#bonus points and cookies to anyone who uses the comments to explain why

[redhead-reporter]

º ✧ 。important question for the dash (ty @bruz3r for the inspo ily) -

[gloryofluv]

Reaction to You hiding under a table... (All the boys)

Hiding under a table. Reactions and laughs abound! All the brothers and the dateables.

Lucifer-

He walked into the room and saw you ducking under the table with the cloth hiding most of you. He lifts the cloth to reveal that you’re not shivering with fear at the sight of him. Obviously, you’re not just hiding like Mammon has done. Nope, you had a book and were under a… table???

Cue questionable scowl. WTF is this human doing now?

It only is more confusing for him when you glance up to see him, wave, and smile before returning to your book.

Does he even want to know? Actually, he does. However, should he spend the time to ask?

He does. He’s a sucker for you. Your response is simple. You wanted to read in peace, and (almost) no one would see you here.

He inwardly groans and tells you to go hide in his room next time.

No, he wouldn’t mind seeing you reading in there when he gets home. In fact, go ahead, make that your primary space to hide. Coming home to you would be exactly what he dreamt about.

Bonus points if you laugh and agree. Melted firstborn, anyone?

“If you insist on hiding from my brothers for some peace, you may do so in my room. I won’t be perturbed as long as you don’t tell them.”

Mammon-

Walks into the dining room to try and find something to sell for some quick coin. Scowls at the sight of your shoes sticking out from under the table.

Most definitely will crouch and stick his face in your space. This boi is perplexed at you huddled under the table with your phone.

Huh? Is this a human thing?

You smile and ask if he wants to come to sit with you.

Mammon will snort and toss an insult or bravado of some sort but still be really confused at your new place to sit.

Hiding from Asmo because he wants to dye your hair? Well, that makes a little more sense. However, he still doesn’t get it. You have a bedroom.

You pat the ground again, and he grumbles but agrees. Sitting with him, you start playing the funny Deviltube videos of demons getting scared by human items. You and he are laughing at the idiots together.

He soon wraps his arm around you as you’re cozy in the dim light. Forgetting about his task, he asks if you want to come back to his room. Ya know, to watch videos there???

If you agree, he’ll drag you off. It wasn’t the first time he was hiding under a table, but it would be your last.

“Now, human, that happens again, and ya just come to my room. I’m supposed to be watchin’ ya.”

Levi-

He was walking up to the bathroom. Usually, his nose was stuck to his D.D.D, but he caught sight of you. You were napping under a table?! What?

He thought about leaving you there. Belphie usually falls asleep in the weirdest places. However, why??? Why were you under a table? In the hallway???

Bending down, he touches your shoulder, and you wake up. He asks what you’re doing sleeping under a table like a normie?

You tell him that you were waiting for the bathroom to take a bath, but Mammon was taking forever. You got caught up reading a manga and fell asleep under the table.

Cue heart eyes and blushes! He stammers about going to use the bathroom. When he comes out, you were still under there reading.

Immediately he was a jumbling mess. Asks you if you would read it in his room instead of under a table.

If you agree, expect blushy boi to timidly ask what it's about. If you explain the plot to him, he will definitely show you similar types from his own collection!

He will likely keep you captive all night because the thought of you under a table with a manga stole his otaku heart out of his chest.

“If you d-don’t mind spending time with a disgusting otaku. You could come read it with me. I have more if you like. P-please?”

Satan-

Inquisitive and actually perceptive about his surroundings, he wanders into the library to immediately see you under the table in there. You pulled a chair over to block the view of anyone who would be just glancing in the room.

He ignores you, for the time being, grabbing the book he had an interest in reviewing. Instead of leaving, he picks that chair to sit in.

Minutes go by as he enjoys the subtle sound of your breathing and the beautiful announcement of the pages being turned when he thumbs them.

Is he curious why you’re hiding under a table? Absolutely. Will he ask? Well, he was debating on how long he’d let you believe you’re actually hidden.

Instead of asking flat out, he turns and slams the book on the tabletop, causing you to jump and bump your head. He’ll ask you why you’ve been hiding under a table at that point.

Lucifer.

Enough said. He offers a better solution to your issue. He invites you to his room, where you can seclude yourself from his fury until the firstborn is busy with other tasks.

If you agree, he’ll smirk and feel smug as hell. Lucifer will ask and ask where the human went, and he won’t say a word.

“Honestly, there are far better ways to disappear than under a table. Come to my room, and I’ll shield you from the chaos.”

Asmo-

Glorious clothes. Fabulous makeup! Asmo just returned from his shopping trip and was on a high. He walks into the sitting room to see you lying under the table.

What?

Flat out asks you what you’re doing under the table. Oh, you’re glancing at all the cute outfits in the latest Devildom fashion??? He would climb on the floor and join you if it wasn’t dirty.

Comments on the dirt.

You say that you’re waiting for Mammon, and he never looks lower than the sofa. You wanted to scare him for him stealing your hairbrush. True. Very true. A great place to jump out and scare him.

However, just not working for Asmo. Nope. Insists that you end your ploy to scare Mammon and help him go through his new things.

He promises to help you get back at Mammon with a better, less dirty plan.

If you agree, he will be skipping all the way up to his room. He’ll have you all to himself, and you both can do a fashion montage!!!

“Honey, he’s an idiot, but this is no way to treat your poor skin. Let’s go through all my new clothes and plan something far more deserving!”

Beel-

Baby boy just got done with his workout and was going to walk into the kitchen to make a snack. Walks by the dining room to see your knees under the table.

What?

He stops and scowls. This is a new behavior. Beel goes into the room and ducks down to see you huddled under the table… eating Simeon’s cookies?!

You give him a simper and offer the bag saying he can have one. Beel accepts and then asks why you’re under the table.

Hiding from the others because you didn’t want them to know Simeon made them just for you?

He's a little hurt that Simeon wouldn’t make him any, but happy that you shared. You ask him if he wants a few more because you only had a handful left.

He sits down and eats the offering with a smile. After you both have finished the cookies, he asks if you want to come with him to make a snack.

If you agree, this teddy bear is glowing. He’ll make everything you want, and you just need to sit on the counter and tell him about your day.

“If you want, since you shared, I could make your favorite snack. I love sharing my food with you too.”

Belphie-

Tired. Grumbly. Tired. He walks into the sitting room to see you stationed under the side table.

Um? What? He scowls and smacks his pillow at you reading a book before slumping on the sofa.

His version of asking you what’s wrong??? Well, it worked.

You tell him that Lucifer was looking for you to do a chore and figured you could plead ignorance if he didn’t find you sitting under a table.

Mammon never gets away with anything like that, and Belphie tells you so.

You curl smaller and laugh. See, he can’t find something this tiny, right?

Thump. Thump. Thump. Yes, his heart is just beating for how cute you could be. Tells you how ridiculously stupid that is instead.

You unbunch your legs and sigh. Well, he sucks at times… So, instead of apologizing, he offers to take you up to the attic and hide you in the blankets if Lucifer comes knocking.

If you agree, he walks with you all the way up, and when you snuggle on the bed together, he apologizes for being grumpy.

Turns into a melty soft boy when you run your hands through his hair and say you didn’t even notice with a smile.

“Well, if you want a plan that actually will work. You can come with me to the attic. I’ll hide you in the blankets, and we can nap.”

Solomon-

Walks into the library at RAD with one goal in mind. There was a book on energy manipulation he wanted to read. However, the goal is postponed.

Sees you under the table, and now, he’s completely intrigued. You had your book in hand. You even looked to be in perfect health. Hmm… odd.

Approaches you, and you glance up. No words. Not even a plea for help. Still odd.

He finally asks you why you’ve chosen this space to sit instead of a useful chair. You reply that there was a demon giving you dirty looks. So you ducked under a table, and the demon walked away in confusion.

He finds it fascinating that something this odd would work. Now is intrigued if that’s all demons or just you doing it.

Climbs under the table with you and asks what you’re reading. Makes no effort to remove you from under the table nor ask you to sit in the chair.

Both of you read under the table and watch as demons glance at you with pure befuddlement. Cue laughter and enjoyment. He would have never thought he’d walk into a rare social experiment with demons that day.

“You know, that poses an interesting question. Do demons insist on the same social norms as humans? Care to perform this experiment with me?”

Simeon-

Walks into the House of Lamentation to have tea with Lucifer. However, he is quite amused at the sight of seeing you trying to tuck as far under the side table near the hallway.

He walks over and ducks down, lifting the cloth, asking, what are you doing?

You rush out in a whisper that Levi is angry with you because you beat him at a game. You don’t want him to send Lotan on you!

He nods and hears footsteps on the staircase, so he stands in front of you. Levi comes storming down the staircase and asks if he’s seen you. Simeon spills a few lines from TSL. Levi is blushing and waves him off before stomping by.

He checks the hallway before bending down and whispering that you can come with him back to Purgatory Hall. He’ll explain what happened to Lucifer so he can calm Levi down.

If you agree, he doesn’t waste time to skirt you out the door and away from danger. What a freaking angel??? Well, maybe it’s a little selfish. He gets to keep you safe, after all.

“If you would like, you can come with me and have some tea to calm your nerves. You look shaken, and I do hate to see you out of sorts.”

Luke-

Skips into the sitting room at Purgatory Hall and immediately scowls. What are you doing under the table???

Walks over, and you press a finger over your mouth. You thought you saw a bat. A flappy bat in the sitting room! They see with sound.

What??? Is it a blood-sucking bat??? Does it eat humans? Are things like that really in the Devildom?

Climbs under the table with you and looks around with a hint of anxiety on his face. It doesn’t help that his clothing tickled your arm, and you jumped and screamed.

Insists that you both run into the kitchen to tell Simeon! He’ll know what to do!

If you agree, both of you are bolting into the kitchen to describe an exaggerated version of the event. Your fear was enough to scare this wee angel. You weren’t scared of demons, but were of a bat??? This had to be a very evil bat!

“If we run as fast as we can, it won’t find us right away! Simeon will be able to help!”

Barbatos-

He was well aware of lunacy thanks to his very creative prince. There were things he just expected to weave sideways from the norm. However, you under a table in the hallway of the Demon Lord’s Castle wasn’t one he foresaw.

Should he bother to ask? Yes, he best do so. Bends and questions your oddity.

You explain that one of the Little D’s was yelling at you for walking on their clean floors. It called you a stupid, ignorant human. You wiped your face, and he noted the blotchy color of your cheeks. Well, someone was going to have an unfortunate accident later…

He asks if you would like to come with him to the kitchen. You could have some tea while he prepares dinner.

If you agree (let’s face it, no one tells Barbatos no), he will assist you in climbing from under the table. He will pull out a handkerchief and wipe the tears from your cheek and escort you to the kitchen.

You may not have seen it, but it did bother him immensely that you were cowering under a table. He would fix that and have you smiling in no time.

“I’m apologetic that someone was rude to you. Let me make it up to you with some tea and cookies. We will cure this bad experience with a better one.”

Diavolo-

He was enjoying the party thus far but was in need of a moment, just a brief moment alone. Walking into the dark sitting room, he turns on the lights to see you under a table. Your formal attire was pooling around you.

He walks over and ducks down to see the shock on your face and D.D.D in your hand. Asking what you’re doing in here, he smiles.

You answer with taking a break from the party. Though it’s beautiful and jovial, you were tired of dancing with so many demons.

He agrees and asks if you don’t mind the company. Actually, while he’s asking, he found a way to duck his torso under the table with you. (Big boi could actually break furniture and you if he wasn’t careful)

You show him the cute animal videos off Deviltube, and both of you begin to laugh. One video leads to six leads to twelve. It didn’t matter. It was so nice to just spend time with you.

He asks you if you want to have another table date again. He actually would sit under any piece of furniture as long as you said yes.

“I’m so glad to see you! I was actually exhausted from all the dancing myself. Care if I join you in watching whatever was amusing you?”

[tammyhybrid21]

Tadeo and Internalized Ableism

Well… this…

Wasn't actually the next post I planned to make next for this fandom, but well, since Tumblr deleted an old post of mine, right when I decided I was going to scream and share that OC again… Well, it lead into a discussion that I had sort of-- half started and stopped a few times, and now here I am… And… this will be a lot, sooo--

"What is with You?"

Let's see if I can shed some light on this.

So first… to catch up the uninitiated… I have, by this point cemented my belief that Tadeo is quite likely Autistic himself(Read that post here). So now alongside the rather more obvious Autism that Mummy displays we have Tadeo-- Tadeo, who has one character trait/flaw that keeps coming up and that I would personally like to dissect along with some extra reflection on some of his actions in the sequel and the hints given to us in the little animated/stylized growing up sequence for Tadeo…

So to start…

What's the trait/flaw…

Well, it's even looking to be the BIG ONE for the next Movie. Tadeo seeks the validation and respect of his peers, but always falls short.

Tad would love for his archaeologist colleagues to accept him as one of their own, but he always messes everything up.

Or else turns them against him... Which... Okay, this is something that we've actually seen as a rule for him, from the opening credits of Movie 1. And even from his Construction Worker peers... Although we didn't really see it so much in movie 2, buuut--

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOqolHchI6Y&t=6s

Let's start this analysis off properly with this, and the symbolism re: Maladaptive Daydreaming in this whole little introductory to Tadeo sequence here from the first movie.

Which okay, look, I know it might not seem like much. But in the greater context, well. There's actually a lot of information that we can unpack in this short introduction, and points one and two I would like to make are the ones with Young Tadeo in the school "classroom". Because here's the thing...

That-- That's a familiar place. And it's an unfortunate thing, but-- Just how it's framed here--

I... can't really say anything 100% on this... but this feels much too close to daydreaming away Public humiliation. Like, look, okay-- it's all too common, but public shaming for one reason or another. Being too dumb/distracted, or if you're stimming in class-- and I have... many feelings about Tadeo and potentially supressing his stims-- but these scenes in this opening hit really close to how it feels--

And again, maladaptive daydreaming in general is this WHOLE sequence.

Soooo why does this matter in the context of this discussion? Well, let's ask why, this all would be happening. And the answer is going to be very simple. The same reason at the start of movie 1, one of the first scenes we see is a pair of boys teasing/mocking Tadeo in his front garden dig site.

"You'll never find anything"

"Loser"

Which-- isn't much, but for the context of the scene. This is our introduction-- and even in the sequel, we know he's still teased over his interest in Archaeology-- it's seen as a "loser hobby". Which I think also brings me to the next point of the moments in the opening...

JEFF! Give him a puppy since nobody wanted to be the weird kid's friend. It's not even a proper balm really. And possibly might have incidentally caused some other issues, but I don't think I could really explain or give those things justice... So instead... I'm just going to finish this section with a point of note.

How many times must Tadeo have gotten punished for being "distracted" or "not paying attention" in the classroom. How many times would he have been punished for stimming?! I really do wonder, and if anything else, how many classes must he have daydreamed away to escape from the stress and pressure of reality? Hell, we still see him as an adult stress daydreaming--

With the consequences of getting fired...

Which okay, none of this actually makes my point. So-- I want to draw attention to the behaviour in the sequel that really annoyed me, along with a friend who I watched both movies with. It's just the behaviour that's there throughout the whole movie-- best summed up as... not appreciating company... BUT

On that actually--

I would like to bring up one expression early on that gives me MANY EMOTIONS.

And it's the one up above, as the preview image to this post. Specifically this face:

Now... I don't know about you, or anyone else. But THAT'S a thousand yard stare if I have ever seen one. But additionally. I have, a much, much too in depth reading on this expression. Like, so far in depth it's not even funny.

There's a sense of fear, long stare, the small twitch in the frown as if guilt-- and then because it's literally on the heels of "stop drawing attention" (the first occurrence of that line as well)... And just-- you get flashback sense. Also I would like to comment on the movement in this scene, in how his hands are on the wheel the small twitches and quirk in his expression... it's as if--

As if...

Well. Look, considering the precursor scene. And listen. WE ALL want to do what Mummy done in that prior scene!

Same Mummy! SAME!

But-- I would like to talk about sequencing and the emotions in when and how Tadeo drags him in... there's a moment I really can't quite catch properly... between it, but--

This frown... this thinky frown... and the line draw-- Tadeo? Is that guilt mulling over a decision? And there is a double glance, but that's not something I can catch in screenshots, and I don't know how to make Gifs... but the following sequence and expressions and I just can't with my emotions and what kind of feeling Tadeo gives me here.

It just...

I really want to know what he's thinking.

So... let's talk about this expression. I don't know if it's just me, but again, there is... a sense of-- well almost upset for being a "kill joy". Bursting Mummy's bubble... Popping his fun. And considering we have ALL been there and wanted to stick our heads out the window--

BUT--

Why is this a detail I would like to bring up... well it comes into how Tadeo explains things. Mummy scares people, he's different, a Zombie in their world... which yeah, that's fair... BUT! After so many rewatches... and remembering that promise... promise sealed with such an important object to Tadeo--

I just have a lot of thoughts... and I don't think it's really easy to explain, but I would like to draw back to a background detail in the sequel again...

In relation...

And... as an Aside. Specifically... the promise made... or what Mummy asked in Movie 1.

"If I let you go, could you guarantee me you'll let us live in peace?"

Also, I know this seems arbitrarily related... But I do wonder if some of Tadeo's pushing Mummy aside, stop drawing attention, you need better disguises... I do wonder, really wonder if it's actually because of this promise... misguided and maladapted maybe buuut-- it would make some sense in the context of how there is always something in the background of those moments that Tadeo is just worrying about.

BUT

That's only speculation, and not even one that holds up in relation to some of the worst offence moments of Tadeo's problematic behaviour...

And thus... let us enter into the realm of problem projecting... and with some bonus from Tiffany and how she makes this dynamic juuust that touch more clear on rewatches along with my own talk about this particular topic.

As a minor note, this scene actually doesn’t have much. But I kind of get... more specifically this grumpy dad/parental friend from Tad's expression. And considering. "I told you to wait in the car!" BUT ALSO, I just want to note how Sara is less worried in this scene. More if this is happening-- Tad's worry, again could be the promise...

But more specifically... There's a lot in Mummy's body language and appearance aside what he is-- the truth of his origin aside... he does not fit in... and it's specifically the outfit, breaking the "rule" that Tadeo worries about... drawing attention and eyes... and considering the next image set I want to talk about... I have emotions, but it's very messy, and kind of scrambled.

I have... a number of statements I could make on this one... but number one, exactly what the dialogue here actually is... And where that worry is coming from. Tadeo... isn't actually scared of Tiffany here realizing what Mummy is... I think that cat's long out the bag... but there's something else.

"Your friend is a bit weird"

"You have no idea"

Sooo... there's a lot of scenes here... and a few more, but I really, really want to talk about something. For a lot of this... Tadeo is really the only one who has an expression of worry, or fear, or anything that's similar. Tadeo's the one worried.

Mummy is bopping out, I can't really get a good shot of the dress, but again, Mummy... isn't really bothered or anything. Tiffany is also the only one who really has a weirded out reaction... but that actually strengthens the point I'm going to make about what this feels like more than anything else... And I suppose we can touch base on the queer aspect on that note but really--

For a lot of this stuff...

Tadeo's issue is drawing attention. But for the other part of it... I want to point to Tiffany's reaction and even much later... how the villain identifies him.

Also Tadeo's reaction in the last one is... arguably the worst of all his reactions. Like, I have-- many emotions on a lot of his reactions but just-- Tadeo is not in a good place right now...

"Are you serious WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Which... hmmm, now, where have I heard that before? Where have any of us heard that one before? In fact-- Tadeo... his reaction to ALL of this is telling.

Like... aside the Tiffany thing... which also her whole "It's official, your friend is a total FREAK" has some baggage... does anyone else look at all these scenes and get that...

"I'm THIS close to a panic attack" feeling? Also, on that note, I would like to point out there's just... so, so much worry from Tadeo when it comes to the Super Cookie scene, again not something I can really capture in just screenshots. BUT--

BUT--

This brings me to the big point. Mummy by this point is basically masking/mimicking Tad to fit in. Since Tadeo has shot down, all of his disguises... and-- Tadeo's response, has always been that fear. But here, there's an outright anxiety. Which again this could be covered/passed as him being-- well, anxious over his promise. But there's also MASSIVE ANXIETY with the Super Cookie scene, more than I can really capture without the animation... but...

Let's talk about projecting issues.

And specifically.

"A total FREAK"

Now... here's the thing. Again. Mummy throughout the WHOLE movie has been, pretty much dropping the mask. He's going wild and having fun being himself and happy... but-- for that he's pretty much been shut down at every turn... MOSTLY by Tadeo pre-emptively... but... I want to point out something...

This is... Such a small interaction... but it is SUPER telling.

Tiffany is... an issue. Because here's the thing. Part of her reaction, might actually be bleed through from how Tadeo's been in this WHOLE situation. Which, again there is a lot for me to unpack and talk about... But my biggest lynchpin and realization moment... for what's going on... is that scene with Mummy dressing up and mimicking Tadeo...

And more or less picking on Tad's insecurities.

WHICH-- underhanded, BUT IT POINTS OUT A RECONTEXUALIZATION POINT.

Because here's the thing... Tadeo... Stifles those things.

"I would never! I'M NOTHING LIKE THAT!"

And then the sheer panic with Jeff, and the super cookie, and what if?

Let's go back to this for a moment:

Now... for a moment... imagine... a kid...

No friends. Just a dog. Jeff is... Tadeo's security blanket, and possibly one of his only friends. People only seem to tolerate Tad at best. He's still bullied and teased and mocked and--

And--

And can never do things right. A screw up. So he stifles his stims... like seriously. Go watch when he does his happy dance, and see how long it lasts-- and then see this:

And there are moments from the first movie as well, buuut-- He IMMEDIATELY stifles it when he catches himself... and I know something about stifling stims... sooo how is the relevant... well... I would like to propose that fear anxiety/overprojection idea.

Tadeo is scared... Scared not even necessarily of Mummy's identity being out... but of how people will react... AND Let's talk of something else...

Considering what's been revealed about a certain Descubre con Tadeo scene... Mummy knows... and he's aware... and that's internalized... but... There's a BIGGER issue with Tadeo... He's... not just embarrassed by his own stims and actions and his own "oddness"

But that's bleeding over to what looks like projected embarrassment and shame and a deep, deep fear, in regards to how he interacts and works with Mummy. And I know this is big brain and heavy... but Mummy's side of things...

Small and subtle. "Weirdo like me!"

Tadeo, has gone to trying to be normal, and while Mummy feels it, he owns it.

Which... brings me to the end of this whole thing. But not fully, because there is... a small thing more. For all Tadeo has been a DISASTER throughout the whole thing. Overprojected worry that just reeks of that second hand embarrassment projection... Tadeo proves he cares in a small moment that I don't think people would think too much about...

Not in front of a crowd, and he still needs a smack...

LIKE A SERIOUS ONE.

Like, look, for all Tadeo has been a disaster projecting issues friend... he does care, and this moment subtly reminds that. ALONG with that it IS projected worries and issues. And... Internalized ableism that makes him embarrassed. Of himself, and more, of how free Mummy is acting with his own neurodivergent behaviours. Tadeo is... a mess.

And...

Now I need to circle back for a moment.

Because here's the thing. Tadeo might not be doing this, mostly because I don't think he's a writer, but the point of call that made this post... was me getting excited about sharing an OC...

Specifically...

My smurfs OC... one who I made a post on back in 2017, that has now been deleted... and I will not be reposting it... but if you want the details... I turned it into a doc for sharing... But... the biggest thing is... the logic behind making this character, and giving them the name they have had up until recently was... Internalized Ableism and trying to deal with bullying... Also not everything in that document is even accurate anymore...

But hey, kudos to me in 2017 for trying to explain it.

But...

"Call a self-insert [Insult] because it made the word hurt a little less(it's only the truth right?)"

This is Mummy's approach... while Tadeo... tries to be normal, normal, and shun it to the point he hurts himself. And... inadvertently hurts others around him as well...

I will probably make a few smaller clarification posts later, since this is practically 2700 words and I feel like I've only barely explained it, but really, how can you even explain this properly? It's just one of those nuances...

But yeah... internalized ableism and the beast it is making relationships and talk hard... even between two neurodivergent icons of characters.

[nemossubmarine]

Warhammer 40k: Wrath & Glory RP #45

Even though it’s late, pretty soon after Vivek and Saef have left, Gimlet makes his way to the AdMech ship docked in the hangar of Santa Maria. Donning his Inquisition badge, he asks to see the tech priest, and is granted an audience. Gimlet requests to be handed over the belongings of the servitor. The tech-priest is difficult as always, he points out that several of the belongings are standard AdMech gear, so there’s no point in handing those over. What does Gimlet want to with stuff like clothes anyway? Gimlet says he wants to see how the servitor would react, and this seems to cause some leering from Z47r, who points out that servitors don’t react. Gimlet shrugs. In the end, most of the stuff has been either discarded or recycled, so Gimlet manages to get some of Vivek’s clothes, a bunny he looted from Wes’ corpse (back in Elysium campaign) and his phone (in pieces).

Gorm meanwhile has returned to his room where he finds Uffe looking somewhat distraught. Uffe asks for Gorm’s council, and recounts that his and Vivek’s conversation didn’t go too well. Indeed, Uffe is quite certain after meeting Vivek’s brother that he had heard Vivek talking on the phone with him before, back when Uffe had that little wolfing out incident. Uffe confronted Vivek about it, and Vivek categorically denied it but Uffe knows he is lying to him, so the talk devolved into a row. Gorm thinks this makes very little sense, as this doesn’t add up with Vivek’s past behavior. He suggests getting Vivek into the room, and see if they can figure this out for themselves. Uffe agrees, though reluctantly. (at some point the two talk about what’s going to happen after, and Uffe kind of implies he has thought he isn’t going to make it through the hunt alive).

Gorm goes to Saef’s room to get Vivek. Saef opens the door (expecting a pizza) and says he’s not sure if Vivek is up for talking, but he’ll ask. Vivek comes to the door, clearly having just finished crying, but says he’s ok with figuring this out. Gorm comments that the talk with Gimlet seemed to have gone well, and Vivek tells Gorm about them having asked about purging Triplex Phall. They get back to Gorm’s room, where Vivek sits down opposite Uffe. Gorm asks him about the situation and Vivek reiterates that he has no idea about any phone call. Vivek asks if he has at any point done anything that would harm Uffe at all, and Gorm has to concede that he has not. Uffe gets a bit angry (for the reason that he is quite scared), asking if Gorm thinks he is lying. Gorm reprimands him for his behavior and asks him not to snap at other people. Uffe points out that he knows Vivek is lying and Vivek gives Gorm a desperate side glance (because he is lying about Uffe wounding him). Gorm says that the only way to get to the bottom of this is to look through Vivek’s phone records, so he’ll have to pop by the tech priest to see if he can get his hands on it. Vivek and Uffe should go to eat pizza at Saef’s place. Vivek says they’ll be there, but he has one more thing to say to Uffe. What that is, no one will know. 

Gorm runs into Gimlet right outside the AdMech ship and asks what he’s up to. Upon learning that Gimlet has Vivek’s phone, Gorm takes him aside and explains the situation. Gimlet absolutely refuses to look into Vivek’s phone information, so he hands the bits to Gorm, who points out he doesn’t have the technical know-how to get information out of bits of phone. So they go ask Vivek if it’s okay, and Vivek says sure. So they go do that and Gimlet pulls out all the information he can from the phone, but no phone call has been made. 

Before returning to the others, Gorm and Gimlet (mostly Gorm) decide it’s time to turn this depressing pizza party into an actual party, and they go to the bar to order some drinks and then to the tax free to get some party paraphernalia (and strippers (apparently Paul the Tax-Free guy is a part-time stripper)), including party hats, glasses, a boombox with some space Kesha music. On this party’s invitation list are Tabasco and Cayenne, all the Sable Swords (Carl and Stuart show up), Molly the engineer,  and Jennifer (some of the Sable Swords watch over Laurel). So with this party bus in tow, they return to Saef’s room. Gorm lets Uffe know the results, and then shushes his “I don’t understand”s with a tankard of mead.

Party time means party games, so a game of “Never have I ever” is called upon. Saef asks about people having their memories tampered with and then grimaces (the Space Marines, Vivek, Gimlet and Theo drink). Here’s some interesting things that are called “crushes on doctors” (Gimlet, Tabasco, Molly and Gorm drink), “crushes on Space Marines” (Gimlet, Tabasco, Vivek drink), “whether one regrets joining their current faction” (Theo, Saef, Vivek and Gimlet drink), “whether one has had night training” (what’s night training? -Stuart, “ask Gimlet” - Gorm (it’s sex)) (Molly, Jennifer, Tabasco, Cayenne, Vivek and Saef drink), “whether one has overheard night training” (Molly, Saef, Vivek and Carl (apparently he was sleeping in a tent next door to some Imperial Guard) drink). Uffe asks “never have I ever made a bet of how many cookies I can stuff in my mouth and lost”, which makes Vivek complain that that was told in confidence. Vivek drinks, as does Saef, and Vivek gives Saef a hug for it.

After “Never have I ever” Gimlet suggests some truth of dare. First up Gimlet dares Carl to call the person he admires the most. Carl says that person is dead and Gorm calls for a toast to Revan. Gimlet clarifies that a person who is alive will have to do, so Carl calls Gorm and explains (somewhat drunkenly) that he really thinks Gorm has been exemplary in his behavior considering the situation he has wound up in. The thing goes around, and here’s some of the things I remember: Stuart asks Vivek about how many cookies it was anyway. Apparently 5½. Vivek asks Gorm if Space Marines truly can’t have relationships outside their squads, and Gorm says that obviously there’s differences, but he personally thinks there’s nothing wrong with having a special relationship with someone.

Saef dares Uffe to kiss the person he would like to kiss the most. Uffe wants clarification, so Saef clarifies he can’t kiss his brother, and he should probably use tongue, which he then downgrades to whatever Uffe is comfortable with when Gorm points out that that’s not nice (especially if someone hasn’t kissed anyone before). Uffe turns to Vivek and lets him know he can back out of it, and Vivek just says that it’s okay, so Uffe touches foreheads with Vivek and brushes their noses together.

Gorm dares Tabasco to go sit next to the person he likes the most in the room, so Tabasco goes to sit between Gorm and Gimlet. Tabasco asks if Saef has his vaccines in order, which he does not (Tabasco will give them to him in the morning). Later Saef asks if Gimlet is in a relationship and Gimlet says yes (which is apparently new information to Cayenne). Gimlet dares Uffe to take a sexy pic of himself and send it to his crush. Uffe says his phone doesn’t take pictures, so Gorm says he can help and they go to the bathroom, where Uffe admits he has little idea what sexy entails. Gorm suggests he take off his chestplate and blow a kiss to the camera, which Uffe is very uncomfortable with, so he ends up just flexing for the camera. Gorm asks who to send it to, and then just sends it to Vivek. Uffe asks Gorm about an incident with Ivar and some alleged “ork kill-stealing” (totally happened, because Ivar is just too slow).

Gorm calls for a bonus round of questions everyone has to answer. First question is only slightly heretical, namely which chaos god would everyone follow if they really had to? Tabasco says that he’d follow Nurgle, for his life-giving abilities, Theo says same. Molly goes with Slaneesh for obvious reasons. Jennifer goes with Khorne. Cayenne says Tzeentch. Stuart says he’d have to go with Slaneesh because Noise Marines are pretty cool. Carl and Uffe both go Khorne. Vivek says Tzeentch, Saef Slaneesh (and Stuart dubs himself, Molly and Saef the Slaneesh team). Gimlet says Tzeentch and Gorm goes with Khorne as well.

Gimlet also has a bonus question, namely what people had seen they’d like to forget. It starts off as depressing as one might say with Theo saying he’d like to forget the image of his gang leader being decapitated. Molly goes noticeably less dark and mentions having walked in on her parents doing some night training once. Jennifer says she wishes to forget the faces of her kids when she had to tell them about their father’s death (Gorm cries a bit). Tabasco and Cayenne both mention family members taken by the Tyranids. Stuart says half eaten child. Carl gets teary telling about corpses of a family they found in a collapsed building, and Gorm goes to hug him. Uffe says he wishes to forget what his brother Harald had become. Vivek tells a story about being 14 at the factory and having one of his brother’s friend getting caught in the machines of the factory (apparently it took few days to get all the bits out). Saef’s thing he wishes to erase is finding the bodies of his gang, Gimlet’s is obviously Limestow. Gorm says he wishes he didn’t go last, because he doesn’t have such a depressing answer, namely Uffe’s former haircut, even before the topknot, which was apparently just the worst.

Suddenly there’s a knock on the door and it’s the police! Stuart scrambles to hide the booze while Molly goes to open the door. It’s the strippers and they’re here to arrest everyone for partying too much and being just too damn sexy. Molly has bunch of bills and no one is sure why she had them prepared and Saef dives for his wallet as well. 

Gimlet and Tabasco slip off at some point to go somewhere more private (namely the bar, though apparently one of the strippers was the barkeep so it is truly empty). Gorm was planning on getting the Space Marines of the group together but he notices that at some point Uffe and Vivek have disappeared as well (presumably together), so he asks Carl if they could go talk somewhere and they return to the Sable Swords ship. Saef drunk-texts Demir, lets the party continue and at some point just goes to bed, while in the background Sable Sword Stuart is doing a keg-stand.

Gorm and Carl go to the Sable Sword ship’s medbay to have a little conversation. Gorm lets Carl know that he would like to visit him on Obsidia and he would like Carl to visit Fenris, and Carl seems pleased to have such a relationship. He has one last gift for Gorm, but is a bit hesitant to give it, saying that he totally understands if Gorm can’t accept it. The gift is a device, known among the Space Wolves as Claw of Morkai, made to extract the progenial glands of the Space Marines. Carl says that Gorm’s talk of possibly doing a mistake with Snorri made him think, that perhaps there will be losses in the coming hunt as well, but with this Gorm could at least bring his brothers home in one form or another. Obviously the procedure is a difficult one, and there’s no guarantee that Gorm would be able to perform it, but trying wouldn’t hurt. Gorm says he can see why Carl was hesitant to give something so valuable and important. He’ll have to ask what Fenris thinks of the gift, but for now he takes it gladly. Carl shows Gorm how the device works. 

They talk a little bit more about Gorm’s future. Gorm explains how he feels it might be difficult for him to return to the normal in Fenris straight away, and though he’d love to fight alongside Carl and his Sable Swords, it would be difficult to arrange, and he would be an outsider. There is a place however where Astartes may work together, namely the Deathwatch. Carl comments that that would mean Gorm having to work under Inquisition, which the Wolves are famously not fans of. Gorm says it’s the Ordo Hereticus they mostly have problems with. Besides this would be a chance to perhaps keep an eye out on the career of an Inquisitive friend, namely Gimlet. And, perhaps there would be a chance for Gorm and Carl to work together as well? Carl says he hopes Gorm isn’t planning on joining the Deathwatch for those reasons, and Gorm says of course not, he genuinely thinks Deathwatch might be a good suit for him, and those two would just be bonuses. Carl says it is not uncommon for Sable Swords to serve in Deathwatch, what with their acumen for fighting Tyranids. Revan in fact served for a mission, so Carl obviously would follow his former leader’s footstep if asked, and working with Gorm would obviously nice. Carl isn’t quite sure what will happen to his squad after they return to Obsidia. Perhaps if the Emperor wills it, Gorm’s and Carl’s paths will go alongside for a while. They talk about leaders, and how Revan’s influence is still very much with Carl, and perhaps some of Rolf’s is still with Gorm even though he wasn’t working under him for quite so long. Gorm says he used to think Rolf was a great leader, and Carl thinks perhaps he still was, chaos makes mockery of all the intentions of mice and men after all. One isn’t born a great leader, one grows into it, and Rolf never quite had the chance to grow. Somehow the talk turns to Stuart dancing the night away at the party, and Gorm suggests perhaps Astartes might be better off dancing a bit more. So the two have a little dance (while Gorm sings sagas of Ragnar Blackmane as accompaniment). Gorm stays and sleeps in the Sable Swords’ ship.

In the night Saef has a dream where he meets up with Ahram, his Ahram, sitting on a rock looking at the vast expanse of space. Saef sits down opposite him and Ahram greets him. Saef asks why he was sent away from the gang. Ahram apparently knew that Kane Bullard was after potential psykers and had figured Saef as one (because Ahram looked like a man who worked for Bullard, he got some stuff figured out), so he asumed sending Saef away might save both him and the gang. Nope. Ahram notes that he is technically younger than Saef, so his mistake may be forgiven, hopefully. Saef doesn’t seem to hold any grudge, he just wanted to know. Ahram is sorry for the situation Saef is in, but at least he made it, and Saef says he often wished he didn’t make it. But now he’s got this life and time to figure out what to do with it. They reminiscence the night away. (also talk about Rat, but we forgot, so will be added later) Saef wakes up to find Sable Sword Stuart passed out on the floor, so he throws a blanket on him.

In the morning Gorm calls Sveleighr on Fenris. He explains the gift he got from Carl and asks what he should do about it. Sveleighr says that indeed it looks like Gorm has quite taken a mantle of the Wolf Priest already, so that would be the next logical step it seems. Sveleighr says he’s gotten multiple reports on Gorm’s conduct, both in terms of spiritual guidance and medical acumen. Gorm says that he has indeed been trying to get better at those both. He still isn’t sure why the necklace was given to him, other than Fenris thinking he was not strong-willed enough. Sveleighr asks what if Gorm takes the Claw of Morkai and uses it and fails, either with the medical procedure or with recognizing that the seed is far too corrupt to be returned. There is after all a difference between a mistake and a failure. Gorm says the medical procedure not working he could live with, but taking corrupt gene-seed would be a great failure indeed. Sveleighr says that he believes this last hunt will challenge Gorm’s both medical and spiritual skills, and it is indeed time for him to walk the walk of the Wolf Priest, and he instructs Gorm to paint his armors black. Gorm thanks Sveleighr and disappears off to do just that.

In the morning Saef goes to visit Konstantine who is just about to leave. Konstantine congratulates him on passing the test and asks Saef how it was, and Saef admits he thought it would be harder. Konstantine asks what Saef would like to do now he’s Imperial Guard, and Saef says he’d hope eventually to end up as a teacher, he just rather not join Inquisition for it. Konstantine is sure Saef can make it. Konstantine also wanted to discuss Rat with Saef, namely that if Saef doesn’t mention anything about Rat’s existence, Konstantine will neither. Konstantine feels he has failed Rat, but there isn’t really a place for her. Konstantine thinks she would be better off with her people (she might not want it). The only place that might take her is the Ordo Xenos, but that would have to be a non-scummy Inquisitor and even then Rat would be working against her own people. Saef says he’ll try to figure things out with the little time he has. Konstantine tells Saef he can always call, if he needs Inquisition-adjacent help. With that he is off.

In the morning after getting some breakfast, Gimlet goes to knock on Saef’s door. Theo answers and Gimlet asks for the “strange little man”. Vivek comes to the door and Gimlet asks if they could talk in his room. Which they do. Gimlet wants to know what to do with the whole Vivek being Inquisition evidence situation. What was Vivek planning on doing after all this anyway? Vivek shrugs and says he was planning on getting his friends off Triplex Phall, hopefully figure the life eater virus situation, finding safe places for his friends and then getting as far away from them as possible to keep them safe. Truthfully he has not thought about Gimlet’s situation much, like obviously Inquisition wouldn’t want Gimlet to let Vivek go, and that is something Vivek can’t help with, unless Gimlet wants to shoot him in the head, which Vivek rather he didn’t. Vivek recommends maybe asking someone else for help, because Vivek, as a literal prisoner, is in no position to help Gimlet. Not sure who would help, he definitely doesn’t want to get the Wolves in trouble (and neither does Gimlet). Gimlet laments that the odds don’t look to be too good for either of them, and Vivek agrees that there is indeed a lot of trouble ahead. Gimlet apologizes for telling Vivek about the whole purging of Triplex Phall, and Vivek says it was good, just means he and Eden were right in thinking Inquisition can’t have Eden. Gimlet still thinks it’s a bit fucked up that they could talk about it so casually. That’s Inquisition Vivek says. Gimlet asks if Vivek still wants to talk with his brother, and Vivek says yes, but that would probably spell more trouble for Gimlet in the future, so Gimlet might want not to do that. Gimlet tends to agree.

Saef returns to his room and begins to clean the rest of the party away when there’s a knock on the door. It’s Uffe who has come to retrieve his chest plate. And while he’s here, he wanted to point out that Saef kind of told him he doesn’t do mind magic, but now he has done it twice. Saef admits that yeah, maybe he wasn’t thinking too straight in the party. It is a new power, and he didn’t think it through. Uffe asks about the other time, and Saef said he was maybe a bit panicked at the moment. About Uffe killing Vivek? Uffe asks. Saef says yeah. Uffe thanks Saef for assistance with Vivek, but says that he’d like it if Saef would ask about that kind of stuff first. Saef agrees. Saef asks if he may use it on Uffe on the up-coming mission, and Uffe says only if it’s really, really important. Saef explains why he is coming along to the mission, namely finding Rat and Uffe offers help with dealing with Inpax, which Saef is sure Gimlet has got covered. Saef also says Uffe his old hair wasn’t that bad in his opinion, too bad about losing it, Uffe says thanks, better losing hair than losing a brother. Then he takes his armor and off he goes.

Gorm comes back to his room after finishing painting his armors (they’re left to dry in the other room). Uffe is there, and he wants to apologize for his behavior the day before, he got his fears got the better of him. Gorm doesn’t think there’s anything to apologize for, understandably it felt real to Uffe. Uffe admits that it is very rough right now, not being able to trust himself, and he can’t exactly live his life leaning on Gorm and Vivek. Gorm thinks that Uffe shouldn’t beat himself up over having to rely on others. It is a good thing to cultivate relationships. Gorm says he’s always thought Uffe as a loner but the more they’ve spent time together, the more he has started to see similarities between the two of them, both needing other people, forging bonds. Uffe says that Gorm appears to be much better at it than Uffe, but Gorm points out that not very many Space Wolves would bond with an AdMech. They discuss Vivek’s rather difficult situation for the moment, Uffe is not happy that Vivek has been forced on the run. Gorm says that though Wolves are very keen on head-on conflicts, there is not shame in retreat. In fact Gorm has read of something called a Tactical Retreat, fancied by the Primarch of Ultramarines. No shame in positioning oneself better for survival.

Uffe admits that he has a lot reservations about Triplex Phall, lot of blanks he doesn’t probably want filled. He just has this persistent feeling that something bad is going to happen. Vivek has been helping him out with mapping the blanks of his memory, and there’s a lot more missing than he had realized, around the time he left the others (after having killed Rolf). He mentions that Vivek recognized the ship he left in as an AdMech ship, so obviously AdMechs were around when he left. Gorm asks if he contacted Fenris, and Uffe says yes. Gorm asks if they should ask Fenris what kind of information he gave them originally, and Uffe agrees to it. They decide Gorm should get the information, just in case it’s bad. 

Gorm says that he has something to show Uffe that might take his mind off the current situation. Gorm takes Uffe to the room where he has been painting his armor, and Uffe congratulates him on his path, telling Gorm that he is proud of him. Gorm mentions his wishes to possibly join the Deathwatch, and asks what Uffe might do in the future, perhaps Deathwatch might suit him as well. Uffe says he hasn’t considered, as he hasn’t expecting to make it this far. Gorm asks him to consider, to keep his mind off all the bad things he seems to be so keen to think about. Uffe agrees that he’ll give it a go.

Uffe notes that Gorm seemed to be rather close with the Sable Swords sergeant, Carl at the party. Gorm says it was mead but yes he is close to Carl, there is certainly something special between them, that he really can’t put into exact words (and Uffe doesn’t think he needs to). Uffe says that he was kind of against these kinds of relationships for a while, as he deemed Harald’s fate to be the fault of Rolf, because of the closeness of their relationship. But he has changed his mind about that, and thinks good things may come out of being close to people. Besides it would be rather hypocritical of him to think that they are bad now. Gorm asks if he means him and Vivek, and Uffe admits that yes, there is something very similar there to Harald and Rolf and possibly Gorm and Carl. He feels no need to define it any further than Vivek being very important to him. Gorm says that Uffe is very important and dear to him, and that he loves him, and Uffe says he loves Gorm too.

Gorm also makes a phonecall.

Gorm goes to find Vivek in Saef’s room. He asks to talk in private, so Vivek shoos Theo away. Gorm mentions about thinking that Uffe might also be carrying the life eater virus, and that would probably need to be tested. And for that, Eden might be needed. So how are Vivek and Eden right now anyway? Vivek shrugs and says that Gimlet telling about the possible purging of Triplex Phall only justified his and Eden’s decision to merge, and that Eden can’t survive, but doesn’t mean Vivek is very happy about it. They’re not in much communication, currently. Vivek notes that there are some good stuff in his head too, that might be useful to hand out if they can find a person to give it to. Vivek has the ability to completely purge Eden from his mind, and the other part too, but right now since they can’t reach the other half, he is holding back. But yes, Vivek can do the test with the help from Tabasco. Vivek asks how much they can trust the doctor, whether it’s wise to let him see the results. Gorm says that he doesn’t know the doctor very well, certainly Gimlet trusts him (since boyfriends). Doesn’t mean he would maybe get the whole life eater virus thing, so perhaps better not to tell. Gorm asks Vivek to come to him with the results first.

Vivek comes back with bad news few hours later. Gorm was right, Uffe has it. Obviously this has really big rammifications for the relationships between the Space Wolves and the Mechanicus and Vivek is quite distraught, though understanding. Gorm is sure that Fenris is not going to go all Inquisition on the planet. Vivek also brings up his brother, and says that he thinks his brother might agree in putting something inside his own body, he would never agree to do the same to an Astartes, as that goes against the core beliefs of the Mechanicus (and all the bad things he’s done has been to prisoners). But if he is involved, obviously he needs to get his comeuppance. They discuss whether to tell Uffe about this, and Gorm asks Vivek’s opinion. Vivek thinks they should, namely the things Vivek hasn’t told had been about things Uffe would beat himself over and there is no reason this would be Uffe’s fault. Besides if something happens to both Vivek and Gorm, Uffe needs to know so he doesn’t put Fenris or any other planet at risk. Gorm agrees to this assessment so Vivek goes to break the news, while Gorm calls Fenris. Fenris is understandably angry, but also agrees that this has to dealt with discretion, since whoever did this clearly has few screws loose and access to means of mass destruction and that is the last thing anyone wants.

Vivek has been gone for a while, but as he catches Saef in the room they chat a bit. Vivek mentions that he is pretty sure he told Saef not to get caught with the army. Well, can’t be helped. Vivek says he would have helped Saef desert, but probably not the best idea at the moment to hang with him. Saef is rather resigned to his fate, but Vivek says he is allowed to feel frustrated about it. And he does. Vivek says he would change places with Saef in a heartbeat, but hey army is not for everyone. Saef’s going to do fine, still. (and Vivek hopes Saef knows he loves him, and Saef loves Vivek back)

Vivek asks about Saef’s family and how they are, and Saef mentions that things with family are still awkward. Vivek has three people who Saef and his family might help, three AdMech friends of his; Agda, her partner Max and Agda’s son Zeki. They’re decent people, not criminals. Agda apparently started the whole factory riot that got Eden’s skitarii arrested because Zeki got caught in unsafe machines and almost died (without Eden’s help). There is of course the problem of Eden being the only one willing to help renew Zeki’s cybernetics when he grows, but if that issue is somehow cleared with could Saef’s parents help rehome the three to Civitas A? Saef thinks so. Saef brings up Rat, the problem of her and Theo’s future, and in fact tells Vivek about her eldar parentage. Vivek admits that being a problem, but is sure they can manage something, they may need help (maybe not from the Wolves…).

Vivek asks Saef’s opinion of Eden at the moment, and Saef says that obviously he’s in debt to Eden, but doesn’t agree to everything he’s done. Vivek laments that he totally gets why Eden did why he did, which is why he doesn’t feel entirely justified in his anger, but yeah, he hasn’t decided Eden’s fate yet. His usefulness will be weighed against Vivek’s AdMech friends and all of Triplex Phall, and Vivek is not sure how that’s going to break down just yet. Saef says he’ll support Vivek no matter what, and Vivek says he shouldn’t if he makes a dumb choice. Vivek also asks Saef about his opinion of Gimlet, and Saef says that he doesn’t agree to some things Gimlet has done, but Saef’s the kind of guy that doesn’t let single actions change his opinion and Gimlet is still a friend. Vivek admits having difficulty reading Gimlet, but seems to think he is sincere in not wanting to screw Vivek over (despite it being so much easier for Gimlet), for whatever reason. Saef mentions having drunk-texted Demir, and Vivek hopes it’s not dick-pics (not that there’s anything wrong with that per se). Just strippers, says Saef (better?). Vivek asks if there’s anything there and Saef says they’ve only met once, and besides it doesn’t look like a good time for a long relationship. Vivek says that it’s important to find joy in small moments, and not do stuff just because they might not last. But that’s just his opinion. 

[longlivefeedback]

AO3 and Feedback: general overview

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably seen this post about ao3, feedback culture, and problems we have as both authors and readers. 

We (as in, the two people who wrote that post) got, uh, a lot more of a response than we were expecting, and so that’s shifted the project from an open call for brainstorming to something originally much further down the line. However, before getting into that (because we’re still sorting things out!), we want to discuss some of the general opinion trends. This isn’t meant to be taken as comprehensive or any sort of statistical analysis, since we’re not able to sort through everything at this time, but rather to further the discussion as a whole. 

Under the cut - why people don’t leave comments, the most popular suggestions, the most controversial suggestions, and what they tell us about the strengths and shortcomings of feedback culture and features on ao3. 

Why don’t people leave comments? 

“I don’t know what to say.”  This was a reason given in support of comment ‘templates,’ or some sort of feature that gave outlines for possible comments (for example, “quote your favorite line in the fic and explain why you liked it/how it made you feel.” 

“I’m shy”/”I don’t feel like I have anything important enough to say.”  This is another reason given that points to a gap in our basic commenting abilities as a community. While tutorials for commenting exist, they’re not enough. Many readers simply don’t feel that they can give valuable feedback, which is understandable, because commenting is a skill. It’s something that has to be learned and practiced, and it can be hard to start out. Because feedback is such a vital part of fandom, we should look for new ways (and promote old ways!) to teach and learn how to leave comments. Once again, these were reasons cited in support of the comment ‘template’ idea. 

“I’m on my phone.” MOOD, though. It can be incredibly difficult to refer back to the fic while leaving comments on mobile, and this is the trickiest problem to address because it’s purely a matter of difficulty with the format itself. 

Which ideas were the most popular?

Native floating review box.  A userscript for this is available, but accessibility (eg knowing about this, knowing how to use it, knowing how to keep it running, and being able to use it on your phone) is a major issue.  Pros: basically everything  Cons: ??? 

A per-chapter analogue to kudos (not leaving multiple kudos) This was by far the most popular suggestion, but not without its potential pitfalls.  Pros: many authors said that they would love this feature to maintain motivation and a connection to their readership while writing multi-chapter fics. Many readers mentioned always wanting to leave extra kudos, and that this is a way to give some sort of love while binge-reading a fic.  Cons: Authors worry that readers would opt to leave an impersonal “like” instead of a comment, thus decreasing original feedback. Other authors said that they would get too discouraged if the number declined as the story went on. This also adds another number for authors who are anxious about the kudos/hits ratio to worry or agonize about. There is a root problem here of measuring your worth as an author through these numbers, but that is a discussion for another day.  AO3 has already encountered this idea, though at this point we don’t know if it was as multiple kudos or a separate system. Dialogue incoming! Conclusion: reader response for multi-chapter fics is one of the biggest problems and frustrations authors on ao3 face, and one a common reason as to why fics end up abandoned. Addressing this on an individual and a community level should be a top priority for fandom as a whole. 

Native feature to quote specific lines/ability to interact or comment on individual parts of a fic. This has implications for both how we interact with fics and how we comment. First, it shows that many readers prefer to make their comments very specific to individual lines, phrases, or paragraphs, and find that their ability to do this by quoting manually isn’t ideal for reasons of convenience, character count limits, and... well, because we’re all on our phones.  Once again, there is a userscript to address this, but the aforementioned problems still apply.  Conclusion: how we interact with stories as readers is more specific and piecemeal, and it doesn’t always mesh well with having one big comment at the end. Much of this could be addressed with a native floating review box (and seriously, everyone who can should install that userscript, it’s increased my comment quality and frequency dramatically). 

Comment templates/outlines of suggested comments/questionnaire or prompt to help people get started This has already been discussed, so we’ll keep it short here. This is one of the more complicated ideas, so people had a lot of different ideas of how it could look or be implemented - think of it as a rough sketch.  Pros: provides a basic jumping off point to get readers started with a comment. Non-native speakers who are commenting in a second (or third, or fourth, etc.) language have said that this would help them structure their comment. Readers were often fairly positive.  Cons: Authors are concerned that this would result in a lot of generic, cookie-cutter comments and a decrease in overall original feedback, as well as happiness regarding receiving comments at all.  Conclusion: A bonus for people who don’t know what to say, another hurdle to climb for our inherent laziness. As for which way it would end up going... there isn’t really a way to know unless we can watch it in action. If anyone knows of other sites that have tried this, please send them our way. Secondary conclusion: writing comments is often described as “easy,” but the topic is a lot more complicated than that and we should address it. 

Which were the most controversial?

Comment templates Bet y’all didn’t see this one coming. Lots of people love the idea, lots of people hate it. There does seem to be a split between reader opinion and author opinion, which tells us that authors love personalized feedback. So, comment! We’ll love you for it! Quote a line, liveblog your emotional reactions using a floating review box, find your favorite sort of comment and use it to create a template you can copy, paste, and personalize for the specific story. 

Upvotes on comments  General consensus seemed to be that commenters really want to interact with each other, but don’t want to commit to leaving an entire reply. On the other hand, this would be abused to leave hate, deteriorate into #discourse and flames, and could make comments feel pressured or competitive, all of which detracts attention from the fic itself and makes it an altogether unpleasant experience. In addition, no one’s really sure how many people (other than the author) read the comments. In conclusion, we want to talk to each other about the fic... somehow... and it would be great to find a way to encourage this part of the community. Since a lot of us spend most of our time online on tumblr, it can be difficult to have a multi-person discussion about stories, which is evidently something people want. 

So, to conclude this whole thing, it’s been a hell of a day and we’ve gotten a lot of information about why people don’t comment, what people want from comments, and what people don’t want to risk losing with respect to what we already have. 

We’re working on another post to discuss ideas that were proposed but didn’t get much discussion, but that’s another talk for another day. 

Thank you all! 

[joy-trovato]

“how did you climb up my roof? my house is two stories.” (I'm thinking fluff, but tbh whatever you have muse for works for me

„How didyou climb up my roood? My house is two stories high.” Satine’s face reflected amixture of shock and worry to which Joy could only respond with a sheepishsmile: “I was bored and brought cookies?” She could feel the cold wind lick ather cheeks as her hands clung onto the window frame to steady her position asshe awkwardly hang off the house wall. Joy had always been an impulsive person;reacting on instinct without contemplating the consequences all too much. Itwas a perfectly usable excuse to explain why she would turn up at Satine’shouse at 3 am, nose red from the cold, eyes shining in a mixture of almost madexcitement and slight panic. She did, however not reveal the bout of anxietyshe had been going through and that she needed someone to distract her beforeshe would run holes into the floor of her room. Satine was the first personthat had shot into her mind and, while knowing it was a tad selfish to expectSatine to give up precious hours of sleep for her without even knowing the realreason of it, she had sifted through her cupboard reaching for the pack oftreats she always kept for Satine to rummage through whenever she came over andbegan the short walk to the Harris house, footsteps followed by silverymoonlight.

As shearrived at the household Joy contemplated for a moment of just turning aroundat the sight of the dark windows and glow in the dark stickers shining througha few, painting a soothing scenery she did not want to disturb. Yet the thoughtof returning home all on her own reinvoked the tightening sensation in her gutthat made shivers run down her spine and her breath quicken until it waspainful.

Joy had notthought about how to contact Satine though. Mr. Harris liked Joy fairly enoughand without doubt, but she couldn’t imagine that anyone in the house wouldappreciate her disrupting their sleep at 3 am. Looking back on it, Joy had toadmit that this had been the point, where the remaining functioning cells of herbrain seemed to have given up as well. For instead of using her phone thatrested comfortably in the pocket of her pants she took one look at the firm ivyframing the house and the next moment she found herself  climbing it, relishing in the strain it tookon her arms and the way it made her heart pump blood through her veins fasterthan it had done before until she  washigh enough to knock on Satine’s window glad to see faint light shine through theheavy curtains.

“Twostories, Joy. Two stories!” Her voice was still full of disbelief and Joycouldn’t blame her. There were after all few things less expectable than yourfriend’s face at 3 am hovering too many metres in the air. “Your ivy is verysturdy.” Joy chuckled finding amusement in the situation and in the comfort ofSatine’s presence already feeling the icy grip on her lungs loosen. It didn’ttake long for Satine to join in: “Get your little butt in here, before you fallto your death you idiot.” The teasing made Joy’s insides lighten up, uncurlingthe tight ball her organs had tried to form. She wasn’t sure whether it was theadrenaline from climbing two stories up without any safety or the calmingfamiliarity, but as she climbed into the room through the small space she feltat peace again.

“Thank youfor letting me and my little butt in. We appreciate it greatly.” Nudging Satine’sshoulder with her own joy moved straight onto the bed falling into it as if shewere home:  “So- what have you been upto?” “You mean before I almost died of a heart attack, because somebody knockedon my window?” “Exactly.” Sending her a cheshire cat smirk Joy busied herselfwith petting Kismet who had run up to her without hesitation.

“Not muchto be honest. Mostly revising and getting distracted by this little furball.”Satine sent  her dog a playful glarecausing Joy to giggle glancing around the room while crossing her legsbeforefalling back fully into the cushions stretching her limbs. “Too muchstudying isn’t good for you anyway. He is just trying to help.” “Might be, butit’s terribly inconvenient  at times.”Joy felt the bed move as Satine set down next to her bending a little over soshe could look Joy into the eyes: “Why are you here though?” “I told you I was-““Yah and I don’t believe you.” Satine’s voice was gentle, but firm slight worryglinting in her eyes: “Not even you are as spontaneous.” As joy tried to avoidher friend’s gaze she was, not for the first time, reminded of her own mother.Shrinking under it Joy shrugged succumbing to it at last: “Don’t really knowwhy. Just didn’t feel good and didn’t want to be alone.” Satine nodded softlyknowing better than to prod any further than that and instead reached for theabandoned cookies nibbling on one: “You want to talk about it?” A hesitantshake of her head later Joy found herself tucked into Satine’s side as theopening scene to one of the worst movies Joy had ever seen began playing onSatine’s laptop. “then we don’t have to talk. Let’s just watch this. I haveheard it’s ridiculous.” It was a weird hobby Joy had taken a liking to watchingbad movies and remaking on horrid acting or the less than thought through plot.

“Thank youSatine. I know you would probably much rather be sleeping.” “Anything for youjoy. Besides- you brought me cookies. Just please.” The hand that had begun tothread through  ginger hairabsentmindedly paused: “Don’t climb up my house again. You scared the shit out ofme. Do you even know how dangerous that is?” Joy’s chuckle echoed through theroom giving Satine no particular answer before returning their attention to thescreen Satine’s hand still running soothing circles through Joy’s hair, Joysnow relaxed voice remarking every now and then causing the other to grin orgiggle.

Joy fellinto a lazy daze sometimes still unable to believe that she had found a placeto be welcomed so willingly without any questions asked that made her feel safeand secure. Unable to voice that out to her best friend though she merelyleaned more into the touch breathing contently until it lulled them both tosleep.

                                                                    *

As the sunrose and light beams peered through the window none of the girls stirred and asmr. harris walked up to wake Satine a part of him was not even surprised to findJoy curled into Satine’s side and instead of commenting anything he merelywhistled and went down to add another plate to the breakfast table.

Bonus:

Two weekslater

“Joy!” “What?They did not believe that I could do it. I had to show them.” “Stop climbing upmy roof!”

[taiblogcomics]

I’m Dreaming of an Orange Christmas (Repost)

Originally published to Xanga on December 22, 2011

Hey there, Winnebagos. If you're here for the latest characterisation atrocity committed by Red Hood and the Outlaws, I'm afraid you're going to be a bit disappointed. While ripping into this comic will remain a regular feature here, like Suicide Squad, it's being delayed this week because I feel like it. I've got something slightly older but much better for you this week. And it's even seasonally appropriate. Today we're going to run a recap for the Green Lantern Larfleeze Christmas Special #1 from last year~  Here's the cover, as always:

Now, before we begin, let's do a little summary of this character, just in case you don't know who Larfleeze is. And shame on you for not knowing.

Larfleeze was created in the gap of issues between two of the finest Green Lantern events in comics history, Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night. Green Lanterns aren't the only lanterns, and Sinestro decided to make that absolutely true. Hence the Sinestro Corps War: Sinestro creates some yellow rings to offset the green and gathers together a bunch who can best use its fear powers. From there, more lantern colours kept popping up. Long-time rivals the Star Sapphires officially tapped the violet light of love, an old enemy stoked the red fires of rage, and the blue glow of hope was brought about to balance all the groups. And then came this one: the orange light of avarice, held in possession by the greediest, hungriest, most selfish being in the galaxy. His name is Larfleeze, AKA Agent Orange. You can read more of his origin in the collection Green Lantern: Agent Orange, which of course I highly recommend.

But why? Why do I recommend picking up every dang comic with Larfleeze in it that you can find? Well, because Larfleeze is frigging awesome, that's why. He's pretty much the greatest Green Lantern character since the book started in 1959. (Yes, I realise it actually started much earlier with Alan Scott's character, but since Larfleeze is part of the mythos that began with Hal Jordan, we're using Hal's debut as the starting point.) Larfleeze is quirky and weird and damn entertaining. He might be on the negative side of the emotional spectrum, but he's not explicitely evil. He's certainly no Joker or... Vandal Savage, let's say. He's largely hilarious, mostly since he acts like a greedy child most of the time. He's also unreasonably powerful (actual quote from Blackest Night: "Power levels 10,000%"), his ring commits literal identity theft of those slain by it, and he has some hidden depths. Which leads us into the comic we're about to look at now.

We open on Larfleeze's junkyard. Yep, Larfleeze has a junkyard and spends much time on Earth. This comes from an exchange he had with Lex Luthor (who briefly possessed a copy of Larfleeze's ring), who told Larfleeze that one of the most valuable things one can have on Earth is land. And frankly, he has a point. (He's Lex Luthor, he always does.) Larfleeze took this to heart, and obtained for himself a junkyard where he can store all his things and possessions and stuff. I don't think it's ever quite discussed how he obtained it, but my guess is "shenanigans". But I digress.

Also through shenanigans, Larfleeze has heard of the Earth's mighty and amazing guardian, the one they call Santa Claus. Sleeping restlessly in his bed, Larfleeze awakens to a large row of various clocks. Alas, not one cat clock among them, though. Realising the day he's awaited, Larfleeze goes tearassing out of bed, shouting delightedly. (Told you he's like a big child. A very destructive, competently-violent child with a rap sheet as long as your arm and more power than anyone could know what to do with.) Larfleeze gathers up his wishlist, which could put Calvin's to shame, and rushes down the stairs, anticipating what gifts Santa has left for him and how many hours it will take him to unwrap them all (by his estimate, 18. "Perhaps twenty if the ratwaffle cheese wheels are individually wrapped!"). But to his horror, there's nothing under the tree at all. The stockings hang empty.

Larfleeze at first thinks he's been robbed, but then he notices that the cookies and milk are untouched. And then comes one of the reasons why this is among the greatest comics of all time: a recipe. An actual recipe for making orange cookies just like the ones Larfleeze has prepared. When was the last time Batman ever included a recipe for making, I dunno, gingerbread batarangs? Never, that's when. Anyways, Larfleeze concludes that Santa has callously overlooked him in his deliveries, despite his adherence to the decorations and sweet-based offerings. Catching sight of a parade on TV, Larfleeze sees Santa coming down the street. He immediately vacates his house and attacks the parade with razor-fanged reindeer.

In the scuffle, Santa loses his beard, and Larfleeze discovers he is a decoy. He then catches sight of another Santa rushing into Dee Cee's Store of Stuff. He chases the Santa through the store, and discovers a whole group of men dressed in Santa costumes. Larfleeze snarls and threatens their lives until a brave little boy speaks up and tells Larfleeze where Santa is: the North Pole. We then get another brilliant page, this time of a maze made out of the Orange Lantern symbol. For extra awesome, Larfleeze is dressed as Indiana Jones on this page, and also stumbles across Superman's Fortress of Solitude before shrugging and leaving. Oh Larfleeze, if you only knew the rare treasures that lay within it, you would surely salivate at the chance to merely even see them.

After hours of searching, Larfleeze has enough and just begins blasting at the snow and ice. Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, if you were wondering) shows up, and says the ice caps have enough problems with melting without Larfleeze contributing. That's right, Hal Jordan wants you all to go green! Larfleeze, again in petulant child mode, begins demanding that Hal bring out Santa from wherever he's hiding him. Hal insists Santa is just a story told for fun, which Larfleeze can stand even less. Hal then plays his trump card. Christmas, he says, isn't about presents or Santa or getting. It's about having Christmas spirit. Larfleeze, of course, latches on to the word "having", and asks, "How does one... attain this Christmas spirit?" And to help you out, the comic generously includes yet another crafty sort of activity: a Larfleeze Christmas tree ornament to cut out and glue. This thing is pretty boss, and the only reason I haven't done it is because it would ruin the comic.

Hal takes Larfleeze back to his junkyard, and begins searching through it, despite Larfleeze's protests. Hal sorts through Larfleeze's stuff, and gives a little lecture about how Christmas spirit isn't about making the pile of stuff in your backyard bigger (c'mon guys, we all have one). It's about the usual Christmas special mention of giving. Hal then proceeds to give Larfleeze's stuff away to various charities and donation places, all while talking about the spirit of generosity. Larfleeze looks around at his empty junkyard, with only a broken toilet and an empty septic tank left in it, and comments, "I don't think I like Christmas spirit very much." And that, my friends, is why Larfleeze is a delight to read.

Hal continues to try and explain to Larfleeze that Santa isn't real and he shouldn't put so much importance on having stuff, while Larfleeze continues to be Larfleeze. Finally Hal gives up, and drops Larfleeze's Christmas list in disgust before flying off. He turns to give Larfleeze one last piece of advice: "Do yourself a favour, Larfleeze. Look at that list. Look at it close. And ask yourself--Do I really need it?" Larfleeze appears stunned by this. The last page is silent. Larfleeze pores over his list inside his little cabin. Eventually he comes to the very last item at the bottom of the list: "My Family". Larfleeze stares at it, and then curls himself around a pillow and lies down. The end.

Boy, what did I say about hidden depths, huh? Now you see why I read everything that Larfleeze appears in. (Next thing he appears in: Green Lantern New Guardians #4, coming December 28th. Can't wait~ ) Also, the issue then includes a bonus 2-page comic about Orange Lantern member Glomulus, and his quest to find a gift for Larfleeze, and all done in the Tiny Titans style, so it's quite cute. And a full page holiday message picture of all the Earth Green Lanterns (save Kyle) wishing you a happy holidays from DC closes out the issue.

This is a pretty great comic, and I highly recommend picking it up should you stumble across it in the back issues of your local comic shop or some online dealer. DC used to put out Christmas and Halloween specials all the time, but they didn't this year, probably due to the accursed relaunch. Perhaps next year they'll get back on the ball.

Also, it just occurred to me that Larfleeze would be absolutely the greatest Grinch of all time.

[a-mess-of-a-princess]

Does the Past Make the Future

So, I posted this on ao3 a long time ago, but I have been encouraged to post it on here as well, and not simply sharing the link. So! Here is Chapter 1 of my Saeyoung x Reader fic 

Warnings: (in later chapters) NSFW

Summary: MC IS NOT READER.MC is your best friend. You haven't seen her in two months because she suddenly dropped off the face of the earth. When she comes back she brings a her new boyfriend, Yoosung, and the cute and funny Seven. You quickly fall for him, but this means you have to open up about your sad past.

I hope you enjoy!

You were so excited. The reason is because your best friend was introducing you to her new boyfriend. You hadn’t been able to see her for while. It was like she dropped off the face of the earth for a couple of months. Turns out she met a new guy and became completely focussed on him, you knew the way she avoided your eyes when she explained this that she wasn't telling the whole story. You didn't push though, seeing as you have secrets of your own.

She said she was bringing two of their friends as well. There were three possible reasons for this: one, she was super proud of her new friends and wanted to include you, two, she was trying to hook you up again, or three, it was a mix of the two.

The two of you have been friends since middle school. You were the new kid and a socially awkward one to boot. MC was outgoing and didn’t want anyone to be left out, she went out of her way to make sure you were a part of everything. Eventually you guys ended up being inseparable, she is also the reason you are more comfortable in social situations in your adulthood. But, because of your childhood tendencies, she feels the need to try and get you laid. Even though, you are fully capable of doing this yourself.

You agreed to meet at this cute coffee shop that MC said another one of her friends recently opened. You weren't a huge fan of coffee but she promised there would be sweets, which was your weakness.

You purposely took longer to get ready because you didn't want to arrive first, and be forced to stand there by yourself. Also, even with her constantly trying to hook you up, MC has great taste in men. You had your hair up in a high ponytail with your bangs plus some extra hanging down the side of your face. The outfit was high-waisted jean shorts, a crop-top that had a galaxy look to it, and gladiator sandals.

As you walk up to the coffee shop you see MC holding hands with a cute little blonde. You actually recognize him, you have seen him on campus a few times. You only take a few classes there because oddly enough you enjoy learning. The classes tend to have a psychology feel to them, although you do enjoy cooking classes.

Next to them are two different boys. One is tall with white hair that looks like a weird mullet. Even with the odd hairstyle you had to admit he was very attractive with his red eyes and the structure of his face. The boy next him was even cuter. He had a mop of red hair and these huge yellow and black glasses, behind them are golden eyes. He was slightly shorter than the weird mullet man, but he was still taller than you.

You are about 5 steps away from them when MC finally notices you and jumps in for a hug with all her might. You almost lose your balance but you have ninja reflexes (hahaha) so you manage to make yourself upright before your ass hits pavement.

“___! Oh my god! I've missed you!” She practically yells in your ear.

“MC, you just saw me a week ago. Although you did abandon me for two months.” You put on your best pout but end up laughing at her guilty expression, which makes her laugh in turn.

“___, this is my boyfriend, Yoosung.” She grabs the blonde boy's hand again and he beams. You have to admit, they are adorable.

“Oh so that's your name,” you exclaim, “I've seen you on campus a few times. I take a few classes every now and then.”

“Although she doesn't need to,” MC states, “this girl already owns a spa.” She beams at you, she seems more proud of that fact then you are. She turns to the others. “This is Zen,” she gestures to the mullet man, “And this is Seven,” she points at the red head.

Zen offers his hand and you take it expecting a handshake. Instead, he raises your hand to his lips and kisses your knuckles. “Lovely to meet you.” He was probably expecting a flush but instead you simple quirk an eyebrow at him and say, “Likewise.” Zen looks slightly offended and you hear MC giggle next to you.

Seven actually shakes your hand and says, “Nice to meet you!” His smile is so bright, you have to smile in return. “How long have you owned a spa?! How old are you?! I always thought people who owned spas are wrinkled old ladies!”

You giggle, “ Only a couple of months, and I'm actually only 21. Yes, before you ask that is very young. And no my parents didn't give it to me. I bought it on my own.” You smile gently, you've learned that people tend to get offended when you answer like that but they always have the same questions, so you hope this saves you of that.

“How?!?! Is that even possible?! Plus you take classes? Are you human?” Yoosung practically shouts next to MC. You wink at him and put a finger to your face.

“An expert never reveals their secrets. And I do believe I am human. No one has said otherwise!” You laugh good-naturedly.

Zen looks super excited when he exclaims, “Oh, is that one by the gym on Walnut?! Sensations Massage?”

“Actually, yes it is.” You look up at with a small smile and tilted head. “Why?”

“I go to the gym right next to it. I went in once to get a quick message after a rehearsal. It was amazing! The incense you use is great and the employees are so nice!” Zen is practically jumping up and down in his excitement.

You beam at him, “Thank you! That actually means a lot!”

“Let's go in and say hi to Jahee!” MC grabs your arm and pulls you into the cafe. You hear the boys snicker at MCs antics.

MC introduces you to Jahee, she seems like a sweet girl and you instantly like her. You order three snicker doodles only to have MC roll her eyes at you. You stick your tongue out at her and catch Seven smiling at you. You instantly close your mouth and flush slightly.

You follow MC and others to a large table, which is actually two pushed together, with you next to MC and Seven across from you. Yoosung is right next to MC. Talking to Zen about a play.

“What about a play?” you ask.

“Oh! I'm sorry!” Yoosung waves his hands in Zen's direction, “Zen is an actor, he recently got a roll in a musical. Rehearsals start tomorrow, right Zen?”

“Yes! I'm very excited!” Zen then continues to talk about the role and how he is a perfect fit for the role because of his “good looks” and “amazing voice.” You soon tune out because his ego grates on your nerves.

Seven notices that you are spaced out with a cookie hanging out of your mouth and pokes your arm. You startle into awareness, this forces part of the cookie to fall on the floor. You pout at it before picking it up and pouting more until you wrap it in a napkin and place it on the table. You finally look at Seven to see him trying to hold in his laugh.

“What's so funny?!” you poke him in the arm as well.

“Your face…” he finally begins to laugh, very uncontrollably. Everyone is staring at him by this point. He soon calms down enough to get out, “your… face when the… the cookie fell was… it was so cute… I can't….” he bursts into laughter again. Your face is bright red and you try to hide it. Seven notices and grabs your wrists to prevent you from doing so.

“No! Don't hide.” You stare at him and he blinks, wrenching his hands back as if he didn't realise his own movements. MC elbows you in the side and you glare at her.

The rest of the visit was pretty uneventful. Zen continued to talk about his role, everyone filled you in on his success which lessened the dislike of his ego a bit, if he was that good he deserved to brag some. Yoosung and you talked about classes, even though neither of you took the same classes it was fun. It was also a bonus that Seven seemed impressed. You would be lying if you didn't find the eccentric red head interesting and cute as fuck. He made jokes and silly comments the whole time. He was also very intelligent. The two of you bonded over memes, psychology, and cats. You both even laughed as soon as Zen started sneezing complaining to you both to shut up.

The downside was the whole time your face was red because every time you would try and sneak a glance at Seven he would already be watching you. This did fill you with a sense of pride but it was also very embarrassing. It ended all too soon when Seven said he had to go home because his brother was calling him complaining that there wasn't any food.

“It would be easier if he would eat Honey Buddha chips and PhD. Pepper like me!” he exclaimed as he stood.

“You can't expect that of him! That is way too unhealthy!” MC laughs as well as Zen.

“It is a perfectly okay diet! Haters!” he feigns upset while crossing his arms until his phone dings again. “Ah geez, okay I'll talk to you guys later. It was nice meeting you, ___.” He turns to leave and is almost to the door when he abruptly turns around and walks back. His face is a little red when looks at you.

“Actually, um… ___?” he fidgets.

“Yes?” You look up at him confused.

“Can I um…” he glances at MC whom you feel move next to you, you have no idea what she did but it seems to spur Seven on. “Can I get your number?” He looks at you hopefully but you can see his nerves and his doubt. You can feel your chest tighten and your breath catches.

“Oh um yeah sure… Definitely,” You flush at your apparent excitement and his sincerity. He hands you his phone and quickly type in your number and name. When he has his phone back he looks and beams, he types a few more things and then looks at you.

“Great! Thanks! I'll text you?” You smile and nod. “Bye guys!” he waves and practically skips out of the cafe.

You turn back to everyone and they are beaming at you. This forces your face to get even redder. MC elbows you again and giggles. You huff but can't hold back a small smile.

****

Everyone left pretty soon after that. You bought more cookies before leaving, much to Jahee’s excitement. The two of you exchange information because you ended up staying and talking to each other. You get along swimmingly and her baking is amazing. So, bonus.

Once you are finally home to kick off your shoes and flop onto the couch. You can't help but giggle to yourself because today was so much fun. You saw MC, her boyfriend is adorable, her new friends are amazing, and Seven is so adorable you feel like your heart is going to poop it’s pants.

Right then your cat, Mari, jumps right on your stomach causing you to grunt. She is a dark grey fluff ball with a black face and green eyes. She curls up on you and starts purring like a freight train. You hear your phone ding and you reach over to the coffee table, trying your best not to disturb Mari. It was from an unknown number and you hope that it is from Seven. You unlock your phone and grin.

Hey! It's Seven!~ Sorry it look so long to text you! Searan made me go get him ice cream as well! >_<

No problem! ^-^ Is he at least enjoying it?

Searan will always enjoy ice cream!!

You receive a picture of, whom you are assuming is Searan, looking completely content. You in turn snap a picture of Mari on your stomach and send it to him saying. He looks as happy as Mari here!!

OMG! Is that a cat?! YOU HAVE A CAT?! She is so cute! Almost as cute as Elley!

Who is Elley? O:

My friends cat! He won't let me hold her though! :'(

For shame! You can always hold Mari! She loves cuddles. P:

For real?!?! A cute girl and a cuddly cat?! I won the Jack-pot!

You flush and giggle. Before you can reply you get another text.

Sooo… I know we just met buuuuut….. Would you like to go on a date with me? o///o

As if you could say no.

I would love to!! :3

[ncmagroup]

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts by Ashley Ward on Social Media Examiner.

  by ASHLEY WARD

  In this article, you’ll discover six tips for writing social media ad copy that converts.

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts by Ashley Ward on Social Media Examiner.

#1: Extend Your Brand Voice to Your Ad Copy

Every business needs to have its own voice, one that mimics that of its followers. When users scroll the feed, they should be able to recognize your brand voice immediately.

If your brand is more of a cargo short and t-shirt vibe, avoid using words that reflect a suit and tie mentality. The wording in your ad copy needs to mimic your other posts and include the language your demographic uses. Incorporate local lingo, slang, and grammar to match. Yes, how you spell the words in your ad makes a huge difference here.

The same goes if you’re a B2B that uses more professional and business-like language when you speak and write. Mimic that style in your ad copy.

#2: Clearly Communicate the Who, What, When, Where, and Why

Your social media ads not only need to include a call to action but also answer the who, what, when, where, and why. Communicating these details helps ensure users have all of the information they need to know so when they do engage with the ad, they become a warm engagement and not just a casual liker who double-taps on everything they scroll through.

If you look at this WeWork ad, here’s how they answered each W:

Who: WeWork

What: Flexible workspace for any size company

When: Today

Where: WeWork offices

Why: Because they’re here to help my business grow

Go back to the social media ads you’re currently running. Does the ad copy answer the who, what, when, where, and why for the user? It should, and if it doesn’t, pause, edit and republish those ads.

If you’re having a hard time trying to get an answer for all of the W’s above, think about your target demographic’s pain points. For WeWork, their target demographic is startups that need office floor plans from a business that can customize them. To make a great story out of your ad copy, you need to know your audience and understand not only what makes them tick but also what they need.

#3: Test Ad Copy Length for Performance

On some social media platforms, you have the option to use longer ad copy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should use all of that real estate. If you can communicate your call to action or primary point in three to five words, do so.

Some social media experts argue that shorter copy is more effective, while others say longer copy converts better; split testing will help you discover which copy length your audience prefers. What’s most important is getting to the point and ensuring users understand the message you’re conveying.

In the WeWork ad above, the point is crystal clear. The ad is both informative and provides an incentive for users to act. If you want to take a tour of the WeWork offices because you’re looking for a custom floor plan for your new startup office space, click Learn More and schedule a visit.

The imagery is an added bonus and harmonizes the text point perfectly by showing the interior of a WeWork custom office floor plan. The image helps paint the picture of what the text is describing.

About Split Testing

The more engagement your social media ads receive, the more those social platforms will want to show your ad—given budget restrictions, of course.

If you’re competing with businesses that have large ad budgets, focus on creating ads that followers naturally want to like, comment, share, or even click through. A/B test different ad copy, ad copy length, and jargon to better understand what makes people click.

Once you have that data, it’s time to amplify. Put a majority of your budget on those sweet spot ad copy ideas and set the rest aside to go back and A/B test even more. Remember, testing never ends. People’s preferences change as fast as technology changes. When photography gets better, and videography becomes more accessible, we only want to engage with the best.

#4: Combine Your Copy With Complementary Visuals and Targeting

One of the reasons users flock to social media platforms is to take a break and be entertained by what they read and see. They’re bored at the DMV, they’re waiting for their food to arrive at the table, or their attention span of 3 seconds has expired, and it’s time to look down at their phone again.

Whatever the reason, it’s important that both your text and content space are harmonious. Having creative to enhance your text is like adding extra-credit points on a quiz. Your text gets the call to action (the primary point) made, but the visual further communicates that point.

I’m a bride-to-be who’s also a business owner and entrepreneur, so Ringly’s targeted ad stopped my scrolling fingers in their tracks specifically because of how they combined the text with the image.

After looking at the ring and being impressed, I then gazed up to read the ad copy. Hmm, what’s a “smart ring”? Naturally, my eyes then scrolled down to the headline and then it made sense: It’s a personal assistant inside the ring. Now I’m intrigued to learn more.

Make sure all of the components of your ad (the description, headline, URL) all work together and deliver a story to users. This will make users more likely to want to learn more and not just “like” the ad.

#5: Align Your Ad Copy With Specific Sales Funnel Targeting

Ad copy is essentially a sales copy. But with social media ads, it can’t look or feel like sales copy at all. There is no intent on social media platforms so you can’t come in with a hard sell like you can on AdWords. That’s a big reason why the conversion cycle for social media ads can take a bit longer than other marketing efforts and have more hurdles to jump through.

To help get around the anti-sales hurdle, think of the TOFU (top of the funnel) > MOFU (middle of the funnel) > BOFU (bottom of the funnel) strategy. While this entails creating lots of ads and custom audiences, the results will make it worth the effort.

TOFU

This ad is designed for the top of the funnel sales copy. It’s light, harmless, and a friendly neighborhood wave. Your ad copy should let users know that your brand or business exists and you’d just like to say hello. You’re not trying to sell or force users to take any action with this ad. I repeat, no selling!

This is a very soft touchpoint. Each person who engages with this ad gets categorized into a new custom audience and is shown a MOFU ad.

MOFU

All right, now they know you exist. They’ve heard your brand voice, seen imagery to match, and developed a light feel for who you are. Now let them know how you can help. In the ad copy, explain what you provide and what pain points you solve.

Again, you aren’t selling yet. You’ve waved to the user from across the street and are now knocking on their door with a plate of freshly baked cookies. All of your TOFU audiences that engage with this ad get placed into a separate custom audience, a warmer audience.

BOFU

Now’s the time to ask for the sale. Here’s where you include the discount code, the hard call to action, the immediacy, the full story. You already have a warm audience that knows your brand and understands what you offer. Now give them all you’ve got and convert those users.

Anyone who engages with this ad is officially a hot lead and more likely to convert than the nice TOFU audience that waved back from across the street. You’ve officially been invited inside the house and you have a chance to talk business over coffee in the kitchen.

Conclusion

A good social media ad isn’t just a high-contrast image or a 45-second video. The ad copy itself can make or break engagement rates. It’s time to get past the idea that we’re all too busy to read.

Your ad copy needs to inform and entertain social media users to grab their attention in the news feed. If you’re going to interrupt them and stop them in their scrolling tracks, give them something worth their while.

What do you think? Do you use some of these tactics when writing copy for your social media ads? What tips would you add to this list?

Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

  Go to our website:   www.ncmalliance.com

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts 6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts by Ashley Ward on Social Media Examiner.

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6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts

Do you want to create more effective social media ads? Wondering how to write ad copy that produces conversions? In this article, you’ll discover six tips for writing social media ad copy that converts.

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts by Ashley Ward on Social Media Examiner. #1: Extend Your Brand Voice to Your Ad Copy Every business needs to have its own voice, one that mimics that of its followers. When users scroll the feed, they should be able to recognize your brand voice immediately. If your brand is more of a cargo short and t-shirt vibe, avoid using words that reflect a suit and tie mentality. The wording in your ad copy needs to mimic your other posts and include the language your demographic uses. Incorporate local lingo, slang, and grammar to match. Yes, how you spell the words in your ad makes a huge difference here.

The same goes if you’re a B2B that uses more professional and business-like language when you speak and write. Mimic that style in your ad copy. #2: Clearly Communicate the Who, What, When, Where, and Why Your social media ads not only need to include a call to action but also answer the who, what, when, where, and why. Communicating these details helps ensure users have all of the information they need to know so when they do engage with the ad, they become a warm engagement and not just a casual liker who double-taps on everything they scroll through. If you look at this WeWork ad, here’s how they answered each W: Who: WeWork What: Flexible workspace for any size company When: Today Where: WeWork offices Why: Because they’re here to help my business grow

Go back to the social media ads you’re currently running. Does the ad copy answer the who, what, when, where, and why for the user? It should, and if it doesn’t, pause, edit, and republish those ads. If you’re having a hard time trying to get an answer for all of the W’s above, think about your target demographic’s pain points. For WeWork, their target demographic is startups that need office floor plans from a business that can customize them. To make a great story out of your ad copy, you need to know your audience and understand not only what makes them tick but also what they need. #3: Test Ad Copy Length for Performance On some social media platforms, you have the option to use longer ad copy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should use all of that real estate. If you can communicate your call to action or primary point in three to five words, do so. Some social media experts argue that shorter copy is more effective, while others say longer copy converts better; split testing will help you discover which copy length your audience prefers. What’s most important is getting to the point and ensuring users understand the message you’re conveying. In the WeWork ad above, the point is crystal clear. The ad is both informative and provides an incentive for users to act. If you want to take a tour of the WeWork offices because you’re looking for a custom floor plan for your new startup office space, click Learn More and schedule a visit. The imagery is an added bonus and harmonizes the text point perfectly by showing the interior of a WeWork custom office floor plan. The image helps paint the picture of what the text is describing. About Split Testing The more engagement your social media ads receive, the more those social platforms will want to show your ad—given budget restrictions, of course.

If you’re competing with businesses that have large ad budgets, focus on creating ads that followers naturally want to like, comment, share, or even click through. A/B test different ad copy, ad copy length, and jargon to better understand what makes people click. Once you have that data, it’s time to amplify. Put a majority of your budget on those sweet spot ad copy ideas and set the rest aside to go back and A/B test even more. Remember, testing never ends. People’s preferences change as fast as technology changes. When photography gets better, and videography becomes more accessible, we only want to engage with the best. #4: Combine Your Copy With Complementary Visuals and Targeting One of the reasons users flock to social media platforms is to take a break and be entertained by what they read and see. They’re bored at the DMV, they’re waiting for their food to arrive at the table, or their attention span of 3 seconds has expired, and it’s time to look down at their phone again. Whatever the reason, it’s important that both your text and content space are harmonious. Having creative to enhance your text is like adding extra-credit points on a quiz. Your text gets the call to action (the primary point) made, but the visual further communicates that point.

I’m a bride-to-be who’s also a business owner and entrepreneur, so Ringly’s targeted ad stopped my scrolling fingers in their tracks specifically because of how they combined the text with the image. After looking at the ring and being impressed, I then gazed up to read the ad copy. Hmm, what’s a “smart ring”? Naturally, my eyes then scrolled down to the headline and then it made sense: It’s a personal assistant inside the ring. Now I’m intrigued to learn more. Make sure all of the components of your ad (the description, headline, URL) all work together and deliver a story to users. This will make users more likely to want to learn more and not just “like” the ad. #5: Align Your Ad Copy With Specific Sales Funnel Targeting Ad copy is essentially sales copy. But with social media ads, it can’t look or feel like sales copy at all. There is no intent on social media platforms so you can’t come in with a hard sell like you can on AdWords. That’s a big reason why the conversion cycle for social media ads can take a bit longer than other marketing efforts and have more hurdles to jump through. To help get around the anti-sales hurdle, think of the TOFU (top of the funnel) > MOFU (middle of the funnel) > BOFU (bottom of the funnel) strategy. While this entails creating lots of ads and custom audiences, the results will make it worth the effort. TOFU This ad is designed for the top of the funnel sales copy. It’s light, harmless, and a friendly neighborhood wave. Your ad copy should let users know that your brand or business exists and you’d just like to say hello. You’re not trying to sell or force users to take any action with this ad. I repeat, no selling!

This is a very soft touchpoint. Each person who engages with this ad gets categorized into a new custom audience and is shown a MOFU ad. MOFU All right, now they know you exist. They’ve heard your brand voice, seen imagery to match, and developed a light feel for who you are. Now let them know how you can help. In the ad copy, explain what you provide and what pain points you solve. Again, you aren’t selling yet. You’ve waved to the user from across the street and are now knocking on their door with a plate of freshly baked cookies. All of your TOFU audiences that engage with this ad get placed into a separate custom audience, a warmer audience. BOFU Now’s the time to ask for the sale. Here’s where you include the discount code, the hard call to action, the immediacy, the full story. You already have a warm audience that knows your brand and understands what you offer. Now give them all you’ve got and convert those users.

Anyone who engages with this ad is officially a hot lead and more likely to convert than the nice TOFU audience that waved back from across the street. You’ve officially been invited inside the house and you have a chance to talk business over coffee in the kitchen. Conclusion A good social media ad isn’t just a high-contrast image or a 45-second video. The ad copy itself can make or break engagement rates. It’s time to get past the idea that we’re all too busy to read. Your ad copy needs to inform and entertain social media users to grab their attention in the news feed. If you’re going to interrupt them and stop them in their scrolling tracks, give them something worth their while. What do you think? Do you use some of these tactics when writing copy for your social media ads? What tips would you add to this list? Please share your thoughts in the comments below. More articles about social media advertising: Learn how to create six refined target audiences for your Facebook and Instagram campaigns. Find out how to target your prospects and customers using Matched Audiences on LinkedIn. Discover seven common factors that impede Facebook ad performance. The post 6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts appeared first on Social Media Examiner. Read the full article

[kraussoutene]

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts

Do you want to create more effective social media ads? Wondering how to write ad copy that produces conversions?

In this article, you’ll discover six tips for writing social media ad copy that converts.

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts by Ashley Ward on Social Media Examiner. #1: Extend Your Brand Voice to Your Ad Copy

Every business needs to have its own voice, one that mimics that of its followers. When users scroll the feed, they should be able to recognize your brand voice immediately.

If your brand is more of a cargo short and t-shirt vibe, avoid using words that reflect a suit and tie mentality. The wording in your ad copy needs to mimic your other posts and include the language your demographic uses. Incorporate local lingo, slang, and grammar to match. Yes, how you spell the words in your ad makes a huge difference here.

The same goes if you’re a B2B that uses more professional and business-like language when you speak and write. Mimic that style in your ad copy.

#2: Clearly Communicate the Who, What, When, Where, and Why

Your social media ads not only need to include a call to action but also answer the who, what, when, where, and why. Communicating these details helps ensure users have all of the information they need to know so when they do engage with the ad, they become a warm engagement and not just a casual liker who double-taps on everything they scroll through.

If you look at this WeWork ad, here’s how they answered each W:

Who: WeWork

What: Flexible workspace for any size company

When: Today

Where: WeWork offices

Why: Because they’re here to help my business grow

Go back to the social media ads you’re currently running. Does the ad copy answer the who, what, when, where, and why for the user? It should, and if it doesn’t, pause, edit, and republish those ads.

If you’re having a hard time trying to get an answer for all of the W’s above, think about your target demographic’s pain points. For WeWork, their target demographic is startups that need office floor plans from a business that can customize them. To make a great story out of your ad copy, you need to know your audience and understand not only what makes them tick but also what they need.

#3: Test Ad Copy Length for Performance

On some social media platforms, you have the option to use longer ad copy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should use all of that real estate. If you can communicate your call to action or primary point in three to five words, do so.

Some social media experts argue that shorter copy is more effective, while others say longer copy converts better; split testing will help you discover which copy length your audience prefers. What’s most important is getting to the point and ensuring users understand the message you’re conveying.

In the WeWork ad above, the point is crystal clear. The ad is both informative and provides an incentive for users to act. If you want to take a tour of the WeWork offices because you’re looking for a custom floor plan for your new startup office space, click Learn More and schedule a visit.

The imagery is an added bonus and harmonizes the text point perfectly by showing the interior of a WeWork custom office floor plan. The image helps paint the picture of what the text is describing.

About Split Testing

The more engagement your social media ads receive, the more those social platforms will want to show your ad—given budget restrictions, of course.

If you’re competing with businesses that have large ad budgets, focus on creating ads that followers naturally want to like, comment, share, or even click through. A/B test different ad copy, ad copy length, and jargon to better understand what makes people click.

Once you have that data, it’s time to amplify. Put a majority of your budget on those sweet spot ad copy ideas and set the rest aside to go back and A/B test even more. Remember, testing never ends. People’s preferences change as fast as technology changes. When photography gets better, and videography becomes more accessible, we only want to engage with the best.

#4: Combine Your Copy With Complementary Visuals and Targeting

One of the reasons users flock to social media platforms is to take a break and be entertained by what they read and see. They’re bored at the DMV, they’re waiting for their food to arrive at the table, or their attention span of 3 seconds has expired, and it’s time to look down at their phone again.

Whatever the reason, it’s important that both your text and content space are harmonious. Having creative to enhance your text is like adding extra-credit points on a quiz. Your text gets the call to action (the primary point) made, but the visual further communicates that point.

I’m a bride-to-be who’s also a business owner and entrepreneur, so Ringly’s targeted ad stopped my scrolling fingers in their tracks specifically because of how they combined the text with the image.

After looking at the ring and being impressed, I then gazed up to read the ad copy. Hmm, what’s a “smart ring”? Naturally, my eyes then scrolled down to the headline and then it made sense: It’s a personal assistant inside the ring. Now I’m intrigued to learn more.

Make sure all of the components of your ad (the description, headline, URL) all work together and deliver a story to users. This will make users more likely to want to learn more and not just “like” the ad.

#5: Align Your Ad Copy With Specific Sales Funnel Targeting

Ad copy is essentially sales copy. But with social media ads, it can’t look or feel like sales copy at all. There is no intent on social media platforms so you can’t come in with a hard sell like you can on AdWords. That’s a big reason why the conversion cycle for social media ads can take a bit longer than other marketing efforts and have more hurdles to jump through.

To help get around the anti-sales hurdle, think of the TOFU (top of the funnel) > MOFU (middle of the funnel) > BOFU (bottom of the funnel) strategy. While this entails creating lots of ads and custom audiences, the results will make it worth the effort.

TOFU

This ad is designed for the top of the funnel sales copy. It’s light, harmless, and a friendly neighborhood wave. Your ad copy should let users know that your brand or business exists and you’d just like to say hello. You’re not trying to sell or force users to take any action with this ad. I repeat, no selling!

This is a very soft touchpoint. Each person who engages with this ad gets categorized into a new custom audience and is shown a MOFU ad.

MOFU

All right, now they know you exist. They’ve heard your brand voice, seen imagery to match, and developed a light feel for who you are. Now let them know how you can help. In the ad copy, explain what you provide and what pain points you solve.

Again, you aren’t selling yet. You’ve waved to the user from across the street and are now knocking on their door with a plate of freshly baked cookies. All of your TOFU audiences that engage with this ad get placed into a separate custom audience, a warmer audience.

BOFU

Now’s the time to ask for the sale. Here’s where you include the discount code, the hard call to action, the immediacy, the full story. You already have a warm audience that knows your brand and understands what you offer. Now give them all you’ve got and convert those users.

Anyone who engages with this ad is officially a hot lead and more likely to convert than the nice TOFU audience that waved back from across the street. You’ve officially been invited inside the house and you have a chance to talk business over coffee in the kitchen.

Conclusion

A good social media ad isn’t just a high-contrast image or a 45-second video. The ad copy itself can make or break engagement rates. It’s time to get past the idea that we’re all too busy to read.

Your ad copy needs to inform and entertain social media users to grab their attention in the news feed. If you’re going to interrupt them and stop them in their scrolling tracks, give them something worth their while.

What do you think? Do you use some of these tactics when writing copy for your social media ads? What tips would you add to this list? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

More articles about social media advertising:

Learn how to create six refined target audiences for your Facebook and Instagram campaigns.

Find out how to target your prospects and customers using Matched Audiences on LinkedIn.

Discover seven common factors that impede Facebook ad performance.

The post 6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts appeared first on Social Media Examiner.

https://ift.tt/2K0AqHI

[fairchildlingpo1]

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts

Do you want to create more effective social media ads? Wondering how to write ad copy that produces conversions?

In this article, you’ll discover six tips for writing social media ad copy that converts.

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts by Ashley Ward on Social Media Examiner. #1: Extend Your Brand Voice to Your Ad Copy

Every business needs to have its own voice, one that mimics that of its followers. When users scroll the feed, they should be able to recognize your brand voice immediately.

If your brand is more of a cargo short and t-shirt vibe, avoid using words that reflect a suit and tie mentality. The wording in your ad copy needs to mimic your other posts and include the language your demographic uses. Incorporate local lingo, slang, and grammar to match. Yes, how you spell the words in your ad makes a huge difference here.

The same goes if you’re a B2B that uses more professional and business-like language when you speak and write. Mimic that style in your ad copy.

#2: Clearly Communicate the Who, What, When, Where, and Why

Your social media ads not only need to include a call to action but also answer the who, what, when, where, and why. Communicating these details helps ensure users have all of the information they need to know so when they do engage with the ad, they become a warm engagement and not just a casual liker who double-taps on everything they scroll through.

If you look at this WeWork ad, here’s how they answered each W:

Who: WeWork

What: Flexible workspace for any size company

When: Today

Where: WeWork offices

Why: Because they’re here to help my business grow

Go back to the social media ads you’re currently running. Does the ad copy answer the who, what, when, where, and why for the user? It should, and if it doesn’t, pause, edit, and republish those ads.

If you’re having a hard time trying to get an answer for all of the W’s above, think about your target demographic’s pain points. For WeWork, their target demographic is startups that need office floor plans from a business that can customize them. To make a great story out of your ad copy, you need to know your audience and understand not only what makes them tick but also what they need.

#3: Test Ad Copy Length for Performance

On some social media platforms, you have the option to use longer ad copy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should use all of that real estate. If you can communicate your call to action or primary point in three to five words, do so.

Some social media experts argue that shorter copy is more effective, while others say longer copy converts better; split testing will help you discover which copy length your audience prefers. What’s most important is getting to the point and ensuring users understand the message you’re conveying.

In the WeWork ad above, the point is crystal clear. The ad is both informative and provides an incentive for users to act. If you want to take a tour of the WeWork offices because you’re looking for a custom floor plan for your new startup office space, click Learn More and schedule a visit.

The imagery is an added bonus and harmonizes the text point perfectly by showing the interior of a WeWork custom office floor plan. The image helps paint the picture of what the text is describing.

About Split Testing

The more engagement your social media ads receive, the more those social platforms will want to show your ad—given budget restrictions, of course.

If you’re competing with businesses that have large ad budgets, focus on creating ads that followers naturally want to like, comment, share, or even click through. A/B test different ad copy, ad copy length, and jargon to better understand what makes people click.

Once you have that data, it’s time to amplify. Put a majority of your budget on those sweet spot ad copy ideas and set the rest aside to go back and A/B test even more. Remember, testing never ends. People’s preferences change as fast as technology changes. When photography gets better, and videography becomes more accessible, we only want to engage with the best.

#4: Combine Your Copy With Complementary Visuals and Targeting

One of the reasons users flock to social media platforms is to take a break and be entertained by what they read and see. They’re bored at the DMV, they’re waiting for their food to arrive at the table, or their attention span of 3 seconds has expired, and it’s time to look down at their phone again.

Whatever the reason, it’s important that both your text and content space are harmonious. Having creative to enhance your text is like adding extra-credit points on a quiz. Your text gets the call to action (the primary point) made, but the visual further communicates that point.

I’m a bride-to-be who’s also a business owner and entrepreneur, so Ringly’s targeted ad stopped my scrolling fingers in their tracks specifically because of how they combined the text with the image.

After looking at the ring and being impressed, I then gazed up to read the ad copy. Hmm, what’s a “smart ring”? Naturally, my eyes then scrolled down to the headline and then it made sense: It’s a personal assistant inside the ring. Now I’m intrigued to learn more.

Make sure all of the components of your ad (the description, headline, URL) all work together and deliver a story to users. This will make users more likely to want to learn more and not just “like” the ad.

#5: Align Your Ad Copy With Specific Sales Funnel Targeting

Ad copy is essentially sales copy. But with social media ads, it can’t look or feel like sales copy at all. There is no intent on social media platforms so you can’t come in with a hard sell like you can on AdWords. That’s a big reason why the conversion cycle for social media ads can take a bit longer than other marketing efforts and have more hurdles to jump through.

To help get around the anti-sales hurdle, think of the TOFU (top of the funnel) > MOFU (middle of the funnel) > BOFU (bottom of the funnel) strategy. While this entails creating lots of ads and custom audiences, the results will make it worth the effort.

TOFU

This ad is designed for the top of the funnel sales copy. It’s light, harmless, and a friendly neighborhood wave. Your ad copy should let users know that your brand or business exists and you’d just like to say hello. You’re not trying to sell or force users to take any action with this ad. I repeat, no selling!

This is a very soft touchpoint. Each person who engages with this ad gets categorized into a new custom audience and is shown a MOFU ad.

MOFU

All right, now they know you exist. They’ve heard your brand voice, seen imagery to match, and developed a light feel for who you are. Now let them know how you can help. In the ad copy, explain what you provide and what pain points you solve.

Again, you aren’t selling yet. You’ve waved to the user from across the street and are now knocking on their door with a plate of freshly baked cookies. All of your TOFU audiences that engage with this ad get placed into a separate custom audience, a warmer audience.

BOFU

Now’s the time to ask for the sale. Here’s where you include the discount code, the hard call to action, the immediacy, the full story. You already have a warm audience that knows your brand and understands what you offer. Now give them all you’ve got and convert those users.

Anyone who engages with this ad is officially a hot lead and more likely to convert than the nice TOFU audience that waved back from across the street. You’ve officially been invited inside the house and you have a chance to talk business over coffee in the kitchen.

Conclusion

A good social media ad isn’t just a high-contrast image or a 45-second video. The ad copy itself can make or break engagement rates. It’s time to get past the idea that we’re all too busy to read.

Your ad copy needs to inform and entertain social media users to grab their attention in the news feed. If you’re going to interrupt them and stop them in their scrolling tracks, give them something worth their while.

What do you think? Do you use some of these tactics when writing copy for your social media ads? What tips would you add to this list? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

More articles about social media advertising:

Learn how to create six refined target audiences for your Facebook and Instagram campaigns.

Find out how to target your prospects and customers using Matched Audiences on LinkedIn.

Discover seven common factors that impede Facebook ad performance.

The post 6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts appeared first on Social Media Examiner.

https://ift.tt/2K0AqHI

[christinesumpmg1]

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts

Do you want to create more effective social media ads? Wondering how to write ad copy that produces conversions?

In this article, you’ll discover six tips for writing social media ad copy that converts.

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts by Ashley Ward on Social Media Examiner. #1: Extend Your Brand Voice to Your Ad Copy

Every business needs to have its own voice, one that mimics that of its followers. When users scroll the feed, they should be able to recognize your brand voice immediately.

If your brand is more of a cargo short and t-shirt vibe, avoid using words that reflect a suit and tie mentality. The wording in your ad copy needs to mimic your other posts and include the language your demographic uses. Incorporate local lingo, slang, and grammar to match. Yes, how you spell the words in your ad makes a huge difference here.

The same goes if you’re a B2B that uses more professional and business-like language when you speak and write. Mimic that style in your ad copy.

#2: Clearly Communicate the Who, What, When, Where, and Why

Your social media ads not only need to include a call to action but also answer the who, what, when, where, and why. Communicating these details helps ensure users have all of the information they need to know so when they do engage with the ad, they become a warm engagement and not just a casual liker who double-taps on everything they scroll through.

If you look at this WeWork ad, here’s how they answered each W:

Who: WeWork

What: Flexible workspace for any size company

When: Today

Where: WeWork offices

Why: Because they’re here to help my business grow

Go back to the social media ads you’re currently running. Does the ad copy answer the who, what, when, where, and why for the user? It should, and if it doesn’t, pause, edit, and republish those ads.

If you’re having a hard time trying to get an answer for all of the W’s above, think about your target demographic’s pain points. For WeWork, their target demographic is startups that need office floor plans from a business that can customize them. To make a great story out of your ad copy, you need to know your audience and understand not only what makes them tick but also what they need.

#3: Test Ad Copy Length for Performance

On some social media platforms, you have the option to use longer ad copy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should use all of that real estate. If you can communicate your call to action or primary point in three to five words, do so.

Some social media experts argue that shorter copy is more effective, while others say longer copy converts better; split testing will help you discover which copy length your audience prefers. What’s most important is getting to the point and ensuring users understand the message you’re conveying.

In the WeWork ad above, the point is crystal clear. The ad is both informative and provides an incentive for users to act. If you want to take a tour of the WeWork offices because you’re looking for a custom floor plan for your new startup office space, click Learn More and schedule a visit.

The imagery is an added bonus and harmonizes the text point perfectly by showing the interior of a WeWork custom office floor plan. The image helps paint the picture of what the text is describing.

About Split Testing

The more engagement your social media ads receive, the more those social platforms will want to show your ad—given budget restrictions, of course.

If you’re competing with businesses that have large ad budgets, focus on creating ads that followers naturally want to like, comment, share, or even click through. A/B test different ad copy, ad copy length, and jargon to better understand what makes people click.

Once you have that data, it’s time to amplify. Put a majority of your budget on those sweet spot ad copy ideas and set the rest aside to go back and A/B test even more. Remember, testing never ends. People’s preferences change as fast as technology changes. When photography gets better, and videography becomes more accessible, we only want to engage with the best.

#4: Combine Your Copy With Complementary Visuals and Targeting

One of the reasons users flock to social media platforms is to take a break and be entertained by what they read and see. They’re bored at the DMV, they’re waiting for their food to arrive at the table, or their attention span of 3 seconds has expired, and it’s time to look down at their phone again.

Whatever the reason, it’s important that both your text and content space are harmonious. Having creative to enhance your text is like adding extra-credit points on a quiz. Your text gets the call to action (the primary point) made, but the visual further communicates that point.

I’m a bride-to-be who’s also a business owner and entrepreneur, so Ringly’s targeted ad stopped my scrolling fingers in their tracks specifically because of how they combined the text with the image.

After looking at the ring and being impressed, I then gazed up to read the ad copy. Hmm, what’s a “smart ring”? Naturally, my eyes then scrolled down to the headline and then it made sense: It’s a personal assistant inside the ring. Now I’m intrigued to learn more.

Make sure all of the components of your ad (the description, headline, URL) all work together and deliver a story to users. This will make users more likely to want to learn more and not just “like” the ad.

#5: Align Your Ad Copy With Specific Sales Funnel Targeting

Ad copy is essentially sales copy. But with social media ads, it can’t look or feel like sales copy at all. There is no intent on social media platforms so you can’t come in with a hard sell like you can on AdWords. That’s a big reason why the conversion cycle for social media ads can take a bit longer than other marketing efforts and have more hurdles to jump through.

To help get around the anti-sales hurdle, think of the TOFU (top of the funnel) > MOFU (middle of the funnel) > BOFU (bottom of the funnel) strategy. While this entails creating lots of ads and custom audiences, the results will make it worth the effort.

TOFU

This ad is designed for the top of the funnel sales copy. It’s light, harmless, and a friendly neighborhood wave. Your ad copy should let users know that your brand or business exists and you’d just like to say hello. You’re not trying to sell or force users to take any action with this ad. I repeat, no selling!

This is a very soft touchpoint. Each person who engages with this ad gets categorized into a new custom audience and is shown a MOFU ad.

MOFU

All right, now they know you exist. They’ve heard your brand voice, seen imagery to match, and developed a light feel for who you are. Now let them know how you can help. In the ad copy, explain what you provide and what pain points you solve.

Again, you aren’t selling yet. You’ve waved to the user from across the street and are now knocking on their door with a plate of freshly baked cookies. All of your TOFU audiences that engage with this ad get placed into a separate custom audience, a warmer audience.

BOFU

Now’s the time to ask for the sale. Here’s where you include the discount code, the hard call to action, the immediacy, the full story. You already have a warm audience that knows your brand and understands what you offer. Now give them all you’ve got and convert those users.

Anyone who engages with this ad is officially a hot lead and more likely to convert than the nice TOFU audience that waved back from across the street. You’ve officially been invited inside the house and you have a chance to talk business over coffee in the kitchen.

Conclusion

A good social media ad isn’t just a high-contrast image or a 45-second video. The ad copy itself can make or break engagement rates. It’s time to get past the idea that we’re all too busy to read.

Your ad copy needs to inform and entertain social media users to grab their attention in the news feed. If you’re going to interrupt them and stop them in their scrolling tracks, give them something worth their while.

What do you think? Do you use some of these tactics when writing copy for your social media ads? What tips would you add to this list? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

More articles about social media advertising:

Learn how to create six refined target audiences for your Facebook and Instagram campaigns.

Find out how to target your prospects and customers using Matched Audiences on LinkedIn.

Discover seven common factors that impede Facebook ad performance.

The post 6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts appeared first on Social Media Examiner.

https://ift.tt/2K0AqHI

[rodneyevesuarywk]

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts

Do you want to create more effective social media ads? Wondering how to write ad copy that produces conversions?

In this article, you’ll discover six tips for writing social media ad copy that converts.

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts by Ashley Ward on Social Media Examiner. #1: Extend Your Brand Voice to Your Ad Copy

Every business needs to have its own voice, one that mimics that of its followers. When users scroll the feed, they should be able to recognize your brand voice immediately.

If your brand is more of a cargo short and t-shirt vibe, avoid using words that reflect a suit and tie mentality. The wording in your ad copy needs to mimic your other posts and include the language your demographic uses. Incorporate local lingo, slang, and grammar to match. Yes, how you spell the words in your ad makes a huge difference here.

The same goes if you’re a B2B that uses more professional and business-like language when you speak and write. Mimic that style in your ad copy.

#2: Clearly Communicate the Who, What, When, Where, and Why

Your social media ads not only need to include a call to action but also answer the who, what, when, where, and why. Communicating these details helps ensure users have all of the information they need to know so when they do engage with the ad, they become a warm engagement and not just a casual liker who double-taps on everything they scroll through.

If you look at this WeWork ad, here’s how they answered each W:

Who: WeWork

What: Flexible workspace for any size company

When: Today

Where: WeWork offices

Why: Because they’re here to help my business grow

Go back to the social media ads you’re currently running. Does the ad copy answer the who, what, when, where, and why for the user? It should, and if it doesn’t, pause, edit, and republish those ads.

If you’re having a hard time trying to get an answer for all of the W’s above, think about your target demographic’s pain points. For WeWork, their target demographic is startups that need office floor plans from a business that can customize them. To make a great story out of your ad copy, you need to know your audience and understand not only what makes them tick but also what they need.

#3: Test Ad Copy Length for Performance

On some social media platforms, you have the option to use longer ad copy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should use all of that real estate. If you can communicate your call to action or primary point in three to five words, do so.

Some social media experts argue that shorter copy is more effective, while others say longer copy converts better; split testing will help you discover which copy length your audience prefers. What’s most important is getting to the point and ensuring users understand the message you’re conveying.

In the WeWork ad above, the point is crystal clear. The ad is both informative and provides an incentive for users to act. If you want to take a tour of the WeWork offices because you’re looking for a custom floor plan for your new startup office space, click Learn More and schedule a visit.

The imagery is an added bonus and harmonizes the text point perfectly by showing the interior of a WeWork custom office floor plan. The image helps paint the picture of what the text is describing.

About Split Testing

The more engagement your social media ads receive, the more those social platforms will want to show your ad—given budget restrictions, of course.

If you’re competing with businesses that have large ad budgets, focus on creating ads that followers naturally want to like, comment, share, or even click through. A/B test different ad copy, ad copy length, and jargon to better understand what makes people click.

Once you have that data, it’s time to amplify. Put a majority of your budget on those sweet spot ad copy ideas and set the rest aside to go back and A/B test even more. Remember, testing never ends. People’s preferences change as fast as technology changes. When photography gets better, and videography becomes more accessible, we only want to engage with the best.

#4: Combine Your Copy With Complementary Visuals and Targeting

One of the reasons users flock to social media platforms is to take a break and be entertained by what they read and see. They’re bored at the DMV, they’re waiting for their food to arrive at the table, or their attention span of 3 seconds has expired, and it’s time to look down at their phone again.

Whatever the reason, it’s important that both your text and content space are harmonious. Having creative to enhance your text is like adding extra-credit points on a quiz. Your text gets the call to action (the primary point) made, but the visual further communicates that point.

I’m a bride-to-be who’s also a business owner and entrepreneur, so Ringly’s targeted ad stopped my scrolling fingers in their tracks specifically because of how they combined the text with the image.

After looking at the ring and being impressed, I then gazed up to read the ad copy. Hmm, what’s a “smart ring”? Naturally, my eyes then scrolled down to the headline and then it made sense: It’s a personal assistant inside the ring. Now I’m intrigued to learn more.

Make sure all of the components of your ad (the description, headline, URL) all work together and deliver a story to users. This will make users more likely to want to learn more and not just “like” the ad.

#5: Align Your Ad Copy With Specific Sales Funnel Targeting

Ad copy is essentially sales copy. But with social media ads, it can’t look or feel like sales copy at all. There is no intent on social media platforms so you can’t come in with a hard sell like you can on AdWords. That’s a big reason why the conversion cycle for social media ads can take a bit longer than other marketing efforts and have more hurdles to jump through.

To help get around the anti-sales hurdle, think of the TOFU (top of the funnel) > MOFU (middle of the funnel) > BOFU (bottom of the funnel) strategy. While this entails creating lots of ads and custom audiences, the results will make it worth the effort.

TOFU

This ad is designed for the top of the funnel sales copy. It’s light, harmless, and a friendly neighborhood wave. Your ad copy should let users know that your brand or business exists and you’d just like to say hello. You’re not trying to sell or force users to take any action with this ad. I repeat, no selling!

This is a very soft touchpoint. Each person who engages with this ad gets categorized into a new custom audience and is shown a MOFU ad.

MOFU

All right, now they know you exist. They’ve heard your brand voice, seen imagery to match, and developed a light feel for who you are. Now let them know how you can help. In the ad copy, explain what you provide and what pain points you solve.

Again, you aren’t selling yet. You’ve waved to the user from across the street and are now knocking on their door with a plate of freshly baked cookies. All of your TOFU audiences that engage with this ad get placed into a separate custom audience, a warmer audience.

BOFU

Now’s the time to ask for the sale. Here’s where you include the discount code, the hard call to action, the immediacy, the full story. You already have a warm audience that knows your brand and understands what you offer. Now give them all you’ve got and convert those users.

Anyone who engages with this ad is officially a hot lead and more likely to convert than the nice TOFU audience that waved back from across the street. You’ve officially been invited inside the house and you have a chance to talk business over coffee in the kitchen.

Conclusion

A good social media ad isn’t just a high-contrast image or a 45-second video. The ad copy itself can make or break engagement rates. It’s time to get past the idea that we’re all too busy to read.

Your ad copy needs to inform and entertain social media users to grab their attention in the news feed. If you’re going to interrupt them and stop them in their scrolling tracks, give them something worth their while.

What do you think? Do you use some of these tactics when writing copy for your social media ads? What tips would you add to this list? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

More articles about social media advertising:

Learn how to create six refined target audiences for your Facebook and Instagram campaigns.

Find out how to target your prospects and customers using Matched Audiences on LinkedIn.

Discover seven common factors that impede Facebook ad performance.

The post 6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts appeared first on Social Media Examiner.

https://ift.tt/2K0AqHI

[dainiaolivahm]

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts

Do you want to create more effective social media ads? Wondering how to write ad copy that produces conversions?

In this article, you’ll discover six tips for writing social media ad copy that converts.

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts by Ashley Ward on Social Media Examiner. #1: Extend Your Brand Voice to Your Ad Copy

Every business needs to have its own voice, one that mimics that of its followers. When users scroll the feed, they should be able to recognize your brand voice immediately.

If your brand is more of a cargo short and t-shirt vibe, avoid using words that reflect a suit and tie mentality. The wording in your ad copy needs to mimic your other posts and include the language your demographic uses. Incorporate local lingo, slang, and grammar to match. Yes, how you spell the words in your ad makes a huge difference here.

The same goes if you’re a B2B that uses more professional and business-like language when you speak and write. Mimic that style in your ad copy.

#2: Clearly Communicate the Who, What, When, Where, and Why

Your social media ads not only need to include a call to action but also answer the who, what, when, where, and why. Communicating these details helps ensure users have all of the information they need to know so when they do engage with the ad, they become a warm engagement and not just a casual liker who double-taps on everything they scroll through.

If you look at this WeWork ad, here’s how they answered each W:

Who: WeWork

What: Flexible workspace for any size company

When: Today

Where: WeWork offices

Why: Because they’re here to help my business grow

Go back to the social media ads you’re currently running. Does the ad copy answer the who, what, when, where, and why for the user? It should, and if it doesn’t, pause, edit, and republish those ads.

If you’re having a hard time trying to get an answer for all of the W’s above, think about your target demographic’s pain points. For WeWork, their target demographic is startups that need office floor plans from a business that can customize them. To make a great story out of your ad copy, you need to know your audience and understand not only what makes them tick but also what they need.

#3: Test Ad Copy Length for Performance

On some social media platforms, you have the option to use longer ad copy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should use all of that real estate. If you can communicate your call to action or primary point in three to five words, do so.

Some social media experts argue that shorter copy is more effective, while others say longer copy converts better; split testing will help you discover which copy length your audience prefers. What’s most important is getting to the point and ensuring users understand the message you’re conveying.

In the WeWork ad above, the point is crystal clear. The ad is both informative and provides an incentive for users to act. If you want to take a tour of the WeWork offices because you’re looking for a custom floor plan for your new startup office space, click Learn More and schedule a visit.

The imagery is an added bonus and harmonizes the text point perfectly by showing the interior of a WeWork custom office floor plan. The image helps paint the picture of what the text is describing.

About Split Testing

The more engagement your social media ads receive, the more those social platforms will want to show your ad—given budget restrictions, of course.

If you’re competing with businesses that have large ad budgets, focus on creating ads that followers naturally want to like, comment, share, or even click through. A/B test different ad copy, ad copy length, and jargon to better understand what makes people click.

Once you have that data, it’s time to amplify. Put a majority of your budget on those sweet spot ad copy ideas and set the rest aside to go back and A/B test even more. Remember, testing never ends. People’s preferences change as fast as technology changes. When photography gets better, and videography becomes more accessible, we only want to engage with the best.

#4: Combine Your Copy With Complementary Visuals and Targeting

One of the reasons users flock to social media platforms is to take a break and be entertained by what they read and see. They’re bored at the DMV, they’re waiting for their food to arrive at the table, or their attention span of 3 seconds has expired, and it’s time to look down at their phone again.

Whatever the reason, it’s important that both your text and content space are harmonious. Having creative to enhance your text is like adding extra-credit points on a quiz. Your text gets the call to action (the primary point) made, but the visual further communicates that point.

I’m a bride-to-be who’s also a business owner and entrepreneur, so Ringly’s targeted ad stopped my scrolling fingers in their tracks specifically because of how they combined the text with the image.

After looking at the ring and being impressed, I then gazed up to read the ad copy. Hmm, what’s a “smart ring”? Naturally, my eyes then scrolled down to the headline and then it made sense: It’s a personal assistant inside the ring. Now I’m intrigued to learn more.

Make sure all of the components of your ad (the description, headline, URL) all work together and deliver a story to users. This will make users more likely to want to learn more and not just “like” the ad.

#5: Align Your Ad Copy With Specific Sales Funnel Targeting

Ad copy is essentially sales copy. But with social media ads, it can’t look or feel like sales copy at all. There is no intent on social media platforms so you can’t come in with a hard sell like you can on AdWords. That’s a big reason why the conversion cycle for social media ads can take a bit longer than other marketing efforts and have more hurdles to jump through.

To help get around the anti-sales hurdle, think of the TOFU (top of the funnel) > MOFU (middle of the funnel) > BOFU (bottom of the funnel) strategy. While this entails creating lots of ads and custom audiences, the results will make it worth the effort.

TOFU

This ad is designed for the top of the funnel sales copy. It’s light, harmless, and a friendly neighborhood wave. Your ad copy should let users know that your brand or business exists and you’d just like to say hello. You’re not trying to sell or force users to take any action with this ad. I repeat, no selling!

This is a very soft touchpoint. Each person who engages with this ad gets categorized into a new custom audience and is shown a MOFU ad.

MOFU

All right, now they know you exist. They’ve heard your brand voice, seen imagery to match, and developed a light feel for who you are. Now let them know how you can help. In the ad copy, explain what you provide and what pain points you solve.

Again, you aren’t selling yet. You’ve waved to the user from across the street and are now knocking on their door with a plate of freshly baked cookies. All of your TOFU audiences that engage with this ad get placed into a separate custom audience, a warmer audience.

BOFU

Now’s the time to ask for the sale. Here’s where you include the discount code, the hard call to action, the immediacy, the full story. You already have a warm audience that knows your brand and understands what you offer. Now give them all you’ve got and convert those users.

Anyone who engages with this ad is officially a hot lead and more likely to convert than the nice TOFU audience that waved back from across the street. You’ve officially been invited inside the house and you have a chance to talk business over coffee in the kitchen.

Conclusion

A good social media ad isn’t just a high-contrast image or a 45-second video. The ad copy itself can make or break engagement rates. It’s time to get past the idea that we’re all too busy to read.

Your ad copy needs to inform and entertain social media users to grab their attention in the news feed. If you’re going to interrupt them and stop them in their scrolling tracks, give them something worth their while.

What do you think? Do you use some of these tactics when writing copy for your social media ads? What tips would you add to this list? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

More articles about social media advertising:

Learn how to create six refined target audiences for your Facebook and Instagram campaigns.

Find out how to target your prospects and customers using Matched Audiences on LinkedIn.

Discover seven common factors that impede Facebook ad performance.

The post 6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts appeared first on Social Media Examiner.

https://ift.tt/2K0AqHI

[conniecogeie]

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts

Do you want to create more effective social media ads? Wondering how to write ad copy that produces conversions?

In this article, you’ll discover six tips for writing social media ad copy that converts.

6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts by Ashley Ward on Social Media Examiner. #1: Extend Your Brand Voice to Your Ad Copy

Every business needs to have its own voice, one that mimics that of its followers. When users scroll the feed, they should be able to recognize your brand voice immediately.

If your brand is more of a cargo short and t-shirt vibe, avoid using words that reflect a suit and tie mentality. The wording in your ad copy needs to mimic your other posts and include the language your demographic uses. Incorporate local lingo, slang, and grammar to match. Yes, how you spell the words in your ad makes a huge difference here.

The same goes if you’re a B2B that uses more professional and business-like language when you speak and write. Mimic that style in your ad copy.

#2: Clearly Communicate the Who, What, When, Where, and Why

Your social media ads not only need to include a call to action but also answer the who, what, when, where, and why. Communicating these details helps ensure users have all of the information they need to know so when they do engage with the ad, they become a warm engagement and not just a casual liker who double-taps on everything they scroll through.

If you look at this WeWork ad, here’s how they answered each W:

Who: WeWork

What: Flexible workspace for any size company

When: Today

Where: WeWork offices

Why: Because they’re here to help my business grow

Go back to the social media ads you’re currently running. Does the ad copy answer the who, what, when, where, and why for the user? It should, and if it doesn’t, pause, edit, and republish those ads.

If you’re having a hard time trying to get an answer for all of the W’s above, think about your target demographic’s pain points. For WeWork, their target demographic is startups that need office floor plans from a business that can customize them. To make a great story out of your ad copy, you need to know your audience and understand not only what makes them tick but also what they need.

#3: Test Ad Copy Length for Performance

On some social media platforms, you have the option to use longer ad copy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean you should use all of that real estate. If you can communicate your call to action or primary point in three to five words, do so.

Some social media experts argue that shorter copy is more effective, while others say longer copy converts better; split testing will help you discover which copy length your audience prefers. What’s most important is getting to the point and ensuring users understand the message you’re conveying.

In the WeWork ad above, the point is crystal clear. The ad is both informative and provides an incentive for users to act. If you want to take a tour of the WeWork offices because you’re looking for a custom floor plan for your new startup office space, click Learn More and schedule a visit.

The imagery is an added bonus and harmonizes the text point perfectly by showing the interior of a WeWork custom office floor plan. The image helps paint the picture of what the text is describing.

About Split Testing

The more engagement your social media ads receive, the more those social platforms will want to show your ad—given budget restrictions, of course.

If you’re competing with businesses that have large ad budgets, focus on creating ads that followers naturally want to like, comment, share, or even click through. A/B test different ad copy, ad copy length, and jargon to better understand what makes people click.

Once you have that data, it’s time to amplify. Put a majority of your budget on those sweet spot ad copy ideas and set the rest aside to go back and A/B test even more. Remember, testing never ends. People’s preferences change as fast as technology changes. When photography gets better, and videography becomes more accessible, we only want to engage with the best.

#4: Combine Your Copy With Complementary Visuals and Targeting

One of the reasons users flock to social media platforms is to take a break and be entertained by what they read and see. They’re bored at the DMV, they’re waiting for their food to arrive at the table, or their attention span of 3 seconds has expired, and it’s time to look down at their phone again.

Whatever the reason, it’s important that both your text and content space are harmonious. Having creative to enhance your text is like adding extra-credit points on a quiz. Your text gets the call to action (the primary point) made, but the visual further communicates that point.

I’m a bride-to-be who’s also a business owner and entrepreneur, so Ringly’s targeted ad stopped my scrolling fingers in their tracks specifically because of how they combined the text with the image.

After looking at the ring and being impressed, I then gazed up to read the ad copy. Hmm, what’s a “smart ring”? Naturally, my eyes then scrolled down to the headline and then it made sense: It’s a personal assistant inside the ring. Now I’m intrigued to learn more.

Make sure all of the components of your ad (the description, headline, URL) all work together and deliver a story to users. This will make users more likely to want to learn more and not just “like” the ad.

#5: Align Your Ad Copy With Specific Sales Funnel Targeting

Ad copy is essentially sales copy. But with social media ads, it can’t look or feel like sales copy at all. There is no intent on social media platforms so you can’t come in with a hard sell like you can on AdWords. That’s a big reason why the conversion cycle for social media ads can take a bit longer than other marketing efforts and have more hurdles to jump through.

To help get around the anti-sales hurdle, think of the TOFU (top of the funnel) > MOFU (middle of the funnel) > BOFU (bottom of the funnel) strategy. While this entails creating lots of ads and custom audiences, the results will make it worth the effort.

TOFU

This ad is designed for the top of the funnel sales copy. It’s light, harmless, and a friendly neighborhood wave. Your ad copy should let users know that your brand or business exists and you’d just like to say hello. You’re not trying to sell or force users to take any action with this ad. I repeat, no selling!

This is a very soft touchpoint. Each person who engages with this ad gets categorized into a new custom audience and is shown a MOFU ad.

MOFU

All right, now they know you exist. They’ve heard your brand voice, seen imagery to match, and developed a light feel for who you are. Now let them know how you can help. In the ad copy, explain what you provide and what pain points you solve.

Again, you aren’t selling yet. You’ve waved to the user from across the street and are now knocking on their door with a plate of freshly baked cookies. All of your TOFU audiences that engage with this ad get placed into a separate custom audience, a warmer audience.

BOFU

Now’s the time to ask for the sale. Here’s where you include the discount code, the hard call to action, the immediacy, the full story. You already have a warm audience that knows your brand and understands what you offer. Now give them all you’ve got and convert those users.

Anyone who engages with this ad is officially a hot lead and more likely to convert than the nice TOFU audience that waved back from across the street. You’ve officially been invited inside the house and you have a chance to talk business over coffee in the kitchen.

Conclusion

A good social media ad isn’t just a high-contrast image or a 45-second video. The ad copy itself can make or break engagement rates. It’s time to get past the idea that we’re all too busy to read.

Your ad copy needs to inform and entertain social media users to grab their attention in the news feed. If you’re going to interrupt them and stop them in their scrolling tracks, give them something worth their while.

What do you think? Do you use some of these tactics when writing copy for your social media ads? What tips would you add to this list? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

More articles about social media advertising:

Learn how to create six refined target audiences for your Facebook and Instagram campaigns.

Find out how to target your prospects and customers using Matched Audiences on LinkedIn.

Discover seven common factors that impede Facebook ad performance.

The post 6 Tips for Writing Social Media Ad Copy That Converts appeared first on Social Media Examiner.

https://ift.tt/2K0AqHI