Advertising isn’t easy, and it isn’t cheap either. Making an effective video advertisement is truly easier said than done. There are a lot of factors that play into what makes a video ad effective, and today we’re going to break them down for you.

Of course things are going to be different with each niche and audience. Always remember to tweak things to make them work for your specific situation. Still, there are a few general guidelines that you can count on to help create a stellar ad, let’s take a look at them!

Establish a goal

Before you do anything else, it is important to decide what exactly you want this video to accomplish. Are you promoting a brand new product or service? Or are you simply generating interest in your brand? The difference between these two ads is going to be huge, so don’t go into it with split intentions. It’s possible to promote a few different things with one ad, but it is always best to have one main focus.

​Once you’ve figured out the main goal of the ad, start to think about how to convey your message. Think about the viewer, and how you want them to react to the advertisement. Show them how your product or service can help solve a problem that they might be experiencing. Give them an idea of how your brand is better than the competition.The shorter the better, convey your message quickly and drive it home with a strong call to action.

We all know that people don’t usually enjoy watching ads unless it’s during the Super Bowl. For this reason, it’s important you try to get your point across as quickly as possible. Most ad platforms have a specific length for videos ads that you need to work within anyways, but people don’t always watch the whole ad. The majority of viewers are going to click that “Skip Ad” button as soon as it’s available, so you only have a few seconds to rope them in.

One way to grab people’s attention is to address the problem immediately at the start of the ad. Ask a question about a problem that you’d expect your viewers to be experiencing. Once they think that this ad will actually teach them some worthwhile information, they’ll stick around for the whole thing. Because of this, you can add any less exciting information about the specifics of your product or brand at the end of the video.

Always remember a CTA

Another extremely important thing to include in your ad is a good call to action, or CTA. Having a CTA puts the viewer on the spot and intrigues their curiosity. Without a CTA, viewers might be genuinely interested in your ad, but might not really think to click on it. Your CTA can be a visual icon or pop-up bubble, or something said verbally. It can also be something vague, like a question about what the viewer is going to do about their problem.

One of the best ways is to say something about visiting your website or signing up for your mailing list, and then have the link visual appear on screen simultaneously (like YouTuber Lilly Singh below). That way people will both see and hear your CTA, and it will draw more attention to the fact you’re pointing them elsewhere. Try to include two or three CTAs if you can – at least one near the beginning and one at the end.

Study your metrics

Make sure you’re taking time and studying your analytics to see how well your ad is performing. This is how you can know whether or not the changes from your previous version of the ad are paying off. Looking at your overall traffic doesn’t help if you have traffic coming from a lot of different sources. You need to pay attention to specific metrics from each ad location to see if you need to change things up on that platform.

Have fun with it

At the end of the day, the quality of your video ad will directly line up with the effort you put into it. If you’re looking for more tips, check out this article on making a great viral video. Don’t half-ass your advertisement and spend a bunch of money promoting it. Stick to the guidelines we’ve shared today, and keep trying to improve your ad until you’re fully satisfied. If you watch your ad and still don’t feel like it is phenomenal, go back to the drawing board.

Date: March 3, 2016 / Categories: Analytics, Tips, YouTube, / Author: Rich Drees