Anic Proulx said
Hi John,

Thanks, the video really helps a lot. And thank you particularly for your review on my add (You said my name perfectly by the way 🙂 )

You are right, some words looses sense with the translation. "French song" is the only word that I could find to translate "Chanson francaise" and it's actually a music genre in France and Quebec. Serge Gainsbourg is part of that genre but my style is mostly similar to artist like Barbara, Veronique Sanson and some people say that I'm kind of a french Tori Amos 😉

You suggested to focus my add on one artist in particular, I think it's a good idea and I already started to build a squeeze page around that suggestion.

Also, my music is kind of soft, with poetic lyrics and subjects based mostly around everyday life experiences. It's "simple" and "authentic" espacially because most of the song contain only my voice and my piano and sometimes another instrument. So it brings people "inside" of them a little bit like a "non religious prayer" would do. I'm thinking of approaching people who like those thing as well. What do you think?

Thanks again,

Anic  

Hi Anic,

It sounds like you may have already locked into your own answer. A "french Tori Amos" is a strong angle. I would start by targeting Tori Amos fans in Quebec. Kate Bush fans that live in Quebec would be another obvious option. But I would try to find an image that really captures that vibe. I'd also start by split testing a few different images to see what potential fans lock into. Hope that helps.

Eve A. Ma said
I am so slow - is this where I submit my ad for feedback as part of the members'  forum?  Yes, I know it didn't get in the critique, but is this the correct forum?  In case it is, I'm attaching the screen shot.  (I can't find the URL anymore since the ad is completed.)  I ended up with 50,000 people reached, and 535 clicks (so about 1%).  I spent $35.  My targeting was people who lived in the USA, Peru, Mexico, Australia and Great Britain.  My interests were arts & music;  and 4 others which I don't remember and can't find anymore since the ad is no longer active.  I targeted people between the ages of 25-55.  It led to one (1) new person on my e-mail list.

 

FYI, the video that the image comes from has gotten about 1,800 views on YouTube and 97 on Vimeo BUT someone also downloaded it from Vimeo & posted it on their Facebook page and there, it got 180,000+ views.  A friend stumbled upon it and let me know;  stupid me, I forgot to embed my logo, etc., and if my friend hadn't seen it, I would never have known.   As soon as I knew about it, I posted on the page where it was downloaded that it was mine and was part of my soon-to-be-released film, but I'm afraid I missed out on a lot by not having more identifying info embedded into the video.  Frustrating.  

Hi Eve,

No image was attached.

a conversion is someone taking the action that you are hoping they take. Typically that is a sign up to your mailing list or a sale. It totally depends on the objective at hand.

Ian Messenger said
Hey John, thanks for the latest tutorial on FB ad critique.  Found it very helpful.  My main concern of my first and only campaign, although I did get a cost per conversion around $2, was that I was targeting Joy Division fans and had as my headline 'Into Joy Division?', which perhaps for my 'educated' audience is a blatant piggybacking and a bit uncool, so I would like to capture an audience of a particular famous band/brand without the blatant reference to that band - not using their name at all, but maybe reference in the copy the genre of the band - Joy Division equalling Post Punk.  I gather from this tutorial that I should be promising an experience to my music that coincides with the experience that, for example, is valued by people who like Joy Division - but is this enough - do I really have to piggyback and write the words "Joy Division" in my FB copy.

My second main concern is exactly what the objectives are of the HEADLINE, and the objectives of the TEXT, in the FB ad.  I am unclear of this feature/benefit idea, is it best to describe only the 'experience' promised from my music, and leave the 'free download' promise out of my FB copy, and then of course the squeeze page will then present the 'free download' offer.

Hey Ian,

Your concerns are very valid. While the direct comparison to another artist has worked well for many, I tend to stay away from that strategy these days. So no, you do not need to mention the band in your headline. If you do use it, I would try to be more subtle. For example, using phrases more like "bands such as The Sex Pistols and The New York Dolls" as a supporting descriptor, rather than the core of your copy. Sometimes I might just use it on the squeeze page. It all depends how easy it is for you to lock into the passions of your target audience without mentioning the band. 

For example, with a country artist it would be easy. It is the lifestyle behind the music that fans are most passionate about. "country, Americana, the rodeo, the American spirit, boots and whisky, all create imagery that creates instant affinity for many fans of country music. From there you just need to do a convincing job of explaining how the music is going to bring more of that into their lives.

As for your second concern, the objective of your ad text is to pull in the reader and make them want to click to get whatever you are promising in the text. The objective with the ad headline is to support that promise, usually using a slightly different angle.

For example, a country artist might have a headline that said something like "Country Music Fan?" and the ad text might say something like, "John Smith's latest album transports the listener to a deserted desert road house in the middle of nowhere. Click to listen".

Those are just quick examples, but hopefully you get the idea.

There are no hard and fast rules as every approach can both work or fail, but I like to focus on the most attractive aspect of things, but allude to what is going to happen on the next page. In my example they at least know that you are trying to get them to listen to some music. But I'd also experiment with testing different versions of the ad. One version would have a headline that said "click to get a free download" or something along those lines.

One exercise that works for me is to imagine someone walking by your merch table wearing a Joy Division T-shirt. You can't leave the table but you want that person to come talk to you. What would you yell out to get their attention? That might be your headline. Once they came over, how would you convince them to take a look at your CD? That might be your ad copy.

Hope that helps.