How To Master Video Advertisement – A Quick Guide

Which would you prefer; a fun video to watch, or pages upon pages of text?

Today, more and more businesses are moving toward video advertising because it’s sweet, it’s short, and it sells the brand better. According to HubSpot, the number of businesses opting for video marketing content has gone up by 63% in the last two years alone.

Owing to this simple fact, most marketers are shifting towards video ads to optimize interactions between their brand and audience.

Busting Video Advertising Myths

YouTube claims that the amount of people consuming video content has increased drastically over the years – in 2017, the video platform giant had 1.5 billion monthly users.

While online videos are the latest advertisement trend, small businesses tend to mistakenly label them as expensive and time-consuming. Yet, research continues to show the various benefits of video marketing and the fact that it has a high ROI.

Also, Wistia, a video-software company, examined over 6.7 million videos in 2017 and concluded that short video ads don’t require large-scale production sets; meaning that they are not as expensive as marketers tend to believe.

So now that you’re sold on the idea of selling your product through a more visual medium, let’s see what makes for great video ad content.

How to Create an Effective Video Ad?

While there isn’t a sure formula for making the perfect video ad (wouldn’t that be ideal!) there are certain things that can help your ad videos a success.

1.    The Hook

Imagine crafting the perfect ad that sells your brand and product, but if it doesn’t grab the consumer’s attention, is it really worth anything?

Video advertising is growing day by day – the average consumer comes across a plethora of content from various businesses, which puts you in a position where beating your competition becomes difficult.

Hence, to capture your audience’s attention, the first few seconds are make-or-break for any video ad campaign; as per recent research, our attention spans have decreased drastically from 12 seconds to 8.25 seconds. Your video needs to have a ‘hook,’ something that catches the audience’s eye and makes them want to watch till the end.

Here are some good hooks you can use:

• Solving a problem
• Offering a surprise
• Promising a story
• Introducing your brand
• Using text

2.    Brand Image

What is your brand? How is it different from your competitors? What makes you unique?

These are some questions that audiences expect answers to before they buy your products or services.

When making a video, make sure to present a clear image of what your brand stands for; and whatever you do, don’t be vague as it will kill the consumer’s interest in what you’re offering.

Brand image is key to building trust with potential clients and turning them into paying customers. Use content that reiterates how dependable and trusted you are as a brand.

Also, don’t shy away from sharing achievements, success stories, and even customer reviews in your videos.

3.    Video Length

It goes without saying that your videos need to be short, but not so short that they seem hurried or incomplete.

While there isn’t one sweet spot for video length, and it all really varies from business to business, remember that most online video ads are under 30 seconds. Keeping this as a measure in your mind, curate your video ad content accordingly.

However, this doesn’t mean that your video can’t exceed 30 seconds. A video ad that is built around your brand’s story, or includes customer reviews/expert opinions, can potentially be longer.

The key is to cut out the fluff and stick to what’s necessary.

4.    Call to Action

Identify your end goal when you’re planning your video. What is it that you want the audience to do in response to your ad? What is the call to action?

A CTA can be added as text or graphic at the end of the video. There’s no set rule to follow; just ensure that your call to action is easy to identify and act upon!

So, these are the top 4 recommendations for creating highly engaging and effective video ads for your next marketing campaign.