How To Make Outstanding Video Ads on Facebook, Step-by-Step

Video advertising was once the domain of TV  commercials. But, with the rise of social media, it’s shifted to platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. This gives businesses a great opportunity to reach their markets on platforms that feel more personal and relatable than ever before.

Facebook has nearly 3 billion users, and over 500 million of them watch videos on the platform every day—and you can harness the power of this social media giant to reach your target audience with video ads.

This guide walks you through the fundamentals of making video ads on Facebook, and gives helpful tips to make scroll-stopping online videos that will engage your potential customers.

• What to consider when making a video ad
• 1. Go to your profile page and select Create Ads
• 2. Choose your ad type
• 3. Create your video ad campaign
• 4. Define your target audience
• 5. Create your Facebook ad using Facebook ad templates
• 6. Customize the copy for your video
• 7. Finalize your ad
• Examples of great Facebook video ads

What to consider when making a video ad

From writing your ad copy to selecting video assets, there’s a lot to consider when aiming to make a successful Facebook video ad. After all, you want to create the type of ad your potential customers will enjoy, engage with, and share.

Here are some tips on what to consider when making your Facebook video ad.

Create a visually attractive video

Whether you're putting together your video with a video maker app, professional video software, or building it directly on Facebook, you need to make an ad that looks great. Use attractive visuals and scroll-stopping footage.

The images and footage should be high-resolution, not pixelated or distorted. Check out Facebook’s video format and resolution recommendations. Ensure any text you use is legible and easy to read. Choose colors that look good together. You want your end product to look professional, aesthetically pleasing, and engaging.

Make a silent video

According to research, the best sound for Facebook video ads is silence. Most people don't want to watch a video with sound while scrolling through their news feeds. They might be riding on public transit, sitting at work, or hanging out next to their sleeping baby.

According to Facebook, 80% of people react negatively toward Facebook and the advertiser when a video unexpectedly autoplays at a high volume. Your video production and planning should consider that most people will have their sound off while viewing it, and you should adjust accordingly. Ensure your Facebook video ad makes sense without sound.

Get your message across quickly

You have very little time to get your audience’s attention. You must ensure that the beginning of your video is engaging and catches the viewer's attention immediately.

The average attention span is only eight seconds. That's not a lot of time to get your message across. So, your video content should be short and sweet.

Facebook recommends in-stream video ads to be five to 15 seconds and standalone news feed ads to be 15 seconds or less.

Don’t forget your target audience

You’ll want to keep your target audience in mind when planning and creating your video ad. Ensure the content is relevant to them and that it appeals to their interests.

Facebook users are looking for value. How can you help them? What problem does your business or service solve? If you want your conversion rate to go up and your marketing campaigns to make a splash, your video ad should be something they want to watch, not something you want them to watch.

Analyze your video stats

After your video ad runs for a while, look at the stats to see how it's performing. These metrics can help you learn how people engage with your video content so you can adjust accordingly (and have an even greater impact).

You can also use Facebook Conversion Pixels to see the long-tail effect of your video campaign and conversions.

You can see how many people have viewed your video, how long they watched it, and where they watched it. This information can help you adjust your video ad strategy accordingly.

If you're not getting the results you want, try changing your video content, target audience, or ad campaign objective. You can also isolate areas where your ad has the most impact and focus your ad budget on locations or audiences that resonate with your message to make every dollar count. The end goal is the most successful Facebook video ad possible.

Use captions or subtitles

As we mentioned, Facebook ads autoplay and often default to sound off. People watch about 85% of videos on Facebook with no sound, so subtitles are a necessity. The good news is Facebook helps advertisers by including automated captions for videos. The bad news is they aren't always accurate.

Review and edit the automated captions to fix any errors before posting your Facebook video ads. You don't want your message to be lost in translation!

1. Go to your profile page and select Create Ads

To get started creating your Facebook ad, you need to log in and click the Menu icon on the top-right zone of your Facebook page.

Next, select “Ad.”

‍

2. Choose your ad type

‍

If it’s your first time with Facebook ads, you may want to start with Automated Ads. These personalized ads use Facebook’s algorithm to help make your ad more successful by adjusting it over time based on performance metrics.

If you’ve never set up Automated Ads, you’ll be asked a few questions, such as:

• Do you have a business website?
• Do you sell products on your website?
• Do you want people to contact you?

You can also select where your audience is located and what topics they may like.

‍

‍

Now you can select your “ad versions.” Your video must already exist to set up your ad this way. You can use tools like Canva, software like Adobe Premier, or even hire a professional video editor.

You can also make your video creation entirely inside Facebook’s video advertising tools. We’ll show you how in the next step.

3. Create your video ad campaign

Go to your Facebook Ads Manager. Click “+ Create,” choose a campaign objective, and click “Continue.”

‍

4. Define your target audience

Now, you must define your target audience.

Consider your potential customers. Where do they live? How old are they? What are their interests?

You can also hire a demography freelancer to help you refine your target audience.

‍

Pay attention to the “Audience definition” section to the right. This will help you understand how many people your video ad campaign can potentially reach. You want to narrow down your audience—but not too much or the video won’t reach enough people.

You can also view your “Estimated daily results” to get a realistic picture of your reach.

5. Create your Facebook video ad using Facebook ad templates

Now, you need to choose which ad formats you want for your video. You can choose from a single image or video, a carousel, or a collection. You’ll also see an “Ad creative” section below with an option to “Create video.”

‍

Click “Create video” to access Facebook video ads templates and creation tools.

You’ll see options for “Flexible Templates” (square or vertical ad placements for stories, Facebook feeds, or in-stream videos), “Square Templates” (a good idea if you plan on using the same ad creative on Instagram), and “Vertical Templates” (best suited for Facebook and Instagram stories).

You’ll see different layouts within each video template option. Look through each of the ad examples to learn the differences in video animations. For example, the swipe template has a swipe animation that transitions from one image to the next.

‍

Select your images under “Choose Images.” Select at least two to get started and add more later as needed.

‍

For the sake of this tutorial, we’ll pick two images and select “Slideshow.” Slideshows provide a smooth transition between each image.

‍

Now, you can control how many seconds per scene before the transitions.

‍

And you can add stickers to promote sales.

‍

6. Customize the copy for your video

‍

Add text to your video, check auto-captions for your voice-over or audio, and make corrections if necessary. You can put your ad copy directly into the video with the text options. It’s important to take a moment to review your ad and ensure there is enough time to read the text without rushing.

Click “Save” when you’re finished.

7. Finalize your ad

On the final Review page, add your ad copy to the “Primary Text” field.

‍

Finish filling out the information on your ad budget, Facebook campaign details, and dates you want your ad to run before making it live.

Examples of great Facebook video ads

• This ad by OroweatOrganic shows that simplicity is sometimes best. Short and to the point, this six-second ad combines imagery, text, music, and a cheery voice-over for a simple, effective ad.
• Spotify’s ad is colorful and eye catching, even with so few elements. It draws your eye thanks to engaging animations and movement.
• Ultimate Ears totally nailed it with this ad. It’s well shot, modern, and still works with the sound off—despite it being an ad about sound!
• Dior knows how to really feature its product with high-quality imagery that draws you in.
• This Uncle Ben’s Facebook ad is made for stories. Quick, colorful animations and large, easy-to-read ad copy make it a standout.
• Kleenex really hit the mark with this cute ad. Not only is it wholesome and sweet, but the primary text in the Facebook ad copy also ties the video and promotion together.
• Grammarly pulled out the stops with this one. The colors are on point, the animations are great, and the hand-drawn art style stands out from walls of text and photos on your Facebook news feed.

Create a great video ad with Upwork

If you want to make an impact with your Facebook video ad, consider working with an independent professional from Upwork. With over 12 million skilled independent professionals available, you're sure to find someone who can help you create a great video that meets all of the above criteria (and more!).

The Project Catalog allows you to browse and buy predefined projects in just a few clicks.

You can find the perfect voice for your ad voice-over, or hire a professional to do your social media marketing, set up ad campaigns, or write ad copy.

There are also video editors who can help you create amazing, short video ads that are sure to grab attention and get results.

Get started today and find the perfect freelancer on Upwork!

If you’re an independent professional skillful in creating quality social media advertisements, sign up on Upwork and find projects to work on today. Get started now!

‍‍

Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyse and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.