As entrepreneurs, we all know the importance of digital advertising. Last year, Canadian marketers spent over $8 billion on digital ads, accounting for over half of the total ad market. In other words, the world is online and your brand needs to be, too.
But for most business owners, the question isn’t whether they should be running digital ads. The question is, “How the heck do we make our ads stand out?”
From developing a strong message to designing a click-worthy creative, digital advertising needs to feel relevant, authentic, and inventive enough to make your target customer stop and click.
That’s why we’ve compiled our all-time favourite (and FREE) tools for creative ad inspo. If you feel stuck in your digital advertising strategy, this list is for you.
Facebook and Instagram Ads Inspiration
For 85% of B2C businesses, social media is the most popular tool for content marketing. Why? Because over a quarter of internet users say they find new brands through sponsored social ads.
To make the most of your social media advertising, use these online tools to amp up your Facebook and Instagram ads.
Unicorn Ads
This not-so-sneaky tool lets you browse Instagram and Facebook ads from the top 1,000 Shopify stores.
Simply select your niche to find ads that are related to your market. Users can also vote for their favourites, which helps identify the creatives with the highest approval.
The Social Savannah
Get inspo from the expert. As an ad creative strategist, The Social Savannah regularly pools together some of the most effective video, static, and user-generated content (UGC) ad examples that she has created for her clients.
You can filter by industry and format to explore both static and video ads, most of which use UGC to show the real-life benefits of their product.
(Psst. Want to learn more about UGC? Check out our blog post on visual content marketing.)
Facebook Ads Library
This might be your new favourite thing on the internet.
To remain transparent for both consumers and brands, Facebook has a database of all its ads. You can search a competitor directly or use a relevant keyword. Filter by region, activity, impressions, platform, or reach to get even more insights into how other brands are doing it. You’ll also learn the estimated budget, impression range, and core demographics for each ad.
Facebook Creative Hub Gallery
Thanks again, Facebook. Find inspiration from top brands and agencies on this aggregated hub. The gallery features some of the most creative social media ads across 9 different formats, from 360 videos and instant experiences to plain Jane images.
My Ad Finder Chrome Extension
Hunt and save your favourite Facebook ads automatically with this handy Chrome extension.
After downloading the extension, sponsored posts on your Facebook feed will display a heart button that allows you to save it to a list. You can even hide organic posts completely so that your feed is filled to the brim with sponsored content.
Display Advertising Inspiration
Outside of social media, there’s a whole world of digital advertising to explore. Here are our favourite resources for finding fresh ideas to boost your display advertising.
Criteo Ad Gallery
Criteo – an advertising technology for brands and retailers – has a useful gallery of real ad examples. Tailor your search across 9 unique formats, including mozaic, app install, cube, and slider.
Moat
This powerful search engine pulls display ads from all over the internet. Simply search a brand and Moat will instantly find their latest ad creatives. It also tells you the device, dimensions, and date the ad was active.
Google’s Rich Media Gallery
What exactly is rich media? It’s the use of media forms that are more engaging than just images or words (like video or sound). Fun fact: click-through rates for rich media ads have been proven to outperform standard banner ads by over 250%.
Google’s gallery showcases rich media ads from top brands and agencies. Filter ads by keyword, product, vertical, format, and more while interacting with the creatives just like a consumer would. You can also view which digital marketing agencies were behind each ad.
Ads of the World
This worldwide database features ads from around the globe. It allows you to search by a term, medium, industry, or country. You can even like or comment on ads and share them with your network at the touch of a button.
Swiped
One of our top tools for refining your ad copywriting and marketing. Swiped is a selection of various ad formats that inspire you to think deeper about what customers react to and engage with. It even features A/B test cases to understand which copy or layout performed best for a specific ad.
How to make the most out of these tools
For benchmarking: Analyze what your direct competitors are doing. Ask yourself what’s working, what’s not working, and how you can make your digital advertising even better.
For best practices: Look at how the top players in your industry are advertising. Ask yourself what they’re doing that could make your ads better and which of their ads resonate most with consumers.
For inspiration: Consider what innovative businesses in your market are doing. Ask yourself what you can learn from them and their ad strategy.
Then summarize your key learnings, apply them to your ad creatives, and test out what works best for your brand.
Voila! We hope this list of free tools and resources will motivate you to create stronger ads that truly speak to your target customer.
Have questions about your digital advertising? Contact us anytime or post your question in our Facebook community.
Looking for a digital marketing agency to help you take control of your ad strategy? Our online advertising services will give your ads the boost they need.