Even if you know how to choose your targeting and set your audience you still need to make sure that the ad itself is set up the right way. Having consulted with some of the best in the world at Facebook ads and tested many versions in real estate I’ve found a template that works for most ads that are generating leads.

Keep in mind that you do need a good landing page for your ad to ultimately generate leads. Even with the perfect ad, a bad landing page won’t convert the traffic.

Step 1: Get Them to Say Yes

The first step in creating an ad is to set up the first line with a question that gets your ideal prospect to say yes. If you’re targeting home owners who want to sell their home then open with a question asking if there selling their home this year.  Ask a question that whoever reads it, if they read the question and say yes, when they keep reading its because they’re your ideal target.

Step 2: Build Rapport with Your Target Audience

What makes social media different than other advertising platforms is that its designed to be social. People want to connect on a more human level. Show your humanity and build rapport with the audience. Give them a reason to care and to keep reading your ad.

Step 3: Tell Them What You’re Offering

Now that you’ve give them a reason to care, tell them what you’re offering. Lay it out plainly. Tell them why it will benefit them and which of their pain points it will solve. If they have a problem, what you’re offering here should solve it.

Step 4: Your Call to Action

Now tell them how to get your offer. Is it to go to your website and download? Register on the site? Tell them exactly what they have to do to redeem it.

Step 5: Selecting the Right Image

For starters, never use cheesy office stock imagery. Every time you use fake people smiling while standing around looking aroused by something on a computer screen a kitten dies. True Story. Dead kittens, that’s on you.

You can use stock images but find really beautiful stock images. Use somewhere like stocksnap.io or unsplash.com.

Take the time to find the right image. Your image should tell part of the story of your offer. If you have a strong lead magnet its solving a problem for your potential client. If you solved their pain point, what would they look like? Show the result. Show them happy.

Pro Tip: Increase the contrast 30-40% on your images to give them a little extra pop in your ad. Stand out from the crowd a bit.

Step 6: Crafting the Headline

The headline that goes under the image should tell them what the offer is. Put exactly what the offer is and what the main benefit of signing up is. You should also be sure to highlight what the type of offer is. Are they reading a blog post? Downloading an ebook? What is their offer type?

Step 7: Just the Tip

The last, and often smaller element of the ad, is the extra space you have in the news feed description. Since the space is limited just include a little bit of what the benefit is. This way it gets them excited and they have to click through to get the rest.

Follow these steps and you can create for yourself a high performing Facebook ad. There’s a lot more to the different steps in an effective Facebook campaign but this step is crucial.

Want to see what all these  steps put together look like? Take a look below.