Video is one of the most powerful marketing tools businesses can leverage to reach potential customers. Unlike other forms of advertising, videos are uniquely engaging and can hold people’s attention while you sell them on your product and services.

There are many different approaches to video advertising available to small businesses that can deliver results on any size marketing budget. To make the most of your video ad, it’s important to first understand how to take advantage of video’s unique strengths.

1. Plan Your Story

One thing that unites us as humans is a love of storytelling. Video is the perfect medium for creating and sharing stories. Converting your sales pitch into a simple, easy-to-understand, narrative with a clear beginning, middle, and end is a simple and effective way to start planning an ad.

A 15-second ad may not have room for a lot of dramatic twists and turns, but it’s enough time to share how your business solves a problem or what customers can expect from your services. Great storytelling engages our emotions. So, whether you tap into the frustration customers feel without your stellar offering in their lives or the true satisfaction they experience with your business’ help, connecting to emotion is a powerful storytelling device to get people to relate to your message.

2. Structure of Your Ad Messaging

Hook
The greatest challenge in marketing is grabbing people’s attention. The best way to accomplish this is with an effective hook. A hook can be anything from surprising statistics to a bold statement or an intriguing question that compels the viewer to stick around for the answer. A good hook draws people in by piquing their curiosity and focusing them on your message.

Content
Once you’ve successfully gotten their attention, you need to communicate the value your business offers. Sell potential customers on the benefits of your product and what sets you apart from your competitors. By clearly presenting what you do and the problems you help solve, you’re more likely to drive conversions by connecting with people who can actually benefit from your services.

Call to Action
Now what? Customers understand what you do, but what do you want them to do? A call-to-action (CTA) is a clear next step you’d like the viewer to make. Depending on where they are in your marketing funnel, this could be encouraging them to “buy now” or to contact you or to schedule a consultation. Direct people to taking another step towards working with you. Additionally, people love a deal, so discounted prices or limited-time offers are a great way to instill a sense of urgency and get people to take action while you’re top of mind.

3. Craft Compelling Visuals

Selecting Your Style
Once your messaging is in place, the next thing to consider is what visual style complements your message. Maybe a filmed video of the CEO, or a customer testimonial is the best fit, or maybe your ad could benefit from some animated motion graphics, text overlays, or infographics. It’s invaluable to be aware of how your competitors are advertising so you can understand what trends are being used in your industry and how you can set yourself apart.

Integrate Your Brand
In addition to driving people to take action, another goal of video is to get people to remember your company. Videos do a great job of showcasing your visual brand identity. By incorporating your logo, company colors, and product imagery, a video can reinforce your brand in a way that sticks with people. Maybe someone doesn’t convert the first time they see your ad, but if they’re served another one of your ads in the future they’ll be primed to be more comfortable with your brand, subconsciously noting that they’ve seen you before.

4. Select Your Ad Mix

Most video platforms have a variety of options when it comes to displaying your ads. These can range in length from short 7-second clips to several-minute long-form videos. You can also select where on the internet your ads show up and if viewers have the option to skip them or not. All these options fit into different strategic and budgetary contexts. So, it’s important to have clearly defined objectives when setting up your ads.

5. Switch Things Up

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to video ads, so it’s a good idea to try out multiple approaches. One of the biggest advantages of advertising with video is the real-time feedback you receive on your ad campaigns. You’ll be able to see right from campaign launch what approaches capture viewers’ attention and get them to convert.

With this data in hand, you can compare how different messages are performing with different audiences and use those insights to generate new approaches to boost engagement.

Get Started With Video Ads

Fuzzy Duck offers comprehensive video production and digital marketing services. We can help you hone in on an effective message, pair it with visuals that pop, manage your ad campaign, and share valuable insights to refine your marketing strategy.