How to make effective mobile video ads

Sometimes an effective creative and an ineffective one can look and sound equally good and still the performance results will differ dramatically. To really see the difference between an effective and ineffective video ads you just need to divide them into elements.
So, what are the must-haves of a successful mobile creative?

1. Variations

Marketing is all about trying and error. To find out which creatives are the most effective you have to test lots of variations. Conduct experiments using different ad variations to analyze the results and see which videos attract more users to your app or game. As a bonus, you’ll get to know your audience better.

2. A hook

The hook can vary regarding your marketing campaign goals. The most widespread and proven to work hooks are:

• People and animals. Your audience is more likely to get engaged with your video ad if it shows people’s faces and emotions or animals because these elements appeal to empathy. Your ads’ viewers can’t do anything but watch your ad till the very end.
• Memes. Let’s be honest, everyone likes a good laugh. If you use a trendy meme in your ad, the audience will not only notice and remember it, but it’ll even be likely to share it.  
• Music and sound effects. However, most video ads are watched with sound off, music and sound effects matter. Your audience can be interested in a soundtrack they like, a voice they found pleasant, or sounds that highlight what is happening in the video ad. To make this hook work you just have to know your target audience and find the sounds that will attract and engage them, not vice versa.
• An unexpected twist. That’s a really wide category, but we can give you some ideas. Have you ever seen mobile game ads in which the player just sucks? These ads are annoying, but nevertheless work great: you’ll probably feel as if your friend can’t pass a simple level of a game making you say «Сome on, let me try». Voila, here’s plus one user.
  You can try to go against the predictable in other ways: e.g.make your ad in monochrome, when the audience expects it to be colorful. Be creative but try not to irritate your audience too much so they don’t come after you.

3. A clear CTA

Short and clear call-to-action can increase the chance that your viewers will take the action after. To make your CTA work, make sure you’re asking for exactly what you need. For example, if you want your app to be installed, use «Install now» instead of «Open in AppStore”.

Another way to reinforce your CTAs is to make them a little bit personal. E.g. use “Sign me up” instead of just “Sign up”.

4. Fits your branding

Branding is all about associations, and you can use it in your video creative as a powerful tool to transmit your message. Branding can actually give your ad a taste: you can be serious or playful, exciting or calming, funny or touching.

If you have a simple video and don’t have a graphic design department you can implement your branding in the video just through fonts or colors.

5. Considers distribution

It is important to consider where you will show your ads, because this will determine the format and resize. Unfortunately, you won’t find a one-size-fits-all format, you’ll have to adapt your video creatives to different platforms.

6. Designed for Sound Off

You probably know that most social media ads are viewed without sound. Most likely, your ad won’t be watched unless it’s adapted for muted viewing. Make captions so your target audience can understand what’s going on in the video. If you have a voiceover, the description can duplicate what’s being said.

Captions can also help convey the advertising message in a clearer way and drive the audience to action. Just be consistent and stick to your chosen tone of voice.

7. Optimal timing

Make your video short and sweet. For the mobile industry 30 sec is more than enough to make your viewers interested and engaged. Depending on your business and goals your ad can be shorter or longer. The point is to balance between thorough content and concise presentation.

It can be difficult to find your perfect timing at the beginning. To figure it out, make some tests. Try a longer version (but don’t make a whole movie out of an ad) and shorten the creative to 20-30 seconds, and see which one works best for you.

Obtain – Create and Optimize Video Creatives with AI

It can be a challenge to consider all at once. Fortunately, there is a service that takes into account all the components of an effective video creative, like the ingredients in a recipe – Obtain. It generates and optimizes videos using AI-technology. 

The only thing you need to do is upload a screencast of your app or game, and within a few minutes you’ll get tons of video creatives with different styles and resizes.