We’re living in a time when the six-second ads reign supreme. Six seconds might not seem like it’s a lot of time to get your message across, but using the right tactics can make six-second ads a powerful tool in your marketing strategy.
YouTube has found that these unskippable ads have an extremely high completion rate, meaning viewers watch until the end — perhaps because they don’t have much of a choice.
In this article, we’ll give you five tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your six-second ads and point out a few pitfalls you need to avoid.
Ways to Tell Your Story in Six Seconds
Using the following tips, you will be able to create quick ads that drive sales and put your brand in the right light:
Simplicity Is Key (Don’t Overdo It)
The natural instinct is to try to condense your long-form ad tactics into a shorter time frame. However, that’s not the right approach.
Don’t try to tell overly complicated stories. Focus on the key components you want to convey. Highlighting a single product or service from your company is a great option. Alternatively, you can focus on key elements of your company’s purpose, mission, or goals.
Use Your Visuals to Grab Attention
You don’t have much time, so you need to make an immediate impact with your visuals to lure viewers in. This work can be done using something beautiful, funny, emotional, or shocking that will catch people’s eyes.
Think about how much of your story can be told visually without the need for voiceovers or an actor speaking. Just like in the film industry, the goal is to show and not to tell.
Leave Them Wanting More
Don’t give out all the goods right upfront. The goal is to get the person watching to click on a link or make a purchase. There are multiple ways to achieve this, but one of the simplest ways is to end on a cliffhanger or call to action.
Build up anticipation, so they want to see more. A little tease can go a long way when pushing someone towards your product.
Account for a Lack of Sound
Not everyone watches videos on their phones with the sound on, and a good ad will keep this in mind. Don’t rely on music or voice overs to do all of the heavy lifting. Integrate captions into the visuals, so those users using their phones without sound also understand what your ad is about.
Optimize for Each Platform
Each of the social media platforms has different demographics and characteristics, so you should familiarize yourself with the one you are using. TikTok tends to have younger viewers, while YouTube and Facebook cover all age ranges. However, they give you the option to target the specific demographic you’re hoping to show you ads to.
Six-Second Ad Pitfalls You Need to Avoid
Now that you know how to get the most out of your shorter ad, here are some costly mistakes you need to avoid:
Not Having Clear Goals
For any marketing campaign to be a success, there need to be clear objectives that you can measure and observe. You need to ask, what are your goals for this particular ad? Do you want more clicks? Are you looking for more leads?
This goal should be one of the first things you figure out before you even start thinking about what’s going to be in the ad.
Not Taking Advantage of Current Trends and Viral Moments
One of the easiest ways to get people paying attention to your ad is hopping on the bandwagon of a popular viral moment or trend. It makes your brand feel more down-to-earth and relatable.
Create a funny meme or GIF that people will want to share. You could be missing out on a lot of sales and free publicity if you aren’t using this tactic.
Not Optimizing for Multiple Devices
There are many different devices people use to watch content and explore social media these days. These include smartphones, laptops, desktops, tablets, video game systems, and more. Optimizing your ads for each of these variations can be difficult, but it is definitely worth it if done correctly.
Failing to Use the 80/20 Rule
For the best results, 20% of your ad should be focusing on the product itself, while the other 80% should be dedicated to giving your audience useful information. They are the most important part of this equation. People are quick to tune out of a video if it’s too much like a commercial or too “sales-y.”
The goal is to make a connection and elicit an emotional response. It’s not to go on and on about how great your company or product is.
Need help getting your six-second ad set up and scenes shot? Call us up! The Corporate Film Guys look forward to working with you.
