Are you looking for better ways to connect with your Facebook audience? The social media king has offered businesses a new alternative in the form of Facebook video ads. Video is a very powerful tool, something we all understand after the success of various YouTube stars. However, all businesses are incorporating these video ads in their marketing campaign. How can you be different? The key to remember is that you can boost your engagement and conversions if you make small adjustments to the way you target and design your Facebook video ads.
If you aren’t sure of how to go about that, here are some tips that can prove to be immensely useful:
1. Customize according to audience preferences
Instead of focusing on creating content that can work for a wide audience, you should create videos aimed at a specific segment of the audience. When videos are targeted to a certain segment, they are more likely to get clicks, shares, likes and comments that eventually lead back to your website. For instance, rather than creating a general video about your business, it is better if you make one about one of your products. The latter video will get a direct response whereas the former is usually beneficial for branding purposes. If you aren’t sure who your audience is, you can take advantage of Facebook Audience Insights to know your audience based on age, demographic, lifestyle, gender, relationship status etc.
2. Capture the audience’s interest quickly
Successful videos are those that get directly to the point. You have to get through to your audience in the first 5 seconds if you want them to watch the entire video. Make sure you use content that’s attention grabbing as this will keep them hooked till the end. How can you accomplish this? A catchy start can go a long way in luring the audience just like a mysterious one.
Nevertheless, pose the mystery in a way that it incites curiosity instead of boring the viewers. Another way to retain attention is to tell people that you can solve a problem. Facebook videos are muted and the message can only be heard when the user clicks on the audio button. This means that the video has to have a powerful supporting visual to get the users to press the button. Also, don’t get too commercial in the videos because that often puts viewers off.
3. Create advertisements that don’t seem like advertisements
Keep in mind that Facebook is a social platform, which means that people usually visit it when they want to know what their friends are up to or taking a break. Buying things is not really their aim when they log onto Facebook. Therefore, if you wish to attract the attention of users, you have to be subtle about it. This means that you need to deliver your message in an unusual way like funny content or insightful information. While this may not be easy, but this can help you in making some great videos that can keep your audience entertained and get your message across as well.
4. Don’t forget the message or runtime of the video
Even though you may prefer lengthy videos, your audience isn’t going to be pleased. If you want them to sit through the entire video, you have to keep it snappy and short. Long videos can bore your audience easily because there is just so much to do on Facebook. Experts recommend that you should make short videos that aren’t longer than 30 seconds. Only if your video provides value to the users or is entertaining, you can think about going as long as 2 minutes. Longer videos only work in special circumstances. The safest way to decide the runtime and message of the video is to think about who you are addressing, what you are offering, where the product is available and why it is important to use the product.
5. Make separate videos for different segments
Can you show the same video to a newcomer and one to your old and loyal customer? Definitely not! There are different messages you need to convey to each of these segments and you cannot simply make a standardized video to accomplish this goal. When you are targeting new or potential customers, you need videos that build brand awareness and generate interest in your products and services. However, when you are engaging with users who are already customers, you need to highlight other avenues of your products and services to ensure their loyalty. You need to offer them value if you want them to stay.
6. Run tests for optimizing the videos
It is definitely not a good practice to make a single video and then just repeat it over and over again. It is better for you to make two versions of each video and test them separately on the audience to know which one has a more powerful impact and generates a good response. You can simply change just one variable in the video or make completely different ones with the same message. Sometimes, even a single element can make a huge difference in the response you get from your audience.
7. Combine music, voiceover and visuals
When you are making videos for Facebook, you need to think about how you will deliver your message. As videos are mute and they stop when users move onto other posts, you have to prompt your customers to press the audio button by compelling them to look at the first few seconds. Once they can hear the video, you need to keep them engaged. The first frames of the video and the text should be convincing enough to open audio and the rest of the content should have appropriate music, visuals and voiceover to pull them through.
When you keep these tips in mind, you will be able to devise effective Facebook video ads.
