Instagram claims that its advertisements contribute to the platform’s already substantial brand recognition. Photo advertising, carousel ads, video advertisements, and ads in Instagram Stories are just some of the formats available on the site, with the latter two providing additional opportunities to engage consumers through sight, sound, and motion. We can all agree that video is now trending.
If you place a video ad [inside] Instagram Stories, you may target people who are more receptive to viewing videos and swiping up to see additional items or the whole of an article since that’s what they anticipate to do when they’re in the Stories feed.
Users are accustomed to quickly scanning the feed, rather than pausing to read, respond, or explore further.
Here are some ways you may improve the performance of your video ads regardless of the format you choose to use.
The initial few seconds are crucial
Brands need to create video advertisements that make Instagram consumers pause as they swiftly browse through their feeds or stories.
There is no time to grab anyone’s interest. You don’t want any arty, plodding openers; you want something that’s lively, dynamic, and immediately captivating.
You need to have enough motion in the first second of your video so that people can tell it’s not a still image even if they don’t turn on the sound.
It’s possible they won’t even notice they missed anything if the first few seconds are so understated that they might have been a picture.
Insert text
Since Instagram’s audio is turned off by default, companies need to rely on pictures and/or text, according to Jonathan Jacobs, partner at digital firm Digital Natives Group.
According to Chuck Cotterman, a social media marketing expert at business software and services review firm G2 Crowd, “you can attract their attention—or just get your point over” by offering more than just captions. If you want to be sure that your audience doesn’t miss any of your most important information, “create dynamic text effects utilising applications like Apple Clips.”
Brief captions placed strategically throughout the movie might spark the interest of the viewer and encourage them to keep watching, with or without the sound. But, if there’s too much text, it might be distracting to the audience and make the video look chaotic.
Get an issue resolved
Promoted videos on Instagram should address a specific issue and highlight the benefits of the advertised product.
Customers are more likely to be interested in what you have to offer if you establish an emotional connection with them by addressing an issue they are experiencing. After you have their attention, you need to demonstrate how your offering addresses their pain point.
Maintain a singular focus
According to Natalie Athanasiadis, head of digital at marketing firm Digital Visibility Group, every advertisement needs to have a clear focus, objective, and issue.
What she meant by this was that there could be opportunities to learn more about the brand, the product, or to make a quick purchase. Don’t attempt to cram all of that into one ad, otherwise you’ll just overwhelm people, and they’ll click away.
John Surdakowski, CEO of Avex Designs, a digital studio, has decided to prioritise single tasks.
Too many items or selling points may make your video ad feel like a pitch, he warned. Just for your clientele, provide video material.
Feel less like a commercial
Athanasiadis emphasised the importance of a video ad’s organic fit within Instagram feeds and cautioned against overt promotion.
Video advertising should feel natural in the context of feeds, according to Surdakowski.
It’s important to grab people’s attention when they’re scrolling through their feeds, he added. Users are more inclined to watch and interact with videos if they provide some sort of value to them.
Use the proper scale while shooting
Voss advised advertisers to assume that users will watch a video ad within an Instagram post since, unlike Facebook, in-feed videos on Instagram cannot be expanded to fill the entire phone screen. Videos uploaded to Stories, on the other hand, will take up the whole display but must be shot and edited in a vertical orientation.
Full-page advertisements are the most effective type. Get rid of the horizontal movies and replace the editor with a 600600 one instead. All eyes are certain to be drawn to this because of how drastically different it looks from everything else out there.
Nevertheless, for Stories, Basis suggests sticking to a 1:1 aspect ratio of 1080p or 1920p.
Consider thumbnails right away
There is another distinction between Facebook and other platforms, as pointed out by Elizabeth Venanzi, online marketing manager at marketing agency Sparq Designs. Instagram advertising require businesses to utilise video teasers.
The thumbnail is the most crucial component of any Instagram video ad, so keep it in mind when you film or edit the video.
Whether or whether a user watches your advertisement, clicks on your post in the search section, and finally visits your profile all depends on its thumbnail. Don’t waste any more time and add your chosen thumbnail to your video instead.
Make sure your landing page is optimised for mobile users
If a video ad’s CTA links to a landing page, that website needs to be mobile-friendly, according to Surdakowski. The vast majority of Instagram users use the service via mobile devices.
Nothing, he noted, is more frustrating than pressing “Learn More” only to be sent to a page that isn’t mobile-friendly.
Creative director at video production business Lights Camera Business Reuben Field agreed that advertisers will want customers to simply be able to take the appropriate action from their mobile devices.
Making things complicated for the consumer is a surefire way to lose them as a customer, he said.