There are a few reasons why you should run LinkedIn Video Ads.

It’s one of the fastest ways to build retargeting audiences on the platform, for example.

But video ads are notable for taking time and money to create.

So what’s the best way to get started? And are there cheaper, less time-consuming options for making video creative?

In this article, we’re going to walk you through 7 best practices for creating video ads that book you calls and don’t break the bank.

Let’s hit it!

CONTENTS

We’ll start with what to include in your video.

A common mistake that advertisers make is prioritizing humor or shock value over communicating value.

If there’s one thing to take away from this article it’s this: Your unique value proposition must be at the forefront of your video creative.

That said, don’t take this to mean that eliciting an emotional response isn’t important.

This can help keep your viewer engaged, as well as build brand affinity and brand recall.

But prioritize your unique value proposition first, entertainment second.

A funny video ad that doesn’t communicate value might be memorable, but likely won’t motivate people to buy.

STRUCTURE

Simon Sinek’s Start with Why is a cool exercise for discovering your motivations for why you do business.

Turns out this framework is also great for making video creative.

Now, we don’t follow Simon’s Why-How-What framework in the traditional sense.

The “Why” that we communicate in our LinkedIn Video Ads revolves more around our unique value proposition—the “why,” or reason, our audience should do business with us.

This is then followed by a small taste of how we deliver on the “why” that we just established.

And finally, we finish our video by communicating our offer.

Putting this all together, we’ll share a recent example of a LinkedIn Video Ad we ran for B2Linked.

This ad generated booked calls for us in the beginning stages of our holistic LinkedIn Ads strategy. It was the first time our audience had heard about us!

We opened with our unique value proposition (i.e. LinkedIn Ads campaigns are often run inefficiently, resulting in wasted ad spend, even if advertisers see a return. B2B companies need lean LinkedIn Ads management—a way to maximize return by minimizing waste).

We followed up with an example of how we accomplish that (i.e. Micro-segmenting audiences by breaking targeting out into multiple campaigns, which allows us to capitalize on those segments that are performing well, while cutting out those driving performance down).

We ended with our offer (i.e. Learn more about our LinkedIn Ads management services by visiting us at b2linked.com/discovery).

HOOK

For LinkedIn Video Ads to perform well, you need to capture and retain your audience’s attention within the first couple seconds.

That means you need a good hook.

Some examples of this might include opening with a pain your audience struggles with,  something that piques their curiosity, or maybe a contrarian point of view.

Avoid introducing yourself or your company at the beginning of your Video Ad or opening with a fancy transition showcasing your logo.

Those first 2 seconds are crucial, so make good use of them.

STYLE

High-quality video creative (with some time and money put into it) can communicate professionalism but is, at the end of the day, not always necessary.

In fact, we recommend a video style that feels more native to the type of content being consumed on social media today.

What does that look like?

Well, it starts with simply recording from your phone.

Just point the camera towards yourself and hit “record,” selfie-style.

This type of content is raw, authentic, genuine.

Because of that, it’s a good way to quickly establish trust with your audience and make your brand appear more relatable.

That said, phone-quality visuals should still be accompanied by high-quality audio.

So recording with a simple LAV mic can go a long way.

In addition, tailor your video to those that watch without audio.

Use “snazzy” subtitles (subtitles that highlight words as they’re spoken), so your viewers can easily follow along.

LENGTH

There’s no hard and fast rule on this, but we recommend keeping your LinkedIn Video Ads to 60 seconds or less.

This helps you keep your messaging concise and retain your audience’s attention.

RETARGETING

As mentioned earlier, one of the benefits of running LinkedIn Video Ads is the capability to build retargeting audiences quickly.

When it comes to retargeting, we recommend setting up audiences that are high in intent.

For us, we’ve deemed this to be anyone who has watched 50% or more of our Video Ad(s).

SPECS

When it comes to LinkedIn Video Ad specifications, the most important ones are these:

• Keep your Video Ads no larger than 200 MB.
• Keep the dimensions of your Video Ads to 1200×1200 pixels.
• Video file type should be MP4 format.

For more LinkedIn Video Ad specs, see this additional resource.

NOW WHAT?

Now that you have a better idea of what goes into creating low-cost, high-performing LinkedIn Video Ads, we encourage you to start creating and testing your own.

Note that the best practices we’ve outlined here are ones that we’ve found work well for us and our clients.

You might find different approaches or variations of these tips we outlined, and that’s okay.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list but we hope that it acts as a springboard for you to get started and helps you find the elements that work best for your brand.

If you want additional LinkedIn Video Ad tips, like how to pay less for your video views on LinkedIn, check out this episode of The LinkedIn Ads Show.

And if you want to maximize your return by minimizing waste within your LinkedIn Ads account, consider booking a discovery call with us at B2Linked.

We’d absolutely love the chance to get to work with you!

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