A wise Abigail Adams once said, “Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence.” You don’t succeed at Facebook advertising by chance; it requires hard work. You must research and experiment, and when you fail, you must try again. One part of the research you can do is look at successful Facebook ads to see what works, why, and how you can emulate those successful ads.
But before we dive into it, let’s first look at some stats and information about why Facebook advertising is so effective, and what qualities make up a winning ad.
Let’s Start with Crucial Facebook Stats
If you’re not confident that Facebook advertising is the way to go, it helps to consider some facts about the platform.
- First and foremost, you should know that Facebook has over 2 billion monthly active users and 1 billion daily active users as of June 2017. That’s a massive customer base to reach.
- Second, users are on Facebook for an average of 35 minutes daily, accessing the platform 8 times a day. That’s time during which you can be delivering ads to your target audience.
- Finally, people spend an average of 5 hours daily on their smartphones and 19% of those hours are spent on Facebook. That percentage window allows you to reach users wherever they are, as everyone carries a phone with them these days.
Qualities of a Good Facebook Ad
A good Facebook ad usually contains a mix of the following qualities:
- It educates
- It entertains
- It engages (i.e. compels users to comment, like or share)
- It has value proposition
- It has social proof
- It evokes an emotion
- Its image is high quality
- Its image/video features the product
- Its image/video incorporates good branding
- Its video is optimized for mobile
To give you a better idea of what these qualities look like, we’re going to analyze 30 winning Facebook ads that nail it. By the end of this article, you will have mastered knowledge of what makes a Facebook ad effective!
1) Wayfair
Wayfair is an online store and app that sells furniture, home decor, housewares, appliances, etc. at competitive prices. There are several good things going for this Wayfair video ad:
- It entertains, with objects in the video moving in stop motion animation, making it playful and fun to watch.
- It has value proposition by offering free shipping on purchases over $49, as well as by promoting “zillions of things home.”
- The ad evokes excitement, tapping into our combined desires to beautify our home and save money.
The ad also succeeds in technical aspects:
- For one, the video is high quality, meaning it looks professionally made and crisp.
- We also see good branding in this ad, with the color scheme in the video matching the Wayfair logo and “Wayfair” strategically displayed on one of the boxes, right above a box that reads “glad to be HOME.”
- Finally, the ad is properly optimized for mobile so users don’t have to rotate their screens to watch the video clearly.
2) HubSpot
HubSpot is a platform that offers inbound marketing and sales software products. This ad meets four of the qualities of an effective Facebook ad:
- The first and most prominent quality is that it presents a value proposition. Specifically, it offers a free demo, which helps establish trust because it gives customers the chance to try it first before deciding to make the buy.
- Second, the ad uses social proof to tell the audience that others have trusted HubSpot. The ad gives an approximate number (37,450+) to give weight to that social proof.
- HubSpot also uses a high-quality image for this ad. The photo looks professionally taken and smartly portrays a customer using the HubSpot product.
- Finally, this ad incorporates good branding, using the orange overlay color in the photo to match the HubSpot logo. The image itself also includes the word “HubSpot.”
3) ThirdLove
- First, in the post text above the video, we get a testimonial from a ThirdLove customer, which establishes social proof.
- Next, the video shows different angles of the bra, highlighting its best features and color choices.
- Lastly, we get a value proposition where the ad reads “Try A Bra That Actually Fits,” appealing to audiences who struggle with the frustration of finding a bra that fits comfortably.
4) Daily Burn
Daily Burn is a fitness program that offers extensive workout routines to help people reach their health goals. This video ad uses entertainment to offer value propositions and social proof.
- In a video that is sped up for amusement, this ad goes through each day of the week, showing a different workout at home for each day to show how easy it can be.
- The ad uses social proof by using a customer testimonial by a mother who uses Daily Burn to get her regular workout in during her busy week.
- There are also two value propositions offered in this ad: easy workouts that fit your schedule and a 30-day free trial.
5) Bath & Body Works
Bath & Body Works is both a physical and online store for scented bath and body products, with store locations across the U.S. This Facebook ad evokes a sense of urgency and excitement, and also features some of the business’s popular products.
- Bath & Body Works encourages its audience to sign up for its email list in exchange for a surprise offer and sneak peek (i.e. value proposition).
- By using words like “surprise” and “sneak peek,” the ad gets customers excited. And with “Are YOU on the list” and “You don’t want to miss this,” Bath & Body Works creates a sense of urgency, causing customers to want to act now so they don’t miss out.
- In addition, the ad also tosses in the word “cozy” and uses a holiday-themed image to make the message timely and relevant. It’s very difficult to scroll past this ad without wanting to sign up for the holiday perks.
6) Care/of
Care/of offers customized vitamin packs that help individuals get the nutrition they need. In this ad, Care/of educates the audience, as well as offers value proposition and employs good branding.
- First, the ad talks about the importance of nutrients in affecting your look.
- Next, it offers the value propositions of “your best glow” and a “convenient daily pack.”
- The ad also incorporates good branding, using a sophisticated color palette with a hint of the same pink used in the logo.
7) Lemonade
Lemonade promotes its quick-and-easy insurance options at convenient prices.
- The brand dabs into education by informing its audience about the frequency at which people buy Lemonade insurance (“Every 90 seconds”).
- It then evokes curiosity with “Find out why” and a “Learn More” call-to-action.
- The “Protect the stuff you love in seconds” line serves as the value proposition.
- To top it all off, the pink outline and “Lemonade” stamp at the top right of the image serve as good branding in this ad.
8) Apartment List
Apartment List is an online site and app for apartment hunters. This ad gets right to the point and keeps the message simple while still offering value proposition.
- In the post text, the ad lists three value propositions customers might find in their dream apartment when they use Apartment List: “Short Commute,” “Hardwood Floors,” and “Within Budget.”
- Each benefit is followed by a checkmark, showing how you can find each of these desired items when you use the site.
- Apartment List wraps up the message with a simple headline: “Moving Soon? We Can Help You Find Your Next Apartment!”
9) Kohl’s
Kohl’s is a popular department store with both offline and online shopping options. The store doesn’t need a lot of words to give this ad impact. In the first clip of the video, Kohl’s displays a box containing the text: “Women’s Essential Sale.” What follows is a series of static clips of models wearing Kohl’s outfits with the type of date for which one might wear the shown ensemble. “Coffee Date,” “Movie Date,” and “Dinner Date” are the outfit variations shown in the ad.
- With this particular strategy, Kohl’s is able to entertain and elicit interest in the sale.
- The ad also uses high-quality images, much like those you might find in a magazine, and is optimized for mobile.
- Overall, this ad is easy to understand, straight-to-the-point, and fun to watch.
10) Dove
Dove is famous for its soaps and beauty products. In this video ad, Dove focuses on the foamy suds with close-ups, eliciting that light and clean feeling one gets when they shower with the product.
- In addition to featuring the product in a high-quality video, showing the product in action and remaining consistent in the white Dove branding, this ad uses social proof to highlight the product.
- Specifically, the ad refers to the Allure recognition for “Best of Beauty,” giving you reason to perceive the product as trustworthy.
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source: Single Grain