Happy Sunday!
What a difference the time change makes... It feels like there's finally an opportunity to walk outside after work and still catch the sunset.
Many of you have emailed me about the chat room I'm putting together, and there will be a link for that enclosed in an email this coming week, so be on the lookout for that! What's one discussion room you want to make sure is in there? Let me know!
Today, I wanted to chat about something that comes up in almost every call I have — good creative, specifically good video ad creative. Consistently pumping out new creative to prospect into new audiences, in a way that doesn't get exhaustive, is truly an art. It requires tons of styles of video, new angles, proper analysis, and lots of understanding for why customers SHOULD give a fork about what you're putting on the table. In addition, each format needs to be native or contextual to the platform it’s being displayed on. So let's chat about that.
When we get working on a new brand, there are a few types of videos we try to crank out almost immediately:
Studio Shot Videos - Take your studio shot photographs, and b-roll footage, to create a beautiful but fast-paced video around what you're selling. Don't be shy to include copy overlays, reviews, or value props that you've found people to love.
UGC Videos - These are the most basic, yet most effective videos. Note: you can NOT fake these, consumers are gonna know. Nobody's gonna know... They're gonna definitely know. Find someone who genuinely loves the product or brand, and give them a very rough outline of what to focus the video on. 90% of the video content should come unscripted, and it's OK to ramble because the editor will chop it up, add overlays, etc.
Creator/Influencer Videos - If you feel like a studio-shot video is too expensive because they can be very expensive, find a handful of creators that you'd rather work with to create videos. Creators are great for many reasons, but one of the main ones in this instance is they do everything: concept, write, storyboard, shoot, edit, and deliver the final product. Just keep in mind, if you try to put boundaries on what you want back, you'll never get a creator’s true potential back as the final deliverable. Let them create.
NowThis/Cheddar Videos - Have you ever gotten a video in feed explaining something super complex from NowThis or Cheddar? That's what these are but focused on the product/brand you're aiming to push.
Promo-Focused Videos - The most boring, but most effective for your retargeting or lower-funnel ads. These are as simple as flashing product shots with value props and offers.
Unboxing Videos - Just as simple as it sounds, show the process of ordering, the box arriving, opening the box, the goodies, and you're set.
You can also easily go to iSpot.tv (https://www.ispot.tv/browse) and browse TV spots from brands you admire or do the same with Facebook and Instagram with the Facebook Ads Library. Pro tip: When you see a brand running 80% of a similar thing, that's because it's their bread and butter, and that format works.
People underestimate how easy it can be to shoot a lot of the footage on your own, even with your iPhone. Most of the ads I used to run were all shot on iPhone and then edited by a professional editor or a freelance editor. Obviously, if you're going for a TV spot, you're going to need a higher quality setup, but for 90% of your video needs, you could get started with just your phone.
If you're looking for a video editor, fill this form out and we'll try to connect you with a freelancer or creator who's looking for some brand work: Click here to fill out the form
If this was interesting, let me know and I'll do a full deep-dive on how we go about picking value props for our videos, how we analyze video performance, what we do with those learnings, and how they can apply to other parts of the marketing journey.
Onto some fun stuff...
Software/App of the Week:
Keyword Interest Search by Connect - try it
Connect put together this free tool to help advertisers get better interest-based targeting. With iOS 14's tracking notification going into effect, it's important to make sure that you're staying on point with the interest groups you have in your ad sets. Connect lets you input something as simple as "skincare" and get an insane amount of categories that speak to the same consumer, which likely have less competition in the auction.
Try it here, for free: Click here
Brand of the Week:
Häastens - A luxury sleep company
Häastens sent me a care package for being a customer, hand-delivered to my apartment, just for being a past customer. I thought it was a great gesture of "Surprise & Delight" (you may remember this from a random retention marketing executive at your company saying these need to happen!!), and it also kickstarted my Tik Tok career - see it here.
The pillows are ones I swear by, and they help me get those 9 hours of sleep without any issues!
Check it out here: Häastens
Well, that's all for today. I hope this letter was at least the tiniest bit valuable to you. I hope you have an incredible upcoming week and get those 9 hours of sleep. I love getting DMs on Twitter or emails when people get 9 hours, it makes me so happy! 🤗
Have a great week!