For decades, videos and motion pictures have proven to be more effective in engaging audiences compared to still images, especially in creative content and promotional advertisements. Study shows that 96% of online customers rely on videos when making a buying decision. With the rise of social media platforms, we have options to distribute video content. Instagram Ads is now the favorite platform to publish videos.
According to the data gathered by Analisa.io, it is crucial for businesses to have an Instagram account, it’s also important to use Instagram Ads. Most businesses will put ads on Instagram as 1 billion people are scrolling through it every month. So what you have to do now is optimize your video marketing game.
Down here, we provide you 9 Instagram video marketing tips to boost your brand sales.
1. Plan Your Video
Before bringing your video idea to life, you need a plan. To begin with, you need to figure out three things: Goals, Target Audience, and Distribution Channel.
- Identify Your Goals
Before you start to distribute the video, think about the goals. What is your expected outcome? Is it video views? Is it sales consideration? Or sales conversion? Once you set the goals, you will begin to see what your audience should do after they watch the video.
- Target Audience
Defining your target audience will help you craft the video. Since the video should impersonate your buyer’s persona and the segmented target on Instagram. 80% of marketers state that personalized content is more effective.
For example, the majority of Frito-Lay customers have kids. So, the company came up with this short video ad for parents on-the-go.
- Distribution Channel
As the goal has been set, you need to decide: where do you want to blast your video? On Facebook? Instagram Ads? Of course, you can use multiple distribution channels, the more channels you use, the more leads will be generated. Just make sure to keep a track of them, so that you can optimize the one that works best.
2. Understand the Instagram Ads Video Format
Instagram provides a range of video ads format, knowing all the formats will benefit your content creation. You can do research on what format fits your goals best and optimize your video.
#1 In-Feed Video Ads
This format blends with the user’s feed, it offers you an opportunity to advertise in a more natural way. You’ll be able to give a glance at your brand while users are scrolling. This format is the best way to increase brand awareness and has a higher engagement rate. So you might want to create more seamless content that camouflages with the feed’s content and doesn’t “sell” too hard.
#2 Instagram Stories
This might be the one that marketers use the most. After Instagram launched Instagram Stories, the usage number kept increasing. By now, nearly 1.7 billion users use Stories daily. And 15%-25% of viewers swipe up to check out the products on branded stories.
This format is, basically, Instagram Stories, but you are able to put links so people can go directly to your brand’s website. Here, make sure your content showcases the product or the service you are selling.
#3 Carousel Ads Video
This option is perfect in case you want to give more information about your brand. With the carousel, you will be able to advertise with three swipeable and interactive videos. Take advantage of this format to describe your product as the carousel fits quite a lot of information. However, it is also important to ensure that the content is engaging, so users will not get bored.
#4 Instagram TV (IGTV)
Need more time for your ad? IGTV offers you a one-hour-long vertical video. You can show more of what your brand is offering. Talk about your brand’s identity or create more engaging videos, like tips on how to use your product.
3. Make the First Few Seconds Count
People tend to skip the ads, especially Instagram Ads that can easily be swiped or scrolled through. So make sure to put your best effort into the first seconds of the videos. Create a video that gains attention and makes a strong impression on the audience.
96% of online customers rely on videos when making a buying decision.
4. Offer a Solution
Instead of selling and introducing your product, focus on the problem that the users might have. What is the pain point of your target audience? After you identify the problem, you can show the users that your product is the exact solution they need. This tactic will drive the audience to check out the link you have added to the ads.
5. Captions In Instagram Ads Are Important
When it comes to ads, any kind of ads, the caption is always important. You want to briefly explain what is happening in the video. But don’t go too far, keep it minimum to avoid cluttered screens.
6. Use a Clear and Compelling CTA
A call-to-action (СТА) will guide your audience to visit your website or buy the product. That is why it is very important to always use a CTA. It will create a simple buying journey instead of driving the users to check the link in your bio. Use a clear and compelling CTA such as Buy Now, Learn More, or Download Now.
7. Make Your Instagram Ads More Engaging
People will get bored if you give them a 15 seconds video only about the product. Create an engaging video, this could be a funny one, an emotional one, or even an interactive one. A video that will evoke emotions will gain attention, and it is more likely to get shared by the viewers of your ads.
8. Take Care of the Thumbnail
On Facebook and Youtube, you can customize thumbnails. With Instagram Ads, you have to use a part of your video for the thumbnail. This means that while planning the content of your video, you need to prepare a shot that can be used as a compelling thumbnail. Thumbnails are very important as it will be the first thing the audience will see. It defines whether the users will continue to watch or just skip the ad.
9. To Achieve More, Don’t Forget to A/B Test
As a good marketer would do, don’t forget to do the A/B test. Create multiple videos and publish them all, then see which one works better. From the analytics, you can see which video is more engaging and create more conversions. You can, later on, keep the one that performed best.
There you go, 9 tips for killer video ad marketing campaigns. Now, put your theory to practice by analyzing your competitors’ social media video campaigns with Analisa.io, and then producing your own viral videos with such production platforms as Perfomante.io. After that, you can complete the marketing process with data-driven reports and social insights from Analisa.io.
