The popularity of video advertising is continuously growing, and some indicators show that it still has not reached the saturation point. According to some studies, 87% of businesses use video as a marketing tool – up from 81% in 2018!
But still, some advertisers hesitate. They worry about investing in video ads and then not getting the results they want. They have the right to worry. It is entirely possible to create a “bad” video ad (i.e., an ad that fails to support your marketing objectives). Therefore you need to do your homework. Here are a few tips for planning effective video advertisements.
1. Clear Fundamental Concepts
The first step is to decide what kind of video ad you want to create. What do you want people who watch your videos to think, feel, or do? And why should they believe in you? To simplify, we have suggested one of these two broad types of videos:
- Business Overview: Introduces people to your business, what it does or sells. Talk about what makes you unique among others and how people can find you.
- Demonstration of your product or service: Talk about the details of the specific product or service you provide. What are the benefits to its users, and what sets them apart?
2. Identify Your Target Audience
To create an effective video marketing campaign, you need to understand who you are targeting your videos. Unlike some types of online advertising, video ads are often targeted to fairly large groups of people, but it is still essential to know who your ad is specifically for.
Unfortunately, many advertisers say, “I want an ad that will appeal to everyone in my target market.” It may be true, but your ad needs to be selective. Targeting all ones are lazy work and a waste of money.
It is even better to create five ads specific to different demographics – even if they are all ads for the same product. You will get more conversions that way. So keep things simple.
3. Focus on stories, not on sales
Before rising social media, if you wanted to see someone advertise, you had to take rent space within a popular media channel like TV or print media. But now, on social platforms, brands can reach the same audience directly. It means that branded content (advertising) competes rather than hinders entertainment.
If you want your video ad to be seen, this will require creating some value for the viewer. Videos that are purely focused on a brand, or driving sales, will likely be ignored.
The best video content tells the stories that connect the viewer. The better you tell stories about yourself, the more likely your audience will understand what your company is offering and what it can do for them.
4. Make the First Few Seconds Attention-Grabbing
The beginning of your video is important. To avoid potential customers, whether you leave your ad or click it, you need to grab their attention as soon as possible. Start your ad with a statement that will promote the interest of those in your target market. Try to hook your audience within the first few seconds by resolving their everyday problems, asking relevant questions, or sharing what makes your brand stand out.
You will often see that video ads can be muted, so it is essential to start your ad with great visuals that encourage viewers to engage in your video.
5. Be mobile-minded
Despite its small screen, mobile helps brands to create deeper personal connections and can produce tremendous results. The research found that viewers who viewed a video ad twice on mobile had a significant lift of 23% in unaided brand awareness and an average of 47% in unaided recall advertising.
Recent analysis has also shown that mobile video ads can help increase the reach of your campaign. Mobile video ads can have a profound impact. Therefore, now more than ever, consider mobile video as an essential part of your media plan.
6. Personalize the video
Include photos of yourself, your employees, and your customers. If you have customer testimonials, include them. If possible, show your customer using your product or service. Just to protect yourself from a potential headache down the road, let your “actors” sign a release, which allows you to use their name and likeness.
7. Make Your Video Relevant
With video advertising, you have the opportunity to make your ads highly relevant to video content. As a result, your ad seems less like a blockage and more like a value-adder.
Some advertisers are creating hundreds of slightly different versions of the same ad to better blend it with the video where they appear. It may seem like a massive task, but new tools are making it completely easy.
8. Casting Matters
Who is there to bring your story to life? Once you finish planning and scripting your promo video, you want to think about your cast.
For a business overview:
If you are starting your business and are the boss, consider casting yourself in the lead role. Potential new customers want to know if you are reliable, and when it is your business, you are often the best person to communicate your company’s expertise.
For a product introduction:
If you are starting a product or service, it can be the protagonist of your story. In this situation, you probably want to voice-over someone, a technique where you provide audio commentary as your video is playing.
Ensure that the person you choose to voice-over has a clear speaking voice and that they spend their time clearly reading the script.
If you want people to cast in your video, consider using someone who knows your product or service well and is comfortable being in a video. This person does not need a product manager or even any of your employees. The key point is that this person will convey key messages about your offering comfortably.
9. Tell Your Brand Story
It is essential to think about how you can ensure your video is engaging and attractive to the audience when playing quietly and with sound.
When creating videos, marketers should think about creating a compelling story without audio. If users pick the story without listening to any sound, you have definitely increased the effectiveness of your content. Are you interested to learn more about effective video advertisement planning? Write to Zytal. Our Video marketing experts will cover whole video marketing hacks for you over a free consultation call. Contact Zytal today!