5 Tips when planning for Video Advertising and Marketing!

Video Advertising (or Marketing) is a tool that every single brand should have in their arsenal. It's not only the best way to get brand awareness, but it also is the fastest way you can get a specific message across to your target audience.

When looking to do Video Advertising, there are a few specific things you should keep in mind before you begin

What is Video Marketing?

1) Your budget determines how big of a return you will get

Video production is in itself an investment into your company. While it's more accessible than ever, having good and authentic content is the key to success.

Having a good budget is important. If you cannot afford to produce the videos you think you need, it's often the case that you shouldn't to begin with. Scaling your company and your brand is important, but doing it too quickly can often lead to problems such as upset customers from your process not being dialled, supply issues due to the volume growth, and many more issues happening all at once. We recommend you wait until you can comfortable pay at least a minumum of $1,500-$2,000 before investing into video production services.

On top of that investment in creating the video, you're going to want enough of a budget to run your advertisement sucessfully on multiple platforms. The average cost of a successful advertisement run on Youtube for example would be around $2,000 for roughly 100,000 views. We usually recommend having a budget of at least $4,000 to be able to run the advertisement across at least two platforms.

By being able to run your advertisement across two platforms, you can not only gauge where your target audience interacts with you more, but you can also reach a broader amount of potential customers. Another benefit, is if you have your target audience often between two platforms, when they go back and forth they see you ad in each place. This means they are seeing you and your brand more, which means you are more and more in their memory.

2) Don't go bargain shopping for Video Production

While some creators charge less, they also provide less. Paying for an experienced Creator that can dial in your message is important to success advertisements.

The average cost to creating a quality production will likely require an investment between $2,000 - $5,000. Finding the right creative to create you content is the most important step into your video advertising. If the message isn't perceived in the way your audience wants it, then you won't see the returns that you want. While you can work with people that have lower budgets they work within, finding the right video production studio that can convey your message can ensure your investment isn't wasted. While it costs more, it's a more sure-fire way to ensure your money isn't being wasted.

It happens often where brand, or services, say a phrase such as "we tried video and it didn't do anything." Now before you come to your conclusion that in your industry it isn't worth investing time into video, there are some questions that you should ask yourself (or that person). Did they use a proper video production agency? Did they have a plan in place on how to distribute the video? Did they have a clear message in the video? And finally, did they do any testing to make sure it was the right video to make?

Knowing the answer to all those questions is important when trying to properly implement a video marketing strategy. There is no point in simply paying money to someone to film a video for the sake of filming a video "because that's what everyone else is doing". Filming a poor video and running an ad not only is a waste of money, but it also can confuse your potential customers. If it doesn't have a clear purpose, then your potential customers are going to see the video and simply disregard it. That's why it's important, and well worth the investment, to work with a production company that's either established, or uses a marketing forward approach.

3) Don't spend all your budget creating only one advertisement

While spending tons and tons of money on higher and higher quality video that looks cool is enticing, you have to make sure you invest into content that converts

Making stunning content is very fundamental for brand awareness, but spending $10,000 - $20,000 for every advertisement you do isn't exactly necessary (unless you have the budgets to do so, then by all means)

An important factor of running successful ads is finding the message that resonates with your audience. Not every message you want to create will resonate with your target audience, sometimes the advertisement you thought would do poorly, will be the most successful one. Doing multiple advertisements is key and important to being successful in the digital world. In the world of marketing we call it the A / B test. Take two different advertisements, then test them with the same audience type, to see which drives higher conversions. From there you simply focus your advertising on that.

The proper way to do an A/B test goes as so (now this requires a proper budgets so keep that in mind). Focus your first round of 5 ads with some really simply copy (the message). Try 5 different angles of this, and run each ad with a budget of $100, with the same audience groups. From there you should be able to directly see which ad is performing well, and which isn't. The next step, is to focus on your headline. Take the same copy types that you found work (usually 2 of them) and then run 5 different headings using the same copy that you found successfull. Starting to see a pattern? Once you dial this in, it gets pretty obvious which message type works best with your audience. Finally comes the creative component, and this is where it's a touch different. We aren't going to take the videos you made an only run those. We're going to run 5 ads, with another budget of $100 per ad, with different ad types. Use the different videos you made, then make one with just a photo, then another with a graphic, then the last one with what we call UGC (user generated content). This will give you a very clear sign of what works.

From there, the process is rinse and repeat with different campaigns you want to do. Doing this process, you can really learn what works with your audience and make sure that you film ads according to what works best. When we work with our clients, we often have a really good idea of what's going to work already, but we always like to run these tests to make sure that we can guarantee results.

4) Make sure you pay attention to your Analytics

Many small businesses and start-ups jump into social media advertising and Google ads without fully understanding how to measure their success. They may see little to no return on investment and decide that these ad spends are not worth it. However, the key to success lies in understanding your analytics and making adjustments accordingly.

One important metric to monitor from the start is your cost per click (CPC), which is the amount you pay each time someone clicks on your ad. CPC is an indicator of how much you are paying to get traffic to your website, and it can help you determine whether your ads are performing well or not. Another important metric is the cost per action (CPA), which is the amount you pay each time someone takes a specific action on your website, such as filling out a form or making a purchase. CPA is an important metric for measuring the effectiveness of your ads in driving conversions.

It's also essential to track the total cost of your ad spend and to determine which target audience is doing the most to drive your conversions. By monitoring these metrics, you can adjust your ad spend and target your ads more effectively to maximize your return on investment.

Breaking up your audiences into segments can also be important further down the line, but it's not necessary from the start. It's more important to focus on understanding your analytics and making adjustments accordingly. For example, if you notice that one particular target audience is driving more conversions than others, you can allocate more of your ad spend to that group and adjust your messaging accordingly.

It's also important to note that it can take time for platforms like META to populate proper target groups for your ad spend. These platforms need data on your audience to do so effectively. However, once the platform has dialed in your target group, that information is extremely valuable.

In summary, small businesses and start-ups should not give up on social media advertising and Google ads simply because they don't see immediate returns. It's important to monitor your analytics from the start and make adjustments accordingly, including tracking metrics such as CPC, CPA, and the total cost of your ad spend. Understanding your analytics can help you maximize your return on investment and ultimately drive conversions for your business.

5) Batch Test your message before

The biggest key to success is to batch test your message. The same message, 5 different ways, to see which one your audience likes best.

In the world of paid advertising, A/B testing or batch testing has become a popular strategy for businesses looking to maximize their ad spend. By testing multiple variations of an ad, businesses can identify which ad format or message is resonating with their target audience and generating the highest return on investment (ROI). This strategy can be particularly valuable for start-ups and small businesses with limited budgets who want to ensure that their ad spend is delivering results.

The first step in A/B testing is to identify the elements of your ad that you want to test. This can include the ad format, copy, imagery, colors, placement, and targeting options. You then create multiple versions of your ad, each with a different element or set of elements that you want to test. For example, you might test two different ad formats, one with a static image and one with a video, to see which performs better.

Once you've created your ads, you run them simultaneously to the same target audience and track the performance of each version. You can use metrics such as click-through rates, conversion rates, and cost per acquisition to measure the effectiveness of each ad. By comparing the performance of each ad, you can determine which version is generating the most conversions and revenue.

A/B testing is an ongoing process that requires continuous monitoring and adjustment. As you collect data on your ad performance, you can use that information to refine your ad strategy and improve your ROI. For example, if you find that one version of your ad is generating significantly higher conversions than the others, you can allocate more of your ad spend to that version and optimize it further.

Many marketing agencies offer A/B testing as a service to their clients. By working with an agency, businesses can benefit from the agency's expertise and experience in running successful ad campaigns. Agencies can also help businesses identify which elements of their ads to test and create multiple versions of the ad that are tailored to the target audience.

One of the key advantages of A/B testing is that it allows businesses to make data-driven decisions about their ad strategy. Rather than relying on guesswork or assumptions, businesses can use real-world data to identify what works and what doesn't. This not only helps businesses optimize their ad spend but also provides valuable insights into their target audience and their preferences.

A/B testing is a powerful strategy for businesses looking to maximize their paid advertising spend. By testing multiple versions of an ad, businesses can identify which elements of their ad strategy are driving conversions and revenue. This can be particularly valuable for start-ups and small businesses with limited budgets who want to ensure that their ad spend is delivering results. By working with a marketing agency that specializes in A/B testing, businesses can benefit from the agency's expertise and experience in running successful ad campaigns.

In conclusion

Video advertising is an important tool for any brand looking to increase brand awareness and convey a specific message to their target audience. However, it's important to keep in mind the key factors that make a successful video advertising campaign, such as having a proper budget for both video production and ad distribution, working with an experienced video production company to ensure your message is conveyed effectively, and creating multiple advertisements to test and find the message that resonates with your target audience. By taking these factors into consideration and implementing a proper video marketing strategy, brands can see a significant return on investment and drive higher conversions.