5 Trends to Create Video Ads for Social and YouTube Video
Use These Trends to Create Video Ads For Your Business
From cold calls, SEO, word of mouth, to posts that yield virality, your business has countless avenues for reaching a wider audience. Among these channels, however, paid ads remain to be one of the biggest drivers of impressions and conversions.
Video ads, in particular, are the best place to focus your efforts. In the U.S. alone, more than 244 million people are digital video viewers. To capture the attention of a global audience hooked on video content, you need to create animated ads that stand out.
There’s No Denying It—It’s All About Video
At this point, if you’re running a digital ad campaign, you need video. The people want it, and the algorithms feed it to them.
With the meteoric rise of TikTok, other social media platforms are switching to a video-forward strategy. Instagram continues to push its new Reels feature, while Facebook favors content that people are more likely to engage with and share (i.e. video). Overall, platforms seem to prefer video content above any other medium (and that includes ads).
With that in mind, video should be your top priority. Keep in mind that your videos don’t have to be mini-masterpieces; you can start simple with eye-catching content like:
- Animated headlines
- Animated visual elements
- GIFs
- Live motion graphics
- Slideshow
However, if you want to create memorable moments that spotlight your brand’s identity and entices curiosity in your audience, there are some tips and tricks you can follow.
5 Video Trends to Harness for Your Campaigns
As of 2022, these are the five video trends that have proven to engage, convert, and compel.
#1 Sound Off – Captions On
Most of the video content we consume daily has sound.
Movies, Instagram stories, and vlogs come to life through music and speech. But in the age of on-the-go content consumption, your audience may prefer silent videos. In fact, at least 69% of viewers watch their videos without sound.
Videos with captions allow you to reach practically anyone—from public video watchers to members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. With that said, if you choose background music, use it to delight the listener. If you use voiceovers make to include captions.
#2 User-Generated Content
While you still need to create original videos, you can take some work off your plate by leveraging your existing online community. To that end, your brand’s supporters may already be making video content with and about your products.
With their permission, you could turn around and use their videos for your ad campaign. Some examples that may perform well include:
- Unboxing videos
- Product reviews
- Tutorials
User-generated content (UGC) may not have the professional polish of an agency-made video, but it comes across as authentic. It also works as social proof—when potential customers see someone else using a product, they’re more likely to check it out themselves.
#3 Micro-Influencer-Generated Content
Similar to UGC is influencer-generated content (IGC). IGC is nothing new—for years, brands have worked with high-profile social media stars to promote their products. For a fee, accounts with built-in followings will interact with your products or services and post about them online.
However, that fee can be enormous, especially when follower counts stretch into the millions.
To extract the most potential from your ad budget, you can instead target micro-influencers (users with 10,000–50,000 followers). These users will often create paid content for you at a much lower price while still reaching thousands of engaged followers. Oftentimes, micro-influencers have a higher engagement rate, as their following is more intimate.
#4 Cinemagraphs
Cinemagraph by Elijah O’Donnell
One of the most exciting video trends—in recent times—is the cinemagraph. This new medium falls somewhere between a static image and an animated video, making high-quality photographs appear as if they’ve come to life.
On the surface, cinemagraphs look like GIFs—the short, repeating clips you might use as a reaction or a meme. However, there are a few notable differences between the two:
- Quality – GIFs are limited to 256 colors and often appear small and grainy—cinemagraphs offer a full-color, high-definition experience.
- Format – GIFs have to be saved as a .gif file type, whereas cinemagraphs can take many forms. Typically, they exist as short, perfectly-looped video files.
- Movement – GIFs are usually short clips of previously made video content, and, as such, everything is moving. With most cinemagraphs, only a portion of the frame moves (the rest remains static).
We regard cinemagraphs as a “scroll-stopping” way to showcase something many people have never seen before.
#5 Value-Added Video Content
More and more, consumers have become wary of directing marketing attempts. So, rather than simply trying to sell your product to a new lead, consider creating a video that provides value.
Value-added content can be:
- Educational (how-to, tutorial, demo, explainer)
- Humorous
- Behind-the-scenes
- Thought-provoking
Ultimately, the goal is to build a relationship with your new and existing customers that transcends beyond the transactional.
Tips for Creating Great Video for Social and YouTube Ads
As you incorporate these trends into your digital advertising strategy, there are a few best practices that should be core tenets in your approach.
#1 Start With a Plan
With a high-quality camera in most of our pockets, it’s never been easier to start creating video content. Alas, that blessing can also be a curse.
To create stunning video content, you can’t start filming on a whim—you need to plan.
Begin by brainstorming concepts and formulas for your videos. From there, you can craft an outline. Finally, you’ll write your script. This step-by-step process keeps your video content laser-focused on your brand’s overarching goals.
#2 Optimize for Mobile
More than 60% of users watch their video content on a smartphone. To cater to the small-screen audience, it’s wise to make content that respects the format. Mobile-friendly videos have:
- Streamlined visuals that don’t feel overcrowded
- Large, easy-to-read text
- Space at the top and bottom to leave room for icons and comment fields
#3 Think About the Throughline
The best video ads have a steady flow to them (pacing, pacing, pacing). When you develop a narrative—even a subtle one—you can hook your viewers from the get-go.
Ideally, your video should start by showing the the problem you solve or the question you answer (desire, convenience, benefit). Then, you can educate the viewer on the solution or product your venture champions. Then, at the end, you can add your call to action (CTA).
#4 Create Multiple Sizes
Between TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube shorts, vertical video (9:16 or 1080×1920) rules the web. But if you want to squeeze the most use out of your content, it’s still worth creating square (1:1 aspect ratio) and landscape (16:9 aspect ratio) videos for:
- Desktop users
- Your website
- YouTube
- Vimeo
#5 Begin With the End in Mind
Before you pick up a camera, think about where you plan to post your ad. Once you know where your videos will be published, you can shoot your content with the intended platform in mind. Each popular platform has different requirements for:
- Length
- Style
- Size
- Format
#6 Use Resources for Inspiration
Still not sure where to begin? You don’t need to start from scratch. There are a lot of great tools out there using the assets you already have, check out animoto, canva and bannersnack. The social media giants have tools for you to draw inspiration from and scope out creative trends (also great for checking out what your competition is doing).
For instance, Facebook has a searchable ad library for you to peruse, while TikTok lets you scan through a collection of high-performing ads. These resources allow you to survey what might work for your campaign, and what definitely won’t.
Bonus Tip: Partner With an Experienced Digital Marketing Team, LIM
Sometimes, to drive the results you want from your paid video ad campaign, you need a partner that understands the market, has experienced across a gamut of ad campaigns, and understands the nuances of each social platform.
Here at Liberty Interactive Marketing, we’ve been in the digital marketing space for more than 15 years. When we partner with our clients, we become an extension of their team, working to understand their brand intuitively and present the most compelling characteristics to consumers.
If you’re looking for a guidance on advertising strategy, contact us today.