The Dos and Don'ts for Creating Facebook and Instagram Video Ads in 2019

Facebook and Instagram video ads are akin to street performers — they occupy a crowded, bustling space, and if they don’t capture attention quickly, potential audiences are fast to move along to the next, more exciting offering.

Your brand deserves to be the main act, not the sideshow.

From utilizing the relatively untapped "Stories" feature to ensuring branding is consistent, we’ve pulled together a list of essential dos and don’ts so you can create Facebook and Instagram video ads that are too good to ignore.

Don’t: Forget to Use Stories.

Stories on Facebook and Instagram are an often neglected, but effective marketing tool. Uploaded images and videos give viewers an engaging look into a flip book-style narrative that can be augmented with stickers, gifs and text. After 24 hours, each story element disappears.

The great thing about stories? As yet, there aren’t the same kind of algorithms making unsponsored business stories less likely to be seen, like with regular unsponsored posting. The story tab also occupies some prime real estate right as users click onto the app. Therefore, take advantage of this feature and start strategizing how to utilize video in stories. Advertisers have seen the stories format reduce their cost per click by more than 20 percent. Some great ways to do this include behind-the-scenes sneak-peeks and exclusive, limited-time deals.

Do: Keep Your Branding Consistent.

While Vine-style and funny videos have a larger chance of going viral — the Holy Grail of video advertising — they’re useless if they don’t link to your brand in some way. Ensure when planning and shooting content that brand elements are considered, whether it’s color schemes, tone, key messages or ensuring your logo is included.

Don’t: Take Too Long to Say What You Want to Say.

Viewers are seeing branded video content in more places than ever before. Because of this, attention spans are shrinking and viewer expectations are growing. In fact, marketers have only 10 seconds to grab a viewer’s attention and 30 seconds to communicate all information before a third of the audience is lost. It’s best to ensure all pertinent information — especially your call to action — is included in the first 10 seconds of the video.

Do: Familiarize Yourself With Video Ad Types.

Many amateur marketers figure they can shoot a quick video, upload it, and watch their conversions and clickthrough rates grow. However, the key to success in Facebook and Instagram video advertising — and any form of advertising really — is to choose the right ad type for your objectives. Facebook has nine different options for video, from regular in-feed videos to Facebook Messenger videos, and Instagram has five. Therefore, familiarizing yourself with these video types and lining them up with your objectives is essential. Often, ad types come with specific dimensions they support, and we’re seeing these dimensions increasingly become mobile first. Usage for mobile-optimized dimensions such as one-to-one have doubled over the last 12 months on Clipchamp.

Don’t: Assume Your Audience Will Be Watching With Sound On.

Eighty-five percent of viewers don’t watch Facebook or Instagram videos with sound on, so it’s imperative your videos communicate your message without audio. Think about it: a lot of content is consumed in public places where it’s not comfortable to listen with sound. Therefore, don’t rely on voiceovers or narrators to relay key information. Use captions or graphic overlays to make sure your message is communicated, regardless of audio. We see a correlation via our platform where more experienced users who create content frequently are more likely to use captions and titles than those who are new.

Do: Use a Template.

If you’re a small business owner doing your own social media marketing, tools and templates are your best bet for creating professional video ads on a budget. Online video editing platforms like Create or online libraries like Shutterstock offer a selection of stock video and templates for different social media ad types. These templates are a simple way to ensure your ads are compliant with best practice principles (to avoid things like text rejections) and can help simplify the ad process.

Anna Ji is the director of growth at online video creation platform Clipchamp.