Facebook Ads: What Video Ads to create and how to improve results with Lauren Schwartz (episode 033)

by April Buencamino-dy

Lauren has been in graphic design since 2006, and over the years has got increasingly involved in what it takes to makes ad campaigns successful. In 2014 she consolidated her love for eCommerce sales growth and great ad design when she founded The Loft325. Working with many fast growth DTC brands she’s here to give us the latest tips on how to make our ad videos spot on.

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What got her into Facebook advertising?

Lauren had been working in eCommerce for over 15 years, where she did a lot of things like building landing pages and email marketing. 

She thereafter started working on Facebook and Social Media and fell in love with them. She loved to figure what would make people click and convert within the first 15 seconds.

Lauren’s Primary Advice on Facebook Ads 

With Facebook ads, you have to make your audience click to your website within the first 3 seconds. 

Images are Great for Facebook Ads

Lauren agrees that static images are still very relevant. 

With static images 

  • You can convey your message quickly. 
  • It shows your product right away, and you can also put in the text overlays on them.
  • They are good to grab your attention. 

Why Is it worth putting in the effort to create a Video Ad? 

It is worth putting the effort into Video Ads because of the following:

  1. video is really popular among social media users, and the platforms are all embracing video too. For example, you have TikTok, Instagram Stories, Reels, all of which are Video Content. 
  2. As a small business, you do not have to have a highly advanced production shoot-. Instead, you can just use an iPhone and create amazing ads with apps on your phone or simple tools like IG Reels and Tiktok. Thus it’s not hard to create great video ads with simple tools.

What works on Facebook Video Ads?

People now don’t like to be sold to. Instead, they prefer something that they find more authentic, which is why shooting on your phones helps to that authenticity. 

Thus if you have customers talking about your products, it is what they relate to, just like talking to your friend. It creates better engagement.  

What do we need to talk about on our Video Ads?

It depends on the product. 

  • Physical Product – You can show the product and explain the features & benefits
  • Mobile App- You can just show on your Smartphone how it functions and scroll down.

However, Lauren’s advice is to keep the video conversational to give the video a native and organic feel to your target audience. 

Should Facebook ads revolve around your products or about your brand?

It is a bit of both. To grab people’s attention Lauren prefers creating videos and creative about the product. Thus she would highlight the product benefits, testimonials. Then test the same and bring in the brand for re-engagement.

 Thus, for her specific products need to be at the top of the funnel and keep the brand at the middle of the funnel. 

Noise and Captions on Video Ads: What works?

80% of people don’t listen to the video with the sound on. It is because of this that you should have captions on your videos. Though this may not look great aesthetically, as a marketer you need to add captions to your video ads. Always have captions.

Favorite type of Testimonial Ads 

  1. She feels that TikTok influencers can be very effective for the video ads since they show the product quickly. So recruit them to create videos you can then use in your Facebook Ads.
  2. When it comes to user-generated content, like testimonial videos you need to show the product within the first 3 seconds. 

Insider Tips

If we’ve inspired someone to take their first step with Facebook Ads Marketing – what do they need to know to give themselves the best chance of success?

  1. Make sure that you have really good product photography. 
  2. Get user-generated content. 
  3. Or as the product owner speak about the product features & benefits. You could also show the product in use.

Once you’ve started of course you’ve got to ‘keep optimising’! So what’s your favourite way to improve Facebook ads marketing performance?

Lauren is a great advocate of creative testing. Once you have found the super creative, then you need to make iterations, which could be, changing the 1st 3 seconds of the video. It could include showing your product in the 1st 3 seconds and so on. 

If someone wants to learn about Facebook Advertising, is there a cheap/ free resource that can be used?

Great Youtube Channels:

Crystal ball time – what’s coming up in the next 6-12 months that we should be getting ready for in Facebook ads marketing?

  1. TikTok User Generated Content will be really big.
  2. The length of effective video ads is getting shorter, it has been about 15 seconds, in the next 6 to 10 months; this will be much shorter, 6 to 10 Seconds.

Interview Links:

Lauren on Social media:

Related Episodes

  • Creative that SELLS on Facebook and Instagram Ads with Kevin Urrutia
  • User Generated Content how make it work for you with Joanna Steele
  • Images that work NOW, and how to keep them working with RJ Talyor

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