Are your Facebook video ads driving sales? Are they truly stopping the “scroll?” With a few basic tweaks, you can give your Facebook ads a real fighting chance!
#1 Length of Ad
It can be difficult to think of creating advertisements that are as short as 15 seconds, but it is worth it! Facebook recommends a length of 5-15 seconds. Seriously. Research by Jun Group (2011) found that videos 15 seconds or shorter are shared 37 percent more often than videos between 30 seconds and 1 minute. When in doubt short and sweet is always the answer!
#2 Video Size (Square and Vertical)
Different ad placements require different video sizing to ensure your videos look the best. For example, an advertisement displaying in your Facebook or Instagram stories should have a source ratio of 9:16 (Full Portrait/Vertical) while an ad displaying as an Instagram post should be 1:1 (squared). Paying attention to your video source ratios is an inexpensive way to make sure your ads look professional. It also makes your ads look more like social content/entertainment to your viewer, which will help stop the scrolling! For more information on source ratios check our Facebook’s very own video requirements table.
#3 Sound-off and Sound-on
Statistics show that 85 percent of Facebook users watch videos with the sound off. So what does that mean for you? Make sure you are utilizing text, graphics, and captions whenever possible so the message is still getting across without the sound on! However, this does not mean you should leave out sound altogether! A video without sound can come off unprofessional. Make sure you design your ad to work well with sound-off and sound-on.
#4 When to Brand
So you have 15 seconds…when are you supposed to get your branding in there? According to studies done by Facebook, your brand should be mentioned within the first 3 seconds of the ad in order to increase consumers’ recall of the company by 23%. If your advertisement is specifically designed for brand awareness, make sure your name is in there in the first 3 seconds or customers are more likely to forget!
#5 Engage Your Audience
After hooking your audience and introducing the brand in the first three seconds, don’t forget to insert a call to action in there! Studies show that placing your call to action in the middle of the ad actually converts the very best…however there are drawbacks to this placement. You don’t want to upset the natural rhythm and flow of your video. When your call to action is at the end of your video fewer viewers will see it, but the most engaged (and likely to purchase) will. Pay attention to your ad flow to decide on the call to action placement for your video.
Also remember that engaging your customers goes beyond creating the video. As your ad runs, best practice is to respond to comments on your ad quickly to continue to engage your audience. You will also want to make sure to check your messages and respond to them in a timely manner.
Kite Media not only offers quality content creation but also Facebook Advertisement Management so your business can dominate the social media market. Contact us today to learn more about the digital marketing services we offer.