Video ads are rapidly rising in popularity as a major way that advertisers are generating more action and thus higher ROI on their media buys.
Depending on the source, the CTR for video ads is anywhere from 50%-300% higher than traditional static ads, largely dependent on the data source, use case, and industry. This means that you’re getting that much more interaction from a set amount of media spend.
But how should you actually create social media video ads or digital video ads that perform well and convert?
Let’s take a look at some tips you should consider before creating you’re social media or digital ad campaign.
Start with Your Audience
If you are marketing through paid social media or PPC like Adwords, you should already have a hunch at defining the type of people or firms that buy from you, why they buy from you, and how to reach them.
An audience-centric approach should always be followed, as it results in ads that are more relevant to your audience and thus more effective.
With with making bullet points of why customers buy from you and some information on who those customers are, and their demographics.
Video Ad call to actions
What will motivate your audience to actually take action? It could be a new product or service, a new location, a special pricing offer
From here, a rough script or storyboard can be developed that will ultimately be used as the building block for a video ad.
Product marketing Video ads
Depending on your brand positioning, and product, product marketing video ads can be often be formatted in a problem – solution – offer format, that typically results in a more emotional or strong selling ad than a traditionally styled product ad.
Remember, the offer at the end is important, in that it needs to be perceived at least to be a strong offer that won’t always be available.
Video Marketing for Automotive Dealerships
Nearly every new car dealership in the country and a huge number of used car dealerships are vying for the attention of car buyers. Social media video ads have become an effective solution that is being utilized more than ever to drive inbound sales.
Depending on your inventory, available corporate offers, any dealer level warranties, etc, you can build an ad the drives inbound store traffic.
With so many car brands experiencing major inventory problems in 2020/2021, we’ve seen success focusing on trade-in offers, used car inventory, dealer level warranties and if your brand doesn’t have an inventory constraint- then make it be very known you have plenty of vehicles in stock.
Managing video ad campaigns can make or break it financially. Properly setting up keywords, retargeting and placements have a massive impact on the overall success of a social media video campaign. Over time, data should be analyzed and targeting should be adjusted based on what is working and what isn’t.
A/B testing offers, visuals, copy, and video styles is another way to nail down what works for your audience. A/B testing should be a part of any digital marketing plan, and should really not be optional. While ad creation costs will rise somewhat, the additional data you will get on what type of ads your audience responds to and what resonates with them will over time result in a more efficient spend of digital media buying and increase in ROI.
Segmenting audiences is a great way to make more relevant content for specific groups of your customers. For example, prior buyers of new cars are more likely to continue to prefer new cars, so it would make sense to leave them out of an ad that is promoting used car offers.
Video Ad visual design
There is a lot more freedom with video ads vs traditional static ads, videos can be made in all different styles. Again, it will come down to your niche, industry, and deal, but certain visual styles work better than others in different types of campaigns.
Work with social media video agencies that have experience and guide you on what has worked well for prior clients.
Crisp, bold graphics, with easy to read text is important, sometimes ads can be cut so fast-paced that it’s nearly impossible to read any on-screen text. This is a major problem for buyers if the video ad has a price point or other offer.
While it’s possible to use pictures, and create a very basic slide slow style of ad, this rarely is as effective as using animation, with video footage or animated product photography to grab and hold viewers’ attention.
What are some Popular social media video marketing platforms?
Youtube
Snapchat
TikTok
Adwords
Depending on the social media platform that you plan to run your video ads, the physical dimensions of the ads will change somewhat. Since most platforms also offer multiple ad placement options, it can be a little confusing as to what resolution and aspect ratio you might need. Each platform also has its own length, file type, and file size requirements.
A larger number of our clients want a single video ad exported in multiple formats to allow for optimized usage on multiple platforms.
For example, many Instagram and Facebook ads, that are targeted for mobile are in a very “tall” 16×9 vertical format, while often AdWords and youtube ads are preferred in the more traditional 16×9 widescreen format. Instagram and Facebook ads are often running in a square 1080×1080 size as well.
Best Social Media Video Ad Length
The length of the ad can largely be up to you with few hard time requirements other than being under the platform’s max length. That being said, it’s rarely recommended to have a 1min + ad. Most people have very short attention, and often staying around the 30-second mark is advisable. Some shorter social media ads are commonly around 15 seconds.
Voiceover or No Voiceover?
Using a voiceover is common on social media video ads. Very commonly our videos feature voiceovers, which are effective at clearly communicating a message.
It again depends on ad placement and the type of ad running. For some types of social media ads, particularly those on Instagram, or mobile Facebook ads, often viewers will not have the volume turned on, so it’s important to make sure the ad is effective without sound.
Planning a Script
Writing a script takes time, for product ads, clearly communicating what you are selling from near the start of the ad is important – As this immediately lets the viewer know what the ad is about, and signals whether it is relevant or not. With the incredibly short attention span, many have, many will continue scrolling or move past video ads that don’t get to the point quickly. This is one reason short 15 second or even 6-second ads have become popular.
Volan Media is a top Knoxville video production agency specializing in broadcast production as well as digital video and social media ads. For top Knoxville trade show video, social media video ads, digital video ads get in touch!
