Facebook Video Ads are a high-impact and cost-effective way to get your brand in front of potential new customers. Internet users are consuming more and more video content, and this format allows you to show off your brand in ways that static image and text ads can’t. Here are our top 10 recommendations for creating video ads, to ensure you get the maximum impact:
Starting with the basics, there are some official specifications and rules you’ll need to follow, which change from time to time as Facebook’s platform evolves. So always refer to the latest version of the Facebook Ads Guide before you start – which can be found here.
You want your video to be long enough to get your message across, but short enough to hold people's attention. Anywhere from 6 seconds to 30 seconds hits this sweet spot, but ideally we’d recommend your video ads be 20 seconds max.
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The number of people watching Facebook videos drops off sharply early on, so grab the viewer with something in the first 3 seconds of the video that will make them take notice and stop scrolling.
Similarly, try to ensure your brand appears or is mentioned in the first 3 seconds of the video. That way, even if people don't watch the whole video they'll still be more likely to register and recall whose ad it was.
Keep the tone personal to the viewer – using “you” and “your” etc. Show off the personality of your brand – video gives you the opportunity to relate to your audience better than other ad types.
If you’re asking users to take a specific action (e.g. visit your website, download your lead magnet), promote it in the middle of the video rather than the end. That way you won’t miss the sizeable percentage of viewers who only watch part of the video.
On the end-screen of the video, include a text tagline and/or call to action. This could be your brand slogan, or something like “Visit www.yourwebsite.com to learn more”, or both.
The majority of people (>80%) scroll through Facebook with their sound turned off, so it’s crucial to have captions for your video. These can be hard-coded into the video itself or added later with an SRT subtitle file.
65% of all Facebook video views are on mobile devices, so think about how a mobile user would experience it – e.g. will it look just as good on a smaller screen?
Having put all that time and effort into creating your video content, get the most value out of it by re-purposing it in other places:
If you have a question about any of the above, or just want a fresh pair of eyes on your Facebook Ads account, don’t hesitate to get in touch!
Recovering ex-lawyer James heads up our Paid Media team. He handles advertising campaigns and paid media strategy across Google, Facebook, Microsoft, LinkedIn and more, together with Google Analytics.
With over 15 years' experience in the digital marketing space, James has a rounded background that includes SEO, email marketing and conversion rate optimisation, in addition to his current paid media focus. He enjoys working side by side with marketing teams and business owners, to create long-term success for our clients.
When he's not in the office, James can be found running social basketball games, listening obsessively to music, and running around after a toddler.
