Designing High-Converting Ecommerce Ad Creative: Tips and Tricks

“It's important to establish a strong brand identity and identify your unique selling proposition. This will give you an advantage over your competitors. In addition, leveraging social media and collaborating with creators can also be highly beneficial. By showcasing your product to a wider audience, you can let it speak for itself and gain more recognition in the marketplace.” Mike, Creative Strategist @ Shoelace

Consumers today have more purchasing options than ever. Your company has hundreds if not thousands of competitors competing for your customers' time and monday online. So that means that constructing effective ad creative can be the difference between success and failure for your business.

What creatives should you spend the most time and money on? What makes up a good creative? Does your brand commit marketing “faux pas” on every ad? We aim to take a look at these questions and more today to help solve your biggest problem – How can you create ads that convert? 

So whether you're just starting out in ecommerce or looking to take your ad creative to the next level, this blog will provide you with valuable insights to help you design more effective ad campaigns across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest.

Understanding Your Audience

One of the most important considerations when designing ad creative is understanding your target audience and finding them at the right time. Knowing who your audience is and what they are looking for can help you tailor your ad creative to better resonate with them.

Start by identifying your target audience demographics, such as age, gender, location, and interests. Use this information to better inform your ad creative, helping you with choosing imagery, copy, and calls-to-action that will appeal to that core audience.

One of the biggest things you can do for your audience is solve their problems. Ask yourself, “How is my product or service going to enrich the lives of my customers” and, “What paint points am I solving?”. Identifying the pain points of your audience can help them recognize the value of your product or service, not only as a desire but also as a necessity to maintain a particular lifestyle or improve their daily routine.

An example of this is through beauty brands such as The Ordinary.

In the first second of the ad, they immediately tell you what the product will do for you, and mention a common pain point word, “acne”. Obviously you don’t want acne, and this product says it will help to reduce acne scarring. 

A great way to do some quick market research on your audience is to actually read your comment section. What is your audience saying about your products? What communities are they building around your brand and how are they interacting with each other? 

‍Interest and desires play a huge role and by tailoring your ad creative to your audiences specific needs, you can create ad campaigns that are more likely to drive conversions and help you achieve your business goals.

10 Killer Creatives To Try That Will Convert

“To make your brand stand out, it's important to establish a strong brand identity and identify your unique selling proposition. This will give you an advantage over your competitors. In addition, leveraging social media and collaborating with creators can also be highly beneficial. By showcasing your product to a wider audience, you can let it speak for itself and gain more recognition in the marketplace.” Mike, Creative Strategist @ Shoelace

1. Features & Benefits Ads

Showcase your product with text overlays that describe your customers' pain paints and immediately solve them. This can work on both video and static images. Make sure the text is large and readable so your customers can easily identify the information that matters most. The bad ad in this case has too many points that are repetitive and illegible, it’s better to keep it simple.

2. Statistic Based Ads

These ads give customers a logical reason to purchase your product as it will improve the quality of their life in some way.

3. Problem / Solution UGC Ads

Your customers have problems, and your product is here to solve them, so showcase why. This type of content works best when you have an influencer who can communicate the problems they are having, and tell audiences how they solved that problem with your product.

4. TikTok Response Ads

This type of ad isn’t just applicable to TikTok, you can recreate it on any ad platform. Similar to the Problem/Solution ad, you have a bubble directly on the ad creative with a question and then the video or static image should show your product solving the problem. This style of ad works well because it feels more native and less like an intrusive ad.

5. Tutorial & How-to Video Ads

Not everyone will know everything about your product or even how they should be using it, so show them!

6. Before & After Ads

These can be tricky because Facebook (Meta) and other companies have strict guidelines for ads that showcase “Before & After” results from specifically weightless or cosmetic procedures. And oftentimes, we’ll see ads get flagged for using the words “Before & After” regardless if your product is for weight loss or not. That being said, there are ways you can say “Before & After” without actually using those words (for example, “With” or "Without” the product). And this kind of ad works amazingly well for beauty industry clients who have products that can help to improve skin quality. However, there are many ways that other companies can use this as well. Instead of thinking about the transformative qualities of your product, think about how your customers' daily problems will be better with your product.

7. Comparison Ads

Your company vs other companies. You don’t have to call out a specific competitor or you can if you want, but we’re not telling you to do that… 😈

8. Short Video or GIF Ads

3-5 seconds total with content that preaches values immediately. Showcase benefits that point out quickly why someone needs your product. You need a hook that will grab your audience's attention.

9. Flat Lay Ad

An easy to produce and great way to showcase your product variety.

10. Product Focused Ad

Show only your product so customers can easily identify your ad. Preferably this image of your product is just on a white background with nothing else in view (This is just using your basic product image). When customers click on this ad and it directs them to your website with the exact same product image, they know they’ve arrived at the right page and will convert more often than not.

How To Write Killer Ad Copy

In addition to the creative itself, the copy you use in your ads is another important element in driving conversions. Effective ad copy should be concise, compelling, and always tailored to your target audience.

Start by crafting a compelling headline that grabs your audience's attention and entices them to learn more. Your headline should be short and to the point, highlighting the unique features and benefits of your product or service.

In your descriptions, you should expand on your headline and provide more information about your product or service. Use language that is easy to understand and that speaks directly to your target audience's desires and pain points. This copy should be short and to the point, many customers will never click “Read More” so it’s best to get out the most important information in the first few words.

Finally, consider incorporating social proof in your ad copy. Basically social proof is the idea that people copy the actions of others in order to better fit in when out in social settings, even more so online. Social proof can include things like customer reviews, testimonials, or endorsements from influencers or industry experts. Including social proof in your ad copy can help build trust and credibility with your audience, making them more likely to convert.

By crafting compelling ad copy that is tailored to your target audience and also includes social proofing, you can create ad campaigns that are more likely to drive conversions. 

How To Write A Call-To-Action

The call-to-action (CTA) in your ad creative is a crucial element in encouraging your audience to take action and convert. A clear and compelling CTA can make all the difference in driving conversions and achieving your business goals.

To create an effective CTA, start by considering the action you want your audience to take. Whether it's making a purchase, signing up for a newsletter, or downloading an app, your CTA should be specific and aligned with your business objectives.

Always use a CTA button that is visually appealing and easy to find. Use contrasting colors that stand out from your ad creative and consider using action-oriented language that encourages your audience to take action (Examples: “Take the Quiz”, “Get your 1/month Free Trial now!” or “Sale Ends Soon!”).

It’s always a great idea to create urgency through your CTA by using time-limited offers that highlight the benefits of taking immediate action. By creating urgency, you can motivate your audience to take action and convert before it's too late.

Testing and Re-Testing Ad Creative

Even the most well-designed ad creative can benefit from testing and iteration. By testing different elements of your ad creative, you can identify what works best and optimize your campaigns for better performance and higher conversions.

Consider testing different variations of your ad creative, such as different imagery, copy, and CTAs. A/B testing can be a useful tool for comparing the performance of different ad variations and identifying which ones drive the most conversions.

In addition to testing different ad creative variations, consider testing the timing and frequency of your ads. Testing different ad schedules can help you identify the best times to run your ads for maximum impact and engagement. Pro tip: We’ve found that most of our Pinterest Ad sales come in on Tuesday and Thursdays! There are plenty of instances where more sales happen on certain days of the week, so be sure to look at your historical data and increase spend on those days.

You can also use services like Motion that can help you to identify key drivers of creative performance in your ads in order to improve them. Motion is a super useful tool that can help drive your creative team in the right direction when it comes to designing highly effective ads in your specific industry by helping you to identify creatives that have been proven to work with easy to read visual reports.

As you test and iterate your ad creative, be sure to track your results and use data to inform your decisions. Continuously optimizing your ad creative based on data-driven insights can help you improve your ad performance over time and achieve your business goals.

The Wrap Up

Designing high-converting ad creative is crucial for achieving success with your ecommerce advertising campaigns. By focusing on elements like imagery, copy, and call-to-action and optimizing your ad creative for specific platforms, you can create campaigns that drive conversions and help you achieve your business goals.

Remember to test (Test, Test, & more Testing!) and iterate your ad creative regularly to identify what works best and continuously improve your ad performance over time. With these expert tips and tricks, you can create ecommerce ad campaigns that are both visually appealing and effective in driving conversions.

If you run an online store and need help with your ads, Shoelace is here for you. We've added creative services to our offerings, so we can design ads just for you. Stay in touch with us on social media to find out more. Our team is all about helping ecommerce businesses grow, and we can't wait to show you the great results we can achieve. Get in touch with us today and let's work together to make your ecommerce business a big success.

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