The importance of well-crafted social media campaigns cannot be overstated. It is true that most users perform transactional searches on Google when they want to find a product or service online. However, most brands need to develop solid social media strategies in order to reach wider audiences and capture high-quality leads. This is the main reason Facebook Ads has become one of the biggest vehicles for sales in the world right now.
One of the most important elements for the success of your Facebook ads is video content. Since January 2013, posts with videos get almost double the amount of engagement than those without one. However, creating engaging and effective visual content is not as easy as we might believe. There are some mistakes that can make it impossible for your expertly created videos to reach your audiences and convert.
Here are the top 7 most common mistakes when creating video content for Facebook ads.
Wrong Use Of Titles And Descriptions
Titles and descriptions are two of the most important elements of your Facebook ads. They should guide your audience towards taking the desired action you want them to, whether that action is to watch a video, visit a website, or interact with your brand.
Asking viewers to “watch this amazing video” or “This video will blow you away” is no longer a valid way to get eyes on screens.
You need a descriptive title that allows you to be easily found, but also gives your user a useful preview of what they will learn by dedicating one minute of their time to your video.
Your description must also reinforce the need to watch your video through the clever use of keywords and calls to action.
Forgetting To Add Captions
When you or your Facebook marketing services provider is hard pressed to churn out social media content, you might be tempted to skip the captioning process. After all, your voiceover is so crisp and clear, ANYONE will be able to understand the information.
Well, it turns out that a lot of people scroll through their feeds with their sound muted. In fact, 60% of social media videos are consumed without any sound. That means that they likely failed to see your great video content, and you lost a chance at connecting with them if they could not read a word of what your video has to say.
Applying The Wrong Format
It is always tempting to export our videos using the highest resolution and aspect ratio. We want our work to look as good as possible, right?
Since most videos for Facebook ads are viewed on small screens, landscape ratios will force users to squint hard, or turn their cellphones sideways, in order to make sense of what’s being played.
Use square videos to receive more engagement and make sure your message reaches more users no matter the platform they are on.
Too Much Information
We know that our products are the best and there are many reasons for that. We always feel tempted to offer the most complete information about them at every opportunity.
However, the average attention span is very reduced and is getting shorter every year. It means that you need to simplify your message and make sure it conveys one specific point in an easy-to-understand way.
Keeping your message simple guarantees that most people will understand your point and remember it.
It is very easy to get caught up in the content creation process and create a video that tells so much information that it becomes boring to watch. While you might think people will sit through an 8-minute video, they won’t. People are very impatient when scrolling through their feeds, which makes it essential to keep your videos short and concise.
Vague Messaging
Many of us feel like creating a video is our chance to show the world our creative talents. Many of the videos we see online only feature images that are loosely related to the product or service just because they want to convey abstract ideas of happiness or safety.
While an image might be worth a thousand words, we must remember that we only want to communicate very simple ideas.
When in doubt, make use of clear text titles.
Also, users want to be able to see what’s being played without having to strain their eyes or wear glasses. It means that poor-quality images and texts hurt the chances of someone engaging with your video. Images should reflect the video content, but also provide a strong call to action.
Not Using Native Videos
Many people still upload their videos to Youtube and other platforms and then create a post on Facebook that is just a link to the competing platform. It is an incredibly ineffective way to leverage the platform´s reach because it doesn’t allow you to take advantage of Facebook’s metrics and it won´t let the platform understand what your video is about so it can recommend it to your specific audience.
If you are using Facebook ads, you should be uploading your videos directly to the platform. Not only will it let your ads play out in autoplay, but it allows for a much more engaging ad since your content is available within the Facebook environment.
Facebook also prioritizes content within its own turf as it keeps users inside the platform, and it can read engagement. Facebook cannot read Youtube metrics and know how much of your content users consume. This leads us to the next point.
Skimming Through Facebook Insights
Most businesses and users running Facebook Ads quickly get too comfortable with Facebook´s convenient Facebook Business Suite. It provides a ton of seemingly useful data at a glance and gives you a bird’s eye view of the performance of your campaigns. Not bad at all.
But not taking the time to understand what these metrics and numbers actually mean, is the best way to let many aspects of your Facebook marketing strategy fall through the cracks.
Une typical example is not knowing the difference between engagement and reach. This usually leads to strategies that address the wrong problem and eventually cause your brand to use traction.
How To Avoid These Pitfalls?
Many brands and business owners take it upon themselves to design and execute marketing campaigns and try their luck doubling as digital marketers. While it is perfectly possible to learn to run a decent campaign, your best bet will always be to partner up with an eCommerce agency that offers professional Facebook marketing services.
Consult with our successful marketing experts and make sure your next Facebook video campaign is expertly designed for maximum impact, engagement, and conversions.
