How to Make an Ad in 6 Steps

Are you struggling to create compelling and effective advertisements that stand out in today's crowded digital landscape? You're not alone.

With the ever-increasing competition for consumer attention, crafting ads that resonate with your target audience is crucial. In this guide, we'll explore the key elements of successful ad creation, from conveying a clear brand message to utilizing the latest tools to achieve tangible business results.

How to Make an Ad in 6 Steps

By following these six steps, you can create an effective advertisement that truly connects with your target audience. Remember, the more tailored your ad is to your audience, the better the results will be.

1. Research your target audience
2. Know the type of ad you want
3. Choose your platform
4. Finesse your messaging
5. Craft creative content
6. Optimize your ad for conversions

Let’s dive in!

1. Research your target audience

To begin making an ad, first spend time understanding your buyer personas - or who you’re speaking to. Pay attention to demographics, user preferences, behaviors, and other data points that update you about the people you’re trying to reach. Allow this information to shape your ad, not the other way around.

There are a number of ways to conduct research about your target audience. You could ask users to complete surveys, host feedback sessions, use social media analytics, or create user personas, like the one below.

2. Know the type of ad you want

?? Understanding your target audience and overall strategy is key when choosing the right ad format! Different forms of ads suit different goals. Here are some of the most common ones:

• Display ads – ads that visually showcase your brand or product on online platforms and have a specific CTA.
• Pay per click – ads that appear on search engine results pages.?
• HTML5 Animated – an interactive ad that uses animated text and images or video.
• HTML5 Static – a static ad that uses still images and text.
• Banner ads – these appear in social, display, and video channels, and can be a mixture of text and images.
• Carousel ads – these are a series of images, videos or text in a cycle, all within one ad. They appear on social and display advertising.
• Video ads – video ads that appear on streaming services like YouTube.
• In-stream video ads – video ads that appear within other videos on social media.
• Promoted account ads – ads that have been bought or sponsored by a brand and are shared via posts on social media.

3. Choose your platform

There are various platforms to display ads, including social media, Google's Display Network, search engines, and third-party websites.

Google Display Network encompasses millions of websites, videos, and apps, allowing ads to reach a wide audience, including those not actively seeking the brand or product.

Each ad platform offers different options for reaching diverse audiences with distinct marketing expectations. It's important to consider the demographics, location, content consumption, and interests of each platform's user base to determine the most suitable placement for ads.

Choosing the right platform is crucial for ad success, as platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads offer specific ad functionalities and targeting capabilities tailored to different user behaviors and preferences.

The platform you select plays a big role in the return on investment (ROI) of your ad. Ad pricing varies across platforms, and even if you have a spectacularly designed ad, if it’s not accessible to the right people at the right time, it won’t achieve its goals.

4. Finesse your messaging

When creating an advertisement, the key is to ensure that the message is clear, compelling, and easily understandable. With so much content competing for attention online, it's essential to convey your message effectively to stand out.

Keep in mind your brand values and tone of voice, and why you’re making the ad. What does the ad share with people that they don’t already know or have??

You want to position yourself as an authority but also a great narrator. This Instagram ad is visually simple. It gives you a very clear message and speaks to a customer need:

They should also represent your brand effectively. Your ad is an extension of your brand, and you need it to be memorable, engaging, and strike audiences’ emotions.?

Using your target audience research, consider how people like to be communicated to and what resonates with them.

5. Craft creative content

Ad creativity begins with focusing on your brand's unique value proposition and finding ways to showcase it effectively. Whether it's your innovative sustainability practices or cutting-edge technology, ensure that your ad's layout and design reflect your brand's distinctive qualities.

For instance, the simple image in the ad below creatively shows the principle behind the product being sold.?

Also take into consideration your target audience’s needs – do they have time to interpret mysterious ads? Do they require big text? Do they relate more to interactive content than static content?

Your ad should always have an obvious call to action (CTA) or step that you’re asking users to take. The simple “Get offer” in the ad below leaves no doubt as to what the viewer should do next.?

6. Optimize your ad for conversions

The goal of your ad is to achieve a conversion of some sort; that could be a customer making a purchase, signing up to a newsletter, liking a post or any other tangible action. Such conversions don’t happen without the ad being carefully curated for that step.

Maximizing Conversions with Your Ads

• Set a clear objective and define KPIs for your ad campaign
• Continually test and iterate ad performance, copy, design, and targeting options
• Utilize A/B testing to compare different ad versions for increased conversions
• Use analytics tools to track ad interactions and conversions for data-driven insights
• Leverage data to identify ad strategy gaps and maximize conversion opportunities

Discover how our expert team at brandfluence can boost your brand’s visibility, engagement, and sales with our tailored marketing solutions.

Get in touch today.