Today, I’m going to show you how to record simple Facebook Video Ads that reduce click costs and help you create both retargeting and lookalike audiences.
First, video views campaigns in Facebook are incredible. There are so many different things you can do with them, but the main two benefits are:
- You get cheaper clicks, which will increase website traffic fast (and who can say no to that?!)
- You can assemble a retargeted audience using all of Facebook’s data, based on how much of the video someone watched.
- Using that retargeted audience (or custom audience) you can create a lookalike audience which means more targeted website traffic immediately.
What that means…
Using Facebook’s Audience Data When You Don’t Have Your Own
If you are just starting a new company or if you are starting ads on Facebook fresh, then you’re able to post video and segment out who watches that video. When someone watches 25%, 50%, 75% or more of that video you can put into a “custom audience.” Then, using that custom audience, you can create a lookalike group for any future ads!
PLUS, you can retarget those folks with another ad campaign.
So, one Facebook Video Ad Campaign gives you some very real advantages in finding ideal prospects for your lead magnets and digital products.
Example Facebook Video Ads Scenario
Let’s say a fitness product or a membership site that you’re looking to sell. You put a promotional video up as a Facebook Video Ad for prospects to watch…. They click the video and then they go over to your sales page.
Good so far.
Well, at that point, you’ve got some good data already.
Whoever watches more than 25% or 50% of that video, you can be reasonably sure that they are interested in fitness, that they are interested in digital products, that they like you. With the video views data, you can put an audience together that targets people just like them for your next promotion.
So, when you’re starting cold or when you don’t have a whole lot of data, Facebook Video Ad Campaigns represent a fantastic strategy to bootstrap that data.
Facebook Video Ads Script
For our Ad Management clients, we write their Facebook Video Ad scripts for them. We figure out the two or three things that they’re promoting, then write a script, and send it to them.
If you’re not a client, then obviously we can’t write a script for you… But you’re welcome to jump onto a Strategy Session to talk about becoming one!
The rest of this holds true.
Every video has one action – one thing – that you’re really trying to get somebody to do.
That one thing is going to a landing page and entering an email address for a lead magnet…
Or going into a sales page, watching a video and then buying something...
Or going to a survey and completing it…
Whatever that action is, you want pre-frame that action inside the video.
Two MOST Popular Facebook Video Ads Campaigns
Of all the types of Facebook Ad Campaigns we do for clients, there are two that end up being the most popular…
Lead Magnet Promo Campaign
This is very simply a video talking about a lead magnet and then telling somebody to click the button below to go and download the lead magnet. The material itself is very similar to what’s on the landing page.
You start with a question and then you talk a little bit about the lead magnet, and then you deliver some language around the features and benefits… Followed by the call to action at the end is click the button below.
If you don’t have a Lead Magnet done yet, go here.
Sales Video Promo Campaign
This is another one that’s not too fancy.. It’s basically a short video to get someone to click through and watch a longer sales video (or sign up for an automated webinar)
Typically, this kind of Sales Video Promo Campaign is going to be used is a retargeted ad…
But the content of the commercial is going to be same format.
Open with a question. Add a bit of content. Talk about what a prospect is going to experience if they click through the video and watch the sales presentation… And close by encouraging them to click the button underneath the video.
PRO TIP: You can see how these kinds of ads lend themselves to a sales funnel. If you'd like to speak to us about building an Automated Sales Funnel or Optimize the Sales Funnel you have - click the respective links!
How To Record Your Facebook Video Ads
To record this video, I am actually talking to my computer. This is a webcam at a standing desk in my office. For me, I’m at the standing desk for three, four hours a day, and it is a nice way to talk to a camera and record stuff. I’m already here and I can record some thoughts and then hit export it, and then boom. It goes up into Facebook and YouTube and blog posts and all that other stuff.
If you have a laptop, you can do it on your webcam; that’s totally fine too. You can be sitting at a desk. I like standing because it ends up being eye level.
Another way you can do it is by having a selfie stick if those things are even around anymore…
Or a 3-Axis Gimbal.
When you turn it on, it keeps your mobile device nice and straight no matter how you position it.
You can either record yourself looking at the camera, or you can have somebody else record you. So it really just depends on however you want to do it.
At the very minimum, you can have somebody record you… Or you can just hold your mobile phone out in front of you and hit the record button.
For our ad management clients, just ship us the video and we will get everything edited.
Facebook Video Ads Tricks
There are a couple of tricks with Video Ads on Facebook. Anything that is over a minute or two, you almost want to change the background up.
People respond to movement, and one of the best ways to move is to change the background or change the scenes inside of the video.
What you can do is record the same script in two or three different locations. Maybe one in your office, one in a library and one outside. Then you edit those shots to make for a seamless video that’s a bit more engaging. That’s one trick that we do.
If we’re working with you, you can film in three different places, send us the Dropbox link or whatever you’re comfortable with, and we will splice it together for you.
The most important thing for the video views campaign is that you are comfortable delivering the material… That you’re comfortable speaking to a camera. It’s really the biggest thing, and also it helps if you’re not reading lines on a computer.
Ideally, we want the video ads to be less than 60 seconds because they can be used on the greatest number of platforms if they’re under 60 seconds.
If they’re over 60 seconds, that’s fine… We might just not be able to use them on Instagram or we’ll have to edit a shortened version just for Instagram… But we want to make sure the video ads can play on as many platforms as possible. That way we can utilize the audiences created by those platforms.
Live-Action Video VS. B-Roll With Voiceover
A big one… Live-action or live-motion videos versus a B-roll style video with a voiceover.
Unfortunately, B-Roll is an easier way. But it is much less effective.
From a live-action standpoint, at the very least, you need to introduce the video. You need to be in front of a camera for the first 10 seconds, then it can go to B-roll. An audience wants to be able to bond with somebody. They want to see somebody in the video. Then it can go to B-roll. You can clip up the rest of it with B-roll type shots or stock footage with a voiceover…
But you need to at the very least need to have someone introduce the video.
If you don’t have a live-action person at the beginning of that video views campaign, there isn’t anybody to bond with. There’s nobody for a viewer to relate to. It’s just stock image, after stock image, after stock image with a voiceover or with an audio track on top, and it doesn’t get the job done.
Sure, somebody might watch the video… If they’re pausing, the video might play on their phone, but they’re not engaging with somebody. They’re not engaging with the video, and that’s really the bigger part of the video views campaign.
Think about it – this ad is showing up on social media. Social media is social. They’re there to connect.
Need Help?
If you have any questions at all on creating Facebook Video Ad Campaigns or having us set them up for your business, click here or the button below. Fill out the quick action plan form and we’ll jump on the phone and talk through your ad campaigns, your products, your business, and your goals… Talk soon!