People buy from businesses that market with video.
It’s a bold statement, I know, but it’s entirely true. Not only is video the preferred way to consume content today, but it helps towards making those vital touchpoints before a customer purchases. Video ads that convert seek to: entertain, educate and excite viewers; they grab attention, focus on a relatable problem and offer a solution.
What Creates A Compelling Video Ad?
The number one role of videos ads is to create action; whether that’s signing up for a newsletter, downloading a free lead magnet or taking on a seven-day challenge. But what creates action?
Emotion
As Maya Angelou once famously said: “At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel”. That saying certainly applies in your videos too, so make them feel something; something you want to be associated with your brand.
Today, there are music providers like artlist.io that will allow you to search for music based off of emotion, e.g. happy, sad, exciting. Motivational and inspiring music makes viewers feel hopeful and excited. Which means they’re more eager to make the purchase when presented with an offer.
Now, although emotion is the main ingredient that drives viewers towards action, it is essential to note that the excitement for a product must be greater than the fear a viewer has of moving forward. Almost everyone has mental roadblocks that will prevent them from taking action, so what’s the trigger that breaks down these roadblocks?
Curiosity
Video ads that spark curiosity create massive success. Billie Gene Shaw, one of the top marketers in the world, effectively used curiosity to get several million views on his ads promoting his coaching business. Video ads need a hook to grab attention and drive interest. They can start with a question like, “Hey, did you know…” or they can even start with a pattern interrupt like, “Hey, let me show you…” as long as the ad dives into the emotional aspects immediately after.
The Three Types of Video Ads
There are three types of ads that you can make.
Display ads: These are almost on the same page as banners. Display ads are usually an image or thumbnail from a video with some text, typically found on the margins of webpages.
Bumper ads: Short ads that play before a video and can’t be skipped (personally, the one I hate the most).
Stream ads: These play before a video but give the option to skip after the first five seconds. These are the more common ads you see.
Display ads rarely get enough attention due to pop-up blockers and the fact that they don’t blend in with the background, meaning it looks like an ad. Worst of all are bumper ads though-because viewers will only get angry when they can’t skip. Being forced to watch something they didn’t opt-in to will only piss them off, and curse your brand. And if they don’t like your brand, don’t bother giving them a call to action. Your ideal video ad will almost always be the stream ad.
Demographics
Catching the viewer’s attention through curiosity is key to a successful video ad, but it’s not the whole picture. It’s not worth making an emotional and intriguing ad if you’re showing it to someone with no need or desire for your product. You need to put your ad in front of popular videos that revolve around your niche. For example, a video ad that speaks to young entrepreneurs should be placed in front of Gary Vaynerchuk’s latest Youtube video.
Putting your ad in front of your ideal audience has never been easier; just ask yourself: “what does my prospect watch?” and “Where does my prospect hang out?”. If they spend a fair amount of time on specific websites such as Forbes or Entrepreneur, place the ads there. Placing ads on established sites such as these not only garners a lot of views, but it also builds your credibility.
If you’re still not sure where your ideal customer hangs out, use the Google Display Network to find out for you. It’ll tell you the best websites for specific searches and keywords. For example, the search “how to make money online” shows websites like www.forbes.com and a bunch of others; these resulting sites are ideal for placing ads targeted towards entrepreneurs.
Another powerful marketing tool you can use is the Google Keyword Planner tool. This tool lets you know the number of times a keyword, or keyword phrase is being searched. Knowing what people are currently searching gives you a considerable edge in making a successful video ad.
Targeting
So you have an emotional ad with a strong hook, and you know just where to put it. That’s great! That means there’s only one step left, targeting.
Similar to the specific targeting options provided by Facebook, Youtube allows us to advertise to the users of the platform based on their age, gender, interests, income and more. To get the targeting right, you have to know your customer avatar-how old they are, where they hang out, their interests etc.
Conclusion
Creating video ads that sell does involve a bit of science; however, the key to making sure it gets seen lies with these three questions:
- What hit videos can I advertise on?
- What relevant websites can I advertise on?
- What is my ideal customer searching for?
After you have those questions answered, you need to make sure your ad follows this formula: Within the first five seconds of an ad, ask the viewer to identify their biggest problem. Follow-up that question by showing how their problem can be solved. Lastly, offer to solve their problem in exchange for their contact information.
Video ads are flourishing today, more and more people are jumping on board because they see the potential to generate millions of views and dollars in revenue. What’s more, is that video ads will always be as effective as the platforms they’re on-meaning the more the platform grows, so do the video ads.
video advertising -DepositPhotos
