Tips For Creating Great Video Ads
More and more, video is coming to the forefront of digital marketing as one of the most effective methods for a number of reasons. Not only can they serve the purpose of providing information and encourage viewers to buy into your brand, well-produced video ads are going viral and standing on their own as independent pieces of film; intriguing enough to make viewers almost forget that they’re being marketed to. Not every video ad will be viewed millions of times, but there are quite a few ways to make them engaging, interesting and useful enough to turn viewers into customers.
Evoke Emotion
The best video ads are always those that inspire some type of emotion in the viewer rather than just selling them a product. For almost every brand, product or service there’s a story that can be told. The video medium is all about story-telling so in addition to providing valuable information, it’s important to tell a story that can make viewers cry, laugh, think, remember or be inspired. Not every video ad needs to be a roaring comedy or epic saga, but look for stories from the perspective of what your brand can do to enrich someone’s life in a meaningful way and run with it.
Stay True To Your Brand Voice
As tempting as it may be to try to recreate the viral video du jour, pay close attention to what makes the most sense for your brand. Humour can be a great tool that can rack up views quickly but towing that line may be tricky depending on type of voice your brand already has. Focus on being a storyteller and capturing a moment that is relevant to your brand story as opposed to chasing the most recent viral trend since there’s many ways in which that could backfire.
Keep Time In Mind
As engaging as a video ad may be, keep in mind that viewers are seeing this ad ahead of a video they actually searched for and are probably eager to watch. A viewer may actually become interested in the ad and allow it to play without skipping it, so good timing is imperative for a few reasons. Firstly, the first few seconds of the ad has to grab attention within that small window of time in order to keep their interest in watching the rest of it. Whether it’s funny, informative or emotional – the viewer has to see something early on in the clip for them to continue, so it’s important not to leave most of the interest for the middle or the end. The length of the ad will also have a difference in how long a viewer watches. Any type of brand identification or call to action will likely come at the end depending on what kind of video it is, so keeping it relatively brief will increase the chances of more viewers watching the entire thing.
Think Mobile
Timing is also important considering how much of our time is spent browsing and watching videos on our mobile devices. Mobile users are already on the go, and may be more likely to skip video ads over 15 seconds. Keep these users in mind when deciding on the length of your ads. Also, consider how the ad actually looks on various devices before putting it up. Each screen is different and the large screen it’s likely edited on will show detailing that will be easier to miss on smaller screens; particularly if this detail is a vital part of the video. This is also important to note if there’s any type of text or copy in your video. Not only should the font size be a size large enough to be read on even smaller screens without being too overwhelming, you should also consider how much text you’re putting in the video. Try your best to convey as much information as you can with video, dialogue and voiceovers considering this is the medium that’s perfect for it.