How to Create Successful Facebook Video Ads

With just shy of two billion users active on the platform every day, Facebook is home to some of the most sought-after digital marketing spaces in the world.¹ From international brands like Disney, Home Depot, and Walmart, to your local flower shop or hardware store, businesses big and small are turning to Facebook to reach consumers.

But the popularity of Facebook can be a bit of a double-edged sword. Although the Facebook audience is there, you have to vie with a host of other distractions like competing ads, user-generated posts, and games to gain the attention of consumers. 

That’s what makes creating an engaging Facebook video ad so important. 

It might seem like a gamble, but there are certain methods you can use to build a successful Facebook ad that will reach your intended audience and inspire them to act. 

Wondering how to create a successful Facebook video ads? Keep reading to find out. 

Is Advertising on Facebook Worth It?

Facebook is the most popular social media platform in the world.² With nearly three billion users every month, it represents a ripe avenue for digital marketing efforts of all kinds. 

But is Facebook video advertising an effective way to reach consumers? 

Although advertising success can be contingent upon a number of factors no matter where an ad appears, in general, Facebook ads tend to yield results.  

That said, it can be difficult to gauge the efficiency of Facebook ads in terms of specific businesses. However, available social media statistics suggest that Facebook is an excellent source for advertisers who want to place their products in front of consumers. 

Studies show that Facebook ads:

• Are influential – Per The Drum,  a Facebook ad factors into the purchasing decisions of over half of consumers.³ This holds true whether consumers are shopping online or in stores.
• Offer receptive audiences – People use social media for many reasons—keeping in touch with friends and family, new updates, even cat memes. But almost 66% of them use it to find information about businesses, products, and services.⁴ 
• Are cost-effective – Because the platform allows for highly specific audience targeting, businesses may experience a reduction in costs associated with attracting new customers. In some cases, businesses can save over 70%.⁴

When you consider Facebook video ad metrics like the sheer number of active users on the platform, their interest in and willingness to be persuaded by Facebook ads, and the relatively cost-effective option it poses, it’s easy to see why so many businesses choose this advertising channel. 

Why Video Ads? 

Video ads aren’t the only way to advertise on Facebook. Static text and image ads are also available and may be easier and less expensive to produce. 

So why bother with video marketing?

The truth is that Facebook video advertising  provides a range of unique benefits other methods can’t compete with, such as:

• They’re popular – Per Sprout Social, Facebook videos are viewed about 8 billion times every day.⁵ Per Single Grain, users aren’t just watching videos, they’re also sharing them at a rate that has grown by almost 360% in recent years.⁶
• They have high engagement rates – Facebook offers the potential for a higher social media engagement rate over other social media platforms, including YouTube and Instagram.⁶
• They let you tell a story – Video advertising provides greater opportunities to build a story around your product or service in much less time. Compared to text or image ads, you have more freedom for branding and customer outreach. 

Tips for Creating Successful Facebook Video Ads

Although Facebook videos can be an effective marketing tool, implementing them into your marketing strategy needs to be approached with care, precision, logic, and of course, creativity. 

There’s certainly magic involved in creating video ads that have starpower, but the formula typically follows a set of parameters that influence its success. Let’s take a look at a few important factors that serve as guideposts for a successful Facebook video ad.  

#1 Your Video Should Be Vertical

98% of Facebook users access the platform almost exclusively through their mobile phones.⁷ That means most of the people who see your Facebook ad campaign are going to see it on a screen that’s arranged vertically, the way most people hold their phones. 

Your video ad needs to be optimized for playability in a square or vertical setting (in other words, your videos should be optimized for mobile). 

Aside from making it easier to see for your viewers, , opting for a square video allows you to take up more of the screen, thus optimizing your advertising efforts.

#2 Content Counts

Compelling, creative content that sparks the consumer’s imagination and convinces them that they can’t live without your product or services is a key ingredient to any successful Facebook ad or ad outside of Facebook.  At the end of the day, your video needs to pull at their heartstrings. 

According to SBBC, when you’re creating your video ad, you should make sure that it:⁸ 

• Tells a story – The best stories feature a character who overcomes great challenges in pursuit of a goal. The same is true of stellar video ads. Use storytelling in your ad to illustrate how your product or service can improve the consumer’s life.

• Starts strong – You only have a few seconds to convince your Facebook  audience to stick with your ad to the end, so make sure you’re capturing their attention right away. The first few seconds are paramount for retaining attention. 

• Extols your brand’s virtues – If there’s ever a place for self-aggrandizement, it’s in advertising. Your video ad is your opportunity to let viewers  know what makes your product or service unique. Don’t be afraid to boast. 
• Includes a call to action – It’s not enough to simply tell a story and give information about your business. If you want your ad campaign to convert consumers into customers, you need to encourage them to take the next step with a call to action, such as Shop Now, Contact Us, Download Here, and so on.

#3 Keep It Short 

Between busy schedules and a culture that has winnowed attention spans to the tiniest lengths, consumers simply aren’t willing to spend too much time with your ad. 

Even if your video thumbnails garner a click, according to Forbes, their focus is likely to wane after 10 or 15 seconds which is why it is important to have a high hook rate.⁹

What is hook rate? Being able to gain the attention of a viewer within the first few seconds will lead to a better performing video ad. Although Facebook will let you post ads up to 10 minutes in length, the most successful Facebook video ad is  short and sweet. In fact, the platform itself recommends 15 seconds as the maximum length for video ads. 

#4 Know Your Options

One of the most appealing things about advertising on Facebook is the options you have for where and how your ad appears. Facebook lets you choose where on the platform you run your Facebook ad campaign. . Your options are:

• In-stream – Advertisements represent only a portion of the total videos people watch on Facebook. In-stream ads play within other videos, making them an excellent way to reach consumers. 

• Feed – If you select your ad to run in the news feed section of the platform, consumers engage with it as it appears while they scroll (as it appears organically “in the flow”). 
• Stories – You can also play your ad in the Stories feature. Stories appear at the top of the page on both mobile and web versions of Facebook, potentially exposing your ad to an audience of over 300 million daily Stories users.¹⁰

Knowing your target audience’s Facebook usage habits can help you determine which ad style is best for your brand. 

#5 Account for Muting 

Getting your ad seen isn’t the only hurdle you’ll need to clear when advertising on Facebook. You’ll also need to account for the fact that there’s a pretty good chance your video will play on mute. In fact, that chance is about 85%, according to Digiday. 

Facebook runs most videos in auto-play, which means they begin as soon as they appear on a user’s screen. This is good news for marketers because it means you don’t have to worry as much about getting a consumer to manually play your ad. 

But there’s a downside, and it’s that Facebook also allows users to pre-mute auto-play videos. That means marketers have to work twice as hard to interest consumers enough to turn up the volume. Including “tap for sound” reminders in your video ad helps here, but you can also work around this issue by:

• Using bold titles 
• Incorporating automatic subtitles 
• Incorporating eye-catching graphics

Engaging Facebook Video Ads That Convert, The Power Behind Them

Facebook ads are an exciting and potentially lucrative way for businesses to reach consumers. But producing video content that entices and performs is not a straightforward endeavor. 

That’s where Power Digital Marketing comes in. 

Our digital marketing agency stands on the cutting edge of the digital ad universe, combining our expertise with the most innovative marketing tools to create customized, effective marketing campaigns. 

From Facebook video ad strategies that fit your specific needs to the best technologies for tracking, evaluating, and optimizing your campaign, our internet marketing service will help you grow your consumer base and elevate your identity. 

Looking for a marketing partner that can make your Facebook video ads sing? You already have. 

Sources: 

1. Data Reportal. Facebook Stats and Trends. https://datareportal.com/essential-facebook-stats# 
2. Data Reportal. Digital 2022: The World’s Favourite Social Media Platforms. https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-favourite-social-platforms 
3. The Drum. Facebook Influences Over Half of Shoppers Says DigitasLBi’s Connected Commerce Report. https://www.thedrum.com/news/2015/04/24/facebook-influences-over-half-shoppers-says-digitaslbi-s-connected-commerce-report 
4. Impact Plus. How Effective is Facebook Advertising? https://www.impactplus.com/blog/how-effective-is-facebook-advertising-the-truth-about-facebook-roi 
5. Sprout Social. 20 Must-Know Facebook Stats for Marketers in 2022. https://sproutsocial.com/insights/facebook-stats-for-marketers/ 
6. Single Grain. How to Create a Facebook Video Ad that Gets Attention. https://www.singlegrain.com/video-marketing/how-to-create-a-facebook-video-ad-that-gets-attention/ 
7. Backlinko. Facebook Demographic Statistics: How Many People Use Facebook in 2022? https://backlinko.com/facebook-users
8. Small Business BC. How to Create an Effective Video Ad for Your Small Business. https://smallbusinessbc.ca/article/how-to-create-an-effective-video-ad-for-your-small-business/#
9. Forbes. Video Thumbnails: Leveraging a Powerful, Underappreciated Marketing Vehicle. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescommunicationscouncil/2021/02/24/video-thumbnails-leveraging-a-powerful-unappreciated-marketing-vehicle/?sh=68ef1afa3746 
10. Find Stack. The Ultimate List of Facebook Statistics in 2022. https://findstack.com/facebook-statistics/#
11. Facebook. What Call-to-Action Buttons Are Available in Ads Manager? https://www.facebook.com/business/help/410873986524407 
12. Facebook. How Video Ads Work On Facebook. ​​​​https://www.facebook.com/business/ads/video-ad-format?content_i
13. Digiday. 85% of Facebook Video is Watched Without Sound. https://digiday.com/media/silent-world-facebook-video/ 

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