A decade ago, embedding a grainy clip on a brand’s homepage felt bold. Today, audiences scroll past 4–6 hours of video content per day, and algorithms reward motion far more than still images.
In other words, video advertising has moved from “nice‐to‐have” to “table stakes.” At the same time, budgets are under pressure: every dollar you allocate to a pre-roll, Story, or CTV spot has to come back multiplied.
The good news is that smart creative choices, disciplined measurement, and a pinch of experimentation can still deliver eye-popping returns on investment — often faster than any other digital format.
Types of Video Advertising
First things first, let’s discuss the video advertising types.
- In-Stream Ads (Pre-, Mid-, Post-Roll)
Where to find them: YouTube, Hulu, Amazon Freevee, countless publisher players.
Why they work: Captive attention — viewers are already leaning in. - Out-Stream / Native Video
Scrolling feeds on LinkedIn, Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Reddit autoplay muted clips. Perfect for quick brand recall or retargeting. - Short-Form Vertical (Stories & Reels)
Designed for TikTok, Instagram Reels, Snapchat Discover, YouTube Shorts. Six to fifteen seconds; punchy, authentic, soundtrack-driven. - Connected-TV (CTV)
Programmatic spots on Roku, Apple TV, smart-TV apps. Lean-back context, TV-level CPMs, but addressable and measurable. - Shoppable & Live-Commerce Video
Livestream demos or influencer streams where a tap drops the product straight into a basket. - In-Game & DOOH (Digital Out-of-Home)
Cinematic placements inside mobile games or on urban billboards with real-time data overlays.
Understanding these formats matters because each dictates a different creative tactic, call-to-action, and pricing model. A six-second bumper on YouTube will rarely carry the same narrative weight — or view-through rate — as a 30-second CTV spot, yet both can drive sales when deployed in concert.
How Video Advertising Impacts Sales
Let’s discuss why an advertiser that masters video performance marketing can move product faster than almost any other digital channel.
It closes the trust gap
- 84 % of video marketers say their videos have directly increased sales for their business.
- On the consumer side, 87 % of people report that a brand’s clip has convinced them to buy at least once.
Taken together, the supply-side and demand-side perspectives align: audiences want to watch, and brands that supply engaging footage reap revenue.
Sequencing super-charges brand lift
Running a cut-down, reminder vignette after a 30-second hero spot isn’t just a creative whim — it’s science. Across thousands of Google campaigns, video ad sequencing drove 80–110 % higher brand lift and cut cost-per-lifted-user by 50–70% versus a one-off placement.
Video prompts action
Viewers who see an ad on YouTube CTV are 8% more likely to take an offline action (searching, talking to friends, donating, voting, etc.) than those exposed to the same creative on linear TV. They are also 5–7 % more likely to recall the message unaided.
Full-funnel formats improve return on investment
Combining awareness and action formats on YouTube — a core video ad best practice — produces higher overall ROI than awareness ads alone.
Mixing skippable in-stream with Shorts or bumper CTAs is one of those best practices for video marketing that pays for itself.
Exposure on YouTube drives purchase intent everywhere
The majority of viewers say YouTube makes them aware of new brands, and they’re more likely to buy something they first saw on the platform.
For brands that are creating short “why-buy” clips (even exported through a quick video converter for vertical), that halo lifts search queries, ecommerce click-through, and in-store scans.
Choosing a Video Ad Best Practice to Maximize ROI
So, how can businesses maximize their ROI with a video advertising campaign?
Start With the Business Goal, Not the Storyboard
Decide whether the KPI is cost-per-acquisition, uplift in average order value, or incremental reach. A performance-driven advertiser will write different copy for a remarketing audience than for awareness.
Front-Load Value in the First 3 Seconds
Autoplay silently dominates feeds. Show the product, benefit, or intrigue immediately. Avoid making long intros, if you don’t want the viewers to click away.
Design for Sound-Off
Add captions so that those who watch without sound could still experience your content. Keep any spoken CTA reinforced through text or on-screen graphics.
Iterate Through Versioning
Dynamic creative optimization lets you test hooks, price points, or background colors in real time. Swap underperforming cuts within 24 hours; don’t wait for the campaign to “settle.”
Layer Audiences
- Warm: Website visitors, cart abandons — serve demo or testimonial.
- Hot: Email list — offer discount or urgency.
- Cold: Contextual interest — tell the origin story.
Use First-Party Data & AI Bidding
Relying on platform look-alikes without first-party enrichment is leaving money on the table. Feed purchase lists back into Google’s tROAS or Meta’s Advantage+ to let algorithms chase likely buyers.
Track Beyond the View
View-through conversions and lift studies paint the real picture. If you sell subscription software, 30-day attribution may hide half your revenue. Align pixel windows with your sales cycle for honest ROI.
Embrace Authenticity Over Gloss
Gymshark’s handheld TikToks often outperform its cinematic YouTube trailers because they feel native to the platform’s culture. Remember, effective doesn’t mean expensive.
Repurpose
Long-form webinars to 60-second LinkedIn clips to 15-second vertical “snackable” bits to 6-second bumpers. By creating a modular script, you stretch footage life and slash cost per asset.
How to Make a Successful Advertising Video
Now let’s take a look at some steps that will help you create an impactful video.
Write a One-Sentence Promise
“This running shoe makes you 4 % faster.” Everything else — shots, voice-over, text overlay — must support that promise.
Storyboard to Match Attention Curves
Hook (0–3s) → Problem (3–6s) → Solution (6–15s) → Social Proof (15–25s) → CTA (final frames). Even 15-second placements benefit from micro-narratives.
Cast for Relatability
Whether an influencer, employee, or customer, pick faces your audience trusts. Old Spice’s 2010 “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” revived a decades-old brand by subverting expectations with humor and direct address.
Shoot Native Resolutions
Capture 4K even if delivery is 1080p; this allows you to crop vertical slices without losing sharpness. A modern phone plus ring light is often enough for TikTok but invest in lapel mics — bad audio kills retention.
Edit With Rhythm
Cut to the beat or use natural speech cadence. Jump cuts every 1.5–2 seconds hold online attention. Most video editing tools let you export platform-specific specs in minutes.
Embed a Single, Clear Call-to-Action
“Swipe up to claim,” “Shop the drop,” “Book your test drive.” Repetition is not a sin — clarity is a virtue.
Color-Grade for Emotion
Warm tones for family foods, cooler palettes for tech, high contrast for sports. Consistency across spots builds immediate brand recognition.
Localize Subtly
Swap out pack shots or legal disclaimers region-by-region. Automated subtitle-splicing cuts costs versus full re-shoots.
Test on the Smallest Screen
If the message lands on a cracked iPhone 11 at 360p, it will soar on a 55″ OLED. Always test it on as many screens as possible.
Launch, Learn, Loop
Review analytics daily for the first week: quartile drop-offs, thumb-stop rate, cost per completed view. Feed insights back into your next cut, and you turn every campaign into an accelerating feedback engine.
Final Thoughts
The discipline of video performance marketing is evolving from art-plus-hope into art-plus-science. The advertiser who merges unforgettable storytelling with ruthless experimentation will keep winning auctions, hearts, and revenue — no matter how the algorithm shifts.
Remember: every frame should justify its cost, every hook should respect the viewer’s time, and every test should teach you something new. Follow that mantra, and you won’t just make effective video ads — you’ll mint profit.
