Without a shadow of a doubt, Facebook is the champion when it comes to commercial advertisement. Nowadays, everyone is on Facebook, with people of every age scrolling over their newsfeed for something to read or watch. It’s on that exact newsfeed that you’ll want to make the promotion of your product.
However, creating the best ad can be quite challenging. Unless you come up with something engaging, people will just scroll over your content like it was never there in the first place. This guide will help you create the ultimate marketing campaign featuring effective Facebook ads.
| Table of contents
Why Choose Facebook Video Ads
Ad Placements for Success
Good Ads on a Budget
Facebook Ad Policies
Psychology of a Video Ad
Steps to Get the Most Out of Facebook Video Ads
Music for facebook video ads
Why Choose Facebook Video Ads
Video gets a lot of engagement nowadays, but in comparison to other types of ads, it’s incredibly underutilized. With that in mind, it was shown that Facebook videos are more effective in comparison to images, as it allows the viewer to actually engage in the content. By using both visuals and sounds, they engage all senses. Through Facebook videos, you may boost your traffic to your website and promote your business, especially if the tactics you use are engaging enough to keep the viewer there.
Ad Placements for Success
When you make a Facebook ad campaign, bear in mind that the placement of the ad can determine whether you will be successful or not. When setting the ads, you may go for Automatic placement (where Facebook will decide where the ads will show), or you may edit the placement yourself.
On Facebook, you may decide to place the video in feeds, instant articles, in-stream videos, suggested videos, and right column. In-stream videos and suggested videos are the most likely to be successful, as people are probably already looking at videos when they get there.
Good Ads on a Budget
Facebook ads can be very expensive if you handle the campaign incorrectly. Here are the best practices for you to create some good, successful ads without breaking the bank:
Target the Audience
It may feel very tempting to create ads with a wide reach, making them show on everyone’s newsfeed – but that will only cost you extra. Rather than spending money to reach people that don’t care about your product, try to target those who already have a potential interest.
Use Good Visuals or Thumbnails
The better the visuals of an ad, the higher the chances will be that it will lead to conversion. If you choose to go with the autoplay option, make sure the first few seconds of the video visually stand out. If you choose to let the viewer hit play, ensure the thumbnail is intriguing enough to make them want to click.
Start small and Use Lifetime Budget
So that you don’t blow all your funds on Facebook video ads, you may want to select Lifetime Budget for each promotion, as it will keep the costs down. Facebook requires a minimum of $1.00 per day for the campaign, which you need to take advantage of at first. Don’t try to put too much into an ad, because you should see which ads are more effective first.
Facebook Ad Policies
In order to place a Facebook ad, you might want to make sure that you are following Facebook’s policy in terms of videos. If you don’t follow the recommendations and requirements, it may look odd on Facebook and there’s also a good chance that it may not be approved.
Each ad type features its own policy and video specifications that you need to be aware of:
- Type of File: Facebook can support a wide file range, but MP4, GIF, and MOV are the most recommended options for every video placement.
- Video Length: For in-feed ads, the videos can go from one second to a maximum of 241 minutes. Use a free video merger to get to the desired length. However, this will also depend on the placement of the video.
- Aspect Ratio: In-feed ads support videos with 9:16 (portrait) and 16:9 (landscape) aspect ratio ads, but Facebook recommends you go for 4:5 ratio. Other ratios may get you black bars on both sides of the video.
- Max File Size: Regardless of the placement, the max file size is 4GB.
- Minimum Resolution: Regardless of the placement, the minimum resolution is 1080×1080.
- Personal Characteristics: An ad cannot imply, indirectly or directly, that you know the personal characteristics of a person. This includes anything from name to ethnic origin, sexual orientation, or medical conditions.
- Language: Facebook ads should not have profane, vulgar, or insulting language. Ad texts shouldn’t be offensive, rude, or bullying.
- Deceptive Claims: A Facebook ad, whether it’s a picture or a video, should not contain false, misleading, or fraudulent information. Any claim that you make will have to be substantialize.
Failing to comply with Facebook’s ad policy will have your ad taken down.
Parts of a Facebook Video Ad
Every part of a Facebook video ad has its own role – and by understanding these parts, you can come up with the best Facebook video ads. Here is what the anatomy of an ad looks like:
Account Link
The account link is the main link to the Facebook account. It differentiates the post from an organic one (the types that usually appear in your newsfeed, shared by friends) by displaying “Sponsored” close to the account link.
Primary Text
It may be a video, but the text is still needed. This copy of the text will appear above the actual video, in a descriptive caption. If more than 125 characters are used, the content can be truncated – in which case, the viewers will have to click on “read more” if they wish to see the full text.
Video View
This is where you’ll see the video display. As the owner of the page that plays the video, you’ll be the one to decide whether you want it to play automatically or just show it as an image until the viewer hits play.
Headline
It may be called headline, but this will appear underneath the video. Bear in mind that more than 40 characters may once more be truncated, meaning that the headline won’t be visible. Very few people actually click on the ad to see more, which is why you may want to make everything visible from the beginning. This will get your message across.
Call to Action Button
On the lower right of the ad, you will find a clickable button as well. When creating the ad, you will have a pre-set CTA list from which you can choose. Go for the ones that you believe will get the most engagement from your audience.
Psychology of a Video Ad
Videos can generate many more emotional cues as compared to a simple picture. While pictures can tell you a story, videos can actually immerse you in that story. A video can stimulate numerous senses, both visual and auditory – as compared to the picture, that only stimulates you visually.
Bright colors mixed with relatable dialogue can greatly influence the behavior of a consumer, sparking a variety of feelings such as nostalgia, memories, curiosity, or even fear. This kind of emotional response not only calls for action but also keeps the user watching.
Steps to Get the Most Out of Facebook Video Ads
In order to get the most out of Facebook video ads, you need to create them in a way that spells efficiency. Here are a few good ways for you to do so:
Targeted Audience
One of the most important steps in creating Facebook video ads is to define your target audience. Luckily, with Facebook’s features, you may easily do that. By targeting the audience, you are reaching the people that you specifically want to view your content, based on whether you believe it will have an effect upon them or not.
For example, let’s say that you are selling young men’s T-shirts. In this case, your target audience should be men, aged between 19 and 28 years old, belonging to a specific area on the map (i.e. a city, state, or country).
These socio-economic background elements and demographic factors are essential when you wish to create the ultimate Facebook video ad. When you select a target audience, Facebook will place the ad on the newsfeed of people who will find your ad to be most relevant.
To target your audience, you might want to use Audience Manager and Audience Insights. This way, you will get to know your viewer better so that you can create the perfect ad.
Right Video Styles
One thing that you’ll want to remember when creating an ad is that not every video style will do. You need to choose different ones according to the sales funnel stage.
Top Funnel Video Styles
When you are at the top of the funnel stage, you are working on your branding and still trying to get your product and information out there. At that point, you will want to appeal to the people that previously seemed just lightly interested in your ad. By this, we mean people that ended up watching less than 25% of the ad before moving on.
For this stage, you may want to use traditional commercial videos, like the ones you see on TV. These will boost your brand awareness through short clips, seeking attention without beating around the bush too much. Commercial videos are straightforward and not hiding their intentions.
This stage could also make use of educational videos. Here, people are educated about certain pain points, catching people’s attention with information that they need along with drawing them towards their brand.
Bear in mind that regardless of the video type that you use, you shouldn’t make it any longer than 15 seconds. Sure, there are video ads such as the Carlton Draught “Big Ad,” that really grabbed the attention back in the day, while keeping you entertained. However, usually, people won’t have enough patience to stay there for the rest of the video.
Middle Funnel Video Styles
In the middle funnel stage, people have watched around 25%-75% of your previous ad. They haven’t watched all of it, but they stuck around long enough to get an idea. It’s safe to say at this point that they are probably willing to find out more about your product or service that you are offering. It’s time for you to bring that information to them.
One video style that you may want to try out here is the explainer video. The name is suggestive enough; it explains a topic, delivering value propositions in 2 minutes or less. Product videos are also great at this stage. They show the benefits and features, offering your audience a full picture of the product.
Bottom Funnel Video Styles
At the bottom funnel, your audience has watched over 75% of your video ad – meaning that they probably hold more than just some mild interest in your product. They’re probably bordering on whether they should buy your product or not. In this case, you may want to make your move to clear their mind.
Testimonial videos should be the first thing to try here, such as an interview with a previous customer that liked your product, explaining how it helped resolve a problem of theirs.
Short and Engaging
When you’re making a video ad, you need to be quick when grabbing the attention of the video. Facebook stats show that the first three seconds of the video will deliver 47% of the brand’s value. Those three seconds are critical because that’s when the viewer decides whether they scroll down, hit “skip ad,” or stay to watch the whole thing.
Many people stop scrolling when they come across a brand or a logo that they like. Sometimes, all you need is a couple of seconds to deliver a message. Take, for example, the ad for the Doritos Flamin’ Hot Limón snack. All they needed was 6 seconds to represent the new spicy, lemon-infused flavor. There wasn’t even a need for captions; just a lime, rolling into a bag of Flamin’ Hot Nachos. Message delivered.
Generally speaking, you do not need more than 15 seconds to deliver a message through an ad. Plus, the thing with Facebook ads is that they don’t only show as sponsored, but while your audience is watching other videos.
Think about how you feel when you are watching a video and suddenly an ad pops up. The chances are that the last thing on your mind will be to watch the ad; all you’ll want will be to see the “skip” button so that you can get back to watching your video. However, if the video is short, you will probably receive their message before you have to hit skip.
Mobile Friendliness
When you’re creating Facebook video ads, you should make them mobile-friendly first. People are 1.5 more likely to watch a video on their smartphone rather than on the computer. And it makes sense, because it’s much easier to pull out your phone compared to your laptop, especially when you are commuting.
There are several things that you can do to make a video ad mobile friendly. For example, vertical videos are the better choice, as they cover more of the screen. Short videos with no sound are also the most mobile-friendly options, as they can be easily accessed when people are commuting.
Plus, since 85% of Facebook videos are watched without sound, you may want to invest in silent ads if you wish to get your message across.
Clear CTAs
An ad can only be successful and draw engagement if it gives clear indications to the audience as to where they can find more information about the product. It needs to say exactly what steps the viewer can take, as this technique may lead to conversion.
In that regard, you may want to be certain to include unambiguous CTAs (call to action) in the video as well as in the copy clear. This can be anything, from “Get Started” to “Subscribe to Our Channel” or “Get Premium.”
These promotion strategies will take your prospective customer from the regular ad viewer to someone that engages with your brand. The CTA will trigger their response, calling them to engage even more with your sponsored product.
Autoplay Option
Many people are just scrolling their boredom away on Facebook, looking for something interesting. Despite this, they won’t stop to play every video ad that they see on Facebook. They accidentally see the ad as they are scrolling over it.
So, unless the ad is already playing, it’s unlikely that people will actually stop to watch it. By bringing autoplay into the mix, you may as well pick their interest enough just to look at the rest of it. If not for the content, then at least to just finish what they started watching.
Create Good Content
In order to get the most out of your ads, you need to create good, professional content. Not only does it have to be short and engaging, but it needs to be very well made as well. No one is going to watch a boring, clingy ad, which is why you need to ensure it is as creative and interesting as possible.
First, you will have to come up with a good, engaging idea that will attract the viewer right away. Remember, the first three seconds will determine whether the viewer will stay there or keep scrolling. Then, you need to use the necessary editing tools in order to create proper-looking content.
There are various video-making tools that you may use, including Creatopy, Animoto, Motionden, and Billo. Besides a video editor that adds effects, an online video maker is also helpful because it can place everything nicely together.
It might take some time to come up with the perfect video, but if it’s properly made, it will lead to conversion as well. If you don’t know how to make such an ad, you can easily find a tutorial on the Internet that will explain things to you.
Video Poll Ads
Similar to Instagram, Facebook now also offers interactive poll stickers for your video ads. These stickers will allow you to directly interact with your audience. You ask a question, they provide you with an answer. Not only does this allow the audience to engage with your content, but it also gives you more insight into the preferences of your audience.
Generally, interactive ad-ons such as polls are very common on social media. In fact, about 60% of businesses claim that they use interactive stickers like this. It gets the people involved and allows you to gather data – and the good thing about this is that they are quite easy to add. Facebook has guidelines on this as well.
Ads that Work Without Sound
Once more, a lot of people are just scrolling their boredom on Facebook whenever they get a break. Some may be bored in class, others may be bored on the bus. Some may just be bored at home, listening to some music or watching a video.
In these cases, people rarely want to stop what’s currently playing just to watch an ad. Maybe they can’t even raise the sound up. In that case, you may want to make an ad that works just as well without sound.
Whether you add subtitles or you make the story understandable even without sound, this kind of soundless video can get you a lot of clicks. Videos with subtitles are 12% more likely to engage the viewers as compared to non-captioned videos.
Video Stat Research for Improvement
Once you have gained a significant number of views, the last thing you may want to do is slack off. You need to put your glasses on and check your video stats. Take a step back and check whether the money that you spend on your ads is yielding returns.
How many people are stopping to watch your videos? Is anyone clicking on your ad? Do they visit your website after they watch the ad? You need to understand the way Facebook video marketing affects your audience, and then use it to improve your reach.
Improving your marketing strategy will also improve your branding. The better you are able to deliver your message across and connect with your audience, the more your brand will grow. You will be able to increase your engagement – and this will lead to more potential customers, which will spread the news around.
Retarget the Audience
Once you have already gathered some data on your audience, you might want to consider retargeting the people that are watching your videos. By retargeting the ads, you set them so that they automatically show up to those that have already taken action (e.g., saw one of your other ads or visited your website).
With this in mind, you can use that information and create Facebook Custom Audience. This will allow you to retarget those that have already watched at least one of your ads before. When someone sees an ad and engages with it, they will already become familiar with your product, which will make them more likely to become curious and click your next ad as well.
Retargeting the audience is an efficient strategy because when someone shows an interest in your ad, they give you the signal that your product or service may be of interest to them. This can be built on more by showing them future ads that they might find relevant.
Music for facebook video ads
The inclusion of background music will enhance the impact of your facebook video ad. From establishing your brand’s authority to getting the right vibe for your campaign, music has a critical part to play. We at Foximusic, offers you 100% safe to use royalty free music tracks to be used on Facebook video ads, YouTube videos, and any social platform out there. You get to keep your monetisation revenue control as an advertiser and never have to deal with music copyrights claims.
Bottom Line
As you can see, Facebook video ads are an effective method to engage a viewer – perhaps an even better way as compared to images. With a good video editor and proper knowledge of the Facebook ad policy, you should be able to create content that converts.
