How to Create the Perfect Video Ad (for Beginners)

Today, there are many ways to create a video ad for your small business or personal brand. If you have the budget, you can hire a professional studio or an advertising agency to take care of everything – from production to marketing. Alternatively, you can also use an automatic video maker or commission a cameraman or an editor. You can even shoot it on your smartphone. 

Regardless of which way you go about it, there are a few tips you can apply to your process.

You can’t create a successful ad of any type if you don’t have a clear strategy. Ideally, the plan for your ad needs to derive logically from your overall marketing strategy. Here are a few things to consider.

Goal

Think of what exactly are you trying to achieve with your video ad – do you want to sell or just announce your brand to the world? Do you want people to visit your website or buy from your store’s physical location? Be as specific and detailed as you can be when setting your goal, but try to focus on just one – this will help you create a video ad that is on point and therefore – more effective.

Audience

Build your buyer persona and collect as much information about them as possible – their demographics, interests and desires, problems, and buying behavior. It’s important to know what will motivate them the most so you can include it in your ad. Based on this knowledge you’ll know what style, language, and narrative will work best.

Platform

More often than not, people create their video ads and then decide where to post them. Even worse – a lot of people believe that you can post exactly the same video ad on various platforms. But if you really want to avoid wasting money and create an efficient video, make sure you take into account which platform you’re going to use for your ad. This will help you determine the length, tone, budget, and size so that you can make your ad look native to the platform. Learn where your buyer persona spends their time and use the same platforms to advertise.

Make the first seconds count

People’s attention spans are short, to begin with. But when there’s a ton of information fighting for our attention, it’s only a matter of second whether or not we lose interest. Use these first seconds to spark your viewers’ interest – ask a question or make a statement they can relate to right away to stop them from scrolling. 

Benefits over features

Do you think people care about the amazing features that your product has? Not at all. Your audience is interested in the benefits they will get if they buy what you’re selling. Use more “you” and fewer “we” sentences.

Use emotions

If you truly know your buyer persona, you’ll know what bothers them. Be empathetic to their pains and show understanding. This way you’ll gain their trust and convince them you know what you’re talking about. Try to evoke an honest emotion – not by using over-the-top sentimentality, but rather by being relatable. 

Be relatable

Your buyer persona needs to know that your ad is directed at them, otherwise, they will just click away. You can make your ad specific and relatable for your target audience with the script – by using their language – and with the visuals – by including characters that resemble the buyer persona’s age, gender, and style.

Keep it short

Most platforms have some length limitations when it comes to ads. Moreover, a shorter ad will cost you less to produce and retain the audience’s attention longer. You don’t have to omit anything essential – just trim off the padding and keep your video factual and focused on one problem. In most cases, this will allow you to maintain your ad at under 30 seconds.

Use an appropriate CTA

We’ve talked about calls to action a lot before and we just can’t avoid mentioning them when talking about ads. CTAs are usually located at the very end of the video and they serve to instruct the viewer on what they should do next. Just as in the beginning you also need to end strong. Be specific and keep the call to action consistent with the rest of the video.

Think outside the box

Don’t think that your ad needs to look like other ads to be successful. On the contrary! If your video looks like a clone of your competitor’s videos then how are people supposed to pick you out from the crowd? Try to get creative and think out of the box to make your video ad memorable. Feel free to experiment as much as your target persona allows. One way to create a video ad that is unique and stands out is to use animation. The many possibilities it offers will help you not only grab your viewers’ attention but also keep it long enough to deliver your message.

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