How to Generate Leads With Autoplay Video Ads
Every business wants to generate leads with the ultimate aim of converting those leads into sales. Marketers employ different strategies to achieve this with autoplay video ads being one of the most important and dominant strategies.
Statistics show that 91% of businesses would prefer to have or to use video marketing as the strategy for finding leads — and that shows, video marketing remains to be a powerful tool.
What Are Autoplay Video Ads?
Autoplay video ads are those videos that play while scrolling through the web page without the user clicking on them to play. These videos are used by advertisers to achieve a marketing goal or objective. When the video is on autoplay, a visitor has no other option than to see the video playing. A visitor may then take any action depending on whether the video is helpful or distracting.
When it comes to lead generation, these videos play an important role since they grab the attention of the web page viewers and may lead to a user clicking on them. Some of the reasons why advertisers or websites should employ the use of autoplay video ads include the following:
- Grabbing attention: Statistics reveal that viewers are 95% more likely to remember the message they saw on the video than the ones they read in a text. That means the message relayed while scrolling through the site is likely to remain in their minds.
- Generating leads: This is one of the main reasons why most websites use autoplay video ads. Generating leads is one of the goals for every business and these leads may lead to sales. Another important thing here is that people who view autoplay videos are likely to click, subscribe or share.
- Visual and audio impact: While visitors are browsing through your site, they can see the video images and hear the sound when the audio is not muted. This helps your visitors learn more about your brand, products, or services while they are scrolling through the webpage.
Why Use Autoplay Ads? Are They Effective?
The psychology behind autoplay ads shows that people are more likely to watch when the video starts playing automatically rather than having to click to play it. This shows how using autoplay video ads is an important strategy for businesses.
When it comes to the effectiveness of using autoplay video ads, researchers have found them effective in many ways including:
1. Higher Return on Investment (ROI)
Video ads are effective and have been reported to have a higher return on investment (ROI). When these ads are used effectively, they can lead to more sales.
2. Product or Service Awareness
Using autoplay video ads is another way to help the audience understand the product better. It is, therefore, effective since the viewers are likely to take action including sharing with others or even making purchases. The message in the video is also likely to remain in the minds of the users for long.
The Sound Factor in Autoplay Video Ads
While designing video ads for autoplay, many factors are considered to ensure that visitors have a better experience while viewing them — and also to ensure it drives the desired results. Some of the considerations include whether to use sound in videos or to have the sound muted. It also considers the aspect of whether to include captions or not depending on whether the video plays with sound or is muted.
Autoplay Video Ads With Sound
Autoplay video ads with sound can be distractive and do not offer the best user experience. The Coalition for Better Ads categorizes this as the worst format when it comes to user experience as they can make the reader want to close the window immediately or switch the video sound off if they were in public or a place where they would feel embarrassed.
In other statistics, autoplay video ads with sound have also been voted as the most annoying. While that is the case, autoplay ads that have a perfect combination of picture movements and sound are 100% likely to elicit a reaction — whether positive or negative. That is the reason why marketers still use autoplay videos with sound.
Another reason why marketers still use autoplay with sound is that about 32% of the visitors would prefer video autoplay with sound on according to ChatterBlast.
Muted Autoplay Video Ads
According to HubSpot, 74% of companies optimize their videos to autoplay with sound muted. This is because it gives the visitors the option to decide whether to watch the video or not without having to get distracted by the sound.
Muted autoplay video ads offer the best user experience to website visitors compared to when the sound is on. In addition to that, a user who is attracted to the content of the ad may click to play the sound.
Instapage statistics show that 12% of the people who viewed their autoplay video with the sound off ended up turning the sound on. This clearly shows how a well-designed and animated video can drive the results.
There are so many studies that show that videos that autoplay with sound off perform better. For instance, videos playing with the sound off yielded a better engagement rate of 68.4% and a conversion rate of 77.7% according to Charterblast. Digital marketing companies use the same data-driven approach to ensure that the autoplay video ads yield the best results for businesses and at the same time ensure that they provide the best user experience to website users.
Other Considerations
The quality of the results that businesses get from autoplay video ads is not solely based on whether the videos play with or with sound off. There are some other factors that cumulatively lead to a successful implementation of autoplay video ads for the best results. These other factors include:
1. Using Captions
Autoplay video ads with sound off should at least have captions for the viewer to easily understand the purpose of the ad. Adding captions to videos has been proven to help boost the view time by 12%. Captions are essential when it comes to autoplay video ads that are optimized to play with sound off. While that is the case, it is also important to understand that caption length in videos matters a lot. Shorter captions of under 10 words generate a better engagement than longer captions.
2. Length of The Ad
Video ads should capture the attention within the very first few seconds and should also be relevant to the audience. According to TargetVideo, the recommended video ad length can vary based on the platform as follows:
Platform
Recommended time
5–10 seconds
<15 seconds
20–25 seconds
<15 seconds
Skippable YouTube Video ad
15–20 seconds
Non-skippable YouTube Video
6 seconds
3. Video Format
Creating a compelling video ad also depends on getting the format right. Videos can be formatted vertically or horizontally depending on the platform and success factors. According to a case study by Animaker, a vertical video ad received more impressions compared to a horizontal video ad.
The vertical video ad also got better engagement than the horizontal video ad and the cost per three-second view was also less for vertical video than for horizontal one. Therefore, vertical video ad seems to drive better results at low cost.
In other findings, vertical video ads are suitable for mobile devices while horizontal ones are good for desktops and tablets. Designers usually implement what offers the best experience to users based on the majority of devices and the platform which the ad is designed for.
How You Can Effectively Use Video Ads to Generate Leads
Lead generation is an important goal that every marketer wants to achieve with autoplay video ads or any other strategy. It is a fact that most businesses struggle to find leads and thus digital marketing agencies come in handy.
One of the struggles that most businesses face when it comes to implementing a video marketing strategy in generating leads is the difficulty that comes with the process of execution. Studies show that a third of businesses that don’t use video as part of their marketing strategy say they do not have the time it takes to implement while 15% don’t know where to start.
While it is not an easy strategy for marketers, it has been proven effective in helping businesses generate leads. It, however, needs to follow the following best practices for it to be effective:
1. Keep Video Ads Relevant and Short
Keeping the video ads relevant means you understand your audience better. Once you know the metrics of your audience such as age, gender, geographic location, behaviors, and other traits, it becomes easy to create a video ad that suits them. In addition to that, keeping the video ads short and ensuring that they capture the attention of the readers within the first few seconds will make the ad perform better.
2. Optimize the Video Ads to Suit Mobile Devices
Statistics reveal that over 75% of all online videos are viewed using mobile devices. This is a larger percentage of the audience and that calls for a need to ensure all the ad videos designed for websites or social media pages are mobile-friendly. It is also important to ensure that the videos are in the right format to cater to the needs of the majority of viewers.
Apart from the earlier stated facts about video formats, it is also crucial to understand that vertical formats are suitable for mobile devices while horizontal formats suit desktops and tablets.
3. Avoid Using Annoying Ad Types
Annoying ad types are those that do not offer the best user experience. These include videos that autoplay with sound. According to research by Statistica that sampled more than 5000 Americans, autoplay video ads with sound ranked as the most annoying compared to other formats. When these video ads dominate, they can negatively impact performance since a majority of the visitors are likely to exit the page.
4. Avoid Being Too Salesy but Creative
It is always better to be creative in your ad than to sound salesy. After all, the purpose is to generate leads and not to close the sale. It is important to be creative in your ad so that you can have better engagement, get more views or clicks, gain more subscribers, and have many shares for your video.
5. Include A Call to Action (CTA)
A video ad is never complete without a call to action (CTA). When embedded in video ads, a call to action is more effective than when used in a text. Implementing CTA in a video also requires the right strategy. It is important to understand the aspect of timing since most of the viewers may not watch your video ad to the end. In addition to that, a call to action (CTA) should be well-designed for viewers to see without struggle.
Adding captions to videos can help boost the view time by 12%. This shows how effective video ads are with a call to action compared to those without. Of course, video ads without a call to action will leave the visitors or viewers wondering about what they can do next after watching the video ad.
Autoplay Vs Click-To-Play
Autoplay videos have more impact when used effectively than click-too-play videos. Most internet users are never bothered clicking on videos that they never intended to watch and are less likely to make or force ads to play. That is why most businesses — 99.87% use autoplay video ads compared to 0.13% that use click-to-play video ads.
Final Thoughts
Autoplay video ads play a significant role when it comes to generating leads for businesses. It is an effective strategy that can yield positive results when implemented the right way.
