Google recently unveiled a new video ad creation app to help small businesses create effective video advertisements. If video ads are part of your marketing strategy, then there are some key things you need to keep in mind in order to make your ads as effective as possible.
How to Create a Better Ad Video
Have a Specific Goal in Mind
Saying that you want your video ad to help your business isn’t enough. There are several different ways you can support your mission through video ads. You can create one to increase sales of a particular product. You can create one to increase awareness of your brand. You can create one to explain exactly what your business does to clear up any potential confusion. And there are plenty other potential goals you can choose for your video. You might even make multiple video ads to support different goals. But there should be a clear and specific purpose behind each ad.
Tell a Story
Even with different purposes, every video ad should tell some kind of story, preferably one that your potential customers can relate to. For example, if you’re creating a video to promote a software product, you could start off by explaining a problem that your customers might face, like confusion when it comes to the accounting process. Then show how your software program can solve that problem through simplifying those accounting processes. Even a simple narrative can help you get your point across in a way that people will understand. And it can also make your video more entertaining.
Get Right to the Point
Viewers often have the opportunity to skip over video ads to get to the video they want to watch after just a few seconds. So if you want to have an impact on as many viewers as possible, you need to get to the point quickly. Within the first few seconds, you need to either get your main message across or do something to grab people’s attention. If you don’t, they’re likely to just skip over the rest of your video and never see or hear your message.
Choose the Right Style
Video ads that do comedy well tend to get a lot of attention online. But what that does is make a lot of other companies try for comedic video ads. However, if comedy isn’t your strong point, and if it’s not going to really fit with your brand or message, it’s not going to do your business any good. There are plenty of effective styles you can shoot for, including comedy, instructional, inspirational, dramatic and more. So think about your brand’s style and your goal for the ad and choose the style that’s most likely to help you achieve it.
Do Something You Can’t Do with Other Formats
Another common mistake businesses make is using video when the message you’re conveying can easily be said on other formats. If you’re just going to sit in front of a camera and read a message word for word, you might as well just write a blog post. But if you add in some cool visuals or have customers ask questions that you answer in your own words, then it becomes a video that’s actually worth watching.
Make It Look Professional
You don’t necessarily need every top of the line piece of video equipment to shoot an effective ad. But if it looks like it was shot on an early-2000’s flip phone, not many people are likely to stick around and watch. Just make sure that you have enough decent equipment to shoot footage that is clear and not blurry. And find or create good lighting so that your subject is easily visible.
Steer Clear of Jargon
When you work in a particular industry every day, it can be easy to forget that your customers don’t think the same way you do. If you’re creating a video that explains how to use a product or what some of the important features are, make sure you explain it in a way that your customers are going to understand and see the benefit from. For example, if you’re explaining a piece of software, don’t just use the terminology that you and your team use to sum up a particular feature. Instead, say what that feature actually does for small businesses. Saying that your product simplifies the accounting process by giving you fill-in-the-blank forms is more effective than using the technical terminology you might use to describe those forms around the office.
Use Demonstrations
Demonstrations can also be incredibly effective in video ads. Instead of you just explaining how something works or how it could benefit your customers, you can actually show them. This can give your customers a real live view of how they could benefit from using your product or service. And it can give your video some actually interesting visuals.
Include a Call to Action
What do you want viewers to do upon watching your video ad? Do you want them to purchase your product? Tell them where they can find it. Do you want them to subscribe to your YouTube channel? Provide the link and ask them to subscribe. Do you want them to continue watching more videos? Add those links and tell them what they can find there. If you want your viewers to take some kind of action, you need to make it very clear and easy for them right at the end of your video ad.
Give Them Multiple Ways to Engage With You
Of course, some viewers may not be ready to buy your product or service right away. But if your video ad caught their interest enough, they might just choose to keep you on their radar. So give them some options. At the end of your video, you might choose to tell them to visit your website to purchase your product as the main call to action. But you can also mention that they can sign up for email updates when new products come in, in case they aren’t ready to buy right now. Or you could provide links to your social media accounts so they can keep your business in mind for the future.
Video Marketing Photo via Shutterstock
This article, "10 Tips for Creating a Better Online Ad Video" was first published on Small Business Trends
No comments:
Post a Comment