My Internship Learnings - Copywriting Ads

My experience with Happy Marketer

I had the opportunity to intern with Happy Marketer for two months as part of my PGDM program at XIME Kochi. And it was quite a happy ride! I helped out with the social team as a copywriter and contributed towards various social media posts for certain clients of Happy Marketer. The clients I worked for varied from coffee chains to karaoke groups to confectioners. Learning how to write copies according to the persona and tone of each client was a challenging albeit exciting experience. During my brief stint at Bangalore, I also managed to assist the paid team where I learnt about SEO, AdWords, PPC and other similar aspects of digital marketing.

I remember being asked to write a Facebook ad copy for the first time- it was quite a challenging task as one has to abide by certain rules and follow specific practices while drafting a business ad. My guide sent me a couple of links that I browsed through before sitting down to write the copies. Here’s what I learnt in a nutshell-

1. What’s your purpose- What do you intend to achieve through the ad? Is it a promotion or do you intend to drive visitors to the client website? The way you write the ad depends on the message you want to convey. It is highly important to keep the ultimate objective in mind before coming up with your ad strategy.
   
2. Who’s the audience- When researching for this particular client, I found out that a majority of their page visitors were between the ages of 24-35. Hence, the tone of the message had to appeal more towards that particular age group while keeping in mind the remaining audience as well.
   
3. Hit the nail on the Headline- If your ad copy has to target a specific audience type, it would be wise to focus on the headline. Content is never king when it comes to Facebook as. A good headline is the first thing to come under notice and that determines whether or not the reader would be persuaded to read more.
   
4. Mind your message- Remember, the post should grab eyeballs. In order to initiate action, you should try to enkindle desire. Make the post as appealing as possible without going overboard. Try not to turn it into hard sell, instead try to lure your post viewers indirectly. Ask a personal question, play the ‘emo’ card- it’s really about what works here.
   
5. Tick-tock include a clock- Include a timeframe, if possible, as it creates a sense of urgency and encourages one to take action soon. A slight FOMO nudge can do wonders for your ad campaign.

1. Check your CTA- Your message has to be structured in such a way that it leads to the logical conclusion where the viewer is compelled to act. Make sure it’s action oriented and simple to understand. Do keep the character limit in mind and try re-emphasizing on your CTA if it looks appropriate. You could also try including it in the ad image instead of the copy for a higher impact.
   
2. A few other tips- It’s great to include freebies and attractive deals in the copy. If there aren’t any, not to worry, focus on making your copy as appealing as possible. Little things like exclamation marks and asking an interesting question can help spruce up the copy. Make sure to include an appropriate visual before hitting the post button.

There is of course a lot more to learn, and I admit I am no pro at copy writing. Working for such varied clients, with each having a different communication style and brand story, I cannot remember spending a single day without learning something new. Assembling content for pitches was what I found most exciting, and those particular days made me wish that I could somehow stretch out this internship. Juggling several clients at once is not an easy task, it requires immense focus and dedication- one of the several lessons learnt during the internship.