Do you know the psychological impact of the words in your Facebook Ads? Did you know certain words cause certain responses in their reader? This third and final part of my three-part series - The Psychology Behind a Successful Facebook Ad - takes a look at text. I’ll examine five specific words that will get you results, dive into the role of emotionally charged words in advertising, and how brand names and dollar values can fit into your Facebook advertising strategy. I’ll also give you real-world examples taken from Facebook and give you concrete strategies on how you can use the information you’ll learn.

1. The
Psychology
Behind a
Successful
Facebook Ad
Part 3: Text

3. The Psychology Behind a Successful Facebook Ad
Part 3: Text
1
What is text psychology and why should I care?
2
Use ‘You’ to make your audience the center of attention
3
Use ‘New’ to tap into what users want
4
Use ‘Save’ to communicate your Facebook Ad’s value
5
Use ‘Proven’ to verify your product as trustworthy

4. The Psychology Behind a Successful Facebook Ad
Part 3: Text
6
Use ‘Free’ to grab the user’s eye and encourage a click-through
7
The Role of Emotion in Advertising Language
8
Using Fear to encourage a quick click
9
Brand Names
10
Dollar Value

5. 1
What is text psychology and why
should I care?

6. What is text psychology and why should I care?
Text psychology is the study of a word’s effect on a person. Certain words can create
both physiological and emotional reactions - something that can be very useful in
online advertising.
How does it work?
● Words have two ‘meanings’: denotative and connotative. Denotative is the
dictionary’s definition of a word, whereas a connotative definition is far more
complex, and far more interesting for advertisers.
●
Words and phrases like ‘Free’, ‘Coca-Cola’ ‘Last chance’ ‘Save’ are heavy with
connotative meaning. Facebook advertisers can anticipate these responses and
tap into that knowledge to increase the effectiveness of their ads.

7. 2
Use ‘You’ to make your audience the
center of attention

8. Use ‘You’ to make your audience the center of attention
Facebook users like being the center of attention, and they like the idea that a
product is built for them, focused on them. If I’m selling a product that promises to
double ROI in 12 months you might be interested. If I’m selling a product that
promises to double YOUR ROI in 12 months, you will definitely be intrigued.
1
How you can use it:
Increase your business’ ROI in 36 weeks
2
Tap into your potential
3
Do you deserve a break?
4
We can help you reach your goals

9. 3
Use ‘New’ to tap into what users
want

10. Use ‘New’ to tap into what users want
The culture in which we live is one where people want ‘new’. This is especially true
of Facebook users - 78% of whom are on their new mobile phones.They want the next
big thing. If you can give it to them they’ll keep coming back.
1
How you can use it:
New Insights into A/B Testing
2
New Technology to Organize your Life
3
Newly-discovered Secret Revealed

11. 4
Use ‘Save’ to communicate your
Facebook Ad’s value

12. Use ‘Save’ to communicate your Facebook Ad’s value
People like to save, and Facebook Ads are a great place to offer coupons and
discounts. In fact, I recommend advertising your product almost exclusively with a
discount or deal on Facebook, as discounts are one of the best value propositions
and will increase your click-through-rate.
1
How you can use it:
Save more this Christmas with these homemade crafts
2
Save 50% if you buy in the next 24 hours
3
Stretch your savings with these 5 tips
4
Save on your CPA with this A/B testing ebook

13. 5
Use ‘Proven’ to verify your product
as trustworthy

14. Use ‘Proven’ to verify your product as trustworthy
The word ‘proven’ is heavy with meaning. We recognize it as a valuation of the product.
In many ways the word ‘proven’ acts in the same way as a trust symbol, which have been
known to increase landing page conversions by up to 165%. People are far more likely to
act if they know someone else has done so before, and has not lost out.
1
How you can use it:
Get proven results now!
2
The proof’s in the numbers! We broke
100,000 customers in April
3
Proven savings of 20% over 12 months.
Find out how!

15. 5
6
Use ‘Free’ to grab the user’s eye and
encourage a click

16. Use ‘Free’ to grab the user’s eye and encourage a click
One of the most powerful words in advertising (second only to ‘you’ in my opinion),
‘Free’ is the ultimate value proposition. It’s the epitome of getting your money’s worth,
something at the forefront of every consumer’s mind. Offering something for free is why
contest marketing works so fantastically.
1
How you can use it:
Offer free shipping to first-time buyers
2
Do a ‘buy one get one free’ discount and highlight the word ‘Free!’
3
Create a free ebook (but don’t forget to email-gate it for lead-generation!)

17. 7
The Role of Emotion in Advertising
Language

18. The Role of Emotion in Advertising Language
Using language to evoke a feeling is an incredibly effective strategy for advertising, as
people respond far more to their own emotions than they do direction from a corporation.
Think about the effectiveness of charitable advertising, evoking pity in the viewer and
encouraging them to take steps to change what they’re seeing. Or the power of the iconic
Old Spice commercials, using humor to encourage their brand persona and brand
recognition.
1
Examples of Emotion in Advertising:
Coca Cola - Have a Coke smile
2
Calvin Klein – Between love and madness lies obsession
3
Red Cross – The greatest tragedy is indifference
4
Disneyland – The happiest place on earth
5
AT&T - Reach out and touch someone

19. 8
Using Fear to encourage a quick
click

20. Using Fear to encourage a quick click
Using fear is the most often and reliable emotion to use in Facebook Ads. The primary
use of fear in advertising is to encourage people to act now, while they have the
opportunity. People don’t want to miss out on a chance to save money or access
something exclusive or temporary.
1
How you can use it:
Use phrases like ‘don’t miss out’ and ‘act now!’ coupled with the color red to
encourage immediate action
2
‘Spots are going fast!’
3
‘Offer ends midnight tonight!’

21. 9
Brand Names

22. Brand Names
Brand recognition is one of the simplest and most effective forms of advertising.
This article has talked about the connotative value of words - the idea that comes
with a word. The ideas and emotions generated by your brand name are entirely
based on your own business’ reputation and online persona.
Provided you’ve spent time and energy (and read Wishpond’s articles on
increasing brand awareness) your brand name will be as eye-catching as
the word ‘Free’, and have far more connotative meaning.

23. 10
Dollar value

24. Dollar Value
In our consumerist culture we see money and we see the things we could buy with it,
not the note itself. We see new shoes, a college fund, our next holiday, supporting our
family. So of course we’re going to respond emotionally to dollar signs in advertising.
They’re a symbol for a million different and desirable things.
1
How you can use it:
Run a Facebook Sweepstakes contest with a large and apparent dollar
value in the title
2
Talk to your Sales or PR department about the most appealing dollarvalue statistics related to your business
3
Instead of using ‘Get 50% Off,’ test ‘Save $150!’

25. Further Reading
1
The Psychology Behind a Successful Facebook Ad
Part 1: Color
2
The Psychology Behind a Successful Facebook Ad
Part 2: Images
3
How to A/B Test your Facebook Ads to Maximize
ROI
4
7 Value Proposition Formulas to Boost Conversion
on Ads and Landing Pages

26. Thank you for viewing!
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