People can choose to have videos in their News Feeds play automatically with the sound off. Your ads must be designed with this in mind so they make sense without audio.
Use jokes and running bits in your video to keep your audience’s attention. This will help them to stick around and convert.
Captions are key
When you create videos for Facebook, captions are vital if your audience has a hearing impairment or prefers to watch videos without sound. Captions provide a written record of the audio content of a video and make it more accessible for all users. Additionally, many laws and guidelines encourage or require using captions to improve accessibility for a diverse audience.
Regardless of the size of your budget, you can create a compelling story through a simple camera setup and editing software. You can also use Facebook’s robust targeting capabilities to target your ad at particular groups of people based on their interests and past purchases.
Airbnb’s Mother’s Day video is an excellent example of how you can capture your audience’s attention and encourage them to engage with your brand. The ad features a captivating thumbnail and teases viewers with a short post-update that will be displayed before the video plays. Facebook allows for a very high character limit in comments, so you can invite your audience to share their thoughts about your video. This helps you build a community around your brand and nurtures your audience over time, slowly turning them from strangers into customers.
Keep it short and sweet
Videos are great for explaining complex products or services, but you can’t go overboard. If you exceed your allotted time, you risk annoying your audience and driving them away. On the other hand, shorter videos are more likely to be watched until the end and can even increase engagement if they’re part of a more extensive campaign.
Remember that videos play on mute by default, and users only unmute them when interested in the content. Therefore, your video should have a solid first few seconds that captivates and draws people in to keep watching.
Additionally, many Facebook video ads are retargeting campaigns that aim to attract new audiences and get the first few leads before moving on to mid- or bottom-of-funnel ads. As such, retargeting ads should have clear CTAs encouraging the desired action, like downloading a free ebook or signing up for a newsletter. This way, you can create audiences of people interacting with your videos and convert them into customers later. Facebook makes this easy by allowing you to choose the videos you want to retarget from the Audience Manager.
Use emojis
Facebook video ads are a staple component of most social media marketing campaigns. They offer more engagement and a chance to showcase products authentically. However, they can be challenging to create. Fortunately, there are some tips that you can follow to make your Facebook videos more effective.
Remember that most people watch videos on Facebook with the sound off. As such, you must ensure your videos have captions to be understood without sound.
Another tip is to keep the video short and sweet. This helps to avoid overwhelming the audience and distracting them from completing the video.
Finally, don’t forget to include a call to action at the end of your video. This will encourage your audience to take action, whether visiting your website or downloading your mobile app. Make sure that your call-to-action is visible in the final frame of your video, as this will increase its shareability.
Don’t beat around the bush
Video ads are one of the best ways to communicate how your product solves your audience’s problems. They help to drive awareness and engagement by delivering clear messaging that resonates with people.
Make sure your video is engaging enough to hold viewers’ attention from the first second. This is especially important on mobile, where most Facebook users watch videos. A captivating thumbnail can make or break a video’s success, and your video must make sense without audio because 85% of Facebook users watch video content with the sound off.
Ensure your video includes a call-to-action (CTA) to increase engagement and conversions. CTAs can direct audiences to your website, social channels, or sign-up forms. They also work as an excellent way to drive traffic from other platforms, which helps you to maximize your ROI. Facebook allows you to create retargeting audiences based on how they’ve interacted with your video ads, such as how many times they’ve watched them or how much time they’ve spent watching them. These audiences can then be targeted to help you achieve your marketing goals.
Make it easy to share
Facebook’s high character limit allows plenty of space to invite your audience to share their thoughts and reactions. Airbnb did this with their Mother’s Day video, asking viewers to “tell us your favorite vacation mom story.” The result was a slew of fun and touching comments that improved the experience for everyone involved.
Since as many as 85% of videos are viewed without sound, consider adding a text overlay with your key message to ensure your video can be seen. This is especially important if you run an ad campaign, and your ad may scroll through users’ News Feeds while they read or watch other content.
Use the Facebook Ads Manager to create audiences of people who have engaged with your videos in various ways — including watching, commenting, and liking. This is a great way to retarget customers and get your message in front of new ones. And remember that with Canva’s online video editor, you can easily convert your video into a Facebook ad or post and then schedule it to publish seamlessly.