Using Facebook Video to Build a Retargeting List
Tired of using blog posts to generate a retargeting audience? Looking for a growing media channel to jump into? Why not try Facebook Video?
People watch over 100 million hours of Facebook video every day. And according to Adobe, shoppers that view videos are 1.8 X more likely to purchase than non-viewers. Even with many benefits,, Facebook video is still in its early stages.
How does it work?
You can either boost a Fan Page Post or create a video ad in Ads Manager. After your video receives views, you can create a “Video Engagement Custom Audience” based on the length of time people watch your videos.
It gets better – you can create “Lookalike Audiences” based on the demographics of these engaged viewers. This is especially useful for new companies looking to build a quick lookalike audience. With the average cost per video view between $.01-$.06 cents, it costs far less to build a retargeting audience than promoting a post.
Why isn’t every marketer using Facebook video? There’s a higher barrier to entry than creating a basic image Facebook Ad.
You need video equipment, video editing skills, confidence in front of the camera, comfortability with Facebook Ads, and an excellent script. Don’t feel overwhelmed. You can use beginner video editing software including Camtasia or Screenflow, and an iPhone camera to produce a high-quality video.
What do you include in the video?
Know that Facebook video ads won’t play any sound unless clicked. In turn, your first ten seconds of the video need to focus on getting the viewer to play the video. Or, you can tell a story that doesn’t need sound. The best videos balance both, especially within the first fifteen seconds.
Since the viewer may watch the video without pressing play, use text overlays to highlight important aspects and present a call-to-action (i.e. “Click Play to Listen Now”). Facebook will include text overlays for you with “Add Captions,” but it’s not always perfect. The text may come out wrong or be too much for the viewer to digest.
The more you show how to do something funny, educational, or remarkable, the more of your video people will watch. As a result, the more Likes, Reactions, and shares you’ll receive. Before you publish your video, you should always ask yourself if people will share it. Facebook will provide your video with cheaper views if it’s getting shared.
How do you structure your video script?
It depends on the content and length of the video. For most short videos (0:15-0:30 seconds), it should provide enough curiosity to incite the viewer to click through. I would provide a stunning fact or benefit, then tell them in order to find out more, they need to click.
Ideally, your script outline will have these five components:
- Grab their interest. (Waving hands around with text asking the viewer to hit play)
- Pique their curiosity. (“Then this one crazy thing happened…”)
- Introduce your credibility. (Best-selling author)
- Give an “aha moment.” (“Then I realized…”)
- Ask the viewer to take action. (“Click the button to learn more”)
What about longer videos (0:30-2:00 min)?
The strategy is similar to a shorter video except the video is packed with more value. You don’t need everyone to watch the entire video. If only 5% of viewers watch 100% of the video, then it could still be a big win for you.
When it comes to further testing including picking an objective whether Video Views or Website Conversions, you’ll likely see a significant swing in cost. The cost per view for Website Conversions will almost always be higher than when optimizing for Video Views, but they’re more likely to convert.
After you know the type of video you want to upload and how you want to optimize it, then you need to write the copy. For short copy (user doesn’t have to click “See More” to read all of it), the first sentence should focus on getting the viewer to click play and the second on getting the viewer to click through to the landing page.
For the longer copy, it should first encourage them to click play, then focus on explaining the benefits of the video. Last, it should concentrate on getting the viewer to click through to the landing page. In many cases, long copy returns a higher ROI than short copy and the quality of leads increase. Also, long copy increases the perceived value of your offer, especially if you include immediate benefits in it.
Here’s an example long-form copy ad by CEO of Snaptactix, Jimmy Kim:
What’s next?
Look at the video ads your competitors use, then analyze how they structure their copy and test if it works for your product. If it doesn’t, try testing placement (mobile vs. desktop), the length of copy, optimization (views vs. conversions), and call-to-actions. After enough testing, you’ll hit a sweet spot for getting video views and conversions for cheap.
With Facebook video begin the most inexpensive way to build your retargeting audience, it makes for one of the best awareness tactics to implement today. There’s no question to whether you should be running video ad campaigns, it should only be a matter of when.
