What makes successful Facebook and Instagram video ads for mobile?
In a study conducted for Facebook, we investigated the key factors which improved video advert performance in Instagram and Facebook mobile feeds.
We compared video ads specially designed for mobile (mobile-first), with those adapted to mobile as well as traditional video adverts. We based the success of the mobile video ads on two metrics: whether participants could recall the brand and the percentage video viewing time.
Below are two key takeaways from this study, with recommendations on creating and analyzing the performance of your own Instagram and Facebook video ads.
Main characteristics of top-performing Facebook video ads
As expected, the mobile-first videos, which have been tailored to their environment and audience, came out on top. Most of these social media videos had the following three best practices in common:
- Introduced the brand within the first few seconds
- Short in duration (an average of 20 seconds)
- Designed to be viewed with sound off
Source: Facebook.com
Video view time as a performance metric
More surprisingly however, we also found that increased video viewing time did not necessarily lead to increased brand recall. This was especially noticeable in traditional video ads, many of which did not identify the brand at the start of the video.
Based on this finding, you may wish to avoid using view time as a sole measurement of your mobile video ad’s performance. And, as outlined in the mobile video advertising best practices above, be sure to introduce your brand early on in your Facebook and Instagram ads.
More resources and pre-testing your mobile advertising
Read the full article on optimizing mobile video ads on Facebook, and discover more of our learnings for maximizing your Facebook and Instagram video ads and eight golden rules to successful mobile advertising.
If you already have a video advert concept and want to find out how it will be received by your target audience before going live, contact us about pre-testing your digital ads.
