimacy and trust in your store.

DO Write For Scanners

When people read online copy, they tend to read vertically, not horizontally - in short, they glaze over what could be important material. By using different fonts, bold, italics, and bullets along with emojis, you can highlight the main points of your message. And, if your headline words, descriptions and sub headlines are well thought out, your ad, social copy or emails will be able to relay this message quickly and effectively without the need for big slabs of text.

DON'T Don’t Lie and Exaggerate

Be honest with your client base. Your ads should reveal information that is already readily available on your website and socials, and moreover, should be valuable and truthful. Although it is pivotal to ad success to capture the attention (and sustain it) of audiences, try not to include sensationalised headlines and copies that are not representational of your brand image and refer to promises that cannot be kept.

DO Find Your Niche and Stick To It (If It's Working)

Unless you're looking to increase the scope of your audience base, if it isn't broke, don't fix it. Changing elements of your ads, especially once it is published can do more bad than good. When you create FB and Google Ads, there is a formative stage where it is learning the best way to maximise your budget and serve your ads to audiences, by changing this before it has time to learn, you're at risk of not only not being able to discern what works best for you, but also waisting time and money.

Tip: if you're unsure of who your target audience is yet, launch a variety of campaigns (even test out blog post creation!) with a few different audiences types to see which configuration works best for you, conversion and impression wise and then alter these at a later date.

‍

How Blend Streamlines the Ad Creation Process

Showcase your products on Google, Facebook, Instagram, Bing and TikTok and say goodbye to platform fatigue and start testing new channels for your digital marketing. Create one version of your ad and publish it across multiple advertising channels with a few simple clicks.

Blend integrates your store's inventory with major advertising platforms by creating a high-converting product feed. To drive even more revenue to the store we analyse your products and implement sales strategies best suited for your current inventory and aid you in the content creation process.

• Multi Currency / Multi Country support
• Real Time Updates
• Accurate Measurement Tools to Calculate ROAS.
• Unlimited SKUs

Create your content once and deliver across multiple channels to reach your target audience. We will handle the rest.

‍

‍

*Image by Freepik

Many businesses expect ads to be a silver bullet for success. And while ads can be a fantastic way to generate buzz for your business and progress leads down your marketing funnel, there’s way more to the puzzle. 

The truth is that a silver bullet of any kind is extremely unlikely when it comes to success. It takes a combination of tactics to gain traction, drive growth and build brand loyalty. 

In this article, we discuss five elements of marketing to consider, other than ads. In fact, by paying attention to these marketing factors, you can boost the performance of your ad strategy.

‍

Here are 5 marketing elements (other than ads) to consider: 

‍

1. A simple purchase experience.

Don’t underestimate the power of a simple purchase experience. 

A study by Corporate Executive Board examined what makes a consumer “sticky”.  A consumer’s stickiness depends on a few factors: how likely they are to follow through with a planned purchase, repurchase the product, and recommend the product to others. Out of over 40 variables that influence stickiness, the biggest factor by far was “decision simplicity”. Decision simplicity is the ease with which consumers can find trustworthy information about a product and can quickly evaluate their purchase options with confidence. 

Here are some ways that you can simplify the purchasing journey:

• Make it easy for your customers to find the information that helps them understand your product and weigh their options. Let’s take an online vacuum retailer as an example. A chart that compares the specs of the most popular vacuums would help buyers easily understand their choices and find the vacuum that suits their needs. 
• Build trust by including user-generated content on the product page, such as reviews or unboxing videos. 
• Be transparent about pricing, including the cost of shipping.
• Take advantage of technology that helps streamline and improve the purchase experience. For example, you could add an app to your online store that gives your buyers personal upsell recommendations based on their browsing activity.

‍

2. Strategic email marketing.

Email is one of the most cost-effective ways to keep in touch with your existing customers and prospects. For every $1 spent, email generates $42. That’s a massive ROI! 

Here are some ideas for how you can enhance your email marketing strategy:

‍

Don’t just sell. Connect.

There’s more to email marketing than promotions. Use email to establish a connection with your audience. For instance, you could engage customers by sharing blog content, newsletters, interviews, holiday wishes, and event invitations. 

‍

Automation is a necessity.

Automation increases conversions, segments your audience, reduces workload and improves efficiency. Automated email flows include trigger emails sent automatically after a customer takes a specific action. Some examples of automated email campaigns are abandoned cart emails, a welcome email after signing up, and a special thank you email to a repeat buyer.

‍

Segment and cater.

‍Segmenting your audience means grouping customers with certain attributes in common. Segmenting gives you better results because you’re able to tailor customer journeys to a specific group. You can also create personalised content that a particular group may be interested in.

A few ways you can segment your audience are:

• Demographics.
• Engagement.
• Stage of the customer journey.

‍

Put it to the A/B test.

Sometimes we make assumptions about our customers. We think we know what they want to see from us, but we won’t know for sure until we test it out. And sometimes the results will surprise you! 

A/B test email campaigns to see what is working with your audience. Here are some elements you could test:

• Subject lines.
• Call to action buttons.
• Promotions.
• The tone of voice in your content.
• Types of email content.

‍

3. Optimised landing pages.

A landing page is a webpage designed with a specific goal in mind - usually to capture visitors’ information and drive conversions. Visitors will often be sent to a landing page after clicking on an ad, promotional link, or search result. 

Landing pages are a clever way to keep your visitor’s attention focused. Landing pages can help increase conversions by growing your audience quickly. They also lower marketing costs since they’re a low-effort way to get high returns. 

Here are some landing page best practices:

• A simple and clean design.
• Each distinct offer should have its own landing page. 
• Add social proof and product reviews.
• Include an irresistible CTA.
• Measure the landing page’s results and improve over time.

‍

4. Stellar product images.

For an e-commerce store, product images have the power to make or break a sale. 

Product images need to be accurate and clear. They should enhance the product’s description and fit in with your branding.

When taking your product images, think of the product’s use case. It can be super valuable to have clear images of your product on a white background and photos demonstrating the product in use. For example, if you’re selling action cameras, you could have clear and simple product images and photos showing the camera in water, skiing, and hiking. 

In addition to great product images, a product explainer video can elevate your product page and help your brand stand out. 

‍

5. Product copywriting that packs a punch. 

Marketing without quality copywriting is like a restaurant in a beautiful setting with terrible food. It fails to live up to its full potential, and no one’s going back for more. 

Copywriting is powerful. It captures attention, alters perspectives, and resonates with the reader. But ultimately, the goal of great copywriting is to drive action. 

Great product copywriting is a necessity for e-commerce businesses. It should concisely describe the product’s benefits and address any of the buyer’s concerns. Ultimately, product copywriting should eloquently strike a balance between information and persuasion. 

Here are some ways that exceptional copy can help your product pages convert:

• Will boost your sales by presenting benefits rather than just product features.
• Helps you establish your product’s unique value proposition.
• Copywriters will understand your audience and how to connect to them. 
• Presents complicated information in a straightforward yet educational way. 
• You can measure copywriting results and gain valuable learnings. 

‍

Conclusion

As the saying goes “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” For most businesses, ads are incredibly effective at attracting the buyer, but it takes a combination of other factors to make that coveted sale. 

Optimising other elements of your marketing strategy can ensure that your business is strong on all fronts. Some of the most important elements to consider are a simple purchase experience, excellent email marketing, optimised landing pages, great product images, and quality product copywriting. With these, you’ll be well-positioned to amplify the efficacy of your ad campaigns. 

When it comes to running ads, Blend can be your secret weapon. Blend connects to your online store and helps you measure the impact your ads have on revenue. With the ability to test your ads across new channels, you can find out which is right for your brand and audience. Try Blend out here to start maximising your ad spend! 

Advertising across various online channels gives you the best chance to create awareness of your product offering, something that is sure to take your store to the next level. By taking a multi-channel approach to your marketing campaign, you're giving your store the best chance to succeed.

You can begin to measure success of your campaigns more effectively by determining the type of content that you will produce and what channels they will be delivered on.

You should examine your competitors' strategies and decide which platforms they're using to gain traction in your industry. From here, you can also use tools like Google Trends to quickly see the popularity of certain topics you feel will match the interest of your audience. Once you know which topics and channels you should target, you can start to build a strategy.

Although your chosen channels will form the backbone of your content strategy, you don't necessarily need to limit your reach to just these platforms. You can also create a greater online presence through relevant websites, social media channels, email campaigns or customer reviews. The content you produce here is easily transferable to ads, and in this way, your ads will feel more natural and organic as they are more reflective of your brand image.

By creating a presence for your brand across multiple channels, your store will have the best chance of increasing conversions.

For example, imagine you're running an e-commerce store and your main audience are customers in the United States. You could consider running an ad on platforms like Google, Facebook, and Instagram as they have the largest audiences grouping in that country. If you're a small business owner looking to attract customers from local communities, you may want to consider choosing a platform that you know these audiences are more familiar with like Microsoft Ads, Pinterest or TikTok

5 Places To Publish Your Store Ads

Google Ads

It may seem obvious, but advertising on Google is critical for online advertising. A company likely has a Google Ads campaign underway when you see it ranking rather high in the landing page rankings on the search engine. With Google Ads, your business only pays for measurable results (such as clicks ie. cost-per-click), and directs more people to your store by showcasing your business as relevant to their search.

Google can run a variety of ad campaigns conducted through Google Ads Manager, including:

• Dynamic Search Ads
• Display Ads
• Shopping Ads (Now 'Performance Max')
• Video Ads(through Youtube); and
• App Ads
• Responsive Search Ads

Acting as one of the best ad platforms for lead generation and return on investment, the transparent results and budget utilisation features continue to make Google an effective option for online advertising. Blend takes the challenge out of running such campaigns automatically finding the right mix of content and ad types across platforms such as Google, creating custom audiences to target specific demographics that resonate with your brand through your Google Ads Account.

Meta Ads - Facebook & Instagram

During the first quarter of 2022, Facebook reported having 1.96 billion daily active users, and with the acquisition of Instagram in 2012, Facebook Ads are now seen and accessible to even more people. The highly customisable affordances, and exceedingly fast delivery mean that Facebook Ads Manager, like Google, allows you more time to curate your audiences, campaign goals and ad creative formatting (re. media, text and placement) to achieve maximum ROAS (return on ad spend).

Social media allows for retargeting people on platforms that they are consistently using (and leading them to purchase your stores items through call-to-action's on your ads), and Meta encourages a variety of customisable targeting options to reach your audiences in the most effective manner. When you advertise on Facebook and Instagram, your social media accounts are exposed to potential growth, too.

TikTok Ads

According to TikTok, 92% of users take action after watching a TikTok video, and with an estimated 1 billion+ active global TikTok users it has become evident that it is the newest frontier for online promotion, and proves why you should consider how your business can advertise on TikTok. TikTok has a variety of ad options ranging from:

• 'In-Feed' Posts, wherein seamless integration of ads throughout the 'For You Page' feed means that audiences are engaging with sponsored posts, more often than not, subconsciously
• 'Top-View' ads, where your ad would be placed first in the slew of videos a user sees when they open the app, encouraging them to move away from the app before they are too engrossed; and
• 'Spark Ads', a feature that boosts different types of videos to maximise the impact and spread of videos that mention your brand.

Microsoft Ads  (Bing Ads)

Bing allows advertisers to reach an older and more educated audience. Multiple studies show that the average Bing user has a higher income per user compared to Google, allowing ads promoted on Bing to be delivered to more specific demographics of customers. It is also exceedingly transparent with ad partners regarding where leads are coming from and can even target users based on device type and OS!

How Blend Streamlines the Ad Creation Process

Showcase your products on Google, Facebook, Instagram, Bing and TikTok and say goodbye to platform fatigue and start testing new channels for your digital marketing. Create one version of your ad and publish it across multiple advertising channels with a few simple clicks. Blend integrates your store's inventory with major advertising platforms by creating a high-converting product feed. To drive even more revenue to the store we analyse your products and implement sales strategies best suited for your current inventory and allow space for you to create and explore the best ad format.

• Multi Currency / Multi Country support
• Real Time Updates
• Accurate Measurement Tools to Calculate ROAS.
• Unlimited SKUs

Create your content once and deliver across multiple channels to reach your target audience. We will handle the rest.

For many businesses, a slow period is bittersweet. It’s a break from the frenzy of the peak season and a chance to breathe again. But it can also be challenging as revenue drastically slows or comes to an outright halt.  

Many seasonal businesses have to get savvy to survive. During the slow season, you want to boost demand and take the time you have to implement the strategies that will pay off in the peak. In this article, we will give you the tips your seasonal business needs to thrive all year long. 

‍

How to boost demand during the slow season

Did you know that 82% of small businesses fail because of poor cash flow management? In seasonal businesses, inconsistent cash flow is, of course, a more significant risk. 

While you need an excellent cash flow management strategy, you can help make operating your business easier in the slow season by getting more people to your site. 

Boost demand in the slow season with these 3 tips:

‍

1. Make an offer they can’t refuse.

One of the best ways to increase demand in slow periods is to offer promotions and sales on your products or services. With promotion campaigns, you can attract attention to your business, boost revenue and profit, reach a new audience, and increase your margins. 

Imagine you own a high-end sunglasses company that thrives all summer long. When winter comes, you host a series of promotions to sell out all of your summer stock. You’ll reach a new market of customers who may have been unable to pay full price for your products. Plus, you’re keeping the revenue incoming all year long.

‍

2. Target new audiences.

You probably have a strong understanding of your typical customer. However, during the slow season, you could benefit significantly from targeting a new segment of the market. 

Let’s say you sell scuba gear in a popular tourist destination. If the peak season is half the year, you could target locals in your area for the other half of the year. You can offer promotions and discounts specific to locals, which will create great relationships with the community. You’ll boost demand in this slow period and help your local community out. 

Or, for instance, if you design beach umbrellas in Sydney, during the Australian winter you could target people in the northern hemisphere enjoying summer. 

Think about the segments of the market that your business hasn’t tapped into yet. Opening up to new demographic or geographic markets can impact your business massively.

With Blend's multiple region capabilities, advertising your business in new markets is effortless. In just a few clicks, you can launch high-converting campaigns to multiple locations. Learn more here. 

‍

3. Pivot pivot pivot.

In the slow season, your standard service or product may not be desirable or necessary. However, there may be an opportunity for you to get creative and come up with new and exciting ways you can serve customers. 

Let’s say you own an online store that sells BBQ equipment. After the summer, you notice your sales drastically fall. Think about products you could add to your storefront that would help your customers enjoy their BBQ area throughout winter. You could add BBQ gloves, outdoor heaters, cozy blankets, outdoor lights, and a fire pit. You could also write a blog for your site that shows your grill-master customers how BBQing in the winter can be just as much fun as in the summer. 

Think outside the box and see how your business could create a special offering that caters to the needs of the slow season.

‍

Marketing strategies that will pay off in the peak season

Seasonal business owners know that the work isn’t seasonal. It takes a year-long effort to make a business flourish. It’s kind of like a professional sports team. During the off-season, athletes train hard so that they can perform at their best during the season. 

You should use your slow stretches to your advantage too. It’s the perfect time to refine your marketing strategies and carry out a game plan that will benefit your business all year long.

Here are strategies you can implement in the slow season:

‍

1. Use the power of social media. 

A great way to generate leads and excitement for the busy period is to create a clever social media marketing plan in the slow season. If you already have a social media marketing plan, look at the data from the past peak season. Where can you improve, and how can you refine your marketing plan to help achieve your goals?

Here are a few things to think about when going over your social media marketing plan:

• What platforms will your target market be on? 
• What type of content does your audience like?
• How often can you post per week?
• Do you have a budget for social media advertising?
• What are your goals? 

‍

For instance, let’s say you sell custom gift boxes through your online storefront. When it’s not the holidays, your business is pretty slow. Your audience is on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram and they love learning about gift-giving tips and tricks. You have time to post about 3-4 times per week and your monthly advertising budget is $600/month. Your primary goals are building brand awareness and generating new leads for the peak season. By answering these questions, you can create an outline for your social media marketing strategy and understand the actions required to execute it. 

If you want to make your advertising budget go further, try out Blend. Through automation of the entire online advertising process, Blend’s platform makes digital advertising easy as can be. Consolidated reporting across your ad channels helps you better understand what is working to minimise waste and maximise revenue. It’s perfect for seasonal businesses because Blend helps your ad spend go farther and takes the guesswork out of online advertising. If you use the time saved to go drink pina coladas on the beach, we won’t judge! 

‍

2. Get on top of SEO. 

SEO is the practice of improving your website to increase its visibility in search engine results. It’s a long-term investment, so the slow season is the perfect time to put in the time and effort required. 

Here are some steps you can take to better your SEO in time for the next peak season:

• Keyword research is the process of discovering the search terms that people enter when looking for topics relevant to your business. You’ll want to conduct keyword research and use the results throughout your website.
• Update and flush out the content on your website. Maybe you can add valuable information such as product reviews or FAQs.
• Write engaging blog articles that incorporate your brand’s tone of voice and are relevant to your business offering.
• Create a backlog of blog articles so you can continue to post when you’re in the busy season.

‍

3. Make the most of your loyal customers.

It’s important to stay in touch with leads and loyal customers all year long. Stay top-of-mind by using email marketing to your advantage. It’s a cost-effective way to ramp up excitement for the peak season and keep your audience in the know.

A great way to capitalise on your loyal customer base and the fantastic experience you’ve provided in the past is to get their testimonials. User-generated content is king! You can send an email asking if they wouldn’t mind giving your business a Google review. Be honest and explain how reviews are critical to the success of your business. 

You can also create a survey for your customers to provide feedback on their experience. Ask them what they liked, what they didn’t, and what they would love to see from you. Take this feedback to heart. The slow stretches are the perfect time to make moves that improve your business and give the customer what they want.

‍

Conclusion

Whether your business makes Christmas shopping less stressful or helps create life-long memories on the ski slopes, seasonal businesses deliver incredible value. With creative tips to boost demand and marketing strategies to ensure your peak season thrives, you can use this guide as a blueprint to success for your business.