So you’ve designed the perfect ads for your awesome product and you can’t wait for people to start noticing them. You set up your online advertising campaign, launch it, then…. crickets. Your ads are live, but for some reason people just aren’t clicking them.
Sound familiar? If your ads aren’t performing and you’re stuck wondering what’s up with your abysmal CTRs, you may want to back track and see if you’re committing any of the following mistakes:
They’re vague
Your ad copy should concisely answer the following questions: a) Who is this ad for?; and b) What should people do when they see the ad?
Those questions seem pretty basic, but you’d be surprised at the number of companies that get this wrong. Let’s break them down, shall we?
a. Who is this ad for? – In other words, who is your target audience? Who are your customers? If they see the ad, will they immediately know that it’s meant for them? A huge mistake that businesses make in this aspect is trying to appeal to everyone. They use broad ad copy to try to accommodate every single user. The result? Poor ad performance. Remember, if you try to please everyone, you’ll end up pleasing no one.
Write your ad with a specific target audience in mind. Zero in on the demographic and sociographic of your ideal customers and gear your ads towards them and ONLY them.
b. What should people do when they see the ad? – Make sure that you have a clear call to action on your ads. Spell out what you want people to do. Do you want them to sign up? Download a free e-book? Call you?
Whatever it is, be straightforward and unequivocal about it.
They don’t answer the most important customer question: What’s in it for me?
You have a great product and you want to showcase just how awesome it is. We get it. The question is, will your users get it as well?
While it may be tempting to brag about the awards that your product has won or the cutting-edge features it has, it may not be a good idea to populate your ads with these things alone.
Try to focus on the benefits that your product provides rather than its features. The latter tends to resonate more with people.
For instance, if you’re selling a phone with a 100 mega-pixel camera, the sophisticated camera would be the FEATURE, while the BENEFIT would be the fact that users will be able to take better, high-quality photos that they can post on Instagram or Facebook.
Features merely showcases what the product does, but the benefits show what it DOES FOR USERS. They answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”
Take note: Features TELL, but benefits SELL.
The offer isn’t compelling enough
Sometimes you need to offer a little extra something in order to really stand out.
For example, if you’re putting up ads to get people to sign up to your newsletter, give away a free eBook or report to incentivize them even more. Want to get the word out about that sale you’re having? Offer a coupon right on the ad itself to really get people to click through your site.
In this day and age, everyone is competing for consumers’ attention, so you need to find a way to offer real value to your customers in order to get them to listen to you instead of your competitors.
Image credit: StockMonkeys.com on Flickr
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