As a marketer, the scramble to keep up with the current and upcoming trends comes with the job description. The continually changing scenarios and the ever-decreasing attention span create quite the ruckus for everyone in the advertising industry.
Whether that be a digital marketing agency, understanding what tomorrow holds is indeed the key to forming campaigns that could go “viral.” But, the overall uncertainty of the social media climate cannot be decided with the flip of a coin.
Given the environment, PPC has been the best bet for many consumers. While SEO services do drive organic traffic, PPC lends a more direct approach for presenting your product to a prospective customer. Plus, measuring your ROI is much simpler with tools like PPC, where the budget is clearly defined. 50% of people are more likely to make a purchase coming in from an ad than from an organic link.
So, the good news is that PPC is here to stay for 2021 as well. But, what are the PPC trends to bank on?
The invariable next step in PPC marketing is video ads.
Importance of Video Ads in a PPC Campaign
To give you a base statistic, by 2022, the number of videos uploaded on the internet per second would cross the 1 million mark. So, the right time to start is right away.
With the increasing costs of keywords, your ROI for PPC can be facing a downward slope. Video Adwords are much cheaper on the other hand and face lesser competition. Moreover, a much more precise demographic can be targeted with video ads in place.
The average attention span of an individual has fallen to 8 seconds. You now only have 8 seconds for a prospect to decide whether they want to explore your product further. Video ads allow you to pass on much more information than traditional text in that timeframe. A stunning visual, coupled with an interesting voice-over, has the power to incite curiosity and, consequentially, conversions.
As the concept of PPC goes, the different types of video ads would cost you only if someone clicks on it. The situation is a bit reversed with in-stream ads that are popular on YouTube. If a user chooses to let your ad play through rather than skipping it, the cost of running the ad is added to your marketing expenses. This predominantly works in your favour as you can impart brand awareness and have a precise statistic as to who “chose” to stay with you.
How Can a Business Make an Impression Using Video Ads?
Video ads have multiple parameters surrounding them in comparison to the PPC text links. Here are a few ways to make your video ad impressionable.
Choose the target audience very carefully. Since demographics can be decided in detail, going for a group of people who would just skip your ad doesn’t really make sense.
Make sure your video is well-scripted. If you are directing a 30-second video, the first ten seconds should ideally pull the user in. Your script should also give the next steps towards your product in the end.
Compare what is trending in the market and devise a plan accordingly. Users tend to respond when culturally relevant information is presented in a humorous manner.
What Are Some Top Tips to Produce High-Quality Video Ads?
If you’re doing something, why not do it right. As any PPC agency worth half its mettle would tell you, video ads only work well if they are easy to understand, give valuable information and are fascinating.
Create a story and not a sales pitch. Your video ad should make the viewer feel emotions and then associate those emotions with your product. Going for a straight-up sales pitch is widely off-putting and might defeat the whole purpose.
A short video that provides only the necessary information works better than one that goes on and on without any aim or reason. Edit your scripts aggressively to keep only the parts that matter.
Optimize your video for SEO. This goes for all the aspects, the script, the title, and the description used for the video. Making your video searchable is the first step to being found.
Educate your customers and build authority. Humans are visual learners and trust the people who are capable of teaching something noteworthy. Position yourself as a brand with all the answers, and you shall soon have a product with all the consumers.
Why Are Video Ads Are on the Rise Now?
While there are a plethora of reasons why video ads work so well, here are a few that really matter.
Video ads increase brand awareness much faster. The visual retention of a user is quite high. A block of text can be forgotten easily but, a video that resonates with your values stays on top of your head.
88% of video marketers have said that it gives them a higher ROI. It is a proven fact that video ads boost conversion effectively. A person who spends time to look at your complete video is more likely to invest additional time in knowing your product.
A brand persona can be created via video ads. Video acts as a powerful medium to communicate brand values and perceptions. While text can only be moulded in specific ways, video gives much more flexibility and freedom of expression.
Video allows the inculcation of other forms of content. Even a short snippet can contain infographics, images, graphs and text that relay ample information. Furthermore, video ads can be repurposed in other marketing communications.
What Is the Future for Video Ads?
Google coming up with Bumper videos and Facebook Ads being a prominent part of the marketing cycle only goes on to prove that video is here and here to stay. More and more marketers are adopting the video ad strategy every day.
The next evolution is taking over as well. With the entry of Virtual Reality, video ads are now forming and delivering a wholesome and immersive experience. VR essentially makes the consumers a part of the bigger picture, lending further leeway for creative possibilities.
Your next step should be to understand how you can leverage this medium into your PPC approach and start banking on it right away.