Paid social media advertising is at an all-time high, with ad spend forecasted to go up to $276.7 billion in 2025. Paid social video makes a notable chunk of this expenditure since 89% of brands use videos in their strategies. For high-growth brands, social video ads sell a product and fuel momentum that keeps driving future conversions.

Even better, video ads have room to thrive on many social media platforms, with TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram being the favorites of most businesses. How you choose to select the platform and create the video will depend on the outcomes you want.

In this guide, we help you through the video ad curation process. We'll walk through the creative frameworks, platform strategies, performance metrics, and other factors that separate breakthrough brands from the rest.

What Are Paid Social Video Ads?

Paid social video ads are promotional videos distributed on social media platforms using advertising budgets to reach targeted audiences. In contrast, organic posts rely on algorithmic luck or follower counts.

Social video ads may be as short as a few seconds or a full-length explainer video on LinkedIn. They are adaptable according to the platforms and the objectives. While conversions are typically the most sought-after goal, social video ads can serve other purposes like brand awareness and lead generation. For example, Ultimate Ears' Facebook video ad is meant to bring attention to their customizable speakers.

Paid social video benefits from the vast amount of data that social media platforms collect, such as user demographics and interests. Brands can then specifically show their ads to people who would want to see them.

On top of that, video is dynamic, emotional, and inherently visual. All these traits go well with social media's existing norms, such as quick consumption and scrolling behavior. So, paid social video ads combine storytelling with data, which results in measurable and scalable outcomes.

Benefits of Paid Social Video Advertising

Paid social video advertising offers a unique blend of performance and precision that few other channels can match. To start, it's highly cost-effective. According to WebFX, businesses spend around 11% to 25% of their total advertising budget on social media. The average ad spend amounts to between $850 and $2,000 per month.

Compared to traditional pay-per-click channels, paid social often delivers a strong return on investment. So, it's an efficient way to reach new audiences, especially when competing for high-intent keywords becomes too expensive.

Since social media is innately built for storytelling, video ads on these platforms also allow you to blend brand cues, voice, and tone seamlessly into formats that feel native to the feed. That makes social video ads a strong tool for building brand awareness.

In addition, social video advertising not only drives clicks, but also fosters engagement in the form of likes, comments, shares, and follows. That level of feedback is priceless for growth-stage brands aiming to build community as much as they're chasing conversions.

Add to that the breadth of formats, such as short form, long form, live video, or vertical stories, and you have a creative playground for testing and iteration. Plus, the platforms' deep well of user data allows you to target with precision, reaching the right people at the right moment.

How Much Do Paid Social Videos Cost?

The cost of paid social ads isn't fixed. It flexed based on your goals, platform, audience, competitiveness for the keyword, and creative execution. The variation in cost means that brands of all sizes can enter the space, experiment, and scale as results come in.

At the most basic level, you'll be paying on a cost-per-click (CPC), cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM), or cost-per-view (CPV) model. For most platforms, CPMs range anywhere from $5 to $30, depending on the audience's competitiveness, while CPVs can run as low as a few cents.

The rate also varies across platforms. For example, TikTok has lower ad costs than LinkedIn, which caters to high-value B2B audiences and generally commands a premium.

Video production is another factor that contributes to the cost of your ads. You can shoot an effective, native-style video on a phone with minimal editing, or you can invest in high-production social media content that rivals commercial TV spots. The latter will obviously cost more.

You also have to factor in the cost of testing and optimization. Running variations and iterating your video marketing strategy is key to finding the version that works best. The more versions you run, the more you'll spend.

For most high-growth brands, a monthly spend of a few thousand dollars isn't unusual. When your video marketing strategy is directly tied to outcomes like product sales and lead generation, you can also increase your budget.

How to Create Paid Social Video Ads?

Paid social video ads are a combination of creative strategy, audience psychology, data-informed decisions, and platform fluency. High-growth brands treat the process with the same level of forethought that they use in creating their core marketing materials. Here's how.

Define the Video's Purpose

First, decide what the job of your video ad is. Some objectives include conversions and lead generation.

The purpose of your social video ad will determine the conversation. For example, if your goal is brand awareness, the video should introduce your business. However, if you're trying to drive conversions, the video should include a strong call-to-action and show your product or service.

Know Your Audience

Paid social ads work best when they're highly targeted to your audience. Most platforms give you powerful targeting tools like age, gender, interests, behaviors, job title, location, and more.

However, knowing the demographics isn't enough. You also need to account for your audience's pain points and what drives them. To do that, use your CRM, website analytics, or past campaign data to inform audience insights. From there, you can create customer personas and develop specific messaging for them.

Match Message with Platform

Each social media platform has its own culture and norms. A video that performs well on one platform may not do the same on another. So, you must adapt your video ads' content to fit the platform instead of forcing one video across every channel.

For example, Instagram and Facebook favor vertical or square formats with strong visual hooks and fast pacing. Turkish Airlines did a splendid job of creating a Facebook video ad using stunning visuals.

Similarly, Reese's created a visually appealing Instagram ad for its Peanut Butter Cups. The video meets Instagram's norms by being aesthetically pleasing to look at. It also contains an interesting voiceover that keeps people engaged.

When creating video ads for TikTok, you need to be very creative. Be aware of the current trends on the platform and incorporate them into your ad. TikTok is all about short and snappy content, so make sure to keep the video under 15 seconds and include catchy music or sound effects to grab the viewer's attention.

A good example of this is eBay's TikTok video ad. The ad contained a trending video with just a simple one-line caption. eBay let the visuals do all the talking instead.

On the other hand, if you're creating a video ad for LinkedIn, include thought leadership content or problem-solving narratives. You can also create product demos for the platform since the audience is interested in professional development.

Meanwhile, YouTube allows for longer-form storytelling, especially for mid to bottom-funnel education or testimonials. You can also take advantage of the platform's targeting options to reach specific demographics or interests.

The Apple Watch 911 campaign on YouTube is an excellent inspiration. Apple used three life-threatening situations to show how the Apple Watch saved people's lives.

Script With a Story

Your end goal is a sale, but that's not what you should be focusing on when creating a video ad. Instead, create a story in your video ad. You only have a few seconds to grab your viewers' attention, so make sure you do it with a bold visual, a question, a hook, or a challenge to their assumptions. Once you have their attention, you can then deliver the core message.

When possible, use a narrative structure. Start with a problem, followed by a solution, and a result. Use a call to action that fits the funnel stage, such as ''learn more'' or ''shop now.'' For example, this CBRE Loan Flow animated explainer video uses ''get a rapid quote now'' as a CTA because it's targeting potential clients who are likely already considering using their services.

Use User-Generated Content

If you're short on budget, you can also use user-generated content (UGC) in your marketing strategy. These video ads have a twofold impact.

First, they're created by people who already love your products, serving as social proof. On top of that, when you run ads on this video content, you reach more people than you would organically. Also, since UGC is pre-made, you can save the costs otherwise spent on video production.

Test Variations and Optimize

The first version is rarely the best version. Smart brands test multiple creatives, headlines, CTAs, and even color palettes. Start with two or three variations of your video, and let performance data guide your next move.

When looking at metrics, pay attention to things like:

• View-through rate
• Click-through rate
• Cost per conversion

Use these analytics to determine which video formats and versions work best for your desired outcomes. Iteration will help you refine and optimize your videos for maximum impact.

Scale Your Social Video Ads

Once you find a winning creative formula, build a system around it. Create a content engine that allows you to produce videos in batches.

You can also repurpose successful videos by cutting them into shorter clips and adapting them for different platforms. As a high-growth brand, you should not limit yourself to a one-off ad. Instead, develop creative templates that you can use over and over again to meet performance benchmarks. 

Performance Metrics for Social Video Ads

Keep in mind that performance metrics are not just numbers but signals that tell you what to adjust and where to invest next. Here are some key video marketing metrics to monitor when running paid social video ads.

View-Through Rate (VTR)

View-through rate tells you how many people watched your video to completion, or at least a certain percentage of it. Ideally, you want people to watch your content long enough to get the message.

If your VTR is low, your hook may be weak, or the content may not be aligned with your audience. On the other hand, a high VTR signals that your video is relevant and hits the mark.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

CTR shows the percentage of viewers who clicked your call to action after watching. The indicator shows how well your video transitions from attention to intent. A strong CTR suggests that your message resonates.

If your video has a high VTR but a low CTR, it could mean your offer isn't strong enough or that viewers didn't understand the next step. So, you should tweak your video or CTA.

Cost Per Click (CPC) and Cost Per View (CPV)

These metrics track how much you're paying for each engagement, such as a click or a video view. They help you determine cost-efficiency across platforms and creative variations.

Lower CPC and CPV aren't better if the traffic doesn't convert, but these numbers are important for budget management and scaling. Keep a close eye on them.

Cost Per Conversion (CPCV)

Cost per conversion helps you measure how much you're spending to drive tangible results. It's your ultimate efficiency score. You may have a video with a slightly higher CPC, but if the audience is converting at a higher rate, it's a better investment.

Engagement Rate

Beyond clicks and views, social platforms also track likes, comments, shares, and reactions. High engagement suggests your content is striking a chord, emotionally or intellectually.

While engagement may not be directly tied to revenue, it boosts visibility through algorithms and gives you valuable social proof.

Accelerate Growth With Paid Social Video Ads From INDIRAP

When it comes to acing your paid social video ads, you need a video marketing agency by your side that can help connect every touchpoint in the funnel with your video content. More than just a video production company, INDIRAP operates as a full-spectrum growth engine.

We craft cinematic video content and manage 100% done-for-you social campaigns. From brand videos that stop the scroll to paid ad campaigns that convert cold traffic into raving fans, our video production services will help you build a content ecosystem that drives real business outcomes. 

Book a free, no obligation Discovery Call today to kickstart your paid social video campaigns. 

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