Are you a business owner and want to boost your sales with social media advertising? Perhaps you want to start creating Instagram or Facebook ads but have no idea about what would work for your brand? In this step-by-step guide, I share how to create the best Facebook ads for your e-commerce business. 1. Write engaging ad copy that inspires your prospective customers The words you choose for your Facebook ad have the potential to make or break the success of your ad campaign. But what makes for engaging, inspiring copy? Let's look at this example from Boden. You'll notice that the ad copy is short, concise, and to the point. When it comes to e-commerce and buying products from the internet, people aren't interested in reading long text. Truth is, they're on social media (Facebook or Instagram, for example) to connect with friends and family, check what else is going on in the world, or generally looking for entertainment and inspiration. So when crafting your copy, bear this in mind and aim to create something short and snappy. You want your ad copy to be entertaining, engaging, and inspiring. But how exactly do you achieve that? First thing first, include a 'hook' and an offer. The 'hook' is that initial section of your copy that stops the reader in their tracks. Your job here is to grab your prospective customers' attention, make them stop scrolling, and look at your ad instead. In order to do that, you may need to get a bit creative. Contrary to what a lot of e-commerce business owners might believe, your ad copy isn't the place to list all your product features. Because let's face it - that doesn't make for the most dazzling or interesting read, does it? Instead, aim to inspire people.
What do you include in your ad copy?If you're looking for some ideas or inspiration around what to include in your ad copy, try with:
Using words and phrases your customers use isn't the only thing to think about when deciding how to craft your ad copy, especially because the wrong choices could make all the difference between your ad being approved or rejected by Facebook. Let's look at the example below from one of my clients, Laura De Zordo Jewellery.
Generally speaking, when you're selling a product, multiple images tend to do a better job at showcasing your product than one single picture will. Within Facebook's Business Manager, you can also combine multiple photos together to create a slideshow video, so that's yet another option for you to test out in your ads. As for what type of photos you should include, professional photoshoots of your product aren't the only option. Sometimes lifestyle and more 'native' shots that show your product in use or 'in action' can contribute to making it look more appealing and within reach. More than anything, it looks less like an ad and more like a friend recommending something they bought, so try a combination of both. 3. Include a strong Call To Action (CTA)It goes without saying that the best Facebook ads for your e-commerce business should also contain a strong Call To Action (CTA). Think along the lines of:
When thinking about your CTA, it's important to be clear and direct. Also, never give your customers too much choice, because, as they say, "a confused mind never buys". So be absolutely clear and focused on what you want your customers to do next - give them one thing to do and make sure that translates into the text of your CTA buttons. 4. Decide on the best ad placementThe decision around where to publish your ad (i.e. which social media platforms) depends on where your ideal customers tend to be the most active. Within the Facebook Business Manager, you can select the platforms you want to push your ad onto:
If you do opt for the 'Automatic Placement' option, do check that the visuals you have included in your ad work for Instagram too. The last thing you want is for a video to be cut off or for your product to sit at an odd position within the ad. So before hitting the publish button, do make use of the Ad Preview feature and check that your creatives work. Would you like some help to create the best Facebook ads for your e-commerce business?When it comes to best practice and recommendations around creating high-performing ads, rules change frequently. If you're an established e-commerce business looking to get better results from your Facebook or Instagram ads, get in touch. I offer FREE 30-minute strategy calls that are perfect if you need help with your Facebook Ads Management, would like an audit of your Facebook Ad Account, or need support with Shopify.
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Where did the idea for your business come from? Tell us how and why you get started. I have always loved stationery and could never walk past a stationery shop so when I left my previous career with redundancy (thankfully) I decided to do a start your own business course with a stationery shop in mind and that was it. It is also a little bit different as I personalise some of the stationery too (pencils & notebooks) and I have my own Fold & Seal range What's a typical day like? It’s a real mix between packing orders, emails, PR and then once my two children are home from school it’s homework, dinner, usual family life and then a little bit of work in the evening when they go to bed. What is the best part of having your own business? Making decisions, getting good customer feedback and working to my own timetable What's the hardest part? Making decisions and sometimes the responsibility of delivering good quality products that customers will be happy with. What’s your best selling product? Definitely the Personalised Pencils & Notebooks – I personalise using my hot foil printing press, customers love this. If you had one piece of advice for someone just starting out, what would it be? Engage with your audience as much as you can Let's talk tech. Which softwares do you use in your business? ( Online store, email marketing, scheduling tools, video apps, accounting & banking apps etc)If you're on Shopify, I'd also love to learn your favourite apps. My website is Wordpress, I use Storycutter for my IG stories and Mailchimp for my Newsletter. Which social media platform works best for you? Instagram What business book/podcast/courses would you recommend? I’m terrible I don’t read any business books … but I do listen to podcasts , my favourites include The Futurist with Jo Linehen , Let’s Talk Shop with Therese from the Small Business Collaborative and most recently I have started to listen to Work, Actually with Kate Chaundy
I am also the Community Manager for REALWORK which is the online co-working space for Women, founded by Fleur Emery. This is not a course but I absolutely recommend being part of it if you are a female founder or business owner. Where can people find you? www.foldandseal.ie @foldandseal hello@foldandseal.ie Where did the idea for your business come from? Tell us how and why you get started. Our first product Wylde One was in the making for over a decade, ever since I was training as a medical herbalist. At the training clinic we kept seeing young women getting intimate irritations after sex, and this was making them feel awkward with their partners and out of touch with their bodies. This was when I first got the idea that I wanted to create something completely natural with top-notch ingredients that would make sex more enjoyable and less likely to cause irritation, whilst allowing them to feel that they were looking after themselves and their bodies’ needs. It was really important to me to create something that made women feel good when they bought and used it, from the design of the packaging to the quality of the ingredients and the information we provided, and so Wylde One was born. What's a typical day like? During lockdown, the typical day looks like getting up at 7am for some exercise and meditation, breakfast and shower, ready to be at my desk for 9am. I’ll work through, but breaking for lunch and often do live events in the early evening. I find if I turn my computer on before 9 I can find myself enticed to start work before I’veeaten breakfast, so that’s a habit I’m in the middle of breaking! Postlockdown I am looking forward to getting back to face to face meetings again. I’m a real people person and nothing beats making plans with a collaborator in real life! What is the best part of having your own business? I get to make all the decisions and decide on the direction we’re going in. I love that freedom!! What's the hardest part? The buck stops with me! Also, I can’t wait to work with a team again! What’s your best selling product?
At this point we just have our award-winning product Wylde One. Wylde One, is a luxurious, certified vegan and organic botanical water-based lubricant ,designed to be actively beneficial for a healthy intimate environment. Made from five dynamic botanicals, it has an intimately balanced pH, is 100% plant based,and has a ‘body identical’ feel so you can connect with confidence, even when your climate down under isn’t wyldly happy. What’s more, it’s condom-safe and nasties-free so now you can get down and dirty, safe in the knowledge that your lubricant is 100% clean. If you had one piece of advice for someone just starting out, what would it be? Research, research, research, before you commit your precious funds. You will make mistakes but better that they are mistakes in the right direction and you can learn valuable, relevant information about your sector or yourself that will stand you in good stead for the future! Let's talk tech. Which softwares do you use in your business? ( Online store, email marketing, scheduling tools, video apps, accounting & banking apps etc) If you're on Shopify, I'd also love to learn your favourite apps. Currently we’re on Wordpress, Woocommerce and use Mailchimp, which are all great! I’m a big fan of Canva too! It has saved us on many occasions! Which social media platform works best for you? We’ve found that we get the most interaction on Instagram which is a space I personally love anyway. I love how visual it is and the sense of community on there - we’ve made so many good connections there that have gone on to be friends - its a very supportive platform! What business book/podcast/courses would you recommend? I’ve always dipped in and out of podcasts and courses and taken the bits from them that I need, but I’ve really loved the work of Marie Forleo and Denise Duffield Thomas. They totally inspired me in the early days of researching my set-up for Into the Wylde. I also really like the work of Amanda Cook too - she specialises in helping Wellness Entrepreneurs position themselves and sort out their messaging. Her work rocks! Where can people find you? www.intothewylde.com IG: @intothewylde FB: @IntoTheWylde We can’t wait to meet you!! Where did the idea for your business come from? Tell us how and why you get started. My Grandad was a hobbying poet and wrote stacks of poems for me when I was a little girl. I rediscovered his words when I was clearing out my Mum’s loft after she passed away and being pregnant at the time I had an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia and happiness remembering my childhood. I not only wanted to share his words with my new baby but thought it might bring some joy and much needed escape to other people as well. My day job had been proving more and more challenging so I needed a light relief and a new focus and during Covid work wasn’t going so well so I had a bit more time and determination to get Nettlefold up and running. Nettlefold was the name of my childhood home that I had to sell when I lost Mum. What's a typical day like? Sadly Nettlefold has to come after the day job and looking after my baby boy so it tends to be post 7pm that I get cracking with Nettlefold. Then when my other half is off work I find myself packing cards in the spare room! What is the best part of having your own business? The freedom to go at my own pace, on my own terms and take it in whichever direction I want. What's the hardest part? The fact I want to do nothing but Nettlefold and focus on it 100% but am unable to due to the day job! Also the guilt with the Mum/work juggle What’s your best selling product? The Animal Friends greeting cards but I’ve just released a new sunflower design that is proving very popular so that may take over! If you had one piece of advice for someone just starting out, what would it be? Take it slowly, don’t make any rash decisions to ‘get it out there’ and don’t be afraid to ask for help and advice. Let's talk tech. Which softwares do you use in your business? ( Online store, email marketing, scheduling tools, video apps, accounting & banking apps etc)If you're on Shopify, I'd also love to learn your favourite apps. Wix for my website, GoDaddy for the site and Email domain hosting,Mailchimp for email marketing. Planoly for Instagram and Canva for drafting templates for flyers/ads/IG posts etc Which social media platform works best for you?
Instagram has been slow but starting to get traction now What business book/podcast/courses would you recommend? The Resiliant Retail Club is amazing Where can people find you? www.nettlefoldhome.co.uk IG @nettlefoldhome FB facebook.com/nettlefoldhome I am super excited to launch a new series of blogs where I interview successful e-commerce founders. This week we have the lovely Anushi Desai, co-founder of Plant Pops Snacks. Where did the idea for your business come from? Tell us how and why you get started. I’ve always been a foodie but I came up with the idea for Plant Pops after making popped lotus seeds at home (just like my grandmother and mother did) with some interesting flavour combinations and taking them into work for my colleagues. We used to work long hours and snack all the time, getting really bored of crisps and popcorn which is all that seemed to be on offer. Everyone loved the popped lotus seeds and that’s when we knew we were onto a winner! My friend Ash was the first to get hooked and he’s co-founder of our brand. We must have tested around 15 different flavours across hundreds of people to get to our starting line up of Himalayan Salt, Smoked Chilli and Peanut Butter Popped Lotus Seeds. Our mission is always to create snacks that are good for you, good for the environment and good for the communities that create them. Every pack sold helps us support Action Village India, a charity that supports farmers and their families in Northern India, from where we source our popped lotus seeds. What's a typical day like? Fortunately there’s no typical day! Although I’m working from home a lot more now, as are a lot of people, my day is super varied. I tend to focus on operations and products earlier in the day so I can liaise with our manufacturers. There’s lots of moving parts to look after so there really isn’t any typical day! What is the best part of having your own business? I love being able to create something from scratch and see people enjoy it! I also love how flexible we can be and think of an idea, and put it into action within a couple of hours. One of my favourite things is sampling with our customers - I love hearing what they think, seeing them try a popped lotus seed for the first time and getting their thoughts on what they'd like us to bring out next. What's the hardest part? Sometimes running your own business can be a bit overwhelming - you've got so many different hats on that you have to upskill pretty quickly to make sure you're doing the right thing for the business at the right time. It can at times also be a bit lonely - running a start up in particular has some incredibly high highs and some really low lows. Every sale feels so great, but there are some challenges along the way too. What’s your best selling product?
It really varies by platform – but our Peanut Butter is very unusual and our customers absolutely love it! If you had one piece of advice for someone just starting out, what would it be? I wish I’d been braver at the beginning - I second guessed myself a lot, and toyed with the idea of going forward with the business for at least 6 months. I wish I'd had the confidence in my idea and gone for it earlier. If you have an idea, you've tested the product-market fit, I would say just go for it! You'll never know until you try! Let's talk tech. Which softwares do you use in your business? ( Online store, email marketing, scheduling tools, video apps, accounting & banking apps etc). If you're on Shopify, I'd also love to learn your favourite apps. I use Notion pretty much ALL the time – I use it to make lists, track our stockists, sales, website updates and pretty much everything else through it. Later is great for scheduling content across our social media channels. I use FreeAgent for accounting and invoicing and all the boring bits! Which social media platform works best for you? Instagram is great to share visuals and really communicate with our audience. What business book/podcast/courses would you recommend? I love podcasts – some of my favourite business podcasts are PitchDeck and How I Built This. Where can people find you? You can find our Plant Pops through our website www.plantpopssnacks.com, Amazon and lots of great independent stores! |
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