Surprise, delight, and convert with video
Mobile applications like Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram have transformed user behavior. Now, at any given moment, people have an always-on outlet for recording and publishing videos of life moments as they happen.
This means that video-based content has taken over online posts that were formerly text-only. To stay relevant, brands need to transition to a mobile-video-first content and paid media strategy for a few reasons:
- Video is more engaging and performs better than static images
- In comparison to TV commercials, online video ads are cheaper, highly targeted, and measurable
- Video is a proven driver of direct response, not just brand awareness
Here are six tactics to improve your Facebook ad campaign performance with video.
1. Use text with your visual assets
The use of text is a great way to hook a person into your video—they’re probably discovering your content while swiping through their mobile news feeds, along with other messages competing for attention.
Overlay compelling copy on your video using neat, easy-to-read typeface and simple text animation. Chances are high that the sound will be muted, so be sure that the first text animation appears within seconds of the ad reel. This will ensure that Facebook impressions at least some element of your message.
2. Keep it short
Brands are discovering that short and sweet videos are oftentimes just at effective, if not more so, than longer form, complicated videos. More videos are competing for more people’s attention, so your video should be no longer than 30 seconds to maintain interest. If you don’t have an in-house production team, use Facebook’s slideshow ads to easily add animation to your ad creative.
3. Get personal with video Facebook Messenger ads
Facebook Messenger ads allow you to expand the reach of your campaigns to nearly 1.3 billion users on the most widely used messaging app in the world. Early adopters of Messenger ads are seeing better click-through rates and engagement than email. That’s because Messenger ads allow you to have a more personalized, one-to-one conversation with your prospects and customers.
Video is a great way to add even more of a human touch to your Messenger ads. For example, you could create a 30-second video introduction to your brand. Once you’ve hooked your audience into the Messenger app, be sure to use Quick Replies to streamline your customers’ experience and encourage next steps, e.g., click here to learn more, find nearby store, tell me more, etc.
4. Plot your story to the customer journey
The key to success is a full-funnel strategy that combines video ads with custom audiences. In other words, your video content should vary based on where your targeted audience is in the funnel.
For example, you may want to use educational videos featuring gurus, thought leaders, or celebrities to drive awareness. Or, you may want to incorporate elements that encourage people to share your video, such as hashtags, competitions, or challenges. At the bottom stages of the funnel, a video with a compelling demo of your offering would be a great way to drive conversion.
5. Collapse the funnel with video
Historically, advertisers have considered video a top-of-funnel tactic. As more and more people watch videos on their mobile devices, many marketers are using video for direct response and brand awareness. New ad formats like Twitter Website Video Cards and Facebook Canvas Ads allow marketers to collapse the funnel, giving users a frictionless experience from discovery to conversion. Both of these new video ad formats provide an engaging way for brands to tell their story with links to landing pages to encourage a purchase.
6. Measure the influence video views have on conversion
The popularity of video means that post-view conversion data is more important than ever. Marketers need to understand the influence that views have on the path to purchase to make informed budget allocation decisions, and to move beyond last-click attribution. Most organizations are still using cookie-based analytics tracking, which doesn’t allow you to track across devices.
Additionally, publisher reporting (such as Facebook and Google) doesn’t provide insight into the influence each channel has to conversion, often leading to overcounting of conversions.
Marin Software is uniquely positioned to solve this attribution gap with TruePath, an innovative new measurement solution providing marketers with actionable cross-channel intelligence and unbiased conversion data. TruePath utilizes people-based tracking mechanisms to account for both post-click and view-level conversions as your customers interact with your brand across devices.
These insights are crucial for growth. A leading travel brand saw 158% increase in overall return on ad spend (ROAS) using TruePath. They were also able to establish a better understanding of how their campaigns on Google and Facebook can work together to optimize the path to purchase across each stage of the buyer journey.
To learn more about Marin TruePath, contact your Customer Success representative. Or, if you’re new to Marin, contact us to discuss with a member of our sales team.
