Every effective ad, whether it’s print, web, or outdoor, has a few key ingredients that make it a success. Here’s the recipe to follow when preparing for your next ad campaign.
Strong Headline
Your headline carries a lot of weight in your ad. It should grab the audience’s attention and make them want to read more. The headline isn’t the time to give out a lot of information. This is just a hook to say “Look at me!” People are more likely to read short and simple headlines. Plus, giving a way too much information in the header can cause you to lose your audience quickly. Make them want to read more.
Clear Simple Information
Whether driving past a billboard, thumbing through a magazine, or scrolling social media, no one has time to spend reading about something they are not specifically looking for information on. Your ad is not the time to give all the little details. You just need simple info to give a general idea of what it is you have to offer. Keeping text to a minimum will make your audience much more likely to read it.
Eye-Catching Imagery
Imagery is always helpful. It’s often what draws people in and makes them stop and see what you have to say. It could be a bold graphic or illustration, a dynamic photo, or an interesting visual that makes people say “hmm, wonder what that’s about.” Know your audience and use imagery that will appeal to them.
Business Branding
Of course you want your audience to know who is speaking to them. While it may be obvious to include your logo on the ad, keeping the overall ad within your brand is also important. You want the ad to look like your business. Using the same colors, fonts, imagery throughout every piece in your ad campaign makes your recognizable, which will ultimately make people begin to identify certain imagery with your business.
Call to Action
What do you ultimately want your audience to do? The CTA gives clear directions on what the next step should be. It could be a phone number with the text “Call Us” or a digital button linking linking to a web page. It should be obvious where you are leading your audience. A specific and easy next step makes the potential customer more comfortable moving forward.
At 2nd Story, it's important to us that your advertising is effective. So we will work with you to include all of these ingredients in your marketing materials. Contact us to add a little spice to your next ad campaign!