Want to elicit emotion from your audience? Want to tell your story and grab your viewers’ attention without relying on a hard pitch? Welcome to video advertising—we’ve all seen it; we’ve all been moved by it. Even if it’s for 5 seconds, video has taken over the digital marketing space for good reason. With all this in mind, here is a complete guide to video advertising.
What is Video Advertising?
Video advertising is the future of all advertising! Okay, maybe not all advertising but video advertising has become an essential part of any business’s marketing arsenal. In short, video advertising shows its face in many forms which we will discuss further in this article, but it is the use of video to promote your business in some way.
Types of Video Ads
The type of video used for your advertisement depends on many factors but video advertising can include content that plays on a loop on a billboard along the highway, announcements before a YouTube video, or even a video that is played before a conference.
All of these and many more are forms of video advertising and, every business can benefit from a well-crafted video. Here are a few types of video ads and a little information about them:
- Native Video Ads
These are advertisements that actually don’t appear to be advertisements. They compliment the content of the website or other platforms that they appear on. These types of ads would also fall under the content-marketing category.
That’s because they generally aren’t blatantly advertising something but rather providing valuable information to the audience. Generally speaking, native video ads are very effective on social media platforms including LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook.
- Instream Ads
These ones are pretty much like traditional television ads, just that they have a modern take to them since they’re found on more recent platforms. For instance, think of the advertisements that play before, during, or after a video on YouTube. These are instream ads because they are presented while streaming.
The same goes for any advertisements that show up while streaming video on any platform. There are sub-categories of instream ads that are dependent on at what point of the streaming you would like your advertisement to be presented. It could be a pre-roll (before), mid-roll (middle), or post-roll (end).
As with anything else in the marketing world, whichever you opt for between the pre, mid, and post-roll, it’s entirely dependent on what your goal and ideal outcomes are with your advertising.
- Outstream Ads
This category, you guessed it—is out of the stream which means that it doesn’t appear to the audience while they are streaming something. Most often out-stream ads can be found in footers, edges, or the middle of website content as the viewer scrolls through the webpage.
The best thing about out-stream ads is that they don’t actually take away from the user’s experience at all, meaning your audience won’t be frustrated that their browsing is being interrupted. Outstream ads generally also have a higher impression rate than a lot of other video ad types since the user can have the ad on-screen with other content.
- Interactive Video Ads
These are video ads that generally cover the entire viewer with their content. They can appear on websites, or smartphone applications and are very prominent on gaming apps. Interactive ads are a very good choice if you’re targeting people through their mobile devices.
Not so fast though! You should be very careful about the platform or app you choose to advertise through. That’s because some users will be less likely to engage with your ad even if it covers their entire screen.
What Makes a Good Video Ad?
Making a good video ad can be done quite easily in today’s society. However, with so much content to consume, only the best, most interesting, and engaging videos are going to stand out. With that in mind, the key is in the planning of a good video ad, and in a lot of cases, a video production company can help you immensely with this.
So how do you capture your audience? One of our favourite tactics is to keep in mind the 7 points of newsworthiness. What are these? Put simply, these are the 7 general themes that make something newsworthy or, more interesting. The seven points include:
✔ Impact
✔ Timeliness
✔ Proximity
✔ Human Interest
✔ Conflict
✔ The Bizarre
✔ Celebrity
So how can you apply these to your video? Well, think about the message of your video and check whether it fits into any of these categories. In many cases, it will fit into more than one, and if it doesn’t, this is where the scripting comes in. See the examples below to learn more about how they fit into each category:
- Case Study 1: Fulton Hogan MREP Announcement
This video is a perfect example of how a simple announcement video can hit numerous points of newsworthiness. In this case, it’s impactful, because it is teaming up with other organisations to reach net zero emissions and better its community.
It was also timely because of course it was a new endeavour for the organisation but also because global warming and lowering carbon emissions are very prominent topics in today’s society. Lastly, it falls under the proximity category because it was created for a Melbourne-based audience which is exactly who was going to be affected by the commitments.
- Case Study 2: Tourism Australia Dundee Super Bowl Ad
The producers of this 2018 Tourism Australia ad definitely did their research when it came to piquing the interest of their audience. The advertisement originally ran in a commercial spot during the 2018 Super Bowl in the U.S., meaning that it was against many other bizarre and jaw-dropping ads. That being said it definitely came out on top.
With the primary goal to appeal to middle-aged North Americans, this advertisement easily hits the human interest, bizarre and celebrity categories. Human interest in this case was the pop culture and travel aspects of it. The fake-movie-trailer-turned-visit-Australia ad covers bizarre with the plot twist of it not actually being a movie being dropped 45 seconds in.
Lastly, of course, the celebrity appearance of Chris Hemsworth and Danny McBride definitely makes it unforgettable. Of course, not every business has the funding to pull in a Hemsworth, but this is an advertisement to pull inspiration from!
Benefits of Video Advertising
- Increased Audience Engagement
People watch videos more than any type of content. That’s because they are considerably more interesting than conventional display ads because of their dynamic nature. They’re relatable, easy to understand and have a story to tell. And let’s be honest, who hates stories? No one! 54% of customers claim that they would want to see more videos from companies. That merely demonstrates how many viewers enjoy the video.
- People Share Video
What next if a video is captivating? Sharing it! Videos give businesses a fantastic platform to express themselves, which is why so many people think they’re worthwhile to share. As more viewers tune in, this leads to an increase in brand recognition. Twitter users share more than 700 videos every minute—this phenomenon can significantly enhance the visibility of your video and improve brand recognition.
- Generating Leads and Driving Conversions
Videos are excellent for lead generation. How so? They are captivating and sharable, bringing in more prospects to your website so you can pique their interest in your products and services. The ultimate objective, of course, is to influence their purchasing decision and if you make your content worthwhile, they’ll do just that.
That automatically increases conversion rates. Evidently, up to 64% of buyers said that a Facebook video affected their choice to make a purchase. If used properly, sales videos and product videos have enormous potential. Digital marketers today claim that one of the easiest ways to boost your sales is to have videos that influence your customers at each stage of the sales process.
- Video Content is Versatile
Want to increase brand recognition? Promote your product or service? Perhaps educate your audience about your products? Video has got you. You can make different types of videos suitable for a variety of uses in the marketing world. Explainer videos, team videos, promotional videos—the possibilities are essentially limitless!
- Video Ads Are Easy to Produce
With something as simple as a mobile phone, you can make a powerful video. And video editing is not hard either—there are numerous video editing tools, some even free. You can make your videos easily and effectively, and convey a powerful message to your audience within minutes!
- Videos Build Trust
Trust is the foundation of all sales. As such, all content marketing should focus on building long-lasting relationships and trust. For this, video advertising is the ultimate choice. It adds a human touch to marketing. Videos give a face and a voice to your brand.
Moreover, video content engages people more and evokes emotion. It’s no surprise therefore that YouTubers are becoming the most effective social media influencers for brand promotion. Therefore, you must make investments in video advertising if you are serious about content marketing.
- Videos Are Memorable
It doesn’t matter whether it’s a short video lasting 10 seconds or a long one lasting 10 minutes—video ads are more memorable than other types of ads. People remember them because they are more likely to have meaning, tell a story, or evoke an emotion. If a picture tells a thousand words, videos tell millions!
Having said that, creating video content can help you achieve marketing goals such as brand recognition, reach, and relevance faster. You can, for example, get thousands of customers with a simple, short, awareness-focused pre-roll ad on TikTok. To engage your audiences, try using different background music, camera angles, and dialogue. This way, customers will recall what they see and, even better, your brand.
5 KPIs for Video Advertising Campaigns
1.) Number of Clicks
All content creators and marketers on digital platforms want a lot of clicks on their videos. The higher the number, the wider their reach. But the number of clicks goes further than that. You need to evaluate the quality of clicks further. What’s the bounce rate, the view-through rate, and the conversion rate? That is the only way to really know how worthwhile your clicks are!
To increase the number of clicks on your videos you can take the following measures:
- Make sure the video is positioned in a good spot on your landing pages
- Keep your videos short but catchy
- Include clear descriptions to convey valuable information
- Incorporate keywords in the title and description
- Remember to add a compelling call to action
2.) Video Engagement and Bounce Rates
This is a critical KPI because it shows how relevant your video is. It tells you how many people viewed your video and at what point they stop watching it. It also helps you know what they think of your video, for example in the comment section.
People don’t just watch a video for the sake of it. They want to laugh, learn something new, see more of your brand and so forth – there’s always a reason behind it. Engagement can help you know whether your audiences appreciated, understood, or found the information interesting. It can also reveal pain points in your customers’ journeys. In turn, you can revise and improve your video.
To increase engagement, consider this:
- Serve a 5-second introduction as the hook
- Pop-ups can be annoying, get rid of them
- How good is the sound?
- Use tried and tested storytelling techniques
- Up-to-date content
3.) View-Through Rates
Interesting, catchy, information-packed videos will most likely encourage viewers to watch till the end. That’s where the view-through rate comes in. To get the view-through rate, divide the number of viewers who watched till the end by the total number of views. A higher percentage shows that your viewers found the video interesting, that it was broadcasted on the right channels, and most importantly, that you’ve got what the viewers wanted.
4.) Video Conversion Rates
What’s the goal of your video? Is it to generate higher traffic, explain how to use your products, or promote your products? Perhaps boost the number of newsletter subscribers? Whatever it is, you need to measure the conversion rate to know how successful your video campaign was.
For instance, if you have several blog posts that include video ads, evaluate the one with higher conversion rates. How many paying customers, prospective clients, or new leads did you get? This can help you develop a solid plan for future ad spending.
5.) Social Media Shares
Did you know that every day, 500 million people use Facebook to watch more than 8 billion hours of video? The majority of these videos are repetitious and are shared by many user groups. The higher your shares, the higher the chances of better reach and brand visibility.
Final Thoughts
If you’re anything like most customers, you barely look at banner ads or read text ads. But how many videos do you watch? Probably several in a day. You may not watch them till the end, but it’s tempting to watch them for the first few seconds.
What does that imply? Video content is powerful. Video marketing is important, and as a consumer, you can attest to this fact. The benefits are innumerable! Neglecting video ads can therefore put you at a competitive disadvantage.
Hire a Professional Video Production Company
Video content is king, now and in years to come. Videos captivate viewers and persuade them to buy your products and services. They also promote trust and increase brand awareness. But to deliver this, they’ve got to be quality videos.
Bad videos can do more harm than good, and making mistakes is quite common. Irrelevant content, poor audio quality, selecting the wrong embed settings, incorrect subtitles, boring videos, you name it! The list of bad practices is quite long. But worry not, because all you need is a video marketing guru who has been in the market for years.
Inspireworks is a video production company that can deliver exemplary work. We produce videos that will keep your customers coming back for more. Browse our portfolio, be wowed at how much video can do, and then reach out and let us do the same for you!
Give us a call today at 1300 885 968 or send us a message to learn more about our video podcasting services.