This is the big one, the thing that if you understand can really move the needle for your ads and get you records selling. Understanding how to create effective creative, that is to say, images or videos for your marketing is essential if you are trying to close sales and run an ad that actually works.
Now I know that this stuff can get overwhelming, but I promise to keep it simple. We are going to look at some things to avoid with ad creative, how to make compelling ads and a few easy ways to get people diving into what you are doing! It’s a bit heady, but I promise it will be worth it.
3. What To Avoid
In terms of what to avoid with ads, there are a few core things. First and foremost, be careful with anything even remotely illicit. I can’t promote my Bacon’s Bits videos because I have the cigar. If your band has gory or sexual imagery you are going to have a hard time too, as will political bands. It sucks I know.
Furthermore – you want to be avoiding ads with too much text. Not only does Facebook have a tendency to not let you run ads with too much text in the image, but on the off chance it does get through it won’t perform as well. That’s right, you’re going to have to come up with something different for your tour ad and not just the flyer.
2. Creating Compelling Ads
So what makes an ad actually compelling? Well like we’ve been saying, it’s the stuff that’s specific and eye-catching. don’t have a long intro, make your ad kick-off and immediately grab the ear. Have a flashy video, give people a sense that they are a part of something special.
Furthermore by having humans in your video, specifically the band people are going to dig in deeper. If it’s a relatively fast clip then it means people feel like they have to watch it again or learn more. You want to focus on something that people are willingly going to engage with and then go from there.
1. Getting People To Take The Next Step
Of course, once you’ve got a cool video clip or compelling image going how do you get people to take that next step? Well, ideally you put some sort of call to action within your creative. This could be someone in the ad literally saying ‘Click the link below!’ or a bit of text hovering over the video, or one of the countless other things.
The point being – when you build your creative it needs to have some sort of connection to the actual thing you are selling. The connection should be obvious, we consume so many ads every day that if we aren’t making it abundantly clear for people then we are wasting our time. It’s a harsh reality.
In brief – having good ad creative is essential because it can be the thing that gets people to stop scrolling. Any time you can get people to pause their thumbs then you know that you are winning. Make sure your ads aren’t cut weird with too much text, give them some spark and make the goal clear – then you should have a winner on your hands!
MATT BACON
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Matt Bacon is a consultant, A&R man, and journalist specializing in the world of heavy metal. Having worked with everyone from Glam Rock icon Phil Collen of Def Leppard, to post Black Metal titans Alcest, by way of legendary thrashers Exhorder as well as labels including Prophecy Productions and Ripple Music, he has dedicated his life to helping young bands develop. Having started his own blog at the age of 14 he views his career in artist development as ‘a hobby that got out of hand’. In 2015 he formed Dropout Media in order to better support the artists he loves. We sit here now, years later with countless tours booked, records released and deals signed, and loving every minute of it.
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