The Keys to an Un-skippable Video Ad

Written by The Enrollify Team | 9/30/19 1:30 PM

THE BASICS OF YOUTUBE VIDEO ADVERTISING: YouTube has three types of video ads marketers should be familiar with to grab the attention of prospective students. The first is TrueView Ads – YouTube’s standard ads model where an advertiser only pays when a user watches the ad for at least 30 seconds. Next are Preroll Ads – 15-20 second, non-skippable ads that can play before, mid-roll, or after the main video. Last are Bumper ads – 6 second, non-skippable ads that play before a viewer’s chosen video.

Why you should care: Producing an exceptional student recruitment video is time-consuming, requiring script writing, storyboarding, shooting, and film editing. And for what, to embed the video on your program’s website or post it a couple of times on Facebook with limited organic reach? Even with great video content, chances are you’ll need to promote it in order to get the maximum value out of your video. Try accomplishing this by experimenting with different types of YouTube ads.

THE KEYS TO UNSKIPPABLE: According to Google, here’s how to craft an unskippable video ad. First, utilize more visual language. Fast-paced, large font, high contrast visuals and words in your ads will keep viewers engaged. Next, focus on narrative structure. Changes in video perspective or twisting the narrative direction altogether can keep viewers hooked to the screen. ‘Tuning’ for audience, or catering to your viewers with a deep understanding of what they care about will help build narratives aligned with their values.

Why you should care: Getting and keeping prospective students’ attention has never been more competitive. However, having a strong sense of their interests and a creative video team can help you develop video narratives, scripts, and storylines that future students truly care about.

SNAPCHAT ADDS NEW AD FORMATS: New Snapchat ads can play up to 3 minutes in length, and advertisers will now have opportunities to advertise on Snapchat’s “Snap Originals” shows. Currently, users must “swipe up” to view ads over 10 seconds. While this new ad type will still be skippable by viewers, it will allow a new set of advertisers to reach Snapchat’s pool of younger audiences with longer-form video content like movie trailers, explainer videos, mini-documentaries, and more.

Why you should care: Snapchat’s advertising options are growing, giving enrollment marketers more options and ad formats to reach prospective students. New 3-minute ads give enrollment teams ample time to feature a new recruitment video or highlight a student research video so long as the placement of the ad is strategic enough to reach an audience that’s interested in the content.

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