Things To Do Before Starting Your First Video Ad

Video consumption has increased dramatically in recent years. As a result, digital video advertising has become the main emphasis of online marketing. Advertisers are now prepared to spend a lot more money on video advertisements. However, creating a video advertisement that will accomplish its goal is a difficult task. Because of that, we are here to offer some suggestions of things to do before starting your first video ad.

Set The Goals

What are the goals of your video ad? This is the thought that needs to be answered before setting up a video advertisement. For example, it is critical to differentiate between numerous advertisement objectives. Will the video advertisement seek to create awareness about the brand, promote lead generation, increase sales, or increase traffic for the site? Setting goals is good because you will deliver a message that is straight to the point and based on the goal set, you will have metrics in place to ascertain how successful the advertisement has been. For example, if your goal is brand awareness, you’ll focus on views and reach, whereas conversion campaigns will emphasize clicks and purchases. Having a clear goal from the outset ensures your video stays aligned with your broader marketing strategy.

Know Your Audience

Creating an appealing video ad begins with knowing the target audience or target market. Identify key attributes such as age, sex, geographical location, hobbies, and online activities. What do they find most appealing, and what solution or service can your business or product provide? The ad’s voice, tone, and overall appearance must be in line with the audience and the clients that are being served. For example, a younger audience may find a more amusing and colorful approach more effective, while corporate audiences would respond better to a video with professional tone. By knowing your audience, you can create a video that captures their attention and compels them to act.

Choose the Right Ad Format

There are several different types of video ads including instream, outstream, and mobile ads. There is a large number of opportunities, especially when dealing with reputable DSPs that have a good number of premium publishers and multiple options for video ad placement. Still, proper consideration should be given to the goals of the campaign.

As an illustration, non-skippable pre-roll advertisements are a classic example of ads that are effective in reaching and boosting brand exposure. While skippable instream video advertisements are more effective in generating leads. Besides, mobile ads are considerably significant and have the ability to reach more people.

Construct A Storyboard

The first impression left by the video advertisement plays an important role and is one of the most promising aspects of the entire ad. Users are presented with a skippable instream video advertisement on some platforms. It means that five seconds after the video ad starts playing, a skip ad button appears in these advertisements. This indicates that most viewers only view the first portion of the advertisement.

When constructing storyboards for video advertisements, there is a very basic rule concerning the first five seconds of the advertisement. In short, it must have a hook that draws the viewers’ attention, otherwise people will be bored. Below are suggestions of initial hooks that you may use on your video ad:

• A question

• A narrative story

• A problem’s introduction

• A bold surprising statement

Brands have indeed started to use video storytelling techniques as a part of their marketing strategies. The story can be best summed in the perspective of a mini-movie where there is a beginning stage, a middle stage addressing the main issue and an end stage with a conclusion making the ad more effective and appealing.

Highlighting the brand’s successes is also a fantastic part to be included in the storyboard. It will show consumers that your product or service is dependable. Including endorsements and positive customer feedback in your ad is one way to construct a storyboard. In this way, you are emphasizing brand values in your video ad.

Then, the last thing to be included in the storyboard is a CTA. Including a CTA is perhaps the most important element in any video marketing strategy because the majority of video ads aim to encourage viewers to take certain actions. The majority of CTAs appear at the very end of the ads. however, the ad format you select will determine the location. For instance, if your format is an instream video ad that can be skipped, it makes more sense to put the call to action at the beginning for more visibility.

Do A Top-Notch Video Production

A top-notch video production includes the ability to personalize the ad. With the use of advanced targeting tools, you can produce customized video content that fits the taste and online experiences of your audience. Retargeting based on past user activity, personalized recommendations, and dynamic content are a few examples of targeted top-notch video production

Use Professional Video Editing Tools

Professional video editing tools are essential for producing polished and visually appealing video ads. Tools like Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, or DaVinci Resolve allow for advanced editing, color correction, sound design, and special effects. These tools can enhance the visual storytelling of your ad, making it more engaging and professional. Additionally, using templates, motion graphics, and transitions ensures a seamless viewing experience. For those new to video editing, beginner-friendly platforms like Canva Video or InVideo offer drag-and-drop functionalities that simplify the editing process while still delivering professional results.

Join Ampliffy to Promote Your Brand Video Ad

Since there are too many generic programmatic pre-roll advertisements on the market right now, I advise attempting Ampliffy's distinctive advertising solution as an alternative. Through our innovative video marketing ecosystem, which includes premium publisher partnerships and targeted distribution networks, we provide advertisers with customized ad placement strategies designed to reach the right audience at the right time.

You have the option of choosing our premium video placements or dynamic social media campaigns, depending on your brand’s needs and objectives.

All you need to do is pick a content topic that best fits the narrative of your brand and get in touch with us to use Ampliffy to market your brand.

Tips to Improve Your Video Analytics

Being an advertiser or creator these days involves more than just being creative.

The world of digital advertising is dynamic and competitive. Successful advertisers understand how to mine important indicators, analyze data, and take action based on their insights, which goes beyond just producing excellent video content. 

Why are metrics important for video ads?

Analytics provide information about the audience

We must know the audience’s preferences, dislikes, behaviors, ages, and locations. This data feedback is essential to better understanding the target audience and customizing video content.

Metrics give advertisers the ability to measure performance

Advertisers and creators can also measure video performance using video analytics. This includes information about general popularity, engagement, conversions, and other factors. Marketers can quantify and optimize ROI (return on investment) for their video content using this type of data. Additionally, they can optimize material and make better decisions regarding the next campaigns or video releases. 

Better results come from optimizing content and content strategy

You may understand better what videos are effective for your audience by learning about video metrics and using them to monitor your video success. After that, you can modify your material and decide on more calculated choices for your next video campaign.

Video analytics are all about knowing what your target audience wants and what kind of content works. You can enhance and optimize your videos in a variety of ways, including themes, titles, thumbnails, format, orientation, length, messaging, call to action, platform, and more, resulting in the most focused and efficient content. 

What you can learn from video analytics?

The first thing to do before creating your video content is determine your goals, define your niche, and conduct research on your target audience. You may aim to increase sales, raise awareness of a company, or simply grow your following in order to eventually make money off of your material. 

Make your videos and get them online

Start making and distributing your videos. Your target audience and objectives may influence the format and platforms you choose to begin with.

Examine the performance

You can start examining your stats as soon as your content becomes online. You should be able to determine popularity and interaction on practically any video site, however the metrics you have access to may differ. Find videos that do well and look for recurring themes in their subject matter, structure, or level of production. Additionally, keep in mind that what functions well on one platform might not function well on another, and vice versa. 

Improve your content

Apply the lessons you've learned to your next video you've found a few trends. Keep track of your learnings and record each improvement you make to your video performance. 

Stay consistent

As previously said, this testing process needs to be continuous.

What are the metrics in video content?

Every platform may have different analytics reporting, but let's begin with a summary of the most important video marketing KPIs.

Number of views

The number of views is the most fundamental video marketing metric. 

Video views are the total number of times your video has been viewed, even if not all the way through. On the majority of sites, you can also track channel views, which is the total amount of views for all of your posted videos.

Views are a quick and simple indicator of overall content performance because they show that your video is interesting enough for viewers to click “play.” Similar to this, channel views are a useful metric for comparing your entire content strategy. If you notice a significant increase or decrease in views, it’s worthwhile to look into it further.

Ideally, you may begin identifying and copying successful video tactics using views.

Watch Time

Another important metric for measuring the success of videos is the watch time. Watch time provides an answer to the questions, “How much time are viewers spending watching my content?” and “How many times was a video viewed”

Advertisers can calculate the average or total amount of video watch time.

• “Total watch time” describes how long a video has been viewed overall by all viewers.

• “Average watch time” is the total watch time divided by the number of views.

On a lot of platforms, you can also view the overall amount of time spent watching all of the videos that have been posted.

Similar to video views, video watch time can generally indicate the success of the content. Additionally, watch time metrics can indicate when you need to go deeper into your analytics tools.

Completion Rate

The completion rate indicates the number of people who watch your video all the way through. This is a parameter if your video is engaging from beginning to end.

Demographics

Demographic data is the statistics about your audience, such as age and location. Advertisers may better understand and connect with their target audience by using demographic metrics.

Gender, location, device type, and online time are largely standard across platforms. Advertisers may use this data to better target the correct viewers, create audience groups, and tailor content to increase interaction.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR, or click-through rate, is yet another crucial engagement indicator. The ratio of viewers who click on a video to those who view the video thumbnail is known as your video’s click-through rate or CTR. The ratio of viewers who click on a video link (such as a call-to-action button or hyperlink) to all viewers who see it is another way to define CTR.

Video Analytic Tool by Ampliffy Control Panel

Ampliffy Control Panel gives the creators and the advertisers an easy yet complete set of functionalities to measure, manage, and enhance their videos in a way that fits their audience better. Our analytics platform lets you look further into your audience and improve your strategies so that you meet your goals with your campaigns in a better way.

Ampliffy’s control panel features:

1. Daily Metrics Dashboard

In very simple words, a dashboard for this would ideally chart essential KPIs like views, watch time, engagement rates, and even CTR in discrete time intervals that are most appropriate. The dashboard provides a clear overview of your video performance at a glance, enabling immediate adjustments to optimize results.

2. Detailed Audience Insights

Ampliffy’s control panel offers detailed audience insight including age, gender, location and the device that they use. Get to know your audience better and comprehend their preferences to create better, more focused video ad campaign.

3. ROI Tracking

Assess the return on investment for your video content with in-depth financial metrics. Monitor conversion rates, ad revenue, and overall profitability tied to your video campaigns.

 

Why You Should Adhere The IAB Standards?

The digital advertising ecosystem is growing. With countless stakeholders—including advertisers and publishers—it’s essential to have a unified framework to enable seamless collaboration. The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) provides these critical standards, shaping how the industry operates efficiently and effectively.

It isn’t a suggestion but, it is an industry best practice to comply with IAB standards to be competitive, get better user experiences and increased revenue returns in an ever-changing environment. IAB video ad specifications are sets of guidelines that facilitate consistent communication while also aiding in the management and serving of digital video commercials. In this article, we highlight the importance of adhering to IAB guidelines and the benefits of following their progressive guidelines in the AdTech space.

Understanding IAB Standard Video Ads

In-Stream Ads

In-stream ads are incorporated in video contents and they include pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll. Pre-roll ads run at the start of the video as viewers wait for more relevant content, which aids in delivering attention as the audience seeks background. Mid-roll ads run at the halfway of the video probably when there is a break or interruption. They have the advantage of reaching an active audience, but also run the risk of losing them if the advertisement is not engaging enough. Video ads that display at the end of the video are known as post-roll ads.

Accompanying Ad

Accompanying ads are placed within a video, but they do not directly interrupt the content. In most cases, these ads are presented in the form of banners, side panels or companion advertisements designed to accompany the main content. It should be kept in mind that the video content itself is not the main content. This format is especially suitable for the purpose of obtaining clicks or other engagement while the viewer’s related information is not at risk of being interrupted.

Interstitial Ads

These are advertisements that cover the entire screen which appears in between video sequences, or between transitions in an APP. They are very captivating and often expect viewers to be focused on the advertisement. These ads, while great for getting attention, do require interesting and captivating content so as not to annoy users. Because of their strong presence over audiences, interstitial ads work very well for time limited deals, for getting application downloads or for Brand big campaigns.

Standalone Video Ads

Like the name, these ads are not attached to any content. These ads capture the viewer’s focus within the first few seconds. They are highly flexible in terms of placement whereby stunning images, storytelling and short texts can be used to reach particular segments. Because of their flexibility, several clients prefer standalone video ads in their marketing strategy.

The New IAB Ad Portfolio: LEAN and Flexible Ads

To keep up with a fast-paced digital ecosystem, IAB has introduced New Ad Portfolio with the following attributes.

Lightweight Ads

Applying LEAN principles (Light, Encrypted, AdChoices-supported, and Non-invasive) guarantees that ads are sufficiently light in weight and therefore do not interfere with the performance of the webpage. According to a survey, publishers adhering to LEAN principles were able to drive users to turn off ad blocks on their devices. For instance, ad blocking is very popular amongst young men aged 18-34 years. However, they are the same people who are willing to disable ad blocking for websites that follow LEAN.

Flexible Ads

Designed with aspect ratios rather than fixed pixel dimensions, flexible ads adapt seamlessly to any screen size—mobile, tablet, or desktop.

Why Following IAB Standards is Critical

IAB Standards are best practices and recommendations set by The IAB, which serve as a technical manual for publishers and advertisers. In order to preserve consistency in the advertising industry, these rules aid in standardizing the advertising process. IAB standards are foundational to the buying, selling, and serving of ads in the digital advertising industry. They offer standardized ad formats, technical specifications, and best practices that streamline operations for all parties involved.

1. Enhanced User Experience

IAB-compliant ads are focused on speed and responsiveness increasing ad efficiency by reducing page load time. As the performance of the site is enhanced, better interactions are promoted, bounce rates are reduced and satisfaction of the viewer increases.

2. Simplified Ad Inventory Management

With standardized formats and clear guidelines, creating and managing ad inventory becomes far easier for publishers. Advertisers on the other hand can confidently plan campaigns knowing how the ads will look on the different devices.

3. Better Revenue Potential

Following the IAB specifications allows for working with large advertising networks that require standard formats. It can increase click rate (CTR) and conversions thus bringing in more revenue.

4. Future-Proofing with Emerging Technologies

Guidelines of the IAB apply also to new formats. Publishers who use these formats get new advertisers and keep up with the trends of the markets.

5. Combatting Banner Blindness

Providing several ad sizes and formats can help solve the problem of ‘banner blindness’ which is where users unconsciously prevent their eyes from ad locations and ads in general due to their repetition. A greater selection of advertising formats also helps to focus and interest the audience more, which increases the ads’ visibility and effectiveness.

FAQs: A Quick Recap

Q: What are IAB standards?

IAB standards are guidelines established by the Interactive Advertising Bureau to ensure consistency, efficiency, and compatibility in digital advertising.

Q: What is the importance of IAB standards in advertising?

They streamline ad operations to allow the users to have a better experience and maximize revenue opportunities for both publishers and advertisers.

Following IAB standards is critical in the current digital advertising environment. These procedures facilitate processes, enhance ad effectiveness, and enhance the possibility of cooperative efforts across different platforms and devices.

Whether you’re a publisher, advertiser, or marketer, adopting IAB standards is not just a smart move—it’s a necessary one.