Over 81% of businesses use videos as a marketing tool, making video ads one of the most effective strategies expected to consist of 82% of internet traffic by 2021.

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Some businesses don’t see a use for video for their brand, know that there is always some type of video content you can create no matter your product or service. 72% of customers would rather learn about a product or service by way of video, making video material for your brand more essential than ever.

Video can take the form of informative, emotional or educational, one of my favourite emotive examples was this video campaign by Android 'Friends Furever', which was the most shared video of 2015 (with a total of 6.4 million shares).

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Video ads can play a vital role in your PPC or social advertising strategy when executed correctly, so we have gathered some quick wins that we wanted to share with you in order to build up your video content strategy.

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1.) Know your audience

Knowing who your audience are is the key component to tailoring your video content, who they are helps you decide what type of video you should be creating whether informative, emotive or educational. Consider aspects such as:

• Country and location
• Language
• Age
• Gender
• Interests
• Needs and desires
• Most used channels - so you can decide where to be running your video ads.

When you know your audience like the back of your hand you can decide whether they want to see how-to videos, a video of a puppy or teaching them something about your vertical. Remember you only have 8 seconds to capture a viewers attention, so make sure you grab it quickly with something they can't take their eyes off.

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2.) Consistently brand your videos

Every business has a brand image, right? When branding your videos make sure you include your colours, fonts and logos to make your content easily recognised and remembered. Ensure you are being consistent when branding using the same font style and HEX colours but still test different elements to your video to see what viewers respond positively with. If you're not sure what your branding should look like, try and reflect your social media channels or your website content, take a look online on how you can build your brand from the bottom up.

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3.) Make the video topic clear

Like we mentioned before, you have 8 seconds to capture attention before the viewer loses interest, video is a very powerful tool when used properly, make sure your first scene is punchy and straight to the point as possible in order to keep eyes locked. Set-out viewers expectations on what they can expect to be watching in the video, for example if you are a bakery business maybe in the straight away you want a title feature of 'How to bake a cake without eggs' so viewers know exactly what they are awaiting.

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4.) Don't be boring

There’s nothing worse than watching a video that is dull, plain and irrelevant, try and make your content quirky and creative. Put yourself in the shoes of your audience, what would they like to see? Add some colour? Music? Animations? Is there any chance you can add some humour. You're paying for people to view your video ad, make sure its a successful piece of content being advertised.

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5.) Tell stories using video

Nobody likes a sales related video, there is nothing worse than someone constantly pushing a product in front of your screen, always use the 80/20 rule; 80% useful industry content and 20% company related material. The most successful video ads are proved to be the ones that are people or animal focused. Here are some examples that you can try for some video content:

• Tutorials for your product/service
• Case studies
• Interviews
• Product or employee introduction videos
• Live streams
• Video blogs (vlogs)
• Webinars
• Behind the scenes
• Personal/team involvement  
• Share an inspiring video
• Demonstrate your expertise

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6.) Make it mobile friendly

75% of video views are on mobile devices,(eMarketer) so when considering the layout and set-up, ensure that the video is mobile friendly by reducing distorted view or bad quality scenes. If it is not then you will increasing your cost per view, be missing out on views, engagement and possibly conversions as 92% of users watching a video on their mobile will share it with others! (Wordstream).

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7.) Don't be afraid to use music

As mentioned before, most people watch videos without the sound, but don’t be afraid to use music or background noise to add that extra effect for those that do. Another sound related tip, add subtitles to your video if applicable, this will encourage more video views as well as audience less likely to bounce off.

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8.) Keep them short and sweet

Almost every viewer tunes out after two minutes of watching a video, it’s best to keep your video shorter than that time and ensure you have a captivating beginning in order to increase retention.

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9.) Use social proof

Social proof helps people make decisions like if they are unsure or unsettled with a decision e.g. a purchase. You may want to create a video to re-market to those who may be stuck in that marketing funnel, look at using previous customer testimonials, or a case study video to best reach and connect with your remarketing lists.

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10.) Include a CTA

Using a CTA can help generate a click or a lead that will be of use to you and your business. You can add an overlay or a CTA button at the end of the video to direct them to complete an action on your website or page. Here are some examples you can use:

• Add a direct link to another page
• Subscribe to a newsletter link
• Connecting with you on other social media platforms
• Suggest another related video
• Offer a free trial
• Direct to another piece of content

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11.) Monitor and analyse your video ad performance

Ensure that every video you publish you are monitoring and analysing its performance, this will help you optimise your future videos. Report on things such as:

• Average watch time
• Bounce rate
• Number of views
• Look at engagement - comments/shares/reactions/clicks
• What percentage of viewers click on your CTA? (Call-to-action)

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I hope you found some of the above useful, unfortunately, a lot of marketers say they don't have the time, resources or budget for video content and ads, but I strongly recommend you add video into your 2021 marketing strategy due to its high demand when coming to consumer purchase decisions.