How to Optimize Your Video Advertising to Generate More Leads
Nowadays, you can’t just tell your target audience why your company is so imperative to their everyday lives. You need to show them.
That’s where the services of a video marketing company come in handy, providing you with plenty of video production options that will create an appealing and accessible visual representation of what makes your business stand out. We’re not just talking about your average television commercial here. Product tutorials, animated explainer videos, testimonial video productions – so many styles and variations of video advertising content can enlighten your audience, engage with your audience, and ultimately, be shared by your audience.
The latter result is what will help generate more leads for your company – something every business can use a little more of, right?
But it takes a little more preparation than completing a promotional video production project and crossing your fingers that it will go viral. Appropriately optimizing your video ads lends a helping hand, allowing businesses to better cater their video advertising campaigns to relevant and interested prospects, ultimately raising the bar for better lead generation results.
From targeting your preferred demographics to understanding how captions and descriptions increase searchability, here are a few essential tips on optimizing your video advertising to boost your lead generation.
Define Your Target Audience
When it comes to improving lead generation, the trick is not to cast a huge net into open waters and hope to catch a ton of fish – it’s knowing exactly where those fish are, then casting that net.
It’s essential to narrow down your target audience, and on essentially all social media channels, such as Facebook and YouTube, you can choose specific demographics to target your video advertisements, such as:
● Age
● Gender
● Interests
● Household income
● Marital status
● Topics
● Consumer intent
● Life events
The more precise a relevant audience you can set your sights on, the more quality leads you’ll be able to generate.
Different Platforms, Different Optimization Settings
An often-forgotten aspect of optimizing video advertisements is neglecting to appropriately optimize the content for the platform you plan to share. YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram – all of these social media platforms have different guidelines, preferences, and settings to consider, and failing to take them into account means your video advertisement won’t reach its full marketing potential.
Generally speaking, this means knowing what types or styles of content work best for each platform. For example, YouTube is where you’d want to post longer forms of video advertisement, like “how to” guides, product videos, or tutorials.
Shorter advertisements, such as explainer videos or promotional videos, work best for people scrolling through their Facebook or Instagram feeds.
Finally, more professionally shot corporate video productions, such as employee recruitment videos or training videos, will work best through LinkedIn.
Cater Toward Mobile Viewers
In today's digital world, ensuring that your video ads are optimized for mobile viewers is more important than ever. To maximize reach, engagement, and sales, you must cater to potential customers who are accessing your content from their mobile devices.
Research shows that the rise of smartphone and mobile device usage has contributed to more than 75% of US adults spending up to two hours watching video content daily. With the increasing popularity of smartphones and tablets, modern consumers rely heavily on these devices when viewing ads and making purchases.
When optimizing your mobile video ads, there are several key steps you should take into consideration.
Audio
Audio is an important element in any video ad, whether it’s including high-quality music or hiring a professional voiceover that will capture your audience's attention without overwhelming them.
Audio can make or break the effectiveness of your video advertisement, as it can be easily distorted on phones and tablets, so be sure to embrace opt-in audio formats.
Formatting
The formatting of your video should also cater to mobile viewers, as it affects how the ad looks on different devices.
It’s generally recommended to format your videos vertically, as the majority of mobile device users view video content with their mobile device in a vertical position.
Video Length
Additionally, you must consider video length when creating an engaging video ad – be sure not to make it too long, or else viewers will get bored quickly.
Studies show consumers are likelier to watch videos up to two minutes long, so keep this in mind when creating a mobile-friendly advertisement.
Branded Visuals
Finally, branded images can help increase brand recognition and trust from potential customers. Be sure to include your company logo throughout the advertisement so that viewers will be able to recognize who created the ad. This is particularly important for mobile users who may not be familiar with your brand yet but could become a loyal customer.
By following these steps, you can create an engaging and effective mobile-friendly video ad that will help generate leads and optimize viewership.
Target Keywords Will Target Your Audience
Titles, descriptions, captions; all of these text-based components of video advertising serve a valuable function for lead generation. With the right insertion of target keywords, more relevant and applicable prospects will be able to come across your videos while actively searching for products or services that pertain to the ones your business provides.
Doing appropriate keyword research will enlighten you about what your target audience is actively searching for words or phrases.
From there, you should adhere to all of the following keyword-related optimization tips:
● Insert target keywords naturally into the title and description of your video advertisement.
● Consider adding captions or transcripts to your video.
● Tag your video ads with target keywords relevant to your products, services, or industry.
● Categorize your video ads under the settings of whatever platform you’re sharing them across.
● Add tiles or cards at the end screens of your YouTube uploads that provide more engagement opportunities for viewers.
● Upload custom images as the thumbnail for your video advertisement.
Utilize Specific Calls to Action
Far too often, people watch an entire video advertisement without learning how to take advantage of or enlist the services of whatever the video ad is trying to promote or highlight. That’s where using specific calls to action in video advertisements is a great way to optimize the finishing touches of your ad and generate leads with clear, concise, and compelling CTAs that motivate your target audience to take action with your brand.
The more precise and specific the CTA you use, the greater success you will have compared to generic ones like “Contact Us” or “Call Us Today.”
For example, if you are trying to get viewers to sign up for a webinar or download an ebook on a particular topic related to your product or service, using a simple yet direct CTA such as “Sign Up For Our Webinar Now” or “Download Your eBook Here” can effectively capture the attention of your viewers and make them more likely to take action.
In addition, you can use CTAs that target a particular segment of your audience, such as “Learn More About Our Services for Businesses” or “Find Out How You Can Save More Money.”
By clearly conveying what you want viewers to do after watching your ad, this kind of targeted messaging can be extremely effective in connecting with the right people and converting those leads into sales.
Track & Adjust Metrics Accordingly
The beauty of video advertising is how many essential metrics and analytics you can access that will allow you to see up close and personal how your content is performing.
Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) and adjusting metrics accordingly is how you can better cater to your target audience and ultimately increase your lead generation numbers. It will also enlighten you as to which platforms are most resonating with your audience and which social media channels seem void of relevant prospects.
All of the following metrics should be monitored after publishing your video advertisement:
● View Rates: The total number of views and how long viewers are watching your video.
● Conversion Rates: The percentage of viewers who take action after watching your video.
● Click-Through Rates: The number of clicks your video ad receives, divided by the number of times your ad is viewed.
● Engagement Rates: How often your video ads are liked, shared, or subscribed to by prospective viewers.
The more aware you are of these insightful metrics, the better you can adjust your video advertising campaigns to maximize your lead generation potential.
Video Advertising Done Right By Atomic 8
The secret to successful video advertising is creating a well-rounded task force that covers all the bases of a picture-perfect video marketing campaign. At Atomic 8, we cover all those bases, providing production, editing, and marketing support for businesses of all sizes and industries.
If you’re looking to increase leads through the power of video advertising, contact us today to schedule a consultation with our video marketing experts!