In this episode of the Growth Zone Show we will be looking at Effectiveness of video bait ads used in social media advertising:
1) What can go wrong based on an example of a tractor advert
2) How does Volvo get in front of their clients using video ads on social media
3) Understand how you must get your ads to target those who are most likely to buy
Summary of the video bait ads episode
Social media is exploding with ads. Many companies have abandoned traditional ads space such as magazines and newspapers. Even television is no longer a good platform to advertise on. People under 50 tend to watch movies on platforms like Netflix, amazon prime video or YouTube. Even Facebook has lots of entertaining videoclips. If you enjoy amateur video clips, then you will be chilling off watching Tik Tok.
So how can you use video advertising in an effective way?
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Transcript of this episode on video marketing strategies
[00:00:01] Social media is exploding with ads. Many companies have abandoned traditional ad space such as magazines, newspapers, even television is no longer a good platform to advertise on. People under 50 tend to watch movies on platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or YouTube. Even Facebook has a lot of entertaining video clips. And if you enjoy amateur video clips, then you will be chilling off watching Tick-Tock videos. That’s where the trend is moving.
[00:00:43] So how can we use advertising in an effective way, especially if we are business owners of small to medium sized companies, even large corporations, are asking themselves in the current environment how they can reach their clients when most people are actually consuming content at home, when they have a limited time to actually focus on social media, on ads, might not be wanting to watch television and other kind of platforms because they don’t want to leave their home or maybe because they have to take care of the kids and all these other things. That has a significant impact on advertising and any other kind of marketing strategy and marketing platforms that we might use as companies.
[00:01:44] Let’s look at my first topic, or the first question of today’s show, which is what can go wrong, Based on an example of a tractor advert. Let us look at what can go wrong. So video ads can be a great platform to advertise, but many things can go wrong.
[00:02:11] Let’s look a bit at the surface. So before I recorded this show, I was looking in Facebook to see a variety of ads targeting users with very different offers. This is when I spotted an advert starting with an animation of some dangerous creature hiding in the deep forest before coming out to haunt us. I had absolutely no idea what they were wanting to offer us. So I kept watching. The animation was well done. It took about 75 percent of the video time, to actually get to the product … to find out what they really were offering. They were trying to sell tractors and not just one model. Several models at that point. I was really astonished that a manufacturer of farming equipment would be advertising on Facebook. Just to make things clear. I do not own a farm, nor do I need a tractor. So why did I seen that video? Why did Facebook show me that video?
[00:03:46] I looked at what Facebook was telling me about the advertiser’s targeting settings. I saw they wanted to target people in a given group age who speak a certain language and live in a particular country. They obviously are using the video bait strategy that works quite well to a certain degree. If you get your homework done and have sufficient budget.
[00:04:18] The key mistake they made was actually in the structuring of that video. The strategy is based on filtering out everyone who did not watch at least 75 percent of the video. As the video has a very long animated story ahead of showing us what this really about. The sampling will have people who are watching to find out what it is all about. Those people are most likely not needing a tractor, the same like me. I don’t need a tractor. If their video story board had been timed the right way the next step would have been to show more videos to the people who watched more than 75 percent of that video.
[00:05:23] This way you gradually gain a targeted sample as search criteria for Facebook algorithm, but because of new implementations of tracking prevention tools, in most browsers audience collection will gladly contain a wrong pattern. The investment in advertising might just pay out or even become a total failure. Yes, their marketing strategy or video based bait advertising can help generate leads. Might not necessarily be active in conventional business platforms like LinkedIn.
[00:06:13] LinkedIn contains a lot of corporate and small and medium size employees and entrepreneurs. Farmers might not necessarily see any value in being active on such platforms. So some might even have a Facebook account. Yeah. So this might even apply to Facebook as the daily routines are very different to that of people living in a city. They have to tend to the animals on the farm. They have an early start and early time to go to bed. Totally different returns than people who have a nine to five job. Or 8 AM – 4 PM for depending on your country.
[00:07:09] That’s a key issue, why the video then eventually was Inefficient and ineffective. In grabbing actually the right kind of people and getting their attention it would have got many people to watch. But not the right people. That’s the key thing. It’s a really fantastic and well done well but it’s entertaining while not actually filtering out the right people, you’re getting the wrong people. So how does Volvo get in front of their clients using video ads on social media?
[00:07:59] Other brands are also active on Facebook and LinkedIn as a car manufacturer that can sell their cars to companies and consumers. The tractor factory can’t necessarily sell to consumers a tractor. I don’t need one. I wouldn’t even use a tractor to do my shopping. So, compared to volvo? Volvo can be both on these mainstream social media platforms. And Volvo has been trying to get people to test drive their cars.
[00:08:41] There was a campaign for the X C40 and you saw several videos you could book an appointment via the call center. Experience at the dealership wasn’t always as forthcoming as you would expect. Nevertheless, let’s focus on the ads rather than on dealerships need to train their sales staff better from the very beginning.
[00:09:09] You knew it was Volvo and that they are wanting to show you a particular model. In a different advert that even promoted different models in order to see if a lead might even want a larger SUV. The xC40 is the smallest SUV. And that is actually a very smart move as a concept might attract leads, but not everyone meets a small car. If you have a large family and the necessary cash, you would definitely go for the XC90. As I mentioned in one of my previous shows regarding how Kerry Gold used images to seed plant. You need to have a story and an image you can firmly plant in the mind of your target audience. With Volvo you see the same attempt to get us in the mood to buy.
[00:10:21] I have been to Sweden last year. Stockholm is such a great place to be. So much innovation in this city, but also in the minds of every person there. People are so helpful and welcoming. I was there on business having meetings and even attending a Swedish court case. Every country is so unique. Even with a running translation, I was able to follow on as an onlooker. How the Swedish court system works.
[00:10:54] Nevertheless, Sweden has much more to offer. Next time I travel to Sweden, I definitely want to hire one of those XC90s and drive up north to see the untouched countryside. Exactly, that is what Volvo also trying to suggest to us as we see that ads promoting their cars, driving through beautiful countryside. In times of uncertainty and anxiety, people do need something to look forward to. Soon, those cars will only be available as electric or hybrid versions as Volvo is moving away from diesel and other combustion engines.
[00:11:44] As expected, the following ads I saw use a similar filtering strategy to get the ads in front of people who either like Volvo or might consider switching brands. Even the ads with just a still photo were able to hook the audience. That shows us how brands make use of social media to advertise and build a super focused targeting group. That does not automatically mean that every business will be successful by placing ads on Facebook or LinkedIn.
[00:12:27] You need to advertise in the zones where you client Avatar will most likely be active. If your target audience has a Facebook account but seldom uses it, this will not help you to get a proper return for your ads budget. So how must you get your ads to target those who are most likely to buy from you.
[00:12:59] When you want to use video ads as bait, you need to work on your script. If the text is extremely general, you will not attract anyone into your net. You need to call out your focused Niche Avatar. Address your avatar’s most painful problem and talk about a variety of available solutions. Those solutions might not necessarily be your solutions. Mentioned also solutions that are unsuccessful or even cheap, but in the long run, might cost more or be much more of an issue.
[00:13:53] So introducing yourself or your product must be part of the third stage of your storyboard. Show them why you can solve their problem with less pain and a much better approach. Offer them, a chance to get to know you or your offer before buying. Build the trust and report as you go along your story. Tell them exactly how to get in contact with you. Do not overcomplicate things for your lead. The level of attention and patience is very low. Don’t forget that.
[00:14:39] Then you should get into a conversation with that lead. Even in today’s world, a phone call is better than a chat in a chat box. Then you can guide the lead on a better path towards that offer. They definitely will want to buy from you. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you cannot use chat bots in a very smart way, but focus for the fastest way to get in contact with a human. And that’s always the phone, in today’s world.
[00:15:18] Let me summarize: as you have heard, video ads are the trend of the last twelve months and will be as well in the future. Social media is full of them. When you scroll along Facebook feeds, you get to see some ads still using photos instead of video. The quality expectation of viewers is growing. Badly created content can hurt. Even well edited and animated video ads can fail in this fragile world. The limited ad space is increasing cost per lead and reducing the realistic conversion rate of users.
[00:16:11] Nevertheless, plenty of ad scams are trying to tell business owners they will get free leads. Why not telling them the true story? There are no free leads. It doesn’t matter if you use ads, chat bots or even linked in message bots. They cost time, money and energy. Marketing isn’t free. Even horrible marketing will cost you money. Better work on improving instead of being lazy, looking for a shortcut.
