Best Practices to Create a Video Ad

I hope you’ve watched the ad by now. So, let’s talk about some best practices or tips to keep in
mind while creating a video ad. Taking the ad’s example, we’ll see how Google has managed to
convey their message in just 16 seconds.

● The first tip is to personalize the ad and keep the message clear – since the targeting can
be very granular on the digital medium, unlike television, the ad should be made in a
way that it directly speaks to the viewer. For that, you need to be clear on the audience
for your ad.

● The second tip is to make it relevant for your audience- A major downfall of TV
advertising is lack of relevance. For example, you are watching your favourite drama
show and you suddenly see an ad for a cooking oil. It may seem complexly out of
context. In the digital medium, as an advertiser you can control where your ads can be
shown and to whom the ads can be shown. Google used people and content targeting
for the ad we just saw too.

● The third tip is- In most cases, keep it short. The attention span of an internet user is
very small as everything else is just a click away. Internet users also have the option to
skip longer ads and they often do that in case of long ads. So, in most cases, it is better
to keep the ad short and simple- 6 seconds, 15 seconds, 30 seconds, or 1 minute are
some examples of short and successful ad lengths. However, that doesn’t mean that
long ads are a big no-no. If you want to tell a story through your ad, you can create a
long ad and there have been many instances where long ads have turned into a viral
campaign. But there’s one thing that is important to ensure that a long ad is successful
and that leads us to our next big tip.

● Next tip- Make the first few seconds count. As we have understood most of the video
ads are either skippable after a few seconds, or are really short. It is very important that
the advertiser grabs the attention of the viewer quickly, especially in the case of longer
ads. Connecting to your audience in the first few seconds is very important, and is the
only way that you can make them sit through a 2 or 3 minute long ad.

● The final tip is- add a Call to Action. A call to action is important in an ad because it
encourages the viewer to take an action. Without any call to action, a viewer might just
see the ad and move on, without even interacting with the brand or business. In the ad
we just saw, Google is encouraging the viewers to try Google Assistant. That is their call
 to action. It is important to tie the call to action to your goal. Google’s goal was to make
people try Google Assistant, so they highlighted that at the end of the ad. In addition to
adding a call to action in the video, a call-to-action can also be a clickable element that
appears over an ad. This can help drive direct clicks to a website or an app. Here’s an
example: A call to action is appearing on the right, making it simpler for the user to just
click on it and try the product or service the ad is offering.

Well, these were major tips that you as a marketer can keep in mind while finalising the idea of
a video ad.

Once you have finalised the idea of an ad, and it has a clear message aligned to your goal, you
can shoot it or animate it and make that idea come to life. That is how a video ad is created!