7 Tips to Create Video Ads that Move Customers to Action

By now you should know: if content is king, video content is the undeniable emperor of the marketing world, ruling over brands’ strategic approach with stunning, short visual creations.

The advent of video on social platforms like Facebook and Instagram videos allowed users to produce and share creative videos easily, and prompted brands and businesses to join the loop party and to use these and other platforms to publish videos as part of their content marketing strategy.

If your business isn’t using videos ads now, you are missing out on a game-changing opportunity that can do wonders for your customers, brand image, and most importantly, your advertising ROI.

Why do video ads work so well?

Video is the most engaging and immersive form of storytelling and has been proven to have an emotional impact on viewers. According to Boast, one minute of video is worth 1.8 million words. Now imagine the opportunities to deliver a memorable message. Video is the most persuasive type of content because our brain requires emotional input to make decisions. Videos cater to the brain’s visual and auditory systems, communicating body language, facial expressions, imagery and music. This elicits an emotional bond that influences our choices and actions.

In fact, studies show that over 80% of people say they are more likely to use a service or buy a product after watching a promotional video about it. In terms of online searches, videos get more organic reach and rank higher among search results, deeming them more efficient in reaching the specific audience. Essentially, you can provide the most detailed, research-supported articles in favor of your business or product, offer testimonials and reviews, but still they won’t get your customers’ attention as fast as a short video ad.

There’s no better time than now, here’s why:

Video’s been around for a long time, but it’s been the consumption of video that’s been around, not the creation of video.

Today’s technology has made video mainstream, helping set the stage for one’s need – and demand to a certain extent – to consume short and to-the-point videos. Images were always favorable in replacing lengthy text, and videos have evolved from them to evoke an even more powerful feeling towards a brand or a product.

Facebook’s No. 2 Sheryl Sandberg has recognized the enormous potential in video advertising for small businesses that are already on Facebook, turning them into marketers with over 1 million business owners already posting videos, both”organic” and paid. The trend will continue to grow as 75 percent of  Facebook video views occur on mobile devices .  

Marketers quickly noticed this shift and the valued potential, and today video is a rapidly growing medium for brands and businesses to communicate and engage customers as well as potential customers.

Video is particularly significant in the mobile marketing world, where smartphones users are bombarded with content that has to be optimized for mobile use. A video is often the best way to access content on the go, and it will influence more purchase decisions; Customers encounter a video at different stages of the customer journey and it’s been proven to drive more conversions. Also, with more videos shared on social media, you have better chances of reaching wider audiences..

Brands have identified the need to produce video ads frequently to reach customers and keep them interested. If your business isn’t implementing a video marketing strategy, you’re risking losing market share and falling behind your competitors who have already started profiting from the use of videos.    

How to get started with video ads today

So now that you’ve realized you can’t afford not to Join the millions of small businesses using video ads to promote their business online, here’s what you can do about it.

It’s important to understand that video marketing is an ongoing campaign–one that will tell your customers a story about your brand, resonate with them, and move them to take action. To maintain and reinforce your brand image, you need to create multiple video ads that appeal to different personas in your audience.

Here are 7 tips to get you started with creating video ads that move customers to action:

1.  Know your audience – define who you’d like to reach and what’s the best way to do it. You can’t create a successful video if you don’t know who will watch it.  A great tool that we recommend is Facebook Audience Insights to find out who your audience is, if you aren’t sure already.

2. Define your goals – what do you hope to achieve with your video? Notify your clients about a new product or sale? Increase social engagement? Increase leads and sales? Of course your overall goal should be to grow your business, but you should aim for specific goals with each video ad you create.

3. Video Ads should not look like ads – the best video ads deliver a feeling, not a hard sale. They tell a short story of what you will get and how you will benefit from using a service. Viewers relate to people and emotions and they want to see how a product can help them improve themselves.

4. Short and sweet – a concise message is always better and 10-15 second videos are ideal for sharing and spreading the word. This is especially crucial on social media channels, where users scroll through a substantial amount of text, images, and other videos.You should also include sharing options so customers will essentially become your brand ambassadors, and before you know it your video will go viral.

5. Call to action always include a bottom line that asks viewers to take action. Whether it’s buying a new product, invitation to the company website, or sharing the video to receive a discount on future purchases.  

6. Use all social media platforms – your audience may be using Twitter more than Facebook or Instagram, but you should share your video ads through all platforms. You will want to customize each video so that it maximizes the platform’s features, but having a strong presence on all social channels will raise more awareness.

7. Monitor and evaluate – after launching a video ad, look at the number of shares and conversions it generated across all social platforms as well as traffic to your site to assess how well your audience received it. Test multiple ads that appeal to different types of audiences in different stages of their buying journey.

Video is here to stay, there’s no doubt about that. Start planning your video marketing strategy to ensure your business is up to speed and can fully support a sustainable approach to frequent video production.

Promo makes it easy for you to create video ads that work in a few minutes.

Get started today and let Promo help your business easily produce beautiful, effective videos on its own, time after time.

Enjoy!