6: Don’t rely on audio
85% of Facebook videos are watched on mute and it’s thought that around 40%-60% for Instagram. Though lower on Instagram it’s still a huge number that watch with no sound, therefore it’s important that the video is watchable and makes perfect sense with the sound off. This can be achieved through captions or visual cues that emphasise specific messages. Say you had a conversation or narration in your video and you didn’t want captions/subtitles throughout the entire video, you can pick up the main points and highlight them through captions on-screen.
A good tip here is that people engage with text on-screen better if transitions on the screen as a typed layout. This way users are more likely to read the writing as it appears when you want it to be read as opposed to the user being overwhelmed with sentences appearing on screen and letting the user decide if it should be read or not.
Ben Hunter Content manager
6 January 2022
If 2021 was the year of video then 2022 will be video 2 as all major platforms double down on video creative. Facebook for example receives 4-8 billion video views on the platform every day and according to reports, in the UK in 2021 the average user spent 100 mins a day watching videos. You need to capture the attention of a potential lead and keep that attention long enough in order to have that user engage with your service or product. Here we’ll run through seven tips to produce a great social video ad.
1: Scroll stopper
The average user is subjected to hundreds if not thousands of ads a day so you need to stand out. You only have the time it takes for someone to scroll past your ad to grab attention - typically less than 3 seconds!
Good scroll stoppers often use motion and intrigue. Think products flying in and out of the shot or something that makes the user take a second look like an attractive actor/model in the frame or a double entendre that would both humour and intrigue the user.
Brands like Manscaped do this well. They employ humour and risque tactics to stop you scrolling and continue watching the ad https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joTnLPwOLzw.
2: Get to the point
The average attention span is around 8 seconds and for millennials it's reportedly 5-6 seconds, this is not long to get a point, product or promotion across. If you can keep a user's attention through an entertaining or well-targeted ad you’ll have a much greater chance of converting those scrollers into customers. With attention spans at all-time lows the faster you arrive at what you’re trying to promote or the essence of what you’re promoting the better.
That said, this doesn’t mean that your overall video needs to be under 10 seconds but each product feature or benefit should be kept short and to the point. A great way to do this is with transitions, breaking your 30 second ad into six 5 second chunks. Scroll stop, hook, product in use, testimonial, offer, CTA. Each part with a clear transition… you’ll have users watching for longer and can easily troubleshoot where you’re falling down. You may only need to switch up the offer rather than reshoot the entire piece.
3. Problem and solution
Describing a problem is a good way to hold people's attention. The greater a user can relate to the problem you describe the easier it is to sell the solution.
You can deliver problems as questions to the user. For example here Huel uses the problem; ‘want to get healthy and in shape’ then proceeds to position their product as the best way to do this.
4. Reviews and TrustPilot
Trust is massive. People buy more from brands they trust. More trust = more sales. But, how do you build trust with cold prospects?
An easy way to tackle this problem is to include genuine positive reviews and/or a TrustPilot score.
According to Trustpilot data, 88% of consumers believe ads are more trustworthy with online reviews.
5. Compatible with platforms
You may already have a clear campaign strategy of where and when your social media video ads will be shown. But it helps to have the videos tailored specifically to each platform. A way to do this in editing is to set up a template for the composition settings for each media platform.
For example, Instagram reels have a recommended aspect ratio of 9:16 where Instagram's feed can have ratios from 4:5, 1:1 to 16:9 and platforms such as TikTok recommend 9:16. So it’s beneficial to have this information readily accessible to save constantly googling it and to have it saved as a preset in editing to help speed up the process of tailoring a video to each platform.
7: Call to action in the video and the text
Adding a CTA to your ad can increase the click-through rate by 285%, this will be in the copy and in the video itself to further reinforce the need for the user to click. It’s a good way to round off the video and make sure the user takes action after watching the ad. After all, chances are if they’ve watched until the end they’re interested in your product or service.
Wording that makes the user feel more exclusive will improve your CTR. Try using the phrases such as: ‘order yours now', ‘see if you’re eligible’ or ‘click the link now to receive your exclusive offer’.
Takeaway
With social video ads the numbers speak for themselves, the short attention span the average consumer has mixed with the time it takes to promote a product and service shows that quicker is better. It doesn't necessarily mean that all the videos you produce should be 15 seconds or under, the main thing to take away from the statistics is that if you are able to get a users attention and promote your product within the first 5-10 seconds then chances are you’ll see better engagement and conversion rates. There’s plenty of stats and research that show if the video entertains and is tailored correctly to the user then they’ll watch more even up to 30 seconds as long as you capture the attention early.
A huge percentage of social media users access social media through their phones, therefore it’s important to remember the compatibility of your ads. Make them work for each platform and make sure they work just as well without audio.
Sources:
https://www.protocol80.com/blog/2019-cta-statistics
https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-advertising/
https://explain.ninja/blog/20-video-marketing-statistics-2020/
https://www.facebook.com/business/news/insights/capturing-attention-feed-video-creative
https://99firms.com/blog/facebook-video-statistics/#gref
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