How To Boost Your SaaS Marketing Strategy by Using Video Ads

SaaS (software-as-a-service) solutions constitute the largest public cloud services segment, and are forecasted to reach US$ 176.6 billion in end-user spending in 2022. It is one of the fastest-growing IT segments, since such software is centrally hosted and licensed to customers on a subscription basis. 

SaaS offers agility, simplicity, security, scalability, and affordability, making it the future of software. How do you make your company stand out with thousands of SaaS companies operating globally, targeting billions of customers?

By incorporating video advertisement into your SaaS company’s marketing strategy.

Meaning of Video Marketing and 8 Ways to Use it in SaaS Marketing

A marketing strategy is essential for all companies regardless of their industry. It is a long-term proposition containing a business’s value proposition, brand message, and overall game plan to reach potential and retain existing customers. 

Since the SaaS industry is subscription-based, it’s vital for SaaS companies to not only reel in new customers but also retain their existing ones. It costs a SaaS company $1.32 to acquire $1 of ARR (average recurring revenue).

This cost can come down to $0.71 if you adopt upselling strategies with your current customers. Therefore, developing a customer-based marketing strategy is crucial.

A customer-focused marketing strategy is not just cost-effective, it also helps:

• reduce churns,
• gain customer loyalty, 
• build an active community, 
• attract potential customers, and
• increase your business’s profitability.

So how can you successfully communicate and market your business proposition to attract new customers, generate leads, and retain old customers? Through video advertisements. 

What are video advertisements?

Video advertisement is a marketing strategy that involves the display of promotional content in a short video format either before, during, or after streaming the main video on online platforms.

They’re usually displayed on websites, such as eCommerce, news and entertainment sites, or social media sites to gain maximum traction.

Video ads are an effective marketing tool that helps businesses improve their overall business performance. It is a consistently favored marketing approach to engage customers. The global digital video ad space will be valued at US$ 292.4 billion by 2027, and is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 41.1% between 2020-2027.

Instagram’s total video ad share is expected to increase to 60.9% by 2023. It generated $47.6 billion (approximately) revenue from video ads in 2021. But should you adopt a video ad marketing strategy for your SaaS business? Especially when you might already have static ads in place?

Well, 57% of individuals believe that video ads can convince them of the value of a product or service as compared to static ads. On average, video ads have the power to hold your customer's attention 11% more effectively than static ads. So how do you adopt them to boost your marketing strategy? Let’s find out.

8 ways to use video ads to boost your SaaS marketing strategy

To unleash the power of video ads and make them work for your brand, you must understand how to use them to boost your SaaS brand’s marketing strategy. 

Listed below are a few ways you can use video ads to make the most out of your SaaS marketing strategy:

1. Create video ads

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To get started with your video ads marketing journey, you first need to start creating video ads. Now, these ads can’t be too long or too short.

If it’s too long, you’ll lose your customer’s attention, and if it’s too short, you might miss out on making an impression. It should also speak to your audience without putting a burden on your internal resources.

To do this right, you need a dependable and reliable platform that can not only save you time and money but also help you scale your video ad production. The platform must be compatible with various marketing platforms as well, like the Creatopy video ads creator. 

Also, ensure that the video ads creator platform lets you personalize your brand messaging as per your customer base. 

2. Make your video ads engaging

You might want to display your brand message and communicate its value proposition through infographics. But if you do that a lot, there’s a good chance that it will get monotonous after a point, and your target audience might just scroll through it without even glancing at your video ad. 

Try adding video-like features to your research data and statistics. You can also play around with fonts to capture maximum attention.

3. Adapt the storytelling approach

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86% of businesses use videos as part of their marketing strategy. But there’s an underlying difference between video marketing and video ads. While the former aims to educate your audience about your product/service, the latter is all about the hard sell. 

You want to increase your customer base and revenue through video ads, but the stone-cold hard sell approach might be a turnoff for your audience. To engage your audience and make them believe that there are actual people involved behind the product you’re selling, adapt the storytelling approach.

The way you want to integrate the storytelling approach into your video ad marketing strategy depends upon you. It can be as simple as taking the audience through your work process, or can be a behind-the-scenes look at how your SaaS product was built.

Humanizing your videos will help you build a strong relationship with your customers—both old and new.

4. Keep your videos short

Since video ads are basically advertisements, not a lot of people want to watch them proactively. Around 65% of people skip video ads the first chance they get. Consumer psychology also plays a critical role here, and 76% of them skip ads out of habit. 

So how can your video ads grab the attention of your customer? You either need to engage, persuade or do both.

A good rule of thumb would be to create 15-second long video ads. You can even make them shorter than 15 seconds. Video ads that are 15-seconds or shorter are more likely to grab your customer’s attention and make them watch the video till the end. 

Video ads with a length of 15 seconds or less are also appropriate for Instagram Stories and Facebook in-stream placements. 

5. Capture attention right off the bat

Today, individuals have an attention span shorter than that of a goldfish. So, if you want to capture your audience’s attention, do it right off the bat. Put the most compelling part of your video at the beginning of your video ad. 

To grab interest, it would be a good idea to do it in the first three seconds of your video ad.

6. Create vertical or square video ads

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Over 60% of people in the US consume digital video content on their smartphones. People habitually hold their phones vertically, so ensure that you choose a vertical or square aspect ratio to cover the most screen area while creating your video ads.

7. Feature your SaaS brand’s message early

As a brand, you just don’t want to capture your audience’s attention. You also want to increase your brand recall value. Generally, around two-thirds of the individuals recall video ads they watched online during the past week.

Showcasing your brand’s message early on in the video ad will ensure that people see and remember it. 

8. Design your video ad with closed captions

A lot of people watch videos on mute. In such cases, it becomes vital to add subtitles to your video ads. It also helps you target people with hearing disabilities.

Make use of text, graphics, and closed captions to make your video ad memorable and impactful. 

Few tips to make your video ads stand out

If done right, video ads can benefit your SaaS business exponentially. Here are a few tips to help you make the best SaaS video ads:

• Decide the message you want to convey: It is essential to be clear about the purpose of your video ads. For instance, decide early on if you want to sell your product to potential customers or engage and upsell to your existing customers.
• Settle your video’s design: Before starting your video ad journey, settling on the video’s length, animation, logo placement, etc., will make your life easier when you finally start creating the ad. 
• Have a clear CTA: Having a clear CTA for your ad will help your customer take the appropriate action. It will aid you in creating the desired effect on your customers, and tell them what steps to take next.

Video ads will boost your SaaS marketing strategy

Marketing a SaaS brand isn’t easy. But video ads will assist your SaaS business to have a wider reach, increase brand awareness, and build lasting customer relationships. 

Adopt tactical tips to discover customer insights, and chalk out your video ads in a way that speaks to your customers, while aiding you in achieving your long-term marketing plan. Implement creative marketing ideas for your SaaS business to break away from the clutter.

Author Bio: Arjun Ruparelia

Email - ruparelia.arjun@gmail.com

An accountant turned writer, Arjun writes financial blog posts and research reports for clients across the globe, including Skale. Arjun has five years of financial writing experience across verticals. He is a CMA and CA (Intermediate) by qualification.