A guide to video advertising on Facebook
Facebook has become omnipresent. The social network giant now has more than 1.65 billion users per month. It even affects the political, social, and cultural landscapes of the world. As such, it’s a big misstep to leave out video advertising on Facebook.
A growing number of marketers optimize Facebook as it’s a highly-effective content format. The reality is that videos convert. As per Adobe, consumers that watch videos are 1.81 times more prone to buy a product or service than those who don’t.
Facebook video ads might be the best means to ensure that people remember the brand. When they do, they’ll likely check out the company website, blog or social media accounts. Videos on Facebook aren’t for entertainment alone. When done correctly, Facebook ads will engage and convert visitors. They will drive leads down the funnel into other marketing campaigns. And they’ll fuel interaction on other social media channels.
Best Practices for Facebook Ads Campaigns
• Create and post video ads that don’t need sounds.
A video without sound may seem strange at first. But when you think about it, Facebook users often check their news feed while on the go. They browse their social media feeds outside the comfort of their home. They go through their timeline to kill time while commuting. They post Facebook updates while waiting for the food to be served while dining out. They do a spree on Facebook content while having a 15-minute break at work.
Most of the time, a sound isn’t suitable in these situations. Also, online users hate to be bothered. The likelihood of them plugging in their earphones just to listen to video ads is slim.
Instead of adding sounds, marketers need to use captions. Facebook is aware of this trend. The team is working on ways to make it easier for marketers to add video captions automatically. In a recent internal testing, Facebook reported that a video ad with a caption boosts video viewing by 12%, on an average.
• Opt for Cost-Per-Impressions (CPM) to make sure the video ads are on auto-play.
Marketers may opt out of auto-play in any social advertising setting. But Facebook shouldn’t be one of them. There are plenty of distractions on Facebook as it is. Having multi-tasking news feed scrollers at once won’t be a problem. The best way to do this is to play the video ads in an instant. To get the auto-play function, the marketer needs to bid by CPM instead of CPC.
• Get granular with the target market.
This is Facebook Ads 101. Paid advertising costs money and other vital resources. So, it’s wise – and right – to promote the ads to a granular and pertinent target market. Having that focus will cut through the clutter. If the target market knows the brand beforehand, they don’t need an introduction. That saves about 10 seconds of video content. Also, delivering video ads to the right market won’t cost a lot.
• Get straight to the point.
When it comes to Facebook ads, the shorter, the better. The length of the video matters a great deal when it comes to advertising. On average, viewers watch over 80% of videos that are 30 seconds or less. Marketers need to remember that online users have incredibly short attention spans. The longer the video ad, the less chances that people would watch it. The best approach here is to make the ads straight to the point, but engaging still to pull in viewers. Therefore, creativity and visual appeal are in play.
• Take note of the video stats…
…and learn from them. Once the Facebook ads have acquired a large number of views, it’s time to check its KPIs. The marketer needs to verify if the money invested is yielding a positive return. Also, focusing on how the ads influence the market will help enhance video production. It can likewise strengthen the advertising strategy. To translate the stats, use the benchmarks for Facebook ads in checking the ad metrics.
Facebook, for the time being, remains to be the king. Managing a Facebook video advertising campaign is an opportunity no sane marketer should miss.