What We’ll Cover:
Marketers slate almost 60% of their digital ad budgets towards video. One of the most engaging ad mediums, videos express ideas quickly and clearly.
Facebook video ads let you reach specific audiences using the world’s most popular social network. So in this guide, you’ll learn what Facebook video ads are, how to use them, and see top examples.
Facebook Video Ads 101
Here’s a quick rundown of what Facebook video ads are and how they work.
What Are Facebook Video Ads?
Facebook video ads let you show off your product or brand across Facebook. These aren’t to be confused with Meta ads, which run across the entire Meta network (Instagram, Messenger, etc.).
Each video ad has an objective you choose from a preset list. These objectives shape the structure of your ad and let you judge its success against your goal.
These objectives are:
- Brand awareness. Shows ads to people most likely to recall them. This requires a brand lift study.
- Traffic. Drives people to your website/app.
- Reach. Maximizes the number and frequency of people viewing your ads.
- App installs. Gets people to install your app. Once you integrate your app with Facebook, you can track installs directly attributed to your video ad.
- Engagement. Gets more people to engage with your video ad (likes, comments, etc.). Generally part of a large awareness campaign.
- Video views. Optimizes your ad to get the most plays based on audience behavior. For example, Facebook will show shorter ads to people with shorter average watch times.
- Lead generation. Integrates a quick-fill form with your ad to build leads.
- Messages. Drives viewers to message you. Ads a click-to-message function and shows your ad to people most likely to contact you based on user behavior.
- Conversions. Tracks conversion events on your website or app (requires setup). This lets you optimize your ad based on what converts best.
- Catalog sales. Lets you tag products in your video ads to instantly move curious viewers to its page.
- Store traffic. Encourages viewers to visit your store(s) physically. This objective lets you feature your address, phone number, and directions alongside your video ad.
Many of these objectives are behavior-based. Meta’s massive user data lets you create highly targeted ads other platforms can’t.
Why Should You Run Facebook Video Ads for Your Business?
Video ads let your business:
- Attract attention instantly. Short videos quickly engage audiences, letting you convey complex ideas quickly.
- Deliver a CTA. Move people to take action with a specific CTA, such as getting a discount or joining your email list.
- Show off new products. Share your new products with the world. Tell a story, show it in action, and/or describe how you made it.
You can even run ads with multiple objectives, so you can promote your brand in multiple ways at once.
Where Do Facebook Video Ads Appear?
Facebook ads appear in nearly every part of the platform. Before you’re charged for an impression, each format has rules for letting the video play:
- Facebook feed. 50% of pixels must be in view for the video to play.
- Instant articles. 100% of pixels must be in view.
- In-stream videos. 50% of pixels.
- Marketplace. 50% of pixels.
- Stories. 100% of pixels.
What’s the Cost?
Meta doesn’t want to overload users with ads, so there are a limited number of slots. To decide which brand gets the spot, Meta enters everyone into an auction.
Bids are automatic but vary heavily based on the competition. For instance, two legal firms competing for personal injury ads will pay much more than two bakeries competing for cupcake promotions.
But competition isn’t the only factor Meta considers for pricing. If your ad has high engagement (click-throughs, likes, comments, etc.), you’ll pay less for bids, thanks to Meta’s focus on user value.
Finally, seasonality plays a big factor in ad costs. For instance, you’ll pay much more for children’s toy ads around the holidays.
With all these factors in mind, it’s impossible to give a straight answer on how much Facebook video ads cost. That said, you can expect to pay much less than other ad costs.
Some marketers say they pay as little as 10% of the price of carousel and single-image ads.
Choosing the Right Audience for Your Facebook Video Ads
Before you jump the gun and kick off the creation process, it’s important to identify your audience.
After all, Facebook has more than 2.9 billion active daily users, which means you only want to take into account the users who will be most attracted to your product or service.
Who has the most to gain from your business? What do these groups have in common?
Thankfully, Facebook is chock-full of tools designed to help you zero in on the right people so you can better position your videos.
These variables include:
- Location—this is ideal for reaching individuals within a specified geographic area for shipping purposes.
- Demographics—you can further refine the outreach of your Facebook video ads by specifying your audience’s gender, age, relationship status, political affiliation, job title, and education level.
- Interests—page likes can aid in determining your base’s hobbies, activities, and what’s important to them.
- Behavior—it’s useful to know how users interact with your content, what their prior purchases are, and which devices they’re using.
You can also create custom Facebook audiences using email lists, website traffic collected through the Facebook pixel, and engagement actions on Facebook proper.
Creating Facebook Video Ads for Every Stage of the Funnel
Depending on how familiar they are with your brand, your audience’s needs will vary.
While there’s no universal formula for creating a profitable Facebook video ad, you want to move your target consumer from the top of the sales funnel to the bottom in a way that makes the most sense for your business.
Here’s the best way to achieve this:
Top of the Funnel (TOFU): Build Trust with Value-Rich Videos
One of the more common mistakes companies make is attempting to sell early on using direct-response video campaigns. But, remember, your audience is still cold.
Since your targets don’t know much about your brand yet, you need to start raising awareness around it.
To warm up these colder leads, avoid being self-promotional. Focus on capturing their interest with videos showcasing the value of your product or service.
If you’ve adjusted your target demographics correctly, your videos will reach the most compatible audience.
In this ad, Volvo uses rich audio and visuals to tell a compelling story. They avoid long-winded explanations and opt for a “wow” moment viewers won’t forget.
Notice how their featured product—Volvo Dynamic Steering—wasn’t the video’s focus. Instead, they show the effects of the product first, then the product itself.
Even without Volvo’s studio resources, you can recreate this value-first model. For example, a bakery could make an ad explaining their goods’ value to their community while showing products as an afterthought.
Remember: facts tell, but stories sell.
Middle of the Funnel (MOFU): Unveil the Solution with Product-Focused Videos
Now that your audience has a firm grasp on the problem on hand, they’re taking an active interest in researching your offerings and comparing similar options.
The best way to incentivize them to purchase your product or service is by making your value proposition known.
Product-centric videos showcase your product’s unique features and break down how it can be used to enrich their lives. Free trials are encouraged.
In this ad, Slack targets firms who know about their product but don’t appreciate its value. Either they don’t know what Slack does or are skeptical it’s as great as they say.
So here, Slack shows how its product transformed a real company’s workflow. Instead of disorganized email chains, they have dedicated comms channels for every topic.
In the end, Slack completely transformed the company’s communications. You can’t resist trying Slack if you’re struggling with keeping communication organized in your business.
Plus, the whole ad seems like something from The Office. It feels unscripted, offering unforced chuckles while explaining Slack’s features.
The pure entertainment value boosts engagement and shareability.
Bottom of the Funnel (BOFU): Win Over Customers with Testimonials and Reminder Videos
At this point, your prospects may still be on the fence about making a purchase.
You want to address their concerns and make them feel confident about buying from you instead of a competitor.
Testimonial and cart abandonment videos can help reinforce your brand’s image as the most competent, reliable choice. Describe how other people have benefited from using your product.
Similar to Slack’s MOFU ad, Omada’s customer testimonials prove their service works and moves them to buy.
But unlike Slack’s ad, it doesn’t say what they do (virtual health care support). Since it’s BOFU, the ad assumes viewers know what they do and moves straight to testimonials.
Using Facebook retargeting, you’d show TOFU ads to people who performed MOFU actions on your site (like joining an email list).
Facebook Video Ad Specs
To cut down on the time and effort when developing Facebook ad videos, it’s critical that you understand the specs you need to stick to beforehand.
Since you’re probably spending a pretty penny on advertising, your video content needs to be presented in the most pristine way possible.
Here are some of the Facebook video ads best practices and video specs to consider:
Aspect Ratios
Look into your Google Analytics devices usage, and you’ll find that mobile occupies a huge portion of your traffic.
Most people still hold their phones upright when watching videos, which means a 4:5 aspect ratio is best for mobile viewers.
But if you’re targeting both mobile and desktop users, a 1:1 ratio is best.
Length
If you’re unsure of how long your videos should be, shorter is always better. According to Facebook, no more than 15 seconds is best.
It should be free of fluff and clearly convey your brand’s message, addressing your audience directly.
Keep in mind that Instagram Feed videos can’t exceed 60 seconds and Instagram Stories can’t be more than 15 seconds long. So, 15 seconds is recommended if you want to advertise across all placements.
The minimum video length is one second, with the maximum being 241 minutes.
Sound
Always assume that people will view your video with the sound off. 69% of people watch videos without sound in public, and 25% in private.
Utilize eye-catching visuals, titles, and descriptions to grab the viewer’s attention.
Additionally, providing subtitles in multiple languages is always a plus.
Text Recommendations
- Main text: 125 characters
- Headline: 27 characters
- Description: 27 characters
Design Recommendations:
- Video settings: H.264 compression, square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan ,and stereo AAC audio compression at 128kbps+
- Resolution: At least 1080 x 1080 pixels
- Video captions: Optional, but recommended
- Video sound: Optional, but recommended
Other Technical Requirements
- Maximum file size: 4GB
- Minimum width: 120 pixels
- Minimum height: 120 pixels
- File Type: MP4, MOV or GIF
Facebook Video Ads Best Practices
With the right strategy, Facebook video ads give you the opportunity to show off your brand’s personality and forge meaningful relationships with your followers.
Adhering to the following Facebook video ads best practices will ensure that your videos will be too good to ignore:
Don’t Lose Your Audience
Think about how you behave online. Do you get bored quickly and click away from video content that takes forever to get to the point?
Chances are, so does your audience.
To deter them from scrolling past your video ad, interesting, relevant insights need to be delivered right away. By right away, we mean within the first 3-5 seconds.
Make Your Story Compelling
To make your video more memorable, you need to think like a storyteller.
Storytelling humanizes your brand, differentiating you from competitors who are overtly trying to sell products to consumers.
Bring your story to life with a narrative hook.
Put yourself in the shoes of your customer. What would draw them in, make them laugh, or garner a reaction?
Feel free to experiment with colors, music, fonts, and copy here.
Optimize Your Video Ad Copy
The ad title and description play a key role in determining whether or not a user will engage with your video.
It needs to be catchy, while also informing them of what they should expect to see.
Incorporate keywords into your copy as Facebook’s targeting algorithms will scan your text to establish which users are most suitable for your video.
Phrases that typically perform well include “things to know,” “what you need,” and “5 reasons.”
Add a Call to Action
Having a call to action is an easy way to drive traffic back to your company website and convert viewers into repeat customers.
Although Facebook no longer offers the call to action functionality for videos, luckily, there are plenty of ways you can still include them in your own.
You could embed it into your post copy, add a mid-roll text overlay, or feature it towards the final few seconds of your video.
Conduct A/B Tests
One of the most essential, yet highly overlooked Facebook video ads best practices involves A/B split testing.
Doing so will help you build ads that will better resonate with your targeted Facebook users.
The variables you can test span audience, creative, product set, placements, and optimization event.
Facebook recommends that you give yourself a window of 3-14 days to collect sufficient data.
Top 5 Facebook Video Ads Examples
Now that we’ve covered some of the most common Facebook video ads best practices, it’s time to explore a few real world examples.
Take a look at these Facebook video ad campaigns that knocked it out of the park so you can replicate their success:
1. Kleenex’s Children’s Play Ad
This ad captures the child-like wholesomeness of the Kleenex brand—a friendly product always ready to help. It’s only a few seconds long but maximizes every second to charm its viewers.
2. Cafe Appliances’ Personality Ad
Crips audio, visuals, and an emphasis on the user capture the viewer’s attention. Notice this ad is sound-off-friendly, with all the content accessible with just video.
As a bonus, an instant rebate offer further enhances the ad’s appeal.
3. Ghiradelli’s Chocolate Escape Ad
Ghiradelli isn’t just selling chocolate in this ad—it’s selling escapism. Its rich visuals and images of a happy person portray its caramel squares as almost life-changing.
As far as the viewer can tell, a single bite is a trip to paradise. They’ll think twice about ignoring Ghiradelli the next time they see them for sale.
4. Mila Air’s Purifier Ad
Mila’s ad uses text, emojis, and a 3D view to showcase its product. The ad likely targeted people already interested in air purifiers, showing up just as needed.
You’ll also notice the ad is totally silent.
While this isn’t necessarily optimal, it’s a great example of creating a silence-friendly video. As mentioned above, many viewers won’t watch with sound (if not the majority).
Start Advertising Now
Meta’s deep understanding of user behavior lets you target the exact demographics your products appeal to most. And by serving them ads tailored to their funnel stage, your videos become lead machines.
Just remember to put quality and user value first. Follow the best practices for Facebook video ads outlined above, and A/B test your ads to perfection.
