31Aug
Anyone who’s been paying attention to marketing trends on the internet knows that there has been a big shift. Thanks to the rapid growth of Youtube and even livestreaming services like Twitch, video has made the leap from traditional media (in the form of commercials and trailers) to online media in a big way.
So, should I create a video ad? And how do you create a solid video ad? The short answers are, well, ‘it depends’ and ‘carefully.’ The longer answers, of course, are more helpful.
There isn’t anything magical or special about video. That’s important to consider. Video is not going to do something hitherto NEW and SPECIAL for your company or product. Despite the hubbub surrounding it, video is simply a marketing tool, albeit an interesting one.
So, should you engage with it or not? The answer for video is the same for every marketing tool: make videos only if it makes sense for you. Unlike, say, starting and operating a Twitter account, which has a very low barrier for entry, creating good videos is time consuming and requires specific technical skills. In other words, there’s no reason to do something just to do it, especially if it takes a lot of effort. Not every company makes video ads. Maybe yours is one of them. Of course, if your competitors are pushing you in that direction, you may not have a choice.
Five years ago, Facebook videos weren’t really a big thing. Nowadays, they are everywhere. A good Facebook video will have snappy subtitles, even if it’s just a simple conversation, because Facebook videos autoplay with the sound off. A bunch of videos don’t even have meaningful sound for that reason, instead just sort of working like a modern-day silent film.
This is a trend that developed very quickly, and it is just one example of such a trend. Video trends are particularly susceptible to fast moving trends due to external technological factors like autoplay, tab sound muting, and the life and death of varying hosting services and video technologies. Text is text and can be relatively easy to restructure into a more modern format. Not video. Charlie bit my finger isn’t going to ever become 1080p, and that’s just how it is. As a result, it is super important to stay on top of video trends, because they move quickly and can be very lucrative as long as you move with the trends.
No, your ad doesn’t need to have Stephen Spielberg levels of production polish. But unlike text, it is painfully and instantly obvious whenever a video is done with, shall we say, less than adequate enthusiasm or competence. Again, you do not need a full IMAX camera setup going on or anything. Everybody’s budget is different. However, a good video ad is extremely effective, and going the extra step to hire a good editor or a strong voiceover artist or maybe an actor or two is going to help immensely. At the very least, invest in some solid video editing software, because you will need it and need to know how to use it if you want to seriously ramp up video production.
So you want to know if you should create video ads. The answer is this: only create them if they make sense, if they are on trend, and if you can produce at a high level.
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