For some time now, brands must pay closer attention than ever to their users’ new demands and use various innovative resources to capture their attention.
In fact, Nielsen Catalina Solutions calculates that 49% of sales achieved across all media platforms can be attributed to creatives. This demonstrates that companies aiming for business results should not underestimate the importance of creating advertising pieces that surprise, as it is a fundamental part of brand development.
Video platforms are no exception. That’s why we compiled information from Google, Facebook, and our agency’s experience to provide you with data that can help you achieve your goals throughout the entire sales funnel and develop your advertising creativity.
Attraction: Capture All Eyes
With the possibilities offered by video format, brands can unleash their creativity on YouTube and connect with their target audience in a different way. To make the most of this opportunity, advertisers need to capture the attention of internet users from the first seconds of their ads. Some tips to achieve this:
- Use close-ups, whether of objects or people. These close-ups of people can increase their expressiveness, leading to emotional reactions measured by facial expressions, which influences campaign results throughout the entire funnel. These angles also help the brain retain information more easily, maintaining engagement.
- Adapt the pace. Changes in scenes can maintain user engagement if balanced with the amount of information delivered. Simple ads with less data can have a faster pace than more complex ones. Aim for more than two shots in the first 5 seconds of your ad, and for more elaborate ads, leave 2 to 3 seconds between each scene.
- Surprise the audience. Use stunning, charming, unexpected, or unforgettable images that make consumers think or feel something during the first 5 seconds, which correlates with longer viewing times on YouTube.
- Humanize the scene. If your advertising video includes people, place them front and center from the beginning. If appropriate to the story you want to tell, have them speak directly to the camera to influence your audience’s behavior. Faces attract immediate attention, increasing emotional motivation and engagement. Neuroscience also shows that first-person information, shared by speaking directly to the camera, can influence behavior.
Branding: Empower Your Brand Visibility
In an increasingly competitive environment, companies must develop marketing strategies to differentiate themselves from the competition. Although YouTube is the channel users access to search for information before making a purchase, learning something new, and being entertained, it is still an appropriate platform to build brand recognition. But the challenges to achieve this goal are ever-changing. Here are some tips to stay ahead:
- Introduce your brand: Presenting your brand or product in the first 5 seconds of a video is associated with more positive business metrics. Integrate key information from the beginning: Incorporate essential information about your proposition from the start of your ads to help consumers process the information more smoothly , leading to higher engagement.
Put your brand in the mouths of the protagonists: Brand mentions made by people on screen are associated with better results than when the brand is not visible. Convert the protagonists of your ad into ambassadors of your message.
Reinforce your presence: Integrate your logo into the story, such as a text overlay or watermark, or when presenting your products, to make your audience remember your name.
Connection: Convey a Compelling Story
With effective storytelling , you can impact users and achieve performance results. To achieve this goal, it is crucial that your message includes people and audio resources that emotionally resonate with those on the other side of the screen. Discover best practices to achieve this:
- Integrate function and emotion: Messages exposing tangible, observable, and measurable benefits of consuming your brand’s products or services can yield better results in the top and middle of the sales funnel.
Engage with emotion, humor, or intrigue to increase your audience’s receptivity when presenting your brand’s value proposition.
Influence by connecting more easily with your audience through influencers and celebrities. These public figures can become valuable allies to amplify your brand’s message, particularly ads featuring relatable individuals that achieve better results during intent-to-buy moments.
Direction: Guide Your Audience to Action
The images and audio in your YouTube ads are key to connecting with users and directing them to perform a specific action. To achieve the desired results, these two elements must be articulated jointly. Some tips for using these resources effectively:
- Include a call to action: Incorporate calls to action to lead users to perform the desired activity. You can use text, simple animations, or voiceovers. Colors and labels can make this resource even more eye-catching and effective Colors and labels can make this resource even more eye-catching and effective.
Evoke a sense of urgency: Use messages such as “Limited-time promotion” or “Last units available” to create a sense of scarcity and increase consumers’ interest in your products.
Be decisive: Calls to action that include specific activities like “Buy now” perform better than those with more generic invitations like “Learn more.” Use concise and clear messages to convey authority and achieve better results.
