Facebook's News Feed algorithm prioritizes video over other content types. As a result, video on Facebook (in the form of paid ads and status updates) is becoming an increasingly powerful tool that businesses can use to engage with their audiences and build brand awareness.
Before jumping in and spending precious dollars on Facebook video ads, however, you should familiarize yourself with the process of creating videos, planning a campaign, and carrying it out.
The following tools, tactics, and tips will help you get started.
Tools
Power Editor: Unlike Facebook's Ads Manager, Facebook's Power Editor (available only on Chrome) provides more options for creating copy for the headline and description of your advertisement. Through the Power Editor, you'll have more creative freedom because you will be provided with additional characters to use in your advertisement's copy. If it's used wisely, you can compose creative, compelling copy that grabs the attention of more people, increasing ad impressions.
Splice and Videohance: To create a killer video ad, you'll want to take advantage of the multitude of free tools available for video editing. Videohance and Splice are two free apps that you can use to create professional-looking videos. Splice, my favorite, helps you to customize the look and feel of your video. Add photos, music, transitions between clips, and background colors to create branded, engaging video that you know will resonate with your audience.
Tactics
Have a goal: Before creating your advertisement, you want to get clear on exactly why you're crafting it. What do you want the advertisement to do? Do you want to expose your video to the largest-possible relevant audience? Do you want your video to lead to subscriptions for your email list? Do you want your video to drive traffic to a specific blog post? Focusing on your desired outcome is the only way to develop the tactics you'll use to achieve that goal and also to measure the effectiveness of your video ad once it is published.
Placement type: Familiarize yourself with the prime real estate on your Facebook page. Aim to answer this question: What type of ad placement has the greatest return? For some Facebook pages, mobile ad placement drives the greatest number of impressions; for others, the desktop ad placement is more powerful. Use previous campaigns to decipher which placement will provide the greatest ROI for your paid video campaign.
Focus on one type of placement at a time: If you're unsure which placement is best for your business, I highly recommend creating two mini campaigns: one placed on mobile, one on desktop. You can do this by duplicating your ad at the Ad Set level within Facebook. By changing only the placement of the advertising, while keeping the copy, imagery, budget, and audience the same for both advertisements, you'll see which placement provides the greater ROI. Use that data to determine where to place your advertisements.
Format: Technical details are important. You want to be sure that your video is the in the right format for Facebook. The video should be in mp4 format and should not exceed 1.75GB. Any videos files larger than 1.75GB will be rejected by Facebook.
Tips
To create a powerful video advertisement, you need to reach the right people. Once you've reached the right people, you want to be sure that your ad captures their attention and gets them to take action.
Targeting: The only way to reach a relevant audience is to use Facebook's detailed targeting options. Create audiences for your business that include the demographics and psychographics (age, income, location, interests, likes, dislikes, etc.) of your target audience. By creating customized audiences and using them for various campaigns, you will start to see which audiences generate the highest conversion rates.
Start with a question: A good way to capture someone's attention is to start with a question. To grab even greater attention, start with a question that your target audience would answer "yes" to. Perhaps you are trying to target bakery owners to sell them a new type of flour. You might start your ad with: "Do you own a bakery? Are you always going above and beyond to provide quality ingredients to your customers?" By starting your ad with a question, you immediately show your audience that your message will be relevant to them and you generate curiosity and interest from your audience.
Introduce yourself: If you are going to feature yourself in your video, if you're going to be the star of the ad, be sure to make an introduction. Establish trust and credibility by letting your audience know who you are and what you do. Moreover, an introduction helps your audience decide whether the offer you're about to provide is relevant to them.
Include a call to action: If you want to accomplish your goal for the campaign, you need to tell your audience's what you want them to do after seeing your video ad. Accordingly, include a clear call to action. As the noise on social media gets louder with each passing day, it gets harder to cut through the clutter. By using a clear call to action, you increase the likelihood that your audience will take the action you're asking of them. Get creative with how you phrase your call to action, but don't be ambiguous! Include a call to action button (one that best suits your offer) available through Facebook's Power Editor. Be straightforward with the value that you will provide your audience if they do take the action you're requesting of them.
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Have you had success with video ads on Facebook? Comment below and share what you've learned!
