You have a new best friend on Facebook and they’re not on your friends list 👀 Heck, they’re not even a person, they’re video ads! With the rising popularity of video ads online, it was only a matter of time before they made their way to social media platforms that aren’t heavily focused on video, like Facebook.
If this is the first you’re hearing of video ads, they’re not that deep, they’re exactly what they sound like! They are promotional ads, composed of a video, that are served in tangent with online video content- before, during, or after the video stream- or as standalone ads. If you’ve ever noticed a video while scrolling on your news feed from a page you haven’t liked or followed, it’s most likely a Facebook video ad.
Just like other social media ads, Facebook video ads allow you to choose an objective that supports your ad type (in this case- video!) and customize your audience, ad placements, and optimization. They’re a great way to show off your brand, product, or service in a new way, capture customers’ attention quickly, and deliver a single message in a way that makes people want to take action (a.k.a. more clicks!).
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Okay, we’re starting to get a good understanding about what video ads are but that doesn’t mean we know how to integrate them into our social strategy...yet! Let’s get down to business here, what you really need to know is Facebook video ads best practices.
The first thing to do when creating any digital marketing strategy is to make sure you stay on top of the latest trends because it would totally suck to do a ton of work on a “new” strategy just to find out that everything you implemented was outdated 😅 (Shameless plug: we just so happen to talk about industry trends in our Vibe emails 👀)
Make sure you keep your target audience in mind and tailor your video ad to them! People are only going to pay attention and interact with your content if it’s relevant to them and their interests. If your target audience is people who enjoy drinking coffee, you wouldn’t want to serve them your video ad about loose-leaf tea. You might get lucky and reach some people who enjoy both, but the chances of your video ad performing well are going to be a lot higher if you serve coffee drinkers an ad about coffee.
No one 👏🏼 wants 👏🏼 to watch 👏🏼 a bad 👏🏼 video 👏🏼
And, despite what you might think, you can totally make a high quality video ad using your iPhone! There’s a huge difference between snapping a video in your dark office with no windows and being purposeful by taking a video on the patio where the natural lighting is great. Use whatever creative resources you have available and be realistic with your schedule and budget. If the effort is there, people will notice and are more likely to watch and click on your video ad because of it!
Keep in mind that people may come across your ad on multiple devices, so your video ad should look good on a small smartphone and a large desktop monitor.
People are scrolling nonstop all day long. If your video ad doesn’t catch their attention right away, they’re going to do just that: keep scrolling past it. The best thing to do is show off the most interesting part of your video ad in the first few seconds, whether that’s your branding or the product you’re featuring. That way you hook viewers right away and make them want to keep watching!
Your video ad is telling a story- make sure it’s cohesive and concise! The length of your video ad is extremely important in telling your story; it needs to be long enough so your messaging doesn’t feel rushed, but if it’s too long then you risk people getting bored. Work to create a story arc that goes from the first frame to the last frame and will keep your audience interested the entire time.
#Didyouknow that videos on Facebook autoplay with the sound off? 😱 This doesn’t mean that you should make your video ads without any sound at all, but it does mean that your video needs to work both with sound and without. Make sure the visuals are enticing and descriptive enough that your video ad will still be effective even if viewers never unmute it. Hot tip: a good way to combat the auto mute (and be more accessible) is to utilize on-screen text, whether it’s closed captioning or more abbreviated messaging that complements your audio.
Like any other advertising, Facebook video ads aren’t free… So, you’re probably wondering how much do Facebook ads cost? The cost for Facebook advertising can vary a lot, which means that it’s hard to give an exact number for how much you’ll have to spend. But the good news is, it also means that you can advertise on Facebook with virtually any budget! We recommend* a minimum spend of at least $20 per video ad. A nice feature with Facebook advertising is that you can set your lifetime budget and they will work backwards from that to determine how long your ad can be live.
*Even though this is the budget we recommend, it doesn’t mean that this will guarantee results for everyone! The only way to know for sure what will work for you is through trial and error. Start off with whatever budget you feel comfortable with and if you’re not seeing the results you want, try increasing your spend or switch up your video ad.
They grow up so fast… We think you might finally be ready to learn how to create Facebook video ads! Don’t be intimidated if this is your first time- you can start off simple. A slideshow ad on Facebook will look like a video ad but it’s actually just text and photos! Or, if you already have video content, you can turn that into a story ad or boost the post directly. These are great ways to advertise without having to create unique video content just for an ad. But if you’re looking to advertise using unique video content, you can start off filming on your phone (like we mentioned earlier) and make edits in a free app like iMovie, or reach out to a digital marketing agency who specializes in video content and social media! Happy advertising!
