Have you ever stopped scrolling mid-article because an ad caught your eye? Even for a few seconds? The chances of you saying yes right now are probably pretty high. Maybe you visited the advertiser before and were familiar with the product, or the quick movement and bold colors of the ad drew your eye’s attention. Either way, the advertiser achieved one of its goals. You stopped and somehow engaged with the brand’s messaging. Today, digital creatives are everywhere: from the websites you browse to the apps on your phone, even the elevator down to your hotel lobby. But if you want to create an engaging ad, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
5 Tips For Creating A Highly Effective Digital Ad
1.) BE EYE CATCHING.
A great image will immediately grab a user’s attention, drawing their eyes away from the website content and towards your ad. Once you have their attention, you want your ad to stand out and deliver its message quickly and powerfully. By using strong, beautiful, bold images you create an unambiguous signal: of what you offer, and how a user can learn more, purchase, or respond. Imagine a moment when you are scrolling through an article and you come across two ads. One has muted colors, blends in, lacks life, and has a large amount of wasted space. The other ad has bright, balanced colors, stands out, is unique, and feels like it’s speaking to you. You are probably going to scroll past the first ad, while taking the time to see what the second ad has to say. You want to stand out on the page with an ad that grabs the attention of your audience immediately and once you have their attention you need to hold it.
2.) BE INSPIRING.
A truly inspiring ad speaks to the user on a deeper level and invokes a sense of connection and action. You can do this by appealing to the user’s feelings, emotions, or needs. The ad also must maintain the user’s attention through a message that connects. In display advertising, this can be a challenge because of the short amount of time your ad is displayed. So before creating an inspiring message to share with the world, ask yourself, “What is my value proposition and how could it help improve a person’s life for the better?” Once you have that answer, you are on your way to creating an inspiring ad. Tying the eye-catching image with inspiring copy is a winning combination.
3.) BE CONCISE.
Remember that the time with your audience is limited. It’s important to be short, sweet, and to the point. With attention spans decreasing by the day, you want to craft a message that embodies your value proposition. Be persuasive without writing a paragraph to do so. Many professional display marketers recommend 5-10 meaningful words to show the user what they can expect, and we couldn’t agree more. Each word should be carefully chosen. With limited space you want to be sure your message is readable when glanced at quickly. Too many words can make an ad cramped and unreadable.
4.) BE SPECIFIC.
To produce a quality set of creatives, you also need to be specific. Determine the focus of your campaign ahead of time and stick to it. Pinpoint the message that is the most appealing or the one that is most profitable. Don’t try to sell or promote everything in one ad. If you have more than one product, create separate ads. When you are specific, you can tailor your message to be laser-focused on leading your audience down the conversion path. You want your user to say, “I want more info here” so they will click and engage further.
5.) BE INVITING
Once you have determined your specific marketing goals, it is easier to discover the goal for your user. Do you want your audience to sign up, volunteer, purchase, call, or download a newsletter? Consider the action you want each person to take and then communicate that in a call to action. Be engaging and inviting. Remember, your main goal for any good creative is getting someone to take that next step, to take action.
In short, you want to draw the user’s attention away from website content and towards your ad with bold, beautiful, eye-catching imagery. You want to make a connection with them. Be concise. Be specific. Be clear about what you want them to do next. When you put everything together you will begin to produce amazing result-driven creatives. Normally, this is just the first part of your user’s journey as they interact with your brand. The next stop is your landing page. Stick around to read our time-tested and proven tips on creating killer landing pages that convert. That will be coming up next!
