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

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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 :)

The 5 Best Stock Video Sites of 2024

Stock footage comes in handy as it’s a time saving and cost-effective solution for videographers and filmmakers to access footage they would not be able to shoot themselves. But finding the perfect clip can sometimes be a stressful and frustrating process without the right resources on hand. If you are looking for high quality stock video at a variety of budgets, here are 5 of the best stock video websites. 

Pexels

For many, Pexels is the go to site for those looking for truly spectacular free stock videos. 

Every video is all under a Creative Commons 0 license – a license where the original creator has dedicated the work to the public domain! You are free to use footage found on Pexels for personal and commercial use without attribution. 

This is where Pexels shines. Being able to provide high quality stock footage absolutely free that you can use for both commercial and personal use is truly a blessing. But Pexels acts more as a jack of all trades when it comes to it’s selection. Finding the perfect clip to use in your next project isn’t always easy as Pexels lacks curated video collections for specific themes. There may also be cases where the footage you find can be limited to 1080p which can be an issue if 4K and above is what you need. 

Shutterstock

Shutterstock is an absolute titan in the online stock footage scene. 

Of their entire collection of images, videos and music, they advertise over 370 million items to offer. It’s quite literally limitless and Shutterstock also makes it easy for the user to seek out the perfect clips for their next project with important search filters such as maximum resolution, frames-per-second, and if the footage contains people in it. They also provide regularly updated corrected collections that are relevant and trending that offer high quality footage in a certain niche or theme. 

But such a collection doesn’t come without a price. Shutterstock offers 3 subscription plans that offer limited downloads per month as well as clip packs that expire after 12 months that offer you a way to pay for a set amount of videos you may redeem at a later date. All of these options are pretty expensive and somewhat convoluted but offer a standard license that covers web usage and live performance. For a larger budget, Shutterstock is a great choice for videographers. 

Storyblocks

Storyblocks specializes in video and audio at an affordable price for videographers. 

Like other stock footage providers, Storyblocks offers a large selection of stock footage available to use for subscribing members. They offer curated collections and easy to use search filters to narrow down the perfect clip. But unlike their competitors, story blocks also offer a wide selection of motion graphics templates to use. What is also new to offer is Maker – an online based video editor that is integrated with their library. 

Storyblocks aims to be a one-stop shop for videographers and their pricing reflects that. They offer their unlimited download plan for individuals at $39.99 a month which comes with 4K & HD footage, Motion Graphics Templates, as well as Music and Sound Effects. The footage you use as well is 100% royalty free and yours to keep forever under their individual license as well. 

Artgrid

Artgrid aims to be the stock footage site for filmmakers.

Artgrid selection differs quite a bit from other offerings. Each clip has a cinematic quality to it that makes it perfect for filmmakers looking to tell emotional and powerful stories. On Artgrid you can search by video theme that offers a similar experience to curated collections but also by shot type. Search by shot type allows for you to narrow down clips by their framing, what type of camera movement is done, the time of day and location, and speed of the clip. These search filters are a game changer for filmmakers. 

Artgrid’s pricing is similar to Storyblocks’ as they offer both an unlimited plan and a limited plan for affordable prices. Artgrid takes it one step further by offering a Professional plan where you can download footage that is in RAW/LOG format which makes all the footage on offer incredibly versatile. All plans include lifetime use and all plans also include a 14 day money back guarantee. 

Envato Elements

Envato Elements aims to offer unlimited access to stock video and audio at a very cheap price.

With a $16.50/m individual subscription, you get access to Stock Footage, Motion Graphics Templates, Music and Sound Effects, Print and Product Mockups, Powerpoint Templates, Photos, and even Fonts. Envato Elements is really trying to be the go-to place for creatives to flock towards and with an incredibly affordable subscription plan, it’s hard to say they haven’t done that.

Envato Elements offers simple licensing terms for all their products. Each item you download is registered for one specific use but you can download it again to register a different use. Each item has broad commercial rights so you can use their offerings with confidence in your project. And each time is covered even if you choose to unsubscribe from their services later.   

Conclusion 

All of these websites have a fantastic selection of stock video to offer that is licensed or royalty-free and safe to use both commercially and for personal use. They all tailor for a specific kind of videographer or filmmaker so choose the right site for you! Also, if you need help editing/color grading your videos, we would be happy to help. Contact us here to learn more about our video production services.

Written by Zeeshan Khamis

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If you’re a filmmaker wanting to learn more about improving your audio, sound design, and business, we are developing a course called Producer Launch that will take you from beginner, all the way to knowing how to become a successful producer for a living!

Sign up here to be notified when it launches for an exclusive 50% off! 

8 Best Video Editing Tips For Beginners

You’ve just finished shooting the perfect movie, vlog, or music video and now it’s time to tackle the next phase of video production; post-production. One problem, you’re an absolute beginner. Well, the good news is you don’t need to know everything there is to know about video editing to produce a high-quality final product. Knowing the most important video editing tips and tricks will help you create a smooth workflow and a fantastic result. Here are 8 of the best video editing tips and tricks for beginner video editors!

1. Choosing the right software

This is the first and often one of the most important steps when starting your video editing journey. There is a plethora of video editing software to choose from so it is not always easy to decide which one suits your editing style and what works best for you.

The Top 3 video editing software on the market right now I would say are Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve. Even if you are using a Mac, my recommendation for the best video editing software for a beginner is still either Premiere Pro or DaVinci. 

Premiere Pro is pricey but offers some of the most powerful tools available for editors right now. Plus, there is an extensive and long-lasting community surrounding Premiere Pro with endless amounts of resources and tutorials online for any tool or technique to use in the software. With DaVinci, there is a studio-paid version but a comprehensive free version as well. The software can do almost everything Premiere Pro can do and has the best tools for colorists out there right now at the consumer level. So if you want to get started editing for free, DaVinci Resolve is the best choice. 

2. Don’t bloat your edits

If you shoot 5 minutes of footage, your final draft after editing should not be 5 minutes. We live in a busy world and taking on the task of trying to keep an audience’s attention span is a challenging one. The most common mistake amateur filmmakers make in the editing room is that their clips are cut out too long. 

You should only be putting the best of the best of your clips. Aim to look for clips with the best lighting, the cleanest movements, and the best composition to put in your final edit. Be brutal with your own work – a 30-second edit with the best clips will always be more engaging than a 5-minute edit with all of the clips; including the mediocre ones.

3. Cut on action

When cutting between takes, different angles, or even different scenes altogether, try to cut midway through an action rather than when things are not moving. What this does is create a smoother cut as our minds fill in the gaps with any movement on-screen. 

If you cut from a close-up shot of someone to a wider shot of the same person as they move their arms out for a hug, for example, our brain will fill in the gaps we miss from that motion even though we are cutting in between the motion of the arms moving to their new position. This is an important technique to learn quickly as it creates fluid and interesting sequences and it makes your films look more professional. 

4. Use cutaways to great effect

As filmmakers, we try to create stories that are dynamic and interesting to consume. And as an editor, we can accomplish this with a number of techniques. Cutaways are a great way to change the look of a shot that is lingering for too long. It makes your videos feel less static and increases the pace. 

The most common example of a cutaway is when there are spoken dialogue scenes with two or more people. If one person is talking, cutting away to catch the other person's non-verbal response can add an extra layer of depth to the scene. Another common example of this is using B-Roll to add visuals to what is being said like when someone is vlogging to a camera. 

5. Colour Correcting and Colour Grading

Colour correcting is an important process to go through with every sequence you make. The essential goal here with correcting the colours of each clip on the timeline is to gain a basic consistency with each clip. Footage from two different cameras will use two different sensors that capture colour and light differently, so in this scenario, it is especially important that they match each other both when shooting and when in post. Make sure to take the time to balance and match each clip on the timeline. 

The second step to colour correction is colour grading. Colour grading is an artistic process where you shape the current colours of the scene to match a certain “look” or “feel” that matches the tone of the story being told. Colour grading in itself is an in-depth process that serves its own blog post but most editing software come with pre-configured or user shared LUTs (Look Up Tables) that will apply either a good foundation to get you started or even grade the footage entirely with just the click of a button. At the end of the day, grading is a tool editors use for storytelling so use the right grade in the right scenario. 

6. Balance your Audio

You might be thinking, “what does sound have to do with video editing?” and the answer to that would be a lot! Audio is half of the viewing experience actually but in most cases, it is the most neglected part from beginner filmmakers. So before we can balance our audio in post, it is important that we capture good audio in the first place. That means using an external mic when recording important audio and taking the time to sound design.

When balancing our audio, a good rule of thumb is to balance speech first. Spoken audio is typically the most important part of a video's sound and thus takes top priority. If your music is too loud and it makes the dialogue hard to hear, you are doing more harm than good. Adjust the audio of the spoken dialogue so that the levels match closely to one another. Once that is set and locked in, adjust the other audio elements that surround your speech like music or sound effects. Make sure they don't overpower your spoken audio. 

7. Use these important cutting techniques

Two of the most important cuts every editor should know are the J Cut and the L Cut. The J Cut is when the audio from the next clip on the timeline comes in before the video of the previous clip on the timeline ends. J Cuts are fantastic when transitioning from one location to another. If we want to transition from the quiet indoors to a busy sidewalk, using a J Cut to bring in the bustling audio of the sidewalk before you show the sidewalk is a smooth and seamless way to transition. The J Cut gets its name as the cut itself when putting the video and audio elements on top of each other on the timeline is shaped like a “J”.

The L Cut is the opposite of a J Cut. It’s when the video of the next clip on the timeline comes in before the audio of the previous clip on the timeline ends. Like the J Cut, it is a smooth and seamless way to transition between shots. 

Here is a bonus technique – the Match Cut. A Match Cut is a cut between two visually similar shots or scenes. For example, if you end a shot with a close-up of someone’s eyes and start the next shot with a similar frames close-up of another character's eyes (or the same character's eyes at a different time period) that’s a Match Cut. Like the two previous cuts, it adds a smooth element to your sequences while at the same time, it makes things a bit more stylized. 

8. Always put story first

This notion applies to all videos we edit. Remember what your creative goal is for every project. What is the story you are trying to tell? When deciding on a shot to use or where to cut, always ask yourself this question and consider the impact the clip or cut adds to your product. Don’t just add a bunch of visual effects just to impress the viewer. Be purposefully in everything you do in the editing process. This way, your final product will always represent your vision and will always produce a stunning video. 

Conclusion

Keep these 8 video editing tips and tricks in mind when you edit your next project. It will make video editing seem like less of a daunting task. Always remember to put your story first and to use the techniques found here to create smooth and fluid sequences. Remember that audio is half of the viewing experience as well and to be brutal with your edits and show the best of the best takes. Do all this and you’ll be editing like a pro in no time!

Written by Zeeshan Khamis 

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If you need further help creating your own 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.