Best Type of Video Ads to Grow Your Business

Video marketing as a strategy should be considered by all business owners. Advertising your business through video is one of the most effective and preferred ways of advertising. With that being said, having your video advertising campaign stand out from the rest is critical. Here below is a catalog of some of the best types of video ads to grow your business. In each section, we’ll focus on a key factor to keep in mind when you plan and create your next video ad!

The first few seconds count the most!

The first 3 seconds of your ad are the most important. You want to grab your audience’s attention and instantly create brand awareness. Those first few seconds will be the deciding factor on whether someone will be focused on your ad or be completely distracted from the video.

Start your video with a statement that will grab your audience's attention and visuals that spark an interest in your target market. You could use those first few seconds to hook your audience by addressing a common problem, asking a relevant question, or by sharing something about your brand that makes it stand out from the rest. 

This Facebook Ad from Colgate is a great example of asking a relatable question and connecting it to your brand whilst addressing a common issue. The goal of the EveryDropCounts campaign was to attach the authority of Colgate as a brand to bring attention to a problem that relates to their brand. 

Keep it short

The majority of ads online are 30 seconds or less. You’ll want to definitely avoid turning your ad into a short documentary. The 15-second ad is the new commercial break.

Because of this, you’ll have to be creative to stand out from the pact of 15-second commercials flooding platforms such as YouTube or Facebook. Choose a unique format or style that will allow your brand to promote itself. Put together a robust plan and create a script and storyboard that includes the most important components you would like to include in your spot. 

This 15-second commercial from Ember used creative sound design to hook their audience. Their soundtrack and sound effects added character to their ad and increased memorability which is a powerful tool for brand image and recall.

Keep them watching!

If you want a viewer to engage with your video, design your video in a way that prioritizes viewer retention. By doing this, your viewer will be less likely to hit the skip button once they’ve “got the message” and instead be willing to watch the video all the way through to see the video's resolution. 

You already have the upper hand here if you plan to create a 15-second or less commercial but starting out strong only to transition into a sales pitch won’t do wonders for your brand standing out from the rest. The video should not only hook someone at the beginning, but it should compel someone to keep watching!

Take this short ad from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams on YouTube. They used the product demonstration approach to advertise their “Build Your Own Ice Cream Sandwich” service. By doing this, they aim to keep their target audience salivating-ly watching until the end of the demonstration to see the final product form. 



Tell a Story

Your ad shouldn’t just be to advertise your product, brand, or service. There should be a reason why a person should choose you rather than someone else! A great way to leave such a lasting impression through advertising is by telling a rewarding story to the viewer. 

In today’s busy world, getting someone to invest even 15 seconds out of their day to watch your advertisement can be a challenging undertaking. If you want great engagement with your ads, get the viewer intrigued by your story. 

Canadian Tire and Cleansheet Communications used creative and engaging storytelling to great effect in their spot titled “Wheels” in 2017. During that time, the ads response was incredibly positive and even garnered 138 million collective views at one point. 



End with a Call to Action

Just like the first 3 seconds, the ending of your video is just as important. Having brand awareness and a strong Call to Action at the end of your advertisement is incredibly important as it can often be the deciding factor for a potential consumer. 

Encourage your target market to take some sort of action at the end of your advertisement. This can be either done with creative text, a graphic, or even a filmed scene specifically for the call to action. An example of a strong call to action is to show viewers how they can visit your website for more information or show viewers where they can purchase your product or service. 

This 15-second ad from Choice Hotels used their tagline for their commercial to advertise their service in their call to action at the end. Using a memorable piece of their advertisement such as “NeedaBreak” as part of the call to action is an effective way to engage the viewer at the end of your commercial. 



Conclusion

Video ads are one of the most powerful tools any business can use to increase their brand awareness. Remember that the first and last few seconds of your ad are the most important. Keep it short, easy to digest, and engage with your audience by motivating them to keep watching through with a rewarding story. Keep all these key points in mind and look through our curated list above when you need some effective examples!

Written by Zeeshan Khamis

-

If you need help creating your own videos, we offer video production services that will help you grow your business!

We look forward to being a part of your success :)

7 Top Video Trends You Should Use for Marketing

It’s no secret when someone tells you that video marketing is the best type of marketing there is out there. They’re not only attention-grabbing, but very easy content to consume to the average watcher and if you can tell a story, then even better - this way it gets them hooked to the very end (and watch times are very important). 

But how do you know which way is actually the best way to showcase your product or service? Keep on scrolling to find out.

1. Social Media

There are 2 types of videos that go hand-in-hand with Social Media video trends:

• Ephemeral - temporary videos only available to the viewer for a 24-hour period. Social media platforms that make use of this particular style are Snapchat, and Facebook and Instagram stories.
  
  Due to the its limited time frame of accessibility, it makes this trend super effective as it can be very engaging (especially if you put a poll or quiz) and can in fact, be very addicting to the average social media user.

• Vertical - these types of videos have a higher completion watch rate compared to any other type of videos. In fact, 90% of people are more likely to complete a video that is vertical than one that is horizontal and has become a widespread format most, if not all social media gurus use.

Most people consume their online content through mobile devices, and thus, video marketing is adjusting accordingly to follow the trend alongside short and quick-to-the-point videos across all social media platforms.

Vertical videos is in and are definitely the way to go.

2. Live

Live videos became extremely popular due to the authenticity and naturalness of the entire video, as well as its connection to social media platforms. You are able to go live on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

While it can be used as a means to simply share something, it is also a cheaper alternative to running live shows especially with things turning that into the world of online since everything’s being done remotely.

However, while doing a live may seem as easy as clicking the ‘start’ button, to stand out (due to its growing nature), to put some work into the presentation to stand out from the rest.

3. Interactive

Out of all of the video trends, interactive video is the one that is most likely to grow even more traction than it already has. It allows for the viewer to directly interact with what is going on in the video, truly immersing them into the world created in the video.

Brands such as IKEA, Amazon, YouTube and Instagram have created interactive videos or more known as shoppable videos where you can shop while you watch.

On the other hand, you can also include polls or quizzes, or even reactions to your videos and live streams to add that interactive aspect with your audience especially depending on the platform.

Regardless of how you choose to make your video an interactive one, it is one of the best ways to engage people in the story you want to tell as you immerse them into another reality.

4. Personalized

Is literally as the name suggests: videos personalized and curated to a specific person. It could even be you! It typically includes the person’s name, email address, profile picture, pretty much anything that directly addresses the person and their interests. 

Personalized videos are so successful because it makes the customer feel valued and important and in turn, they’ll share what they receive to others (and this way you get free marketing!). 

And due to the increase in available insights and data to its users on social media, all the better to strategically market future products and services to its audience, catering to previous and loyal customers while also attracting new ones and increasing engagement. 

5. Animation

Who doesn’t love a good animated video? No matter the age, race or gender animated films are always a classic favourite.

Animated videos became of the utmost importance when in 2020, it was hard to shoot any real footage. Not to mention, being able to create them remotely allowed for businesses to close the gap in the lack of in-person meetings while still delivering their messages in a creative way, specifically in two methods:

• Fluid Animation - similar to that of the motion of water, fluid animation is made up of persistent movement and is rather simple to create. All you need are a few layers and one mask, and soon enough you’ll get people interested in what it is that you have to offer.

• Collage Animation - consists of a mix of photographs and illustrations whereas the animator cuts out parts of an image and combines them to create an animation with what they’ve gathered, making them stand out from the crowd.

6. Searchable

Allowing your video to be ‘searchable’ and ensuring that your SEO is performing at its best is what will make your video marketing strategy effective especially as YouTube, one of the biggest video streaming platforms.

Some tips on how to optimize your SEOs:

• Use keywords in the title and descriptions

• Create eye-catching and original thumbnail images

• Include tags, keywords that are trending and relate to your video

• And don’t forget to include subtitles and closed captions for those who prefer reading

7. Internal Communications

Internal Video Communications are typically used to onboard new employees via training/orientation shifts as a way to increase engagement, collaboration, and communication and will only continue to grow especially in 2021.

It is easily one of the best ways for people to learn as they are watching something on-screen, listening and thinking. It’s not a widely-used teaching strategy simply due to the fact of needing to plan, record, and edit the video and printing out a document, and doing a presentation.

However, more and more people are using it because of how 2021 has turned into whereas this is the most similar way to creating face-to-face and more personal interactions. Soon enough, this will be the norm of how to train new and onboarding employees.

CONCLUSION

So there you have it, the top 7 video trends for the year 2021, from vertical videos posted on social media, to live, interactive, and even training videos! It’s no doubt that video marketing is the smartest and easiest way to get an audience interested in what you have to offer. Which trend are you going to try next? Let us know!

Written by Tina Phong

If you need further help creating your own marketing videos, we offer video production services that will help you elevate your brand!

We look forward to being a part of your success. Contact us here to get started.

8 Beginner Tips for Making Professional Looking Videos

Most, if not all consumable content is through - you guessed it - video. 

It’s the easiest and more preferred form of content people bother to pay any attention to nowadays due to the simple fact that not everyone wants to read a bunch of words but rather watch and listen to whatever it is you have to say about anything. 

So how do you go about creating a well-thought-out professional-looking video? Follow these 8 easy tips for beginners to start:

1. Plan it out

Regardless of the quality of your video, it’s the content that truly matters. So think:

• What are your goals? Do you want to raise engagement? Gain more followers? Make them laugh?

• Who is your audience? Children? Adults? Youth? People who like shoes? It could be anyone and anything so long as you know who you’re targeting.

• What do you want to make them feel? Joy? Laughter? Happiness? Sadness?

• Most importantly: what’s the message?

Ask yourself a few of those questions and write them down on a piece of paper so that you’ll remember what it is that you’re trying to achieve.

2. Background - Real vs. Fake

No one’s to say one’s better than the other, they’re just useful in different ways - depending on what it is that you want to achieve in your video’s overall look and get the message you want to be delivered. 

Real Backgrounds, where you’re physically in the actual location. Whether it’s an office setting, the woods or a mall. Remember framing matters, and to make sure that there’s nothing that shouldn’t be in the video showing. 

Fake Backgrounds typically consist of what you put over a green screen or curtain to give the illusion of reality. However, these can be tricky to set up and actually learn the technology for it, especially for beginners but who’s to say you can’t do it?

Regardless of which one you decide to use, make sure the colours match well with the foreground. 

3. Use Natural Lighting

Lighting is one of the most important aspects of filming a video and as a beginner, you won’t necessarily have the equipment for it but fear not - natural lighting is free and is actually one of the best types of lighting.

Here are some ways you can use natural lighting to get the best results:

• Outdoors on a cloudy day

• Golden hour

• A room with large/multiple windows

• Other light sources (lamps, ceiling lights)

Regardless of the weather or time, shooting with natural lighting will get your video looking like it was made by a professional.

4. Learn Composition

Composition rules in photography are just as important when it comes to videography as it helps you frame the subject in an effective and appealing way.

One of the easiest and most promising ways is the rule of thirds. You divide your frame into a three-by-three grid and where the lines intersect is where you would place your subject as the audience’s eyes are naturally drawn to it. 

Basically, don’t place your subject in the middle and make sure everything that’s supposed to be in the frame is in it!

5. No Need For Expensive Equipment

Not everyone has the budget to buy an expensive, top-of-the-line camera to film a quick video to promote their brand, and with technology nowadays you can easily film something in high quality with your everyday device: your phone. 

6. Don’t Use Your Camera Microphone

While the quality of the camera doesn’t need to be superb, the sound quality definitely does (no one’s really going to listen to a video where they can’t hear anything properly). 

The best way to get clear and crisp audio is through an external microphone.

7. Film In Segments

Now that it’s finally time for you to start filming, start by doing them in short intervals. This will save you time and energy when it comes to going through your footage, choosing whether or not to reshoot and editing it.

8. Promote Your Video

And finally, all that’s left to do is to get your video out there. You can easily promote it on Facebook, YouTube, or even Instagram as an ad, attract an audience, increase engagement, and gain a following. This way, your brand becomes more well-known.

If you’re looking to sell videos, it’s best to create your own website and launch an OTT (over-the-top) app, similar to Netflix where people pay and subscribe to view your video content.

Conclusion

The possibilities for creating videos are endless and are super easy to get started. You simply start by planning it out, choose what your background is, and remember to use natural lighting, and composition rules. Keep in mind that there’s no need for expensive equipment, but do look into purchasing an external microphone. And to make things easier, film your video in short segments and finally, share your work with others! Follow these steps to create professional-looking videos even though you’re a beginner. Let us know if you’re a beginner and started creating your videos! What did you make? What tips did you follow? We’d love to hear from you!

Written by Tina Phong

If you need further help creating your own marketing videos, we offer video production services that will help you elevate your brand!

We look forward to being a part of your success. Contact us here to get started.