If your goal is to convert social media users into leads and customers, video ads should be a part of your marketing strategy.
Studies show 87% of marketers say videos have helped them increase sales. Viewers are more likely to share videos with their friends compared to other content, and 91% of people say they want to see even more videos from brands.
If you can make your content stand out in a saturated market, you’ll see an ROI. The key is to tell authentic stories with dynamic visuals, user-generated content, engaging audio, and mobile-friendly practices.
Here’s how to incorporate these elements into a standout video ad that makes people stop scrolling and start clicking.
We’ll cover how to:
Tailor your social media ads to your audience’s behaviors
Before writing a script or shooting footage, dive into your audience’s online behaviors to see what they engage with. This will influence the type of video you create, the story you tell, and the social media platforms you use.
Here’s where to start:
- Look at your highest-performing social media content. Which videos had the highest engagement or brought in the most sales?
- Which social media platforms are your customers most active on?
- What social media video trends is your audience engaging with the most?
For example, if your followers are more likely to like and comment on 30-second tutorial videos, you may want to create a short “how-to” ad. Or maybe you see a higher tick in sales after a customer shares a day-in-the-life video highlighting your product. You have the opportunity to create an ad where your brand is incorporated into someone’s daily routine.
In many cases, you can repurpose organic video content into ads as long as they adhere to platform guidelines.
If you have limited data to pull from within your own content, take a look at Meta Ad Library or TikTok Creative Center to see current video trends and performance analytics.
Use storytelling techniques to drive your video marketing strategy
Video storytelling is all about crafting a narrative through visuals, narration, and sound to captivate your audience. The best video marketing ads have a seamless beginning, middle, and end.
When framing your story, here’s a simple three-step framework you can follow.
The beginning: Hook people within the first 3 seconds
This is a crucial part of your video ad because it determines whether or not people will watch until the end. When creating your hook, think about what will spark viewers’ curiosity.
Use intriguing visuals, ask a question, or give a quick teaser of what the video will cover. Think about how you can evoke an emotion, like humor, suspense, or excitement, to keep people invested in how the story unfolds.
The middle: Call out the problem you’re solving
Look back on your audience research and identify common challenges and how your product or service alleviates that pain point. This is where you solidify your brand message.
For example, you can demonstrate a before and after scenario or use a customer testimonial to highlight a transformation. Take viewers through a day in the life of an ideal customer and show how your product or service made their life better. You can also think about using visual metaphors to symbolize the problem you’re solving in a creative way.
Remember to focus on benefits over features. People want to see results and how your product or service will help them.
The ending: A clear call to action
If viewers are staying until the end of your video, you have to guide their next action. Whether you want people to make a purchase, sign up for a course, download an ebook, or learn more about your services, be clear about the next steps you want them to take.
See how these brands incorporated storytelling into their video content
Tie your story together with compelling visuals
Captivating visuals will enhance your story, support your brand message, and keep viewers engaged until the end. It’s a huge component of your video ad, which means you’ll need to be strategic. Here are our best practices for creating a video ad that’s visually stunning, including interactive video features.
Define your brand guidelines to keep visuals consistent
Your brand identity should be easily recognizable. A style guide will ensure every video is consistent in colors, typography, logo usage, on-screen text, transitions, music, and graphics. This consistency builds trust with viewers as they engage with more content.
Find your subject and make it the main focus
Your subject — or main point of focus in a video ad — drives the narrative forward. It can take various forms, like a person, product, location, animal, or other character.
Storyboarding can help you visualize how each shot will highlight your subject. Pay attention to selective framing, composition, lighting, and depth of field to keep your subject the focus of your video ad.
Include animations, graphics, and on-screen text in your videos
Bold colors and motion graphics add a visual appeal that will make your video ads eye-catching. On-screen text can also help reinforce key messages and drive your call to action.
But these design elements can be tedious during the editing process. Try Vimeo Create for easy customizable templates, text captions, colors, fonts, layouts, logos, calls-to-action, and end screens.
Use stock footage and AI-powered software
No camera? No problem. AI tools are becoming increasingly popular for brands that may not have the time and resources to invest in full production. If you want to take an even faster approach, you can also explore professional stock videos to amp up your visuals.
Examples of visuals done right
Incorporate user-generated content into your marketing videos
User-generated content (UGC) is any content created by customers, employees, or people you pay to create videos from a first-person point of view.
Partnering with UGC creators comes with benefits on the brand side. Marketing teams save time and money outsourcing video production and viewers find UGC more trustworthy since it serves as social proof.
Here are a few authentic UGC-style videos that can serve as great social media ads:
- Video testimonials showcasing users’ personal experiences with your product or service
- Unboxing videos that feature creators opening a package
- Demonstration videos where creators film themselves incorporating your product or service into their daily routine
- Before-and-after videos that highlight the transformation a customer experienced after using your product or service
Take a look at these UGC videos for inspiration
Amplify your video ads with engaging audio
The right audio can help move your story forward when it’s pleasing to the ear, on brand, and used strategically.
Let’s start with narrations. If you’re adding a voiceover, make sure your script is conversational and concise. You can even tap Vimeo’s AI script generator to help with the writing. All you have to do is share a prompt, choose your timing, and identify your tone. It also includes a teleprompter to help you record your voiceover in one take.
Next, think about background noise. Ambient sounds can immerse viewers in a specific environment and sound effects can emphasize key moments and transitions.
You can also use commercially licensed music and align the tempo, style, and rhythm with the overall tone of your video ad.
Make your marketing videos mobile-responsive
Almost 70% of video content audiences in the US watch videos on their phones. This means video ads should be optimized for viewing on mobile devices.
Here are a few mobile-responsive best practices:
- Use aspect ratios that are suited for vertical or square formats when posting on Meta, Instagram, or TikTok, and horizontal formats when posting on YouTube
- Choose a resolution that’s still high quality but not too large that it slows down the loading speed
- Make sure text size and font are easily readable on screen and in thumbnails
- Include auto-captions just in case people aren’t able to hear the audio
When thinking about timing, your video ad doesn’t have to be a motion picture. In fact, social media video ads are recommended to be between 15 and 60 seconds to be repurposed on multiple distribution channels.
A compelling social media video ad is a powerful tool for building brand awareness and driving conversions. Once you understand your audience’s behaviors and challenges, you can create content that tells a story and solves their problems.
The key is to keep people engaged with dynamic visuals, customer stories, and great audio that’s optimized for mobile viewers. In return, your ads will build brand recognition and encourage people to take action.
Start creating your social media video ad today with Vimeo Marketing →
